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Cecil and Ken discuss the schools which existed in the first half of the 20th Century. Cecil: "In 1914, when… 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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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… Read more…
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BBC Radio Berkshire 2nd interview with Wokingham Remembers.
In this second interview, Sarah Huxford and Mike Churcher talks to BBC's Mike Read about the emergence of the symbols… Read more…
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Journey to the centre of the dark Forest
In last week’s article we discovered the origins of the Royal Windsor Forest and its influence on the early communities… Read more…
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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… Read more…
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George Henry PRICE, Poulterer 52 Peach Street (1857 – 1925)
We're very grateful for the article provided by Diane Johansen in which she tells us about her Great Grand Uncle's… Read more…
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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… Read more…
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Tales from the Dark Forest – Rosa Rose 1869
This week local historian ROGER LONG tells of the mysterious story of Rosa Rose, accused of murdering her son and… Read more…
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Cecil and Ken in Conversation 1996. By Jim Bell
Jim Bell: "Cecil’s reminiscences are taken from three interviews by his old friend and historian, Ken Goatley. The first two… Read more…
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Recent Posts
Category Archives: Jim Bell’s Wokingham History
1856: Cholera arrives in Wokingham
Flush the loo, turn on the taps and wash your hands; a simple act which came from decades of debate on the diseases and deaths which accompanied everyday life in Victorian Britain. Thanks go to Jim Bell for uncovering the … Continue reading
George Henry PRICE, Poulterer 52 Peach Street (1857 – 1925)
We’re very grateful for the article provided by Diane Johansen in which she tells us about her Great Grand Uncle’s life and his death in Peach Street, Wokingham. We so often know about the buildings and the community who lived … Continue reading
1860: Wokingham opens the New Town Hall
Jim Bell is renowned for the 30 short books he has written on Wokingham. In this article Jim tells the story of how the Wokingham Town Hall was built and a fascinating tale of an old silk weaver from the … Continue reading
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 reins of a horse drawn fire engine. He is the chief of Wokingham’s voluntary fire service and also just happens … Continue reading
Where They Lived
For me, this is possibly the most fascinating and the saddest part of the research. Once we discovered the stories of the men, we started pinning their addresses to a modern map of Wokingham. Although we suspected that they would … Continue reading
Wokingham 1914
Wokingham news throughout 1914 Jim Bell transcribes the Wokingham news section from the Reading Mercury throughout the whole of 1914. It is a remarkable insight to a small town assisting the war effort, reporting on its awful consequences, but at … Continue reading
Cecil and Ken in Conversation 1996. By Jim Bell
Jim Bell: “Cecil’s reminiscences are taken from three interviews by his old friend and historian, Ken Goatley. The first two were recorded on audio tape in 1996 when he described his life and reminisced about Wokingham during the first twenty-five … Continue reading
The local historians who pointed to Wokingham's Future
Edna Goatley passed away on Wednesday the 3rd April 2013 at the age 86 years. Her funeral takes place at Easthampstead Crematorium on Thursday 18th April at 11am. By Mike Churcher This is not an obituary, the Wokingham Times already … Continue reading
Another casualty of the Great War: Wokingham's Mayor.
Our focus on the government of the Great War tends to be at national level, but Jim Bell’s extensive research has enabled us to look into local government from a Wokingham viewpoint. His latest book ‘Memories of the Town Hall’ … Continue reading
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