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Barkham Remembers Barkham Parish Council is recognising the sacrifices of local men and centenary of the outbreak of WWI by… Read more…
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The story of The Christmas Day Truce 1914
Many thanks to Wiki for this study of the amazing tale of the human family's desire to express friendship during… Read more…
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The double life of Arthur Hill, 6th Marquess of Downshire
By Jim Bell. This article first appeared in 'The Wokingham Paper', 24th April 2015 A young man sits holding the… Read more…
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Today Sunday 14th September. Meet us at the Town Hall from 11am
Today is Wokingham's Heritage Day and this year we examine the research put together by many of Wokingham's local history… Read more…
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The true story of Berkshire's California
This week’s contributor is Trevor Ottlewski; researcher, author and Chairman of the Wokingham History Group. Trevor has a wide knowledge… Read more…
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The Great War: “I just think of all the poor mothers”
Mother's Day: Thinking of Mothers Past. Although we have posted over 200 biographies of the men of Wokingham on this… Read more…
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An introduction to visiting the battlefields of the Great War.
Sarah starts this series of articles of her family's experiences on visiting the battlefields of the First World War. During… Read more…
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200 years of Wokingham, Wellington and Waterloo 1815 - 2015 This article appears in the first edition of the Wokingham… Read more…
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Wokingham Families: The Purseys, Brants, Rances and Alexanders
Wokingham Families and the Great War. Recalling the 1914-18 war often involves descriptions of military strategy and the bewildering numbers… Read more…
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Cecil Culver's Wokingham. One: The early years
Jim Bell continues with the magnificent series of recollections by Cecil Culver, one of the great cornerstones of Wokingham's 20th… Read more…
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Recent Posts
Tag Archives: World War 1
1919 Victory ! Wokingham celebrates.
Local Historian, Jim Bell unearths this extensive coverage of Wokingham’s Armistice Celebrations: “On Saturday, Wokingham duly celebrated the peace. The proceedings commenced at 7 a.m., when peals were rung on the church bells. At 10 a.m. the town band commenced to … Continue reading
Hills Nicholson family: Four sons lost in two World Wars
The Nicholson family have no Wokingham street or building named after them and have sunk below the consciousness of today’s local community. In the 1800’s however, they lived in what is now the Cantley House Hotel and they invested in … Continue reading
Wokingham Families: The Purseys, Brants, Rances and Alexanders
Wokingham Families and the Great War. Recalling the 1914-18 war often involves descriptions of military strategy and the bewildering numbers who were killed or maimed on both sides. What is often lacking in the tomes of history is the impact … Continue reading
Remembrance Day – The Incredible Story
Written by Mike Churcher As we stand for the first of the two minute’s silence at 11 am, we try to contemplate those who fought and fell during all wars in all circumstances. The second minute is spent thinking about … Continue reading
What was in the Wokingham news during the Great War ?
These articles are all taken from one of the area’s principal newspapers, “The Reading Mercury (also including Oxford Gazette, Newbury Herald and Berks. County paper)” Each week the towns and villages surrounding Reading had sections in this paper devoted to … Continue reading
Chemical warfare starts October 1914.
Chemical warfare enters in October 1914. Sneezing powder. The Germans used 3,000 shells containing the Niespulver, mixed with shrapnel and sent over to the British and Indian troops at Neuve Chapelle. Although not highly effective (the British were not even … Continue reading
Winnie the Pooh and The Great War
Written by Mike. I’m not sure why we did it, but in 2003 my wife and I drove across Canada with our four year old son. It was a strange journey which included a 1000 miles of prairie land, bears racing … Continue reading
Bearwood Roll of Honour, St Catherine's Church.
Every now again we come across seemingly small pieces of information, which suddenly provides insights into the changing attitude to the war. At first it was about glory, fighting for one’s country, beating the Bosch and still be back in … Continue reading
BBC's 'Birdsong' and the story of the miners in The Great War
Birdsong has completed its two episodes on the BBC. Author, Sebastian Faulkes tells us of a story about a soldier who has been affected by the experience of war; from the battles of the Somme to Messines Ridge and Amiens. … Continue reading
The story of The Christmas Day Truce 1914
Many thanks to Wiki for this study of the amazing tale of the human family’s desire to express friendship during the first Christmas of the First World War: The 1914 Christmas truce was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires that … Continue reading