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Grade II listed building (9 March 1960), located on The Street From Historic England : House. C16 with C19 range to rear. Timber framed with whitewashed brick and rubble infill, plain tiled roof, hipped to left. Sandstone rubble with brick dressings to rear. Two storeys with end stack to right and ridge stack to left. End stacks on rear range. Four framed bays with three braces on first floor. Three leaded casement windows to first floor and two windows below. Central door in gabled porch on wood supports and sandstone plinth walls. Wheelers Farm House in 1989 View looking North from Churchyard in Thursley 11/94 Wheelers Farm & Old Vicarage Wheelers Farm Yard and Old Barn, 1990 Yard at Wheelers Farm, with Damsel the horse. John Worsford, the carter lived at Wild Goose

Photographs of the original Vicarage The Vicarage suffered a terrible fire in 1930 as the photographs below show. The Reverend A J Wheeler lived there. He saved his pet spaniel from the fire by lowering the dog from a window in a quilt. His wife and daughter had to make their own way out. 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. The lower end of the fire damage. The Vicarage building was nearly identical to the school building.

As part of the History of Thursley Society's Wedding Belles exhibition held in 2007, this list of marriages that took place in St Michael's and All Angels was compiled. For ease of research a complete file of the marriages from 1613 to date can be found at the end of this post. Overall, the most popular month to be married is October and March the least: 2000 August 19th James Ainsworth & Amik Nadia Steven Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway September 9th Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway   2002 June 14th Giles Parker & Lauraine Anderson September 7th David Slater & Emma Joan Scales   2003 July 5th Adrian Hugh George Linegar & Eulando Florendo Rimando July 26th Andrew Simon Ruffell & Joanne Jobson   2004 October 16th Christopher Melchior Richmond Hall & Louise Jane Burgess   2005 April 1st Simon Nicholas Richmond Hall & Amanda Jane Wood June 11th Theo Ivanovic & Martha Georgina Harvey August 27th Kerry Porter & Katherine Erika Sealy September 3rd Andrew Martin & Susannah Lindsay Prain September 9th Philip Patrick Collier & Abigail Christie Anderson   2006 May 6th Nigel John Hall & Fenella Duyland Wakeley August 26th Peter Rouse & Amanda Baker September 23rd Joseph Douglas Mercer Nairne & Melissa Emily Wakeley Scene from a Wakeley wedding   2007 September 15th Mark Ralph Godman & Katie Helen Cripp 2009 May 2nd Mark Lawrence Gordon Adams & Sarah Anna Maria Keating June 27th Ricardo Nuno Bugia Pires & Hayley Joanna Jutsum July 11th Gilbert Thinghi Yule & Michelle Anna Axford July 17th Christopher James Mendelssohn & Caroline Louise Morris July 25th Michele Ernesto De Gregorio & Catherine Selvarani le Doux Edwards September 12th Paul Tyers & Lynette Mary Jean Lawson November 7th Kevin Dass & Liza Ann Devi Gray December 28th Richard Charles Miller & Anna Hutton-Potts 2010 April 24th Nikolaos Minas & Lydia Laura Stephen May 28th Mehrdad Rahbar Sehat & Charlotte Mary Ford June 12th Edward James Alsford & Lara Camilla Patrick July 24th Deane Richard Eales & Annabel Charlotte Sophia Timberlake November 6th Andrew Neil Peters & Hannah Ellen Ford 2011 June 18th Benjamin James Russell Stoneham & Chloe Ria Rankin November 12th Mark John Fisher Foster & Emily Jane Ockenden 2012 June 30th Alan George Andrew Weir & Hailey Louise Wilkinson July 12th Maximillian Michael Collins & Shannan Louise Keen September 1st Benjamin John Whitehead & Katherine Jeanne Morris 2014 July 12th Benjamin David Clutterbuck & Francesca Louise Goodwin 2015 May 23rd Charles Simon Treadwell & Anne Herforth Finnerup June 6th James Peter Goble & Lucy Kate Wall-Palmer August 1st Peter Edwin David Swabey & Magali Clotilde Marie Webster-Nicol 2016 May 28th Alistair Matthew Smith & Louisa May Hunter 2018 June 30th Peter Justin Rickenberg & Jacqueline Jean Brown 2019 March 15th Ryan John Birse & Amy Louise Rapley June 29th Thomas Clermont Lake Davies & Pollyanna Louise Russell Stoneham 2021 July 30th Toby Oliver Simon Downes & Leonora Susan Chisholm Schofield Historical note: Covid masks worn by most 2022 April 2nd Calum Alastair Gee & Jemma Elizabeth Corridan 2023 May 27th Neil Geoffrey Lankester Woods & Lisa Catherine Rickenberg Neil Woods & Lisa Rickenberg September 9th Rupert Terence Bulkeley Perrier & Elodie Camilla Pendred 2024 April 27th Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank July 20th Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts 2024 Photo: James White Photography September 14th Patrick Hugh Hudson & Matilda India Tess Warner (Wedding Blessing) 2025 June 7th Edward James Spencer & Sophie Baker Edward James Spencer & Sophie Baker August 9th James Fitzroy Cordy-Redden & Olivia Frances Palmer-Jeffery August 16th Michael Joseph Barrett & Katherine Julia Woods Michael Joseph Barrett & Katherine Julia Woods August 30th Angus Frederick Secrett & Olivia Fae Welch

A fancy dress parade was held to celebrate winning in 1960: Michael Jupe, Chairman of Thursley Parish Council and Lord Hamilton of Dalzell - Best Kept village presentation. September 1961 Dick Winter receiving a tankard from Lord Hamilton of Dalzell. Best Kept Village presentation, September 1961 Best Kept Village Celebrations at the Cricket Green, 1961. Back Row: C Cooper, B Ashley, J Ellison, Watson, Craddock-Henry, R Crawfurd, ?, Dick Winter, J Bozward, K Guyatt. Front Row: M Rapley, C Darlow, W Cooper, L Cooper, R Loarridge, M Cooper The 1970s: 1985: Unveiling Best Kept Village Award, 1985 Two groups attending the Best Kept Village Award, 1985, and in the centre, Major Brian Camp, Chairman of Thursley Parish Council with Mrs Guyatt, late of Hedge Farm. Best kept village Hall award ceremony 19?, Peter Scheffers, Eddy Gale, Brian Camp

In 1892, a return of Licensed Houses to Guildford Petty Sessions, show the pub as a free house. The Licensee was Arthur Steed, and the owner was Miss Rushbrooke. The usage was that of the genral public. Listed under Thursley Public Houses were Railway Hotel, Crown and Cushion and other Haslemere Pubs. This shows they were in Thursley Parish. In the early part of World War 1, the publican of of The Three Horse Shoes, Arthur Ford and his wife, were dismissed by the brewery for procuring girls for the soldiers. 'Save the Pub' and celebration poster Val and Paddy De Burgh, New Year's Eve 1984 Identified revellers are: David Jeffcoat; Popsy; Katy Jeffcoat; Hilary Barr Val De Burgh, Landlord of the Three Horse Shoes - January 1985 Men of Thursley Ride from The Three Horseshoes Pub 2008 : Paul Smolas, Peter Broste, Philip Traill, Peter Rickenberg The Three Horseshoes re-opens after Quarantine, 4 July 2020: Photographs by Andrew Kaplanovsky

This brief history of Karn's store (continued below) was published in the Parish Magazine in May 1978 and in 'Lives of the People of Thursley' by The History of Thursley Society in 1996 Karn's Grocery shop. You can see the poplar tree which was a major landmark especially from the common. Tom Karn and Grace Curtiss were married on 12th July 1906. Tom was a son of William the blacksmith and was sexton of Thursley Church for some years. Leo and Lucy Karn (son and daughter of Tom and Grace, 30th November 1928 Alan and Sid Karn in the third photograph Karn's shop with Mrs Karn outside Karn's Grocer shop, 1897 The Christmas family including Jim as a young boy Year unknown, illustration by Salli Tomlinson The Old Stores in 2009 The Old Stores c2020 from sale particulars

This article was written by Jackie Rickenberg for the Parish Magazine On Christmas Eve 1919, Walter Wright sold Rock Cottage, at the very top of Highfield Lane at the head of the Valley of the Rocks, to the President of the Board of Education (what would now be the Secretary of State) H A L Fisher. In fact, it was not Herbert Fisher who made the decision to buy Rock Cottage – it was his wife Lettice (at the time they had a seven-year-old daughter called Mary). She committed them to the purchase on the basis of one brief visit, being largely persuaded by the fact that Walter Wright’s daughter who was residing in the property during this visit, was called Lettice Mary! H A L Fisher and Lettice Ilbert in Oxford Fisher was born in London in 1865, the eldest son of eleven children. Direct relatives included brother-in-law, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams and first cousins Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell, and his godfather was the Prince Consort. He was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford and it was there he took up his first post as a tutor in Modern History. By 1913 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield and by 1916 Fisher was elected Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam. He joined David Lloyd George’s government as President of the Board of Education. And of course, Lloyd George became Churt’s most famous resident a year later. Coincidence, or were they close? He was sworn on the Privy Council, therefore becoming The Right Honourable, and it was in this post that he was instrumental in the formulation of the Education Act 1918, which made school attendance compulsory for children up to the age 14. Fisher was also responsible for the School Teachers (Superannuation) Act 1918, which provided pension provision for all teachers. So, when Herbert Fisher bought Rock Cottage a year later, in 1919, he was already a committed, hard-working MP and government minister and remained so for a further 7 years. When he retired from politics in 1926, at the age of 61, he took up the post of warden of New College, Oxford which he held until his death. During his long, illustrious career he served on the British Academy, the British Museum, the Rhodes Trustees, the National Trust, The Governing Body of Winchester College, the London Library and the BBC. In 1939, he was appointed the first chairman of the Appellate Tribunal for Conscientious Objectors. Unfortunately, this inadvertently would be responsible for his demise on 18th April 1940. Two letters (above and below) discussing the use of H.A.L.Fisher's underwear On this date, whilst in London to sit on a Conscientious Objectors’ Tribunal during a blackout on what was called a London “pea souper”, H A L Fisher was knocked down by a lorry and died in St Thomas’s Hospital. Now, what was it about this honourable man’s life and ultimately, his death, that made it into a best-selling book and film? Well, bizarrely it was his underpants. You see, Fisher had left a few of his possessions - clothes, his library of books, etc in New College, Oxford and they were still there a couple of years later, when in 1943, Operation Mincemeat was being planned and executed. This is now the name of the best-selling book by Ben Macintyre and a film starring Colin Firth. Operation Mincemeat was a British Intelligence operation to deceive enemy forces, where they undertook the invention of a false Royal Marines officer, whose body was to be dropped at sea in the hope the false intelligence it carried, would be believed. It was, indeed, a success and was responsible for misleading German intelligence and possibly influencing the eventual outcome of the war. The following excerpt from the book, explains the details that joined the otherwise unlikely chain of events: “Underwear was a more ticklish problem. Cholmondeley, (intelligence officer) understandably, was unwilling to surrender his own, since good underwear was hard to come by in rationed, wartime Britain. They consulted John Masterman, Oxford academic and chairman of the Twenty Committee, who came up with a scholarly solution that was also personally satisfying. “The difficulty of obtaining underclothes, owing to the system of coupon rationing”, wrote Masterman “was overcome by the acceptance of a gift of thick underwear from the wardrobe of the late Warden of New College, Oxford”. Major Martin (the corpse’s new identity) would be kitted out with the flannel vest and underpants of none other than H A L Fisher, the distinguished Oxford historian and former President of the Board of Education in Lloyd George’s Cabinet. John Masterman and H A L Fisher had both taught history at Oxford in the 1920’s, and had long enjoyed a fierce academic rivalry. Fisher was a figure of ponderous grandeur and gravity who ran New College, according to one colleague, as “one enormous mausoleum”. Masterman considered him long-winded and pompous. Fisher had been run over and killed by a lorry while attending a tribunal examining the appeals of conscientious objectors, of which he was chairman. The obituaries paid resounding tribute to his intellectual and academic stature, which nettled Masterman. Putting the great man’s underclothes on a dead body and floating it into German hands was just the sort of joke that appealed to his odd sense of humour. Masterman described the underwear as a “gift”; it seems far more likely that he simply arranged for the dead don’s drawers to be pressed into war service”. H A L Fisher, lower left, tutor to future King Edward VII (top).

The portrait is of the English novelist, Margaret Louisa Woods ( 20 November 1855 – 1 December 1945). She died in Vine Cottage, her home in Thursley. From Wikipedia: She was born in Rugby, the daughter of the scholar  George Granville Bradley , an academic and senior priest, who served as  Dean of Westminster  from 1881 to 1902. Her sister was the writer  Mabel Birchenough . In 1879 she married  Henry George Woods , who became President of  Trinity College, Oxford , and  Master of the Temple . They built Thessaly Cottage, on the ridge of  Boars Hill  above Oxford, one of the first brick houses to be established there, and stayed there until 1893. There were three sons. Margaret died at her home, Vine Cottage, in  Thursley , Surrey. Her ashes are interred with her husband, at  Holywell Cemetery , Oxford. Margaret L Woods was featured in 'Lives of the People of Thursley' which was published by The History of Thursley Society in 1996. Here is the first page: More information on her life can be found in Yellow Nineties 2.0: https://1890s.ca/woods_bio/

This article by Sally Scheffers was written for the 'Victory Euphoria' exhibition which was staged by the Thursley History Society to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Days. “Peace”   Before the war Thursley was a quiet rural village. By 1940 the war brought many changes with locals going away to fight and an influx of troops in the camps all around.   There were three pubs: The Half Moon where Warren Park is now ; The Red Lion, now “Lionacre” on the north slip road from the A3, then run by Frank Millard; and The Three Horse Shoes, where villagers got their beer at the back door from Mr. Fosberry by taking their own jugs as the Canadian soldiers drank the pub dry.   There were three shops and most people went to Bernie Karn 's grocery shop where Mr. Christmas was the baker and until 1939 he had used a wood-fired oven. Bread was baked six days a week but not on Sundays. On Sundays anyone could have a joint of meat cooked in the bakehouse at the cost of 1d. - an old-fashioned penny! In 1939 a steam oven was installed and then there were two bakers and two roundsmen as well.          The Post Office also sold a limited amount of groceries and commodities such as stationery, mending wools and thread. It was at the Post Ofiice that the mothers of local soldiers would pick up their wages and pay ten shillings insurance should their sons be killed in action.   Mr. and Mrs. Tozer at The Clump had a more “Dickensian” establishment selling allsorts: paraffin, buckets, long leather boots and sweets. During the war the shop closed when the Tozers retired.          The Church was well-attended with Rev, H. Gordon French , the vicar of one parish as opposed to Reverend Hannah Moore's four today.           The village school was in the building now used as the Village Hall. There were two teachers who taught the children from the age of five to until their schooling ended once they were fourteen. The children all went to school with their gas masks in a cardboard box.          The Village Hall was a large wooden army hut from the First World War located next door to The Three Horse Shoes pub. It was taken over by the Y.M.C.A. and used as a canteen for the troops. It was later run by the Canadian Salvation Army and a manager lived on the premises, assisted by local ladies who volunteered to do regular shifts to serve tea and coke, cut peanut butter sandwiches and do the washing up. There was also entertainment with dances and Miss Day's School of Dancing putting on skits.          Hambledon Rural District Council was the local council. The Parish Council was headed by William Featherby , nicknamed “Mr. Thursley”, who became one of the Air Raid Precaution Wardens.          The Honorary Secretary of the Horticultural Society was Sid Hall who farmed Mill Farm with his brother Azor. In 1944 the Flower Show was one of the most successful ever held. The shows had always been a day out for the village. There were all the usual classes but also a class for “the largest collection of butterflies”.  There were sideshows after the judging and a military band played during the afternoon in the field at the back of the [old] Village Hall. After the produce had been removed from the Village Hall French Chalk was sprinkled over the floor for the dance. In 1944 there were nine members of the same band playing, “The Lifeguards”, and the pianist was the well-known Harry Parr Davies. For the next two months the band did a regular Thursday night for the weekly village dance with tickets at 1/6d.          There was a very active Women's Institute chaired by Mrs  Bertha Pecskai at the start of the war. The W.I. sold meat pies once a week in the Village Hall which were very popular and considered “quite a luxury” though there wasn't much meat in them. The W.I. also issued a limited number of invitations to the soldiers to attend its Annual W.I. (alcohol free) Christmas Party          The minutes of the Committee Meetings of the W.I. give a picture of life during the war: 13 th  September, 1939:  “As the Hall has been commandeered for military purposes, Miss Hughes kindly offered the use of two rooms at Dye Cottage for the monthly meeting, but owing to lack of space, it was agreed to cancel the demonstration on chair seating.  It was unanimously agreed that a sale of some kind be held in December, profits to be given to Red Cross work.”   11 th  June, 1940:   “That the National Federation has arranged to help W.I.members, by enabling them to buy seeds co-operatively, at the cost of 1/- [a shilling] each collection. A proposal that two more conferences on War time food, be held in the Autumn.  It was agreed thar the profit on the Produce Stall be given to the War Comfort Fund.”   8 th  October, 1940:  “Following an appeal for camp beds for the local Home Guard, it was agreed to buy and lend two for the duration, money to be taken from the Comfort Fund.”   9 th  December, 1943:  “Miss Hughes on behalf of the War Comfort Sub Committee reported a suggestion that each woman from Thursley now serving in the forces should be sent a War Savings Certificate of 15% and cigarettes given to members of the Home Guard and A.R.P. This was unanimously agreed to.”   13 th  January, 1944:  “Mrs Robinson reported that disappointment had been caused by the Special Constables being omitted in the distribution of cigarettes to Defence members. It was agreed that the War Comforts Sub Committee be asked to put the matter right.”                10 th  May, 1945:  “After discussion it was arranged to give members the option of buying the Home Guard beds, which are in perfect condition, at the price paid for them at the beginning of the war and that if more than two applications were made for them, the result should be decided by ballot.  A suggestion by Miss Hughes for a Social to mark the end of the war in Europe was carried and will be brought up at the Monthly Meeting.”   14 th  June, 1945:  “It was decided that no charge should be made for the use of the urn at the childrens' Victory Party.”   12 th  July, 1945:  “Home Guard beds were not quite up to standard so it was decided to sell at the reduced price of 30/- each.”   9 th  August, 1945:  “Home Guard beds were sold for 30/- each, the buyers were Mrs. Pitts and Mrs. Gems.”   The Thursley Farmers Mutual Aid Group was formed. The village had many small farms and all were expected to grow the maximum amount of food for the war effort. The idea was to pool all available machinery and for the farmers to help one another as much as possible. This Aid Group later became the Thursley and District Farmers Association and was active until the mid 1980's.          The local farmers needed extra help as the men had gone to war. Mr. Gibbs who had a chicken farm at “Oakenhurst” had two Land Girls working for him and they lived at The Red Lion. Reg Cottle found Sid and Azor Hall their Land Girl, Muriel Panting, a former Lyons Corner House “Nippy”.          Thursley and District Domestic Rabbit Keepers Club was formed to produce rabbits for meat and pelts. Sir Bruce Thomas K.C. was the President and they met at The Institute (a working men's club), now named Prospect Cottage.          From the Surrey Advertiser January 1943   Evacuees came to Thursley mostly through connections in the village. The Dears lived in the tea rooms of the Three Horse Shoes and Sir Cyril Hurcomb, Permanent Under-Secretary of the Ministry of War Transport, lived with his family in Dye Cottage thanks to his friend Sir Bruce Thomas, President of the Transport Tribunal. Rock Cottage was let out in the early years and Elsie Cottle's sister Norah came to stay in Bowlhead Green with her two children. Eddie Morgan's (nee Hall) school friend, Doreen, arrived on the doorstep at Mill Farm at the beginning of the war announcing, “I've come home”!          Doreen got a job locally and cycled to work, With the blackout restrictions cycle lamps had to be half covered with black paint so the cyclist's vision at night was extremely limited. Due to petrol rationing there was very little traffic on the A3. However, on a dark night a tramp was walking in the road following the white lines in the centre when Doreen came along on her bicycle doing the same thing. She ran into him and crashed onto the road. Luckily, he was unhurt and carried Doreen to the Red Lion as she had managed to tell the tramp that the people there knew who she was. She was in hospital for many weeks having sustained a fractured skull.          Eddie Morgan (nee Hall) remembered seeing the waves of gliders on D-Day, 6 th  June 1944 over the village. “That evening we witnessed one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen. The clear blue sky that evening was simply covered with gliders going south - from east to west to the southern horizon – there must have been thousands of them glinting in the evening sunshine, laden with supplies for the Normandy beaches. A vision never to be forgotten.”          Victory in Europe was celebrated in Thursley by lighting a huge hastily built bonfire, a couple of Lorne Scots pipers arrived from Tweedsmuir to play and Mr. Featherby, Chairman of the Parish Council, produced an effigy of Adolf Hitler to consign to the flames while he read a suitable “citation” for the occasion. Afterwards everyone went to the Three Horse Shoes to continue the celebrations.

This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in July 2022 Well, I hope you have all recovered from the truly memorable Platinum Jubilee celebrations! A magnificent week of pride and pagaentry in celebration of our hard-working, devoted and beloved monarch. If you can cast your mind back to before this time (it seems an age away!) and the last article, which was all about our famous one time resident H A L Fisher and his involvement in Operation Mincemeat, I wanted to continue the story, this month focusing on his wife Lettice Fisher and next month their daughter, Mary, at one time, all past residents of Thursley. They were both ground-breaking and inspiring women in their own right and here is Lettice’s story. Brass Plaque for H A L Fisher in Brockenhurst Church - Photograph by Sally Scheffers Lettice Fisher (nee Ilbert) was born in 1875 in Kensington, London, to Lady Jessie and Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert, a lawyer who was soon to become Clerk of the House of Commons. She was one of the earliest female students at Somerville College, Oxford and as such, Herbert (HAL) agreed to take her on as a pupil. In 1897, Lettice duly got her first in Modern History, and proceeded to the London School of Economics, working as a researcher for a two-year tenure. The Ilberts, so Lettice’s sister later wrote “had long coveted Mr Fisher as a son-in-law”, and Lady Ilbert took appropriate steps; she rented a house on the outskirts of Oxford for the summer following Lettice’s London placement. With four lively daughters between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three, plus their engaging little sister of eight, there was no shortage of young men to walk up Headington Hill for tennis or dinner, Fisher being among them. The engagement was announced, and in the summer of 1899, they were married. She then returned to Oxford to teach History at St Hugh’s College and also teaching Economics for the Association for the Higher Education of Women in Oxford. H A L Fisher and Lettice Ilbert in Oxford As her daughter, Mary, recounted; “ With his in-laws, Fisher was an unqualified success, however the Fishers were not so sure about Lettice. It was true that she was an efficient housekeeper – the Ilbert daughters were all brought up to believe that husbands must be sheltered from practical cares! It was true also that she was an admirable hostess to his colleagues, friends and pupils, and that it never occurred to her not to put his work first. But the Fisher view of Woman was as a “dark star” reflecting the glory of Man and Lettice was not at all like a dark star. She was enthusiastic, confident and articulate, ready to throw herself into any generous cause, not in the least concerned with conventions and quite determined to earn her own living. She gardened and kept hens, she played the violin, she involved herself in housing management, infant welfare, women’s suffrage and liberal politics. As a teacher of History and Economics, she was one of the first, perhaps the very first, married woman to hold a tutorship in an Oxford women’s college. As a good liberal, her husband approved all the causes but perhaps wished there were not so many of them!” Portrait of Lettice Fisher - artist unknown In 1913, the Fishers had a daughter Mary, destined to be their only child. It didn’t appear to have diminished Mary’s ambitions and in 1916-1918 she chaired the national executive of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. During World War 1, Lettice undertook welfare work among women munitions workers. It was the wartime scale of illegitimacy and its resulting hardships that led her, in 1918, to found the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, in order to challenge the stigma associated with single parent families, and to provide them with the support they needed. The Council aimed to reform the Acts that discriminated against illegitimate children, and also to address the higher death rates of children born outside marriage, by providing accommodation for single mothers and their babies. Lettice Fisher was the first chair of the Council, from 1918 to 1950. In the early 1970’s, after Lettice’s departure, the name was changed to National Council for One Parent Families and in 2007, it merged with Gingerbread, and continues to this day working to improve the livelihood of single parents. J K Rowling is currently the charity’s President. Mary continues “There was a very odd situation after my father died in 1940, because my mother thought that New College (where my father was Warden) would elect another Warden and she would be returning to Thursley as soon as she could get out of the house. However, New College decided that they didn’t want to elect another Warden at the beginning of the war; they wanted to hold the position and let the Sub-Warden go on administering. And so, they asked her to stay on and keep on running the Lodgings, perhaps put up some evacuees, keep in touch with undergraduates and so on. So that is what my mother did until 1943, when they did brace themselves and elect another Warden.” Hence why H A L Fisher’s belongings were still in Oxford when Operation Mincemeat had the need for his quality underwear. And why Lettice Fisher did not move permanently to Rock Cottage at the top of Highfield Lane until 1943. She was then able to involve herself in the activities of the village: she was a governor of Thursley School, a member of the WI, started a choir and made many friends. She suffered her first stroke in 1949 and died in 1956. Lettice was an extraordinary woman of her time, strong, fiercely intelligent with a great capacity for empathy and kindness. Thursley should feel very proud to have had such a dazzling (not dark!) star in its midst during this time. Next month – Mary Bennett (nee Fisher).

A brief history derived from property deeds and documents by Arthur Lindley, 2012 The opening paragraphs of Arthur Lindley's extensive history of Rock Cottage which can be found in the pdf below H.A.L. Fisher and Mary outside Rock Cottage George Warner outside Rock Cottage Surnames of previous owners include: Fisher; Bennett

On 20th February 2025, Marion O'Brien and Amanda Flint-Roberts gave a talk in the Church. This article, written by Jackie Rickenberg, first appeared in the Parish Magazine in February 2025: St Michael and All Angles, John Hassell 1824 Please, if you haven’t already done so, could you put Thursday the 20th February into your diaries. Marion O’Brien and Amanda Flint-Roberts will be giving a talk in our beautiful church about …. our beautiful church, as it approaches it millennium. It starts at 7.30pm and the History Society will be collecting donations on the door. No need to book, just turn up to learn more about the amazing history of this ancient building at the centre of our village.   Our archives have recently moved (I could tell you where but …) and it has given us an opportunity to delve deep into its contents. Now and again, amongst the deeds and the official documents, a little piece of magic is unearthed and this is one such piece. It is a photocopy of an original hand-written record, not particularly old, but nonetheless, intriguing. It is not signed or dated and it is in little random paragraphs, full of past church life.   “The churchyard wall along the road used to have iron rings set in it at intervals, for horses to be tied to during services. Now, alas, all have disappeared. Lionel Rapley told me that when he was a young man attending a funeral, the gravedigger had dug the hole too small, so that during interment the coffin got stuck and nothing would free it. The gravedigger then jumped up and down on it and bashed it with a shovel, to no more avail than was the highly infunereal language he used throughout. He had to get down to it and dig the hole properly! Lionel Rapley told me that one Sunday when he was a young man, the congregation wondered why the vicar was so late for Matins, and the reason was that since he drove like a bat out of hell, he had overturned his coach in The Street on the way up to the church. A year before the bells were recast and overhauled we were forbidden to ring them because of their dilapidated state, as there was a real danger that they would break from their head stocks and descend to the floor of the nave. During the ministry of Bill Mills a bird flew into Matins one morning. After teasing the vicar considerably, it settled on the steps of the pulpit during the sermon. The vicar, a better cricketer than footballer, took a kick at it and missed. During the last hymn it settled on Mr Rapley’s head as he played the organ, and in fending it off he dislodged the fall, which being extremely heavy, descended on his hands. This brought the service to an unconventional close. Before the advent of the fundraising scheme known as Christian Stewardship, the finances of the church were in such poor shape that only the most pressing fabric repairs could be undertaken and the school, now in the village hall, was sold to the council because the church could not afford to keep the roof repaired. In those days the only way of raising money was by a Day of Gifts when a bucket was placed beside the font for donors to use. Strict anonymity was observed and the total raised was not very large. Some time ago the weather vane on the church steeple had for many years been stationary. This annoyed Christopher Watson, who lived at The Lodge, so much, that eventually he financed its removal and had it repaired to its present operational condition. For many years there was a line of elms along the south side of the churchyard, which shut out the sun and made the “new” part of the churchyard constantly damp and dark. The trees were felled about twelve years ago, making the bright and attractive end to the churchyard we have today. Since elms have a way of raising up as saplings after felling, it is much to be hoped that they will be kept clipped. The crocuses just inside the churchyard gate were planted by Mrs Malins who lived with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr Jobson, at Foldown. Though she has gone, her crocuses are a constant delight to us all in the Spring. On the altar there used to be two brass candlesticks which were part of a matching set which included the cross. The candlesticks were both stolen about ten years ago. Other vandalism from time to time has included smashing of the stained-glass windows in the chancel and North Aisle, smashing open the organ and vestry with attempts to open the safe, and immeasurable attempts on the alms box, as the many jemmy marks on the surrounding stonework testify. The best way of guarding against such damage is by unpremeditated visits, and restricting entry of the church to all and sundry”. It would seem that there have been many dramas in our church’s life throughout the years but we’re delighted to report that it is currently in a healthy financial position and that any repairs are dealt with promptly by our marvellous Clerk of Works, Simon Treadwell. The current Parochial Church Council, headed up by our wonderful Rev Hannah, oversee all Church matters and we are delighted and appreciative that this historic church is open daily for villagers and visitors alike. This beautifully hand-written, undated brief history of St Michael's Church is from our archive: Saxon window in church which was uncovered in1927