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This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in July 2020 As we know, the recent fire on Thursley Common was devastating for the wildlife, environment and all that knew and used it. The grim scene that faced us afterwards, could have been so much worse, had it not been for swift and efficient help from the Goble family. Along with Roger Pride from Elstead and Mike Clear from Tilford, they were quickly on the scene, assisting and aiding the Surrey Fire and Rescue Services. They were able to use their tractors and tanks to stop the fire from spreading and stayed at the scene, working tirelessly through the night. No effort was spared and it was a whole family affair. All of us in the village were overwhelmed with their commitment and tireless exertions. As a small token of our appreciation, we have featured the current family’s history in Thursley and next month, we will be publishing an item on Robert Goble & Son, Instrument Makers. Huge thanks to Peter Goble for giving us this fascinating insight into the family archives. John Goble and his wife (Harriet Munday) moved to Wheelwrights in Thursley in 1902 to become the village blacksmith and wheelwright. They had three children; Ivy was the eldest, then came Robert and then my father, Arthur. Ivy became the cook for the village school and in later years looked after her elderly parents; Ivy never married. Robert married Betty Brown in 1930, they had 2 sons: Andrea and Paul. Robert handmade recorders, Harpsicords and furniture. John Goble Harriet Munday John Goble, wheelwright, blacksmith and undertaker. Van built by John Goble. Photograph taken in 1905 outside Wheelwrights J ohn Goble outside Wheelwrights with his son, Robert. NB: This shows two front doors, today there is one. Mr and Mrs Goble on their Golden wedding day. Robert Goble at work. Newspaper coverage following the death of Robert Goble in 1991 Arthur was born in 1911 and attended Thursley village school. After school he gained a position as a trainee game keeper in Great Windsor Park (he was at the gate when Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, he saw him drive out). After several years at Windsor he returned to Thursley, where he continued as a gamekeeper and farmer on the local farms and estates (Warren Mere, Cosford etc). During WW2, Arthur signed up and worked within the catering core. After the war he again returned to Thursley and was able to rent part of Hill Farm and started farming for himself. He also rented part of Hedge farm. During this time Arthur’s parents and sister remained in Thursley, moving from Wheelwrights to Prospect Cottage in 1914. Arthur was always keeping himself busy. Playing cricket was his favourite pastime and he could be found playing for Thursley cricket team each season. Dancing was another of his passions and this was where he met his wife Edna Boxall; they married in 1953. On the 1st January 1956 they bought a plot of land in Thursley, now called Little Cowdray Farm. Arthur started a small Jersey herd, got permission to build the house, and on the 1st May 1956 they moved in. Arthur continued to milk cows until he retired at the end of the 1970’s. From a 1995 edition of the Parish Magazine I was the only child to Arthur and Edna, born in the mid-fifties. My childhood years were spent helping on the farm, but I preferred working with machinery rather than the dairy cows. After school I attended agricultural college, then returned to Little Cowdray Farm and started up as an agricultural contractor, working on my own for many years. My father, Arthur passed away in 1987 and my mother Edna passed away in 2004. I met my wife Teresa Boxall who was the cousin of my best friend. As well as the contracting we built up a small beef herd, flock of sheep and pigs. We married in 1981 and had 3 children, all of whom still work on the farm during their days off. Lucy is the eldest who has 2 children, Bethan and Oakley. She is a nurse at the local hospital, but helps on the farm and keeps on top of the farm paperwork. Lucy lives in the house my father built. James is married and has 2 children; Jeffery and Eleanor, they also live in the village near the church. James is now a partner in the Agricultural and Groundwork business which employs 6 local people. Emily is the youngest, she is married and lives with her husband in a nearby village. Emily is a firefighter in London Fire Brigade, but also helps out with the farm and contracting work. Little Cowdray Farm now runs a herd of around 100 beef cattle and a suckler Dexter herd. We are part of the red tractor food assurance scheme, supplying Marks and Spencer and a number of local butchers with excellent quality beef. The farm has recently diversified into glamping with just 2 high spec units for a family and a couple. It has been extremely popular since its launch with many people returning each year to visit the farm, the village and the beautiful surrounding countryside. This is four generations of the extended Goble family, taken at Little Cowdray Farm in January 1997. The family have lived here since the house was built in 1956. Grandad Goble came to Thursley in 1903 and was the village wheelwright and lived at Wheelwrights for some years.

At a meeting of the Thursley History Society early in 2025, it was agreed that the website should include a post for our many beloved villagers who are no longer with us. Our archive contains a lot of information and we shall gradually build up this entry retrospectively. If you would like to contribute any obituaries, eulogies, memories, orders of service or photographs (especially where none exist on the website) please do so via the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/contact Lives celebrated : Robert Crawfurd; Annette Graham-Stewart; John Graham-Stewart; Barbara Marchant; Tom Ranson; Brian Sharp; Susan Treadwell; Douglas Watson Annette Graham-Stewart: 14th April 1920 - 19th October 2009 Annette and John (see below) lived in Houndown, Pitch Place, and their son still lives there. Brian William Sharp: 2nd November 1928 - 18th September 2009 He was a newcomer to the village and he was not here long before he died, but he was keen to join in everything, a good organiser, on the village hall committee and Horticultural Society committee. Douglas Quartly Watson: 1st June 1945 - 10th May 2009 Wing Commander Douglas Watson lived in The Corner, his wife Kathleen was Chair of the village hall committee for many years and was known for her diplomacy. She was a physiotherapist by profession. Robert John Payne Crawfurd: 29th March 1917-24th February 2008 Robert was an identical twin of Edward, he played the organ, sang in the church choir, grew orchids and lived in Pitch Place. Susan Caroline Lawies Treadwell: 1954 - 2008 Thomas Arthur Ranson (Tom): 31st March 1922 - 13th July 2007 Dr John Cameron Graham-Stewart: 3rd December 1920 - 16th May 2007 Annette and John (see above) lived in Houndown, Pitch Place, and their son still lives there. Both were keen members of the Horticultural Society. Barbara Marchant: died 13th May 2003 Barbara lived at Pitch Place Farm

At a meeting of the Thursley History Society early in 2025, it was agreed that the website should include a post for our many beloved villagers who are no longer with us. Our archive contains a lot of information and we shall gradually build up this entry retrospectively. If you would like to contribute any obituaries, eulogies, memories, orders of service or photographs (especially where none exist on the website) please do so via the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/contact Lives celebrated : Peter Anderson; Michael Chant; Pat Coles; Margie Crawfurd; Katherine Feld; Ray Fry; Kate Hurman; Arthur Moss; Jean Moss; Drusilla Pye; Grace Ranson; Bridget Stewardson; Kathleen Watson Bridget Mary Stewardson: 20th February 1930 - 5th March 2019 Bridget lived in Rose Cottage, The Lane Raymond Maurice Fry: 22nd January 1936 - 6th May 2019 Ray Fry was a long-term warden and advocate for Thursley Common Katherine Louise Feld: 10th January 1985 - 4th April 2018 Michael Patrick Chant: 7 January 1944 - 6 February 2018 Michael, known as Mick, was husband of Tina who is a member of the Horticultural Committee. He ran the Cedars pub in Binsted. When they moved to Thursley, he became the caretaker of the village hall and was very helpful to the elderly. John Patrick Coles: 8th September 1934 - 22nd August 2017 The eulogy was delivered by Alan Peters, Pat's greatest friend, and his sons Simon and Matthew: This moving address was given by the Revd Edmund Haviland: Kathleen Winifred Watson: 6th November 1917 - 24th April 2017 Margaret Vowe Crawfurd: 24th January - 11th January 2016 Margie Crawfurd was involved in a nursing charity in the village and was keen on welcoming newcomers. She was in charge of a high-class and prestigious art show held in the village hall for many years (see separate entry). She was the prime mover of the church kneelers (see separate entry) and also served on Waverley Borough Council. Margie Crawfurd, 1981 Grace Pope Ranson: 10th April 1927 - 9th March 2015 Major Clive Gordon Frederick Platfoot: 16th February 1931 - 31st August 2014 Major Platfoot lived in Churt, next to The Pride of the Valley, and was a keen churchgoer at St Michael & All Angels. He sold wrist alarms for the elderly and dubious home-made wine was a hobby. Drusilla Pye: 28th December 1927 - 13th January 2014 Drusilla was the formidable village and much-loved midwife who lived at 2 Church Cottages Kate Hurman: 24th September 1928 - 31st July 2013 She lived in Old Potters on Pitch Place, an equestrienne and she and her husband had a fine collection of bronze statuary. She lived in Old Potters on Pitch Place, an equestrienne and she and her husband had a fine collection of bronze statuary. 6th March 1926 – 5th October 2012 Cynthia Tann: 6th March 1926 - 5th October 2012 Cynthia lived on Pitch Place, she was a glamourous ex-model who had three children. She was an artist and a keen churchgoer whose brilliant flower arrangements were often on display. She read the lessons beautifully. Arthur Edward Moss: 1916 - 2010 Arthur lived at Wheelwrights on The Street with his wife, Jean (see below). He was on the village hall committee and was in charge of raising the flag. Peter Richard Anderson: 1944 - 2011 Peter was married to Alison and lived in Brook Cottage on Dye House Road. Jean Scotson Moss: 1927 - 2010 Jean lived at Wheelwrights with her husband, Arthur

At a meeting of the Thursley History Society early in 2025, it was agreed that the website should include a post for our many beloved villagers who are no longer with us. Our archive contains a lot of information and we shall gradually build up this entry retrospectively. If you would like to contribute any obituaries, eulogies, memories, orders of service or photographs (especially where none exist on the website) please do so via the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/contact Lives celebrated : Nina Allen; Tone Badcock; Hilary Barr; Pat Barr; Richard Bates; Tich Corrigan; Salosh Edwards; Peter Hanaeur; Edmund Haviland; Anthony Langdale; Angela Muir; Jo Scheffers; Philip Traill; Jill Whitwell; Neil Woods Richard Charles Bates 12th February 1943 - 4th January 2026 This tribute was written by the family and read by the Celebrant, Paul Winder: Richard Bates - A Life Well Lived   Richard grew up in the World War 2 bombed streets of London’s East End with his Dad, a bus conductor following his service in the War, Mum, a seamstress, and his younger sister Dorothy. One of his academic achievements was to pass the 11+ exam and be accepted into the local Grammar School where he made lifelong friends. His Uncle Albert was an early inspiration. He spoke Arabic, played the piano, painted and knew artists like the writer Laurie Lee. Richard also took up oil painting and played the clarinet but it was his desire to see beyond the claustrophobic East End that defined him. Early on he loved cycling to Epping Forest where he read The Sunday Times from front to back, a routine he kept his whole life. His social and organisational skills meant he was the one to get his school friends out and about, starting off with youth-hostelling in Britain but he soon had sights on tougher challenges. At 21 he cycled up Norway, in winter, as far as the Arctic Circle with Graham. Word had got round about his trip and at the top he was greeted by a newspaper journalist and a British diplomat. Another trip in his early twenties was with a group of mates driving through Europe, ending up working in a hotel restaurant by Lake Geneva.   While living at home he worked in the City and in the evenings studied for a Drawing Practice & Machine Design Diploma which allowed him to work as a Draughtsman. However he wasn’t going to work in an office in the City for the rest of his life, so at 26 the travelling bug infected him again, this time with the grand idea of an overland trip to Australia. He advertised in the paper and went with two girls and Sean Sinnott, an Irish guitar playing singer, who stayed a lifelong dear friend. Richard did most of the driving in a converted Bedford Dormobile, christened Rosinante (from Don Quixote). This was the journey of a lifetime, nearly having to give up in the snow in Turkey and getting very ill in India but eventually they made it to Sydney, Australia, the land of opportunity, a world away from Stepney Green. Richard took a job in a drawing office, living over Bondi Beach and made close, life-long friends in John Egger and Richard Debenham. From then on he was known as Dicko! Geoff Prouse, an old school friend asked Richard to help him run a supermarket in Darwin, then a remote town in the outback of Northern Australia. Richard was in his element here as his social skills made him a Pom everyone could like, even if he did have to knock out the occasional Aborigine who’d had too much to drink! In 1974 Cyclone Tracy flattened Darwin. He was a driving force in helping the Red Cross in the aftermath but eventually he decided to come home.   In the late Seventies, a trip to Egypt provided the setting for Richard to meet Nicki, a nurse and former air hostess. And though they came from different backgrounds, they shared a love of travelling and doing things their way.   After marriage in Farnham they found a run-down cottage in Thursley, backing on to Thursley Common. They thought it would be a great place to raise a family. Richard learnt squash in Australia and his entrepreneurial skills and love of sport meant he wasn’t satisfied working as a draughtsman for a company, so he decided to start up his own Squash & Sports Club. Squash was a sport that hadn’t taken off yet in 1980’s England and he saw the business potential and health benefits for all. Then his two sons came along, James, then Andrew, and with Dingo the dog he was living a life he could never have imagined growing up in the East End. Richard installed a wood burner that connected to the radiators in the house and he was very proud of his money saving idea. In return for volunteering on Thursley Common, the wardens allowed him to use his prized Land Rover to collect any spare wood available. It became a life-time passion to spend most of his free time collecting, cutting and burning wood! He struck up a close friendship with James Giles, the Natural England Warden. The family enjoyed many cycling holidays throughout Europe, fond memories for all.   When Richard retired a new life opened up for him as he now had the time to get to know the village and villagers. With his East End charm and famous sense of humour he was equally at home with everyone. He soon became the Village Hall Grand Quizmaster and ran a Table Tennis Club for over 10 years. He volunteered to mow the grass in the village for the Parish Council and also enjoyed helping the Churchyard Working Party.   Richard was a self-made man. He grew up in humble surroundings and made the best of his time. He ventured out into the world with a smile for everyone and a bad joke for those who would listen! His attitude meant he was accepted wherever he went. A life well-lived. Richard's sons, James and Andrew, also delivered moving eulogies which can be read in the pdf below: Honor Marion Jill Whitwell, 'Jill' 16th September 1934 - 24th August 2025 This eulogy was delivered by Jill's son, Kevin Osgood: Thank you all for joining us here today to celebrate the life of Jill Whitwell, my Mum. Jill was born Honor Marion Jill Temple on 16 th  September 1934. She was born at home in an upstairs room of her parents’ guest house, The Temple Lounge, in West Street, Farnham where she grew up alongside her elder brothers, Ranger and Nigel, who were 13 and 8 years her senior respectively. Her parents were Sydney and Honor Temple and at the age of 16 Sydney had been blinded during a rugby match at Dulwich College and subsequently devoted much of his life to charity work for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Jill also immersed herself in this, teaching blind people the art of chair caning and making wicker baskets, something she returned to in later life. Jill was almost five when Britain declared war on Germany and within a year Farnham was suffering from the fallout of bombing missions more likely targeting the surrounding areas of Brooklands, Farnborough, Aldershot, Bordon and Odiham, all having military or air bases. Her parents’ cellar was converted into an air raid shelter where locals would cram in during nighttime bombing raids. At 5 years old it was time to start school at St. Andrew’s in Farnham. Jill developed a distaste for school on her first day which set the pattern for the next three years. She could already read and write quite well and on her first day the class had to write their names, addresses and their parents’ names.  Jill was sent to see Mrs Burrows, the headmistress, for arguing that she had not misspelt her father’s name (it was Sydney and NOT Sidney).  By lucky coincidence Mrs Burrows lived at the Temple Lounge during term time and confirmed that Jill was, in fact, correct but this injustice stuck in her craw for the remaining three years at the school. By 1942 her parents had decided that the town was too dangerous for a child of that age and they would move her away from the bombings.  She was sent to St. Ursula’s, a girls’ boarding school in the local village of Grayshott which was considered outside the bombers’ flight paths. She immediately took to the head mistress, Mrs Stevenson, who had a little dog, Craddock, who Jill was given almost sole charge of during term time. You can imagine how much she enjoyed that responsibility. I can find no record of this school so due to her mischievous nature I teased her many times that she must have been mistaken, and the school was really called St Trinian’s. She told me recently that she was amongst several girls who used to escape through the dormitory window to attend the dance at the local village hall before returning to bed as if nothing had happened. Jill later attended the Guildford Technical College and qualified in Catering in 1952 and Restaurant Management the following year and found employment cooking for the many residents of Farnham’s Moor Park House which had been used as a billet for Canadian troops in the war and was being refurbished by a Canon Parsons whilst being used as a Christian adult education college. Jill had by this time developed a love of horses and had successfully negotiated the purchase of her own mare, Dawn, from a nearby riding stable in return for stable work. Dawn had previously been owned by the Dutchess of Norfolk and had failed to make the grade as a show jumper so had been put in livery. She was unable to graze Dawn at the stables though so, never afraid of hard work, she rented a field next to Moor Park House through money earned by scrubbing pigs at a local farm in preparation for livestock shows. Jill once rode Dawn from Farnham to Pitton, near Salisbury for a holiday, a hundred mile round trip which captured the attention of the newspapers. Jill was always a lover of sport and a member of local teams for hockey and badminton. It was through badminton that she met Reg, an aircraft engineer turned leather goods retailer, who she married in Jan 1959. They built our family home to the rear of the Temple Lounge where she had grown up. Jill’s love of animals continued and after her two Labradors had both passed away we had Tarquin, an Irish Setter (or Tarky as we preferred to call him in public). Jill (Mum) always laughed when retelling the stories about how Tarky would exasperate my Dad by deciding to walk backwards through the town for no apparent reason, or by randomly sitting down and refusing to move. I witnessed both of these events. Life ‘happened’ and in 1975 (approx.) Jill met Bob with whom she remained until his passing. Bob brought out her love of travel and together they visited many places in the UK and abroad including Kenya, Montenegro, Majorca, Menorca, Egypt, Croatia and Corsica which was one of their favourite destinations. It was during this period that Mum also returned to chair caning, something she used to teach the blind but hadn’t done since her youth. So in the 1980s she started giving chair caning classes twice weekly which developed into a late career from 1987 when she started her restoration business, the Chaircraft Studio at Smithbrook Kilns in Cranleigh, where she would perform caning and wicker restoration of a standard highly acclaimed by the antiques trade and which would be the catalyst for her membership to the Guild of Master Craftsmen for Quality and Service. Mum always had a desire for new skills and knowledge and gained a personal survival award from the Amateur Swimming Association and took herself to adult education lessons which resulted in a City and Guilds certificate in Information Technology, not wanting to be left behind by the computer age. Even recently she was keeping her mind active by doing crosswords, jigsaw puzzles and sudoku, writing lists from memory… including the periodic table, countries, states of America, species of birds etc. She also maintained a strong faith, loved choirs and wrote out biblical verses and hymns from memory. Mum/Jill also pursued a lifelong ambition to register her own Kennel Club name. Her love and dedication to the Flatcoated Retriever breed started in 1987 with her first ‘Flattie’, Dixie. Her involvement resulted in her being invited by the Flatcoated Retriever Society to become their representative for Surrey in August 1993. She was over the moon with this invitation and was thrilled to be able to give back to the breed some of the pleasure she had gained from her own dogs and the help she had been given by fellow owners. The branch area soon expanded to include Surrey, London and Middlesex and over the following decades they were to run puppy training classes, trimming demonstrations, regular social and field events, summer picnics, film shows, annual barbeques at West Wittering beach and stands at the ‘Discover Dogs’ show and many other activities using venues kindly offered and hosted by the members. Each year would end with a well attended Christmas pub lunch. Jill achieved her dream of becoming a show judge and in registering her own Kennel Name, Tucklewell, which was a combination of family names and in 1990 Tucklewell Tommy Treacle (pet name Jambo) was born. The name Tommy Treacle came from a painting by her brother, Nigel. Jambo was one of 14 puppies and with him Jill achieved much success in the show ring, won many best in breed awards in open shows and was regularly placed at championship levels and at Crufts. In 2008 Jill was thrilled to receive Honorable Life Membership of the Flatcoated Retriever Society in recognition of all she had done for the society for which she worked tirelessly alongside other members who became great friends, many of whom are with us today. Despite life-long back and neck problems and reduced mobility in later years Jill remained fiercely independent and retained an amazing sense of humour and love of anything fun. She could find the funny side of almost anything. I remember back in 2008 Mum called me on her mobile to ask me to guess where she was. I could hear it was somewhere noisy and was shocked to learn she was at Earl Mountbatten’s house, Broadlands, watching American heavy rockster Meatloaf. A bit different from her usual trips to theatre and ballet. But why not? She subsequently came to several rock gigs with us. Another example of age defiance was during her 80 th Birthday trip. Mum had told me she’d never seen the Crown Jewels, so we took her to London and incorporated a Thames high speed rib tour. The first thing the boat operator asked was “has anyone got any heart or back problems?”. I gave her a sheepish look but she was already answering that she was fine and later encouraged them to go faster into a turn when we were already in a fairly excessive Heel. She loved it. Mum loved nature, walking the hills, admiring lakes, painting birds and especially her garden and all the wildlife that visits. She would love to sit in her conservatory watching the pond with its lilies, dragonflies, damsel flies and the huge variety of birds that visited for a drink. Last year we were lucky enough to celebrate her 90 th Birthday which was slightly tamer than her 80 th  but a marvellous event which she thoroughly enjoyed. Jill never lost that sense of humour. Very recently when a medic was told that Mum had risen early to feed the dogs, the nurse asked “yes but have you eaten yourself?”. Mum’s reply was “why on earth would I want to eat myself?”. That love of twisting the language was used regularly to create misunderstandings to humorous effect. Spoonerisms were a regular occurrence along with Catenation or connected speech where she would say for example “for lunch I had A Napple and A Norange and now I have a Stummer Cake”. She could do this without thinking. Jill has touched so many lives and has been a true inspiration to myself, family and friends. Now I’d like to say big thank you to every one of you for coming today and to those who couldn’t make it and for all the kind words of condolence and expressions of love for Jill. All are greatly appreciated. Jill/Mum, we’ll all miss your positivity, resilience, your can-do attitude, your humour, patience, care, love, advice, your gardening knowledge, your smile, and, of course, your ability see the funny side of almost everything… Rest Well Mum.     Angela Muir MW 29th September 1948 - 14th July 2025 Order of Service, see PDF below We were all saddened to hear of the death in Cyprus on July 15 th of Angela Muir, widow of Peter who was for several years Associate Vicar of St Michael and All Angels Thursley. Many of us will remember their legendary hospitality both at Yew Cottage, The Three Horseshoes and at Church, and that Angela was not only a world-renowned Master of Wine, but also a superb cook. They were greatly missed in the village when, in 2019, they decided to emigrate permanently to Cyprus. Angela showed early talent by winning the Vintners Scholarship in 1977, enabling her to travel around Europe for six months studying wine, finally becoming a Master of Wine in 1980, a considerable achievement, especially for a woman, in those days. She spent eight years in the Wine Merchant Division of John Harvey and Sons in Bristol followed by ten years as overseas buyer for Grants of St James and Victoria Wine. After this, she set up in her own business called Cellarworld with Peter, travelling the world as a wine consultant, helping producers both in Europe and South America to make their wines more saleable in the export market. Few people realised that one of her many intellectual talents was as a linguist, which made travelling easier for her. She has truly left her mark on the wine industry as an educator of future Masters of Wine, many of whom have left glowing tributes to her rigorous and meticulous training, but also mentioning her kindness and the selfless gift of her time in helping them to achieve their goal. There have also been a number of lengthy articles in the Cypriot press written with great fondness by her friends in the wine industry there recalling her immense talent and enormous contribution to their success over the years. Angela fell in love with Cyprus many years ago when she was employed by the industry to improve the quality of their wine making, so when they moved there, we were delighted that they chose a house in the same village in which we have had a holiday home for over twenty years. We joked that we lived almost exactly the same distance from each other as we did in Thursley. Their house has a magnificent view of a large area of the south coast west of Paphos towards the Akamas peninsula and they loved to sit on their balcony with a glass of something rather good to enjoy the magnificent sunsets for which Cyprus is famous. They soon were absorbed into the large expat community, playing lots of bridge and Angela also joined the ladies gastronomy circle where she soon became a leading light. She also kept up with her contacts with the local wineries, a number of whom she had helped for many years. It was an eye opener to have the privilege of accompanying her to some of these, she was treated like royalty and they hung on her every word. It was also educational, on one occasion, at a rather grand establishment, she tasted a particular supposedly single grape varietal and announced that there was a percentage of another grape in it. An embarrassed owner huffed that he had added 2% to smooth it out, at which Angela looked at him over her glasses, and enquired whether he had forgotten that perhaps it was 5%. An embarrassed vigneron turned bright red in the face and admitted that she was, of course, correct. Peter’s sudden death on New Year’s Eve 2022 came as a terrible shock and Angela’s health suffered very badly. She became completely incapacitated and spent a considerable period in Hospital. When she came home, she had the help of constant carers to look after her. One particularly wonderful friend took over the organisation of her life and I do not know what would have happened without her devoted attention. Angela gradually and bravely fought her way back to better health and was able to get about to play bridge and see friends, even managing the cruise that they both had looked forward to. Her end seems to have been peaceful, she was found by one of her carers in bed, the inevitable book still in hand. Peter once said to me “There is only one Angela!” and he was right. RIP great lady. Hilary Joy Denholm Barr, 3rd May 1945 - 12th January 2025 Hilary's obituary in Thursley Parish Magazine, May 2025 Order of Service: Pete Hanauer 26th September 1946 - 15th December 2024 There were tributes to Pete from family and friends as well as poem. The tribute below from Dick Lowther, a friend and former colleague, is reproduced in full: Peter   Warm, generous, witty Peter - 47 YEARS MY FRIEND. We took many paths together but then you trod many more. Memories of you, glued in my souvenirs, coming back as sure as swifts in summer.  As surely as the seeds you sowed in your veg plot - from the smooth bean to the  wrinkled pea.  Some forgotten for a time, but greeted with joy when they pop up again.   I met you in the autumn of 77 in Farnham the same day as Brad, who is also here today. You were a new student, yet already rich with experience.  Your second bite of the art school cherry.    With your generosity and effortless way of making friends - witness this turnout - I soon found myself enjoying the delightful company of Pete.  And of Sandra, of Rachel, and Sam.   You brought with you a history and an inquisitive mind, tempted by a new path trusting it would lead somewhere - a characteristic of art students,  We who took a stroll with out a care, never knowing how we’ll fare.  How I wish I had met the much younger you.  But the music of Hole Cottage gave me a rewarding glimpse into the lay of your land.   This shared musicality  led us to - Springsteen in Paris, Leonard in Lyon, Baez in Portsmouth, Dylan in London   You fared well at Farnham as glassblowing caught your breath.  Those fiery workshops set you on another new path, one that would take you to the Royal College of Art. I recognized early on that you were someone respectful of tradition, yet always open to the modern. Even those paintings you worked on for Bridgit Riley where beautifully hand crafted.    Two years later, our paths crossed again — this time with greater consequence. I was scouting for talent for Epsom when we met at  your Royal College  show. I proposed  part-time teaching , wanting you to have days to continue creating your beautiful glasswork. But you wanted a  full-time job. The principal, on  looking into your box of glasswork,  pounced on you.    And so we worked together again. I confess I bear the responsibility for England losing a talented glassblower — but there are many many students, some here today I believe, who would thank me for that.  You anchored yourself at Epsom, devoting your days to teaching, guiding, listening to and inspiring others.   You became a weekly presence in my life once more: the kind, charming committed colleague, a steadfast friend.   But my most treasured memories are of Hole Cottage. Descending the track from the A3 always brought the anticipation of the warmest of welcomes, your hand held high and the ever-open back door.  The country kitchen, where much was talked of and chuckled at.  A small corner of England you and Sandra have long  been caring for - a place for people, animals, and birds and celebration.  At one point a homestead of black sheep, black chickens, black pigs, black cat, and Blackberry the cow.  The crows and blackbirds were well impressed. Green finches and blue tits not so much.   Warm welcome and warm nights nights too, often a new year’s eve, much enlivened by the grape.  Once you put me to bed in front of the open fire and closed all the doors. I woke up smelling like an Arbroath Smokie for a day.  Another example of your commitment to  a country craft and love of food the cottage always brings to mind.  But whilst Spotted Dick is is a famous english  pudding, Kippered Dick has yet to make it to a menu.   And the barn - multifunctional, ever-evolving. At times it housed vintage vehicles, a cinema, a dance floor, an illicit still, and  Sandra’s six-star restaurant. Above it all, your little studio - the elevated man cave filled with books, art, and bits of this and mementos of that, gathered with care.  Surrounding it all the the perfect summer-party garden.   Not too far away were the cricket grounds, grand at Lord’s  or modest in Thursley,  where we could slow our life down for an hour or a day. Along with morning dog walks and pub lunches.   You identified with, and reintroduced me to, the culture of rural England. You would probably have been wassailing this month where it not for why we are here.   Your talent you wore lightly. but there was always a reminder of it - in your delightfully drawn  birthday and Christmas cards, your graceful handwriting instantly recognizable on the envelope.    These are not just nostalgic memories - they are an appreciation of a life well-lived, rooted in craft yet open to innovation. Life is a collection of meandering paths, with missteps along the way. Yet we leave footprints in the sands of time. You, of course, would modestly deny this. But Peter, you and Sandra have made your small corner of England a better place, filled with goodness.   For Sandy and Rachel and Sam there will now be the undone years as Wilfred Owen called them - not just the years that Pete will not now do, but those which you will not now experience.  But they will be enriched because you new and loved him and he was there.  He will be still be there - invisible but you will be able to call on memories and be guided by his humanity, his generosity, his humour, his ease with people, young and old, whatever path they found themselves on.     So lets not whine at death but withstand it  ( so wrote that gloomy poet of my  home town Philip Larkin) and celebrate Pete’s life and be thankfully happy that his paths crossed ours.   So I say Fare thee well, Pete.  I will miss you terribly. Two examples of Pete's glass-blowing in the V&A This eulogy was from a close neighbour, Jo Kelly: For me Pete was a friend and neighbour, a fellow valley dweller and wassailer, a muddy biking buddy and member of the Help in Thursley team, a litter picking organiser and ever friendly greeter of my horses and dogs. Pete was our runner bean supplier and bringer of mice for our barn owl - (although I am not sure that the Amazon drivers ever got used to the surprise of dead mice looking up at them from a flowerpot in our parcel bin!).  A long-standing dog grooming client (he and Stanley were the only two who thought that my haircuts with horse clippers were acceptable, albeit after a couple of weeks regrowth!). He had been the previous keeper of our Land Rover, and a few years later with Sandy, crept in at the crack of dawn in a snow blizzard to decorate it for our wedding.  He was also the village illustrator and creator of the most beautiful and memorable Christmas Cards. As you all know Pete wore many hats! Anyone who witnessed Pete and my relationship will know it consisted of a lot of banter and a very dubious sense of humour. I fear he has gained the last laugh looking down on me here today trying to hold it all together. I was deeply touched, honoured and daunted when Sandy asked me to say a few words. How on earth do you do justice to Pete and his life?  So I googled the definition of “a life well lived”. One version was, “more people have benefitted from your presence than not”. And BLIMEY!  - didn’t we all benefit?! I’m sure that every one of you here can’t reflect on Pete’s time in your life, however long or short, even those fleeting interactions, without smiling and recalling his ever cheery chat and endless positivity. That is a life well lived. If we all tried to live our lives a bit more like Pete ….. that would be a truly great legacy. Philip George Traill: 8th November 1965 - 8th September 2024 Basil Hamilton Barr 'Pat' 7th April 1935 - 7th February 2024 Andrew and Stephen Barr's eulogy for their father: Andrew: Dad was born 7th April, 1935 in Aldershot to an Irish father and English mother who came from Churt and Dad never really left this area. His father, Walter who was known as Stan, was born in Derry City at the turn of the last century in what is now Northern Ireland. Like many of his generation there was little for him in Ireland and following the partition Stan joined the British Army as part of the Royal Army Medical Corps. Consequently Dad’s early family life was spent at the Aldershot and then Hong Kong Garrisons before Stan returned to England at the start of the war. Dad was always extremely proud of his Irish heritage and was in contact with his cousins throughout his life, including some memorable family visits to Donegal where it was clear where he got his sense of humour from. His given name was actually Basil - but he was universally known as Pat or Paddy . This fascinated us as children, and we would interrogate him, and he would say we could only call him Basil when he became Sir Basil. Dad was the second of three children. The eldest Derek sadly died in the 1990’s but his younger sister Dorothy aka Dilys, survives him and is here with us today. At the start of the war Stan was on active service and in 1940, following the evacuation of Dunkirk was captured and remained a prisoner until close to the end of the war when he returned unexpectedly on a prisoner exchange, only to be sent straight back after D-Day. So Dad’s early life was spent without a father and he grew up in service quarters with few comforts and probably not a lot of money. It was a tough start and I believed it explains a lot about his drive and determination to get a good education in order to provide a good life for himself and his family. Dad never took anything for granted and was always extremely hard working, successful and careful with money. But he was also very generous and often funny. I remember his typical wit when asked if he had waited long for his much anticipated new convertible he responded – oh about 50 years! In 1952, Dad was called up for national service and joined the Royal Marines. After completing the Commando course and earning his green beret, he followed Derek into 42 Commando and together they were on active service in the Suez crisis. I think it is fair to say that Dad was more bon vivant than commando, a polar opposite to his elder brother, and we don’t think he much enjoyed the experience – but it resonated strongly with him for the rest of his life, and he was very proud of having been a Royal Marine. Following National Service Dad got a job with the Lloyd’s Policy Signing office in Chatham. From there he worked as a junior cargo broker at Maurice Tozer and Beck before moving to John Holman & Sons - a family business that historically included shipowning and insurance businesses. During his holiday’s Dad was involved with the Royal Show working in the accounts department. No doubt this was to earn extra money, but we think it was where and certainly around the time he met Jean Huxley, our mother. Pat and Jean got married, in 1960. They settled in Godalming and had three children in fairly short order me (Andrew), Julia and Stephen.   Stephen: The City was a big part of Dad’s life and I look back with affection on the few years that Dad and I worked together in Lloyd’s. I saw a lot of him and got to know another side to his character, the business side. He was well respected, always immaculately dressed and set a great example to those around him. We would meet regularly in Lloyd’s or over breakfast at 8am or for lunch, usually a salad. Occasionally I would persuade him to come out for a curry or we would meet up with colleagues in a wine bar, but he was always busy and had somewhere to be! It hadn’t always been like that apparently. He told me that in his early days in the city junior brokers didn’t get a desk or telephone. They merely acted as runners, carrying instructions from the Senior broker, which in turn were received by telex from clients. During quiet they were advised to stay well clear of the office returning at 4pm for the day’s final instructions. This gave the young Pat enormous latitude to go missing in action. He and his friends would embark on adventures including in the East End, exploring bombsites from the war and drinking at pubs along the way such as the Capt Kidd, City of Ramsgate and Propect of Whitby generally returning at 4pm dirty and a few pints the worse of wear! Pat and Jean built a provincial insurance business alongside his city career calling it Hamilton Barr. It was successful and in time John Denner, an old friend of Dad’s, was hired as Managing Director to run it so that Dad could focus on his day job. The business was a great success and some years later Dad met Michael Wade and they eventually sold Holmans and Hamilton Barr to Clarkson’s shipping. The rest is just history, but it would be remiss not to mention Voyager which Dad and a number of his colleagues (Aubrey Abbott, John Peters and others) started in the1990’s and which continues to thrive today. Dad made many friends in his business life and travelled frequently, particularly to Canada and the USA. Some of those people became our friends too and I still have a number of city acquaintances whose first job was with Dad in Marine insurance. As children we had a very happy existence and I particularly remember the wonderful holidays we had together in Cornwall and France. Dad was completely different on holiday, and seemed to be able to completely relax. Sadly his first marriage to our mother Jean, was not to last. Dad moved to London and we remained at the family home. As we entered our teenage years he still kept a close eye on us and was never too far away, particularly it seemed, if we were doing something wrong. In about 1979, Hilary Dalby (Hilly, Mook, or just Bill to us) came into our lives. Her ability to keep Dad on the straight and narrow earned her his nick name “The Old Bill” and so it was that she became known to us as just Bill. Easy to explain in this day and age that your father’s married to someone called Bill, maybe not so back then! With Bill came Piers, Heather, Sonya and Ray and their families. I know that Dad was thankful to have met Hilary’s parents and for the relationships they both enjoyed with her family over many years. Pat and Hilary built a wonderful life together over 43 years of marriage, establishing their homes at Vean Cottage in Thursley and in Pimlico, before moving to The Old Vicarage and finally to Wild Goose Cottage. In Surrey they built a wide network of friends. Dad loved fine wine and as an aside, his former colleague Aubrey reminded Hilary how on one occasion he requisitioned the air conditioning unit in Aubrey’s office for use in his new wine cellar to avert what I think you might call a temperature violation! Over many years together they earned a reputation for hosting fabulous dinner parties marking every milestone with an amazing celebration. Dad and Hilary became accomplished golfers (Hilary arguably better than Dad – I can say that now!) spending a lot of time at West Surrey where they were both Captains. I used to play golf with them both from time to time and I remember Dad, a stickler for etiquette, becoming truly exasperated by the number of practice swings I took at the hallowed tees of West Surrey Golf Club when we entertained some city colleagues!   Andrew Lastly we want to reflect on how happy Dad and Hilary were together over such a long period time, how common endeavours like owning a share in the pub, being part of this village, golf, entertaining and travel were the bedrock of a very successful marriage and we know that Hilary has been touched to receive so many lovely letters of condolence and reminiscence. Many talk about Dad’s wit, dry / waspish sense of humour and his quick-witted bonhomie while celebrating what a brilliant team they were at the very heart of the village social circle.   Stephen Dad was well read and well versed in current affairs and had a sharp wit. He loved telling jokes, particularly those entailing an accent of some description! He was thoughtful and generous, wanting no fanfare for people he helped over the years, such as my maternal grandmother. We all knew that in a crisis (generally a financial one) you could always talk to him and he would help. But he wasn’t one to shy away from pointing out the error of your ways, which was the price you paid but it was generally well intentioned and just our Dad.   Neil Geoffrey Lankester Woods: 7th September 1959 - 26th October 2023 From Thursley Parish Magazine, January 2024 Anthony Julian Langdale 22nd March 1945 - 20th June 2023 Anthony Langdale on his beloved Fordson Model N, with his grandsons. Salosh Edwards 12th July 1947 - 16th April 2023 Sean Edwards's eulogy for Salosh: My eulogy should talk about what a wonderful person Salosh was, and the wonderful life we had. And how desperately I miss her. But everybody here knows that.   So what follows here is a background to the small ‘Picture Tribute’ slide-show that follows, and that has no commentary. With a lot of imagination you will see glimpses of our life together. Each of the 25 slides, in chronological order, has a year and a location on it. So for much of the 56 years that we were together, there are no pictures.   It all started in 1967, on the King’s Road, Chelsea. Well, not exactly on it, but just a metre away, at a ‘Do’ at Chelsea College when I first saw Salosh, in a Mary Quant dress, across the proverbial crowded room. Salosh was 20 and I was 24. We chatted, and at the end of the evening we agreed to meet again. And we never separated after that.   It was four years after that first meeting, when we were both living together in Bangor, that we realised we hadn’t got married – well, this was the ‘sixties, remember. So we did, in Anglesea. Salosh was studying at Keele, and I at Bangor, but an old banger (at Bangor) served to keep us sufficiently together.   My parents farmed from 1947 in Thursley, where we regularly stayed, and so Salosh was a ‘Thursley girl’ from 1967. I include two Thursley pictures from 1974, from Gibbet Hill (bilberry picking), and from the Three Horse Shoes where we will shortly hold the wake. And pictures from around Manchester where we both worked for 31 years. And then from Vine Cottage in Thursley where we lived for the last 19 years. And photos from Harpenden where our daughter Kitty, her husband Mic and their daughters Maia and Elena (all here today) live. And from Germany and Austria where her three sisters (all here today) live.   Salosh’s career was hard, as a Local Authority Mental Health Social Worker, doing the Sections under the Mental Health Act. She was both tough and compassionate, always putting her clients first even if it meant fighting the Authority. Which it often did.   Socially she mixed easily, but was never really part of any group. She was absolutely her own person. Her relaxations included walking and oil painting. And happy happy meandering holidays, mostly in the south of France, staying in somewhat dilapidated rural cottages, eating in small family-run restaurants, and picnics in sunny orchid-filled fields. At home, she loved her gardening, especially her roses – every one was scented.   Salosh was my muse, but so much more than that. On our rambles it would be she who would spot a new plant or animal, or see a magical view that I had missed. She would sit and sketch or wander off to find more, whilst I photographed her finds. I am lost without her.   My illustrations were technical and accurate, but Salosh’s paintings were the opposite. I would say “That tree’s not like that”, but Salosh would reply that to her it felt like that. They had a soul that I could never convey, and that soul was Salosh’s. In the following Tribute, I include two of her paintings that she did from Thursley Common and from France.   The final slide of the Tribute is of Salosh on the Common this year, at sunset, just two months before going to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. This image symbolises to me the utter anguish of her going away, for ever. Josephine Jean Scheffers, "Jo": 21st December 1929 - 3rd April 2023 Reverend Peter Muir: 21st April 1949 - 30th December 2022 Tone Badcock: 27th June - 29th December 2022 MUM'S STORY Tone Iris Berner Badcock Née Bond Mum was born in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1925, her mother Tula was Norwegian and her father, Douglas, was English. Mum’s Norwegian heritage meant a lot to her and as a young child she lived in Norway for a few years where she learned the language and to ski and skate. Mum also recalled enjoying some birthday parties at the royal palace.  Her Grandfather had been a Norwegian politician and Uncle Jacob was a double International at football and ice hockey.  The family finally settled in the UK at Parkstone where her brother Erik and sister Eva were born. Mum had an idyllic childhood saying she spent most of her time upside down walking on her hands - a free spirit.  In the latter years she told me of a story of when she worked at a riding stable. One day the owner said Tone, I want you to ride this horse to the blacksmith's to be shoed. Mum rode bare back across the Dorset downs on a beautiful day, never seeing a soul and described it as one of the most memorable days of her life. The family were keen sportsmen something Mum inherited.  Her cousin David Bond became the first GB Yachtsman to win an Olympic gold medal.  Mum’s father Dougie was the secretary at Parkstone Golf Club for 25 years. Her parents were county golfers with single handicaps and all three children, went on to have a love of golf.  Overlooking the clubhouse is a picturesque lake and it was here Mum and her siblings learnt to swim.  Her mother tied a rope around their waists before telling them to get in the lake and swim.  Many years later, on trip to Norway we drove past a lake.  Mum shouted, “STOP the car, Rodney”, she got out, stripped off and jumped in the lake. I followed but on finding the water freezing cold and with none of the buoyancy salt water provides ,I quickly got out. Mum left school in 1943 volunteering to join the Wrens, saying she fancied the uniform!  She was sent up to HMS Cabbala a signal school near Warrington and qualified as a coder in cypher.  One night in June 1944 she decoded a message which said, “Our small boats have sailed”.  It signalled D Day.  She took the message to the duty officer feeling very proud. Before being posted overseas she spent some time in London. She stayed at Crosby Hall sleeping in the corridor with tin hat and gas mask at the ready with the doodlebugs being dropped every night. She then boarded a troop ship for a six-week voyage to Ceylon and describes feeling much safer. The journey to the Far East turned out to be the first troop ship to go through the Suez Canal since the allies retook control.  The convey split, Mum continued safely but sadly the other half of the convey went under heavy torpedo attack. In Ceylon there was a Mess social, worthy of mention where she drank too much resulting in her dancing on the table and   being unfit for duty the next day. This is probably the reason why she drank very little alcohol ever again.  Mum worked on Lord Mountbatten’s staff, and this was where she met Rodney our father. He proposed in Raffles Hotel and in August 1947 they married. Having accrued leave they had a six month honeymoon staying in Oak Cottage in Thursley, returning to Rodney’s childhood village Children duly arrived, first Wendy then Jill with me arriving last. Our formative years were spent in Southampton. Wendy married Jim.  Jill on passing her O levels travelled the globe before meeting and marrying Brian and I was sent away to public school giving mum time to pursue her own interests. She spent 20 years volunteering in the league of friends at Southampton hospital.  She played tennis at the local GPs home enjoying silver service tea parties afterwards.  Mum was also a lifelong member of the Conservative party and one evening took Wendy to Southampton docks for a husting meeting where Harold Wilson was speaking. With Mr. Wilson in full flow a voice from the back shouted, “Rubbish!”. Our mother was duly ejected.  She was delighted when Rishi Sunak was made Chancellor of the Exchequer and relates seeing him as a small boy sitting behind the counter at the local pharmacy counting the cash. She also told the Moorlands staff that she had met Jeremy Hunt at his mother’s home, and he was a lovely boy! Mums love of sport evolved,  She became a member of Hampshire County Cricket Club and spent many a day in her deck chair watching play.  She was also a loyal supporter of the Saints football team and enjoyed watching some matches from the Director’s box as her friend Mrs Bowyer’s husband Basil was a director of the club. She also received a surprise gift of two Cup Final tickets in 1976 against Manchester United.  Her loyalty to Southampton was life long and she enjoyed friendly rivalry with Noelle when she visited her at Moorlands.  In 1976 a quirk of good fate led to my parents return to Thursley where they spent many years in The Old Parsonage continuing the 60 years of happy marriage.  Both Mum and Dad embraced village life and several younger friends recount being invited to sausage and mash suppers when they first moved to Thursley. Those who knew Mum well will know food was very important to her! Some of you may wonder why Mum is pictured hugging a bear on the front page of the Order of Service. Caroline and James live in Bears Cottage, and they saw this bear whilst on holiday in the States and had him shipped home. His name is Hamilton, and he can speak. When Tone visited the two were introduced and mum was flabbergasted when Hamilton said, “Hello, Tone, how are you today?!” A big part of her life from 1981 was West Surrey Golf Club where she made many friends and happy memories. She became lady captain, and I was present on this day waiting with guests outside the clubhouse when she appeared on the fairway in a motorcycle combination, helmet and all.  She also managed a hole in one at Cowdrey Park in 1988, of which she was very proud. In later life Mum received tremendous support from her friends in the village Kathleen Watson, Caroline, Hilary and Alison to name just a few.  Sadly, after several falls Mum made the big decision to move to Moorlands Lodge where she spent her final five years. Once again, she made great friends amongst the staff and residents and made it her home. Jill Anstey was a great friend, and they gave each other tremendous support. Her family remained a great source of pride throughout her life, and she adorned her walls with photos of her eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren and shared news of her nieces, nephews and Godchildren. Over the last few months Mums health declined but she remained pragmatic and cheerful. On December 29 th  I took a call from Moorlands and Kim and I headed up to the home and were comforted to find Jess ,one of the carers, holding Mum’s hand until we arrived. During the day Dr Poon and the staff not only cared for Mum, but us too and their professionalism and kindness throughout was a great comfort.  We would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone at Moorlands.  It was a long day and by chance we heard Ken Dodd singing Happiness . The words resonated summing up Mum’s philosophy of life.  Also, on the news that night, we heard  that all the planets were visible in the night sky and we like to think they helped light her way back to Rodney and her family.   Nina Allen: 7th May - 1960 - 17th December 2022 Tich Corrigan: 16th July 1953 - 26th September 2022 Tich was the daughter of Mr and Mrs Kot who lived in the village, and for many years worked for the O'Briens. Edmund Selwyn Haviland: 6th April 1924 - 17th October 2020 Order of Service: Elizabeth Prudence Jones: 1927 - 2020 Prue Jones lived at Chetwyn Cottage and never married.

This article, written by Jackie Rickenberg, was published in the Thursley Parish Magazine in March 2026 Thursley History Society is building up quite the library of interesting books all concerning either the village, its occupants, buildings and/or surroundings. These can be lent out as required and expect to see them at many of the Society’s events throughout the year. As we have designated this year to transportation and its many facets, this month I am including passages from a book in our archives called The Portsmouth Road by Charles G. Harper , first published in 1895 and acquired by our Chairman, Sally Scheffers in her research for our society's year of transport in 2026. It is a little jewel of a book, detailing the road from its London source, to its Portsmouth destination and everywhere in between. The road, of course, cut through our village and was a source of much folk lore and some incredibly mysterious goings on. I have included small extracts, but the book is a fascinating read with lovely illustrations by the author and “Old time Prints and Pictures”, a couple of which I have included here. “The Portsmouth Road was measured from the Stones’ End, Borough. It went by Vauxhall to Wandsworth, Putney Heath, Kingston-On-Thames, Guildford and Petersfield; and thence came presently into Portsmouth through the Forest of Bere and past the frowning battlements of Portchester. The distance was seventy-one miles, seven furlongs; and our forebears who prayerfully entrusted their bodies to the dangers of the roads and resigned their souls to Providence, were hurried along this route at the breakneck speed of something under eight miles an hour, with their hearts in their mouths and their money in their boots, for fear of the highwaymen who infested the roads. By 1821 the speediest journey was quoted as nine hours, performed in that year by what was then considered the meteoric and previously unheard-of swiftness of the “Rocket”, which, in that new and most fashionable of era of mail and stage-coach travelling, had deserted the grimy and decidedly unfashionable precincts of the Borough and the Elephant and Castle, for modish Piccadilly. They were jolly coach-loads that fared along the roads in coaching days, and, truly, all their jollity was needed, for unearthly hours, insufficient protection from inclement weather, and the tolerable certainty of falling in with thieves on their way, were experiences and contingencies that, one might imagine, could scarce fail of depressing the most buoyant spirits”. A Scene of the London to Portsmouth Road . At this juncture, I digress from my planned article and literally go down a rabbit hole as I read about Mary Tofts of Godalming. I previously wrote an article about Hammer Ponds, in which it was mentioned that there was an area of farmed rabbit warrens nearby (hence Warren Park) which had disappeared in the middle of the eighteenth century. It was supposed that rabbit meat went out of fashion, but perhaps it was a result of Mary Tofts legacy. “Godalming was a place notorious in the eighteenth century as the scene of one of the most impudent frauds ever practised upon the credulity of mankind. The story of Mary Tofts, if not edifying, is at least interesting. She was the wife of Joshua Tofts, a poor journeyman cloth-worker of this little town, and was described as of “a healthy, strong constitution, small size, fair complexion, a very stupid and sullen temper, and unable to write or read”. Stupid or not, she possessed sufficient cunning to maintain her fraud for some time, and even to delude some eminent surgeons of the day into a firm belief in her pretended births of rabbits. For this was the preposterous nature of the imposition, and she claimed to have given birth to no less than eighteen of them.   Mary Tofts of Godalming A Mr Howard, a medical man of Guildford, who claimed to have assisted Mary in giving birth to eighteen rabbits, seems, from the voluminous literature of this subject, to have been something of a party to the cheat; and if we did not find him a guilty accomplice, there would remain the scarce more flattering designation of egregious dupe. But Mr Howard, dupe or rogue, was extremely busy in publishing to the world the particulars of this extraordinary case.  Public attention was now roused in the most extraordinary degree, and the subject of Mary Tofts and her rabbits was in everyone’s mouth. The King (George I), too, was numbered among the believers, and things came to such a pass that ladies began to be alarmed with apprehensions of bringing into the world some unnatural progeny. “No one presumed to eat a rabbit”, and the rent of rabbit-warrens sank to nothing. But a German Court physician – a Dr Ahlers – who had proceeded to Guildford in order to report upon the matter to his Majesty, was rendered sceptical as much by the behaviour of Mr Howard as by that of his interesting patient. He returned to town, convinced of trickery, and finally Mary Tofts and her medical advisor were brought to London and lodged on the Bagnio, Leicester Fields, where, in fear of combined threats of punishment and an artfully-pictured operation darkly hinted at by Sir Richard Manningham, Obstetrician, she confessed that the fraud had been suggested to her by a woman, a neighbour of Godalming, who, with the showman’s instinct of Barnum, told her that here was a way to a good livelihood without the necessity of working for it. The part taken by Mr Howard has never been satisfactorily explained, but as he was particularly insistent that Mary Tofts deserved a pension from the King on account of her rabbits, his part in the affair has, naturally, been looked upon with considerable suspicion. Doctor and patient were, however, committed to Tothill Fields, Bridewell. (a prison located in Westminster, Central London and demolished in 1834 – Ed.). Could this account for the disappearance of the rabbit warrens in Thursley? To read the original Warren Park article, please visit the website https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/warren-park-and-loseley-house  The subject of transportation and the history of the Portsmouth Rd will be continued next month – with absolutely no mention of rabbits!

When preparing for the Wedding Belles exhibition (see separate entry) in 2008, this list of the vicars of St Michael and All Angels was compiled to coincide with the dates covered by the exhibition. To this distinguished list must be added: 2010 John Jeremy Page 2020 Hannah Thérèse Moore Work in progress, so this is just the beginning of entries about our vicars: Francis Harcourt Gooch, 1886-1901 Bill from R B Stedman, Bookseller, to Revd F H Gooch, June 30, 1898 The Revd F H Gooch at Dye House, 1918 Alfred Perceval Pott 1901 - 1907 Charles Kaye Watson, 1914 - 1918 C K Watson was vicar of Thursley throughout the First World War. Here is a letter to parishioners that was in the Parish Magazine: Addison James Wheeler, 1925 - 1932 From Durham University The Addison Wheeler Fellowships are funded by a bequest from Addison James Wheeler, who died in 1967 at the age of eighty-five. Having read Theology at Durham University, Wheeler became a schoolmaster and afterwards took Holy Orders. Ill health prevented him from achieving his ambition of a career in scientific research. During his lifetime this remarkable man devoted himself to building up sufficient capital to support young scholars, whom he hoped would be able to make a significant contribution to knowledge that he himself had been unable to achieve. As reported above, the Vicarage suffered a terrible fire in 1930. Unfortunately some church records were destroyed in the blaze as the vicar had taken them home having removed them from the church safe. Revd Wheeler was responsible for uncovering the 12th Century sedile ( a group of stone seats for clergy in the south chancel wall of a church, usually three in number and often canopied and decorated, OED ) in the church and for discovering in 1927 the Saxon windows in the chancel. After the fire, the Revd Wheeler bought the Haybarn field at Smallbrook Farm and converted a yard and barn used for the cattle and known as "The Hovel" into a bungalow, which then got rebuilt by Paul Wedge. Sadly, the Revd Wheeler could not stay due to his asthma induced by the cattle. He had to sell and move away. He and his wife divorced and he left the ministry. Mary Bennett said that he ran off with his ward. He was vicar of Thursley from 1925 - 1932. H Gordon French, 1932-1959 The Revd French with Mrs Lettice Fisher Dedication of Mothers' Union Banner Memories of H Gordon French Kenneth Mathews, 1968 -1977 This memoir of Revd A K Mathews, OBE, DSC, was based largely on an obituary in The Daily Telegraph and an article in the Thursley Parish Magazine of February 1993. It also appears in The Lives of the People of Thursley, published by the History of Thursley Society, which can be found on this website. Not mentioned in the article is that he was the progenitor of the Thursley Harvest Supper in 1972 which has recently been resurrected. The complete article can be downloaded from this pdf: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Mathews https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-the-rev-kenneth-mathews-1564982.html A John Stephens, 1977 - 1983 From the Church Times : STEPHENS.  — On 13 October, the Revd (Archibald) John Stephens: CMS Missionary (1950-52); Manager and Chaplain of Ado-Ekiti Hospital (1950-55); Priest-in-Charge of CMS Training Centre, Akure (1955-56); E.T.C., St John’s College, Owo (1956-59); Principal of Bishop Phillips Hall, Owo (1958-60); Hon. Can of St Stephen’s Cathedral, Ondo-Benin (1957-71); Assistant Curate, of Christ Church and St Mary, Swindon (1968-70); Hon. Canon of Owerri since 1971; Curate-in-Charge of Ash Vale Conventional District (1971-72); Vicar of St Mary’s, Ash Vale (1972-77); Priest-in-Charge of Thursley (1977-82); aged 100. The Advertiser, July 16, 1982 Order of Service for the Revd Stevens is complete in the pdf below: William David Lang 1992 - 2010 John Jeremy Page 2010-2020 https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/6-march/features/features/ordination-would-i-do-it-again-no Hannah Thérèse Moore 2020 - https://parishesofetsph.org.uk/team-members/rev-hannah-moore/ Here is a complete list of Rectors, Vicars and Patrons from a photograph taken in the Church:

This Grade II listed building (9th March, 1960), dating from the early 18th century, is situated on The Street. The Doctor, passing the Lodge, on his rounds wearing his top hat The Lodge, a painting by Arthur Robertson 188 The Robertson family in front of the Lodge with a tricycle Michael and Marion O'Brien, 1997 Surnames of previous owners include: Robertson; Terry; Watson; Sadler Photograph by Sean Edwards

These interesting documents show who lived where in 2002, at the outbreak of WW2 and 1936. If you are relatively new to the Parish, you might like to know who once lived in your house... The 1939 Register was a snapshot of the civilian population of England and Wales taken on September 29, 1939, at the outbreak of World War II, recording details like names, addresses, dates of birth, and occupations for about 40 million people to help with war planning, identity cards, rationing, and later the NHS . It serves as a vital census substitute because the 1931 Census was destroyed and the 1941 Census wasn't taken, bridging a significant gap in UK historical records for genealogists.  We do not know why the redactions were made. The 1936 Register of Electors is sorted by surname, so searching for your house will be more challenging and it may have had its name change! This undistinguished piece of paper comes from our archives without any context. It is included because of the dates and some familiar names: Unfortunately, the Thursley Household List, 1821, shows only the names of the villagers but at least it provides a great deal of demographic information:

There is no obvious connection between John Freeman, the poet, and Thursley, but he is buried in our churchyard. He must have visited the village, liked it and somehow obtained permission to be buried here. His friends, probably the circle of Georgian poets, including Walter de la Mare and Alice Meynell, bought the field next to the churchyard and gave it to the National Trust in his memory. From Allpoetry.com : John Freeman was a poet whose work reflects the asethetic principles of the Georgian era in British literature. This period, which roughly spanned the first two decades of the 20th century, was marked by a renewed interest in traditional forms and a focus on rural life and themes of nature. From A Dictionary of Methodism: Poet and critic, born into a WM family at Dalston, Middx on 29 January 1880. His health was permanently impaired by scarlet fever in early childhood. At 13 he joined the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society as a junior clerk and spent the rest of his life in its employ, rising to become Secretary and Director in 1927 and a leading figure in the insurance world. He was a  local preacher . But he was more widely known in the literary world, where he contributed to Edward Marsh's  Georgian Poets  anthologies and enjoyed the friendship of such figures as Alice Meynell, Walter de la Mare and J.C. Squire. His friend Edward Thomas called him 'a sort of angel' and Eleanor Farjeon described him as a 'quiet poet ... gentle, with a fine sensitive mind, and qualities which made his plain features lovable.' After Thomas's death, she collaborated with Freeman in seeing Thomas's first volume of poems through the press. His own first book of poems, published in 1909, was followed by several others, marked by his 'grave and quiet rhythms' and including  Stone Trees  (1916) which gained him recognition.  Poems New and Old  (1920) won him the Hawthornden Prize for imaginative literature. His  Collected Poems  appeared in 1928. He wrote on literary matters for the  New Statesman ,  The Bookman , the  Quarterly Review ,and the  London Mercury  and his prose works included a  Portrait of George Moore  (1922),  English Portraits  (1924),  Herman Melville  (1926) and a play  Prince Absalom  (1925). He died on 23 Sept. 1929 and his funeral service at Anerley WM Church was conducted by his fellow poet, Andrew Young, then a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was interred at Thursley, Surrey, where a field adjoining the churchyard was given to the National Trust in his memory. ' Meanwhile de la Mare came to know a poet friend of Roger Ingpen's … John Freeman, who like himself was in business - a great deal more successfully than de la Mare. He had begun life as an office boy at thirteen, and became in time the Secretary of his insurance company, the Liverpool Victoria. Like de la Mare, he would come home at the end of an eight- or nine-hour working day in the City, to write verses late into the night. He was also a copious correspondent and very well read. Tall, gangling, ugly, solemn, punctilious, there was in him an endearing quality about these very attributes; Edward Thomas referred to him as "a kind of Angel", and de la Mare, after his death, described even his physical appearance in phrases that suggest beauty - "beautiful brows", and ruminative eyes "of a peculiarly ardent blue".' Theresa Whistler,  Imagination of the Heart: the life of Walter de la Mare  (1993), pp.127-8 From Wikipedia: John Frederick Freeman (29 January 1880 – 23 September 1929) was an English poet and essayist, who gave up a successful career in insurance to write full-time. He was born in London , and started as an office boy aged 13. He was a close friend of Walter de la Mare from 1907, who lobbied hard with Edward Marsh to get Freeman into the Georgian Poetry series; with eventual success. De la Mare's biographer Theresa Whistler describes him as "tall, gangling, ugly, solemn, punctilious". He won the Hawthornden Prize in 1920 with Poems 1909-1920 . His Last Hours was set to music by Ivor Gurney . From a newspaper article dated 27th November 1987 He died on 23rd September 1929 and probate was granted to his widow, Gertrude Frances Freeman, on 14 January 1930 leaving £3,745. John Freeman's headstone in Thursley Churchyard: This stone, set into the wall of the churchyard and juxtaposed to Hohn Freeman's headstone, has this inscription: THE ADJOINING FIELD WAS PRESENTED TO THE NATIONAL TRUST IN 1931 FOR PRESERVATION AS A MEMORIAL TO JOHN FREEMAN BORN 29 JAN 1880 DIED 23 SEPT 1929 The view across the National Trust field with John Freeman's grave, and the inscribed stone in the wall, in the foreground John Freeman's poetry: Here are two examples of his verse: from MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD AND OTHER POEMS; published 1919 by Selwyn and Blount of London. Snows Now the long-bearded chilly-fingered winter Over the green fields sweeps his cloak and leaves Its whiteness there. It caught on the wild trees, Shook whiteness on the hedges and left bare South-sloping corners and south-fronting smooth Barks of tall beeches swaying 'neath their whiteness So gently that the whiteness does not fall. The ash copse shows all white between gray poles, The oaks spread arms to catch the wandering snow. But the yews--I wondered to see their dark all white, To see the soft flakes fallen on those grave deeps, Lying there, not burnt up by the yews' slow fire. Could Time so whiten all the trembling senses, The youth, the fairness, the all-challenging strength, And load even Love's grave deeps with his barren snows? Even so. And what remains? The hills of thought That shape Time's snows and melt them and lift up Green and unchanging to the wandering stars. The Wren Within the greenhouse dim and damp The heat floats like a cloud. Pale rose-leaves droop from the rust roof With rust-edged roses bowed. As I go in Out flies the startled wren. By the tall dark fir tree he sings Morn after morn still, Shy and bold he flits and sings Tinily sweet and shrill. As I go out His song follows me about ... About the orchard under trees Beaded with cherries bright, Past the rat-haunted Honeybourne And up those hills of light: As up I go His notes more sweetly flow. Or down those dark hills when night's there Full of dark thoughts and deep, A thin clear soundless music comes Like stars in broken sleep. When I come down All those dark thoughts are flown. And now that sweetness is more sweet, Here where the aeroplanes Labouring and groaning in the height Lift their lifeless vans:-- Sweet, sweet to hear The far off wren singing clear.

More information required on 1 & 2 Church Cottages: 1 & 2 Church Cottages and St Michael & All Angels Church taken from the National Trust owned field in July 2025 2 Church Cottages before the extension, date unknown Newspaper cutting (undated) of 1 Church Cottage before the extension was added Sam and Marjorie Warner (they worked at the Dye House) Dorothy Warner outside Church Cottages on her wedding day, 21st August 1936 Cecily Ida (Sammy) (nee Warner) was born in Thursley, Surrey, England on August 9, 1922 to George and Edith Warner. Sammy and Bill (William Avery Tiner) met in Britain during WWII - Bill a member of the Royal Canadian Navy and Sammy a member of the Royal Air Force. Their original wedding day of June 3, 1944 found Sammy waiting at the church when Bill was denied leave in preparation for the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944. Bill and Sammy were married a month later on July 2, 1944 at St. Michael's and All Angels parish church in Thursley. No 1 Church Cottages, from the 1936 Register of Electors 1 Church Cottages showing the porch on the left side before the extension was added. The roof of a garage can be seen in the lane below. The photographs were given to Amanda Flint in August 2024, by a woman who had lived at 1 Church Cottages many years ago. Elizabeth Norman at the Silver Jubilee in 1977 Newspaper report dated 11th December 1981 View of The Street, the Church and Church Cottages Property details for 1, Church Cottages c2010: Surnames of previous owners of 1&2 Church Cottages include: Collins, Warner, Pye, Norman, Leet-Cook, Orrick In 1996, Drusilla Pye wrote, "I came to live here (2 Church Cottages) in December 1956 when it was the tied cottage for the District Nurse. I was able to buy it from the Diocese in 1984. I retired in 1986. My work covered the Hindhead (Grayshott) Practice and I have covered most of the surrounding villages as a relief nurse/midwife on occasions." No 2 Church Cottages, from the 1936 Register of electors 2 Church Cottages, the first taken (obviously!) from the churchyard and the second from the front gate. The cottage had always been smaller than No1 but the new extension (2020) has given it a similar sized footprint. Photographs taken in July 2025.

The Thursley Women’s Institute (WI) was founded in 1915 and by the mid-twentieth century a well-established and active organisation within the village. By 1965, the Institute had reached its Jubilee year, marking fifty years of continuous activity. The WI provided a structured social and educational framework for women in Thursley, offering regular meetings, lectures and practical demonstrations that reflected both national WI priorities and local interests. As recorded in Thursley Today, 1965 , the Institute played a significant role in village life, particularly through its support of communal facilities and its contribution to social cohesion. The WI was closely associated with the Village Hall and other shared spaces, and its members were actively involved in organising events and preserving a sense of continuity within the community. Through these activities, the Thursley Women’s Institute became an enduring presence in the village, balancing social engagement with a growing awareness of local history and identity. Thursley Women's Instutute, undated. Womens' Insitute at Cosford House in mid 1950's Women's Institute Play Womens' Insitute prize winners Cover of a book that was compiled through the efforts of the Thursley Women’s Institute to commemorate their Jubilee Year, 1965. See separate entry.