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At a meeting of the Thursley History Society early in 2025, it was agreed that the website should include an entry for our many beloved villagers who are no longer with us. Our archive contains a lot of information and we shall gradually build this entry retrospectively. If you would like to contribute please do so via the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/contact . Angela Muir MW 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 November1965 - 8th September 2024 Edmund Selwyn Haviland: 6th April 1924 - 17th October 2020 Order of Service: John Patrick Coles: 8th September 1934 - 22nd August 2017

After the AGM of Thursley History Society on 20th November 2025, a talk was given by Paul McCue of the Secret WW2 Learning Network. He had previously given a presentation on the Atlantic Wall on Hankley Common earlier in the year. The talk includes: the Atlantic Wall; Farnham Castle; Dunsfold Aerodrome; Special Operations Executive (SOE); Winterfold; Wanborough Manor; Tyting House; Gorse Hill; and Longmoor Military Railway. Places a little farther afield covered were Stodham Park and Brookwood Military Cemetary Testing a tank on Hankley Common This is a very cut down version of Paul McCue's talk and just provides the main establishments and events of his hour-long and well-received presentation. You can learn more about Paul McCue and the Secret WW2 Learning Network here: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/secret-ww2-learning-network The Atlantic Wall and Hankley Common This was a far briefer talk about the importance of the Atlantic Wall than was given in the summer, as many of the audience had attended the talk in August 2025, and it concentrated on the French resistance fighter, René Duchez, The talk is well covered here: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/atlantic-wall-walk-and-talk-august-14th-2025 One update was to see this photograph of a modified Churchill tank as tested on Hankley Common on a D-Day beach: Farnham Castle (8 miles) The grounds of Farnham Castle. This building dates back to the 12th Century and was a former residence of the Bishops of Winchester and the Camouflage Development and Training Centre (CD&TC) of the Royal Engineers. From the Farnham Castle Trust: In October 1940 a ‘curious collection’ of about 30 men disembarked from the London train at Farnham station. This group contained the first, and perhaps the most illustrious, students of British military camouflage to attend CD&TC. Within their number were professional artists, one of Britain’s leading zoology experts in animal camouflage, architects, theatre stage designers, stained glass designers and even a stage magician. The team included the Surrealist painter, Roland Penrose (NB: There is an excellent article about Farnham Castle and its role in WW2 written by Sally Scheffers which can be found in the pdf within this entry on the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/victory-euphoria-thursley-history-society-s-exhibition-to-celebrate-the-80th-anniversary-of-ve-da ) Where's the pillbox?! The courses were for six weeks and turned civilians into military Camouflage Officer officers through a mix of tutoring, experimentation and training exercises in the grounds. The military occupied the west wing and the Bishop (of Guildford) remained in the east wing. They had a workshop in the stables and access to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), in Farnborough. Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), Farnborough . Dunsfold Aerodrome (8.5 miles) Dunsfold Aerodrome as it was and as it is today (2025). Dunsfold had four connections to the 'secret war': 1. Machinery, new to the UK, from the USA was used to create the runways. One, happily incorrect, piece of folklore was that a Canadian serviceman was accidentally buried amongst the concrete. 2. Mustard Gas bombs, which were never used, were transported via Cranleigh station and were stored for potential use on the aerodrome. The hugely destructive power of the V-1 rocket bombs (aka 'Doodle Bugs', had to be destroyed. We had to rely on intelligence from our field operatives and the French Resistance to learn the whereabouts of their launching platforms. 4. Lysander short take-off and landing 'Special Duties' aircraft, based at Dunsfold, delivered some of these special agents. An example of such and operation was on the night of 9/10 April 1944 when two black-painted Lysanders landed at Dunsfold, one with two agents of SOE’s F (French) Section: William Savy and Jacqueline Nearne returning from France. Savy had crucial intelligence regarding a huge fuel dump for the Germans’ V-weapons. Jacqueline Nearne MBE  (27 May 1916 – 15 August 1982) was a British secret agent who served with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. Fluent in French and raised largely in France, she became one of the organisation’s most enduring couriers in occupied territory, operating for over a year behind enemy lines. Special Operations Executive (SOE) It was established in 1940 and its Charter was "to conduct sabotage and subversion in territories occupied by the Axis powers, and to supply, train and help organise local resistance movement". For security purposes, it was often known as the "Inter-Services Research Bureau“ and its staff referred to it as “the firm” or “the racket” or “la maison”.   Operated in all countries or former countries occupied by or attacked by the Axis forces, except where demarcation lines were agreed with the Soviet Union and United States. It also made use of neutral territory, or made plans and preparations in case neutral countries were attacked by the Axis.   The organisation directly employed or controlled around 30,000 people, including several thousand women. SOE established Special Training Schools (STS) known as ' S tately ' O mes of E ngland' including: Winterfold (10miles) STS 4 (later STS7) Winterfold, near Cranleigh A case study from Winterfold was Lieutenant Nestor Bodson . He was a secret agent of T (Belgian) Section, SOE. Born in 13 April 1921, he grew up in the Liège area of Belgium.  He had an austere upbringing and had undertaken a two years’ teacher training course near Spa, Belgium.  He came to Winterfold in Feb – Mar 1942 where he was judged to be an intelligent, quick learner, but considered whimsical and touchy, somewhat immature (only 20). He was fit, keen, patriotic and ‘Physically and mentally he is good material’.  But security concerns continued because he confided in people and frequently took photographs of his surroundings and fellow trainees.  However, he redeemed himself in a ‘honey trap’ at the Regal Cinema, Cranleigh! He became a W/T radio operator with the code name “Springbok” , and on the night of 27 August 1942  he was parachuted into Belgium for clandestine operations. He appears in The Most Secret List of SOE Agents with personnel file reference HS 9/171/7 and is sometimes recorded with the rank of lieutenant. He was captured soon after landing and was later executed: according to SOE records, he was shot by firing squad in Schaerbeek, Brussels, on 5 December 1942. His name appears on multiple wartime and memorial lists, all showing that he died in German hands while serving as an SOE agent. Wanborough Manor (6.5miles) STS5 Wanborough Manor A case study from Wanborough Manor was the extraordinarily brave Flight Officer Yvonne Cormeau . She was born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld on 18 December 1909 and after being educated in Belgium and Scotland, she married Charles Émile Cormeau in 1937; he later joined the Rifle Brigade and was killed during the Blitz, an attack she survived despite serious injury, though she tragically lost the baby she was carrying. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force in 1941 and was soon recruited into SOE’s F-Section, where she trained as a wireless telegraphy operator. She was parachuted into southwest France near Bordeaux on the night of 22–23 August 1943 and over the next thirteen months she sent more than 400 wireless transmissions - one of the highest totals achieved by any SOE operator -coordinating supply drops, gathering intelligence, and supporting Resistance activity. She frequently operated under extreme danger, at times transmitting for months from the same rural house, once convincing German soldiers at a roadblock that her radio set was an X-ray machine, and even escaping after being grazed in the leg, managing to save her radio equipment. After the liberation of her area she continued to work until the end of the war, and in the postwar years she worked as a translator for the Foreign Office in the section handling SOE material, remained active in veteran associations, and fostered Anglo-French relations. She received numerous honours for her wartime service, including the MBE (Military), the Légion d’honneur, the Croix de Guerre, and the Médaille de la Résistance. She died in Fleet, Hampshire, in 1997 at the age of eighty-eight. Tyting House (10 miles) Station XXVIII, Tyting House, St Martha's, nr Chilworth Tyting House was a 'cooler' facility for rejected agents or those under suspicion. This is an example of a Secret WW2 information board that features Tyting House: Wormley (4 miles) STS 50 Gorse Hill, Wormley, nr Godalming Initially a holding school for Belgian agents, later in the war at least 25 Pickaxe agents, SOE trained, were dropped into occupied Europe by the RAF from 1942 to 1944. Pickaxe agents were from the Soviet Union's secret service, the NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB. Longmoor Military Railway (10 miles) Longmoor Military Railway During WW2, the Longmoor Military Railway was a crucial training ground for the Royal Engineers to prepare personnel for railway operations in occupied territories and at home. It served as a logistical hub, using its lines to transport troops, vehicles, and supplies between the Bordon and Longmoor camps. The railway's layout was frequently altered, and it was used for both practical training, such as constructing and deconstructing lines, for transport and for sabotage training.

Grade II listed buildings, 2nd August 1977. See pdf report made by Surrey Domestic Buildings Research Group January 1992 March 1992 Mike and Debbie Spencer with Edward, 1997 Photograph by Sean Edward s

Truxford Cottage is at one of the extremities of Thursley Parish. It lies up a lane leading from Truxford Corner which is on the Thursley Road leading to Elstead. Truxford Cottage and Barn Taken from sales particulars in 2025

Grade II listed building, 9 March 1960 Historic Planning Permission Documents (list the cottage name as 'Sunset View Cottage') Report on the property by Domestic Building Research Group, April 1977 The whole report is in the pdf below: Sunset Cottage, photograph by Valérie Ferris Sunset Cottage, the old bakery. View of The Institute. Can also see the old walnut tree. Robert Goble used some of the wood for his harpsichord. From a photograph taken in 1938 Sunset Cottage in 1997 Anthony and Anna Kentish, 1997 Map of the village c1999 This map was given to the Macleans in 1999 when they moved in Sales details 1999: Two sets of sales details May 2003 : Sonya, James, Ben and Holly Maclean just before they moved to Hill House Farm in May 2003 Sales details when the house was sold in May 2003 :

In 1990, Hill Farm Barns, opposite the Church on Highfield Lane in Thursley, was purchased as a derelict farmyard comprising an assortment of redundant agricultural buildings. Photographs courtesy of Mike Spencer. Aerial photograph showing the Hill Farm Barn complex. This must have been taken before November 1977 when the giant Chestnut tree in the churchyard was brought down in a storm. The complex included a main threshing barn, a three-bay cart shed, an old piggery and cow shed, and a small detached granary standing on traditional staddle stones near the north-east corner of the site. The Granary, clad in corrugated iron, before the site was acquired. (THS archive) Original Condition (1991) At the time of purchase, the granary was in a state of advanced decay. The original weatherboard cladding had long since deteriorated, and the structure was enclosed in sheets of corrugated iron to keep it standing. The staddle stones supporting the raised timber floor remained in place, though the frame itself was distorted and partially rotted.  The granary covered in corrugated iron prior to dismantling. Dismantling and Storage In 1991 the structure was carefully dismantled. Sound timbers were numbered, recorded, and transported to Suffolk for storage and eventual restoration by a specialist in historic timber framing. The intention from the outset was to retain the original material wherever possible and to return the structure to its original position once repair became feasible. The repaired granary frame re-erected in Suffolk prior to cladding. Reconstruction of the Frame in Suffolk The salvaged frame remained in Suffolk for many years. Around 2015, the craftsman responsible for its care wanted to retire, and instructions were given for the structure to be repaired and re-erected. Before this work was fully completed, sadly he passed away, leaving his son, together with an assistant, to complete the task of reassembling the granary’s oak frame. The same firm worked on other parts of Hill Farm Barns: this photograph shows the green oak repairs to the roof of the cow barn in their Suffolk workshop. Re-erection at Hill Farm Barns In 2022, after over thirty years since it was first dismantled, the restored granary returned to Thursley. It was reinstalled on its original staddle stones in the same corner of the Hill Farm Barns site. The frame was re-clad in the traditional manner using feather-edged boarding and reclaimed clay roof tiles in keeping with the other restored buildings on the property. The completed granary at Hill Farm Barns (2022). Significance The reinstated granary represents the final phase of a 35-year programme of conservation and restoration to preserve the agricultural group at Hill Farm Barns. Its return has reinstated an important element of the traditional farmstead layout - an elevated granary on staddle stones, once essential to the working life of the holding and now an authentic component of the site’s historic character.

The land on which The Vicarage was built in 1932 is thought to have been owned previously by the Lutyens family. The first Vicar to live in the house was Revd Gordon French (Frenchy) who stayed until 1959 when Revd Bill Mills came to the village. Bill Mills was succeeded by Revd Ken Mathews in 1968, followed by Revd John Stevens who with his wife, Rosemary, lived there until he retired in 1982 and when the Parish of Thursley became a plurality with Elstead. The house was sold by the Church Commissioners in 1983 to Eddie and Sheila Hawkins who stayed only a few months. Pat and Hilary Barr lived at The Old Vicarage from 1984 and altered and extended the property The Old Vicarage , 1990's Surnames of previous owners include: Hawkins, Broomrigg, Phipps, Barr

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

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).