A Wander Through Thursley was an event held on the weekend of 16/17th June, 1990, and was a great occasion in Thursley's history towards the end of the last century.
The weekend was organised by Gil Buckingham who lived at Olde Hall and was a very keen gardener. The scheme was confined to Thursley village as there were too many problems in including the gardens at Bowlhead Green and Pitch Place. The event raised £2,000 for the village hall. 24 gardens took part proudly displaying the daisy sign on their gate. A special daisy bus service ran up and down Highfield Lane. There were also village cricket matches, home made cream teas in the village hall, donkey rides, rare breed sheep, plant stall, peacocks, vintage and classic car collections, and exhibition of old Thursley and organ recitals in the church.
GIL BUCKINGHAM
Gil moved to Olde Hall, Back Lane, Thursley in 1985. She had great plans for the house and garden and she started completely renovating the house in 1986, which was finally completed in 1990.
As well as working on the house, Gil worked on creating her perfect garden: she believed the garden represented individual rooms in the same way as a house. She had a herb garden, a wild garden, an orchard and a formal garden which was used to entertain guests like a drawing room. Her knowledge of gardening was strengthened by two course she attended at Merrist Wood Agricultural College in Guildford. The first, in 1984, covered garden pests and diseases and the second, in 1986, dealt with general horticulture but concentrated on shrubs and flowers.
Gil was an incredibly energetic and sociable person and threw herself into the life of the village. She sang in the choir, was Treasurer of the Fellowship, held the Christian Aid coffee mornings and was a member of the village hall management committee. It was for the last organisation that she co-ordinated "Wander through Thursley". Her great friend, Gail Leader had opened her garden and Gil loved the idea of gardens being open for everyone to enjoy.
Sadly, shortly afterwords in July 1990, Gil becameill and after a long fight she died in January, 1992.
From a conversation with Barbara Thorburn
