On 10th February, we welcomed Bill King – supported by his wife Flora – for a talk about the Oxford to Pangbourne section of the Thames Path. Over several years Bill and Flora walked some 150 miles of the Thames Path in stages from the river’s source in the Cotswolds to where the river becomes tidal at Teddington Lock in north-west London.

Bridges, locks and pubs are key elements of the walk and Bill showed photographs of many of them. Bill and Flora chose to begin their walk along the Oxford to Pangbourne stretch at King’s Lock north of Oxford, near to where Duke’s Cut connects the River Thames to the Oxford Canal. Their route took them through Oxford and then past Radley and Nuneham Courtenay to Abingdon, Culham, Sutton Courtenay, Clifton Hampden, Wittenham Clumps, Dorchester, Shillingford, Benson, Wallingford, Streatley and Goring, Whitchurch and into Pangbourne.

Between Oxford and Pangbourne the route of the Thames Path changes from one side of the river to the other a number of times. Apart from one short deviation, the Path runs alongside the riverbank all the way. Various signposts and waymarkers keep you posted on the direction and distance to key points on the route.

Bill and Flora took the opportunity to wander off the Path at different places to visit churchyards with the graves of famous people such as J.J.R. Tolkien, Kenneth Grahame, Eric Arthur Blair (aka George Orwell), Herbert Asquith and Lady Mallowan (aka Agatha Christie). They also spotted several Blue Plaques on the walls of buildings along the way.

Visit the National Trails website to learn more about the Thames Path.

On 11 November (Armistice Day) Karen and her husband Bret, 1940s historians and re-enactors, gave a spirited and comprehensive talk complete with audio recordings from the period. The talk began by explaining the context of rationing prior to World War II: Britain saw the first widespread implementation of rationing in WW1 after there was a shortage of wheat and other commodities in 1916 when ships carrying supplies were targeted by the Germans.

People were encouraged to use every available piece of spare land for food production under the banner of ‘Dig for Victory’, even the grounds of the Tower of London were dug up! Cooking programmes on the radio attracted enormous numbers of listeners and recipe leaflets were distributed to citizens. The Women’s Institute (WI) played its part in helping to preserve fruit and veg after being supplied with mobile canning machines; it is estimated WI members canned 5 million pounds of jam and 2 million pounds of preserves. The food rationing system ended in 1954, marking a significant milestone in Britain’s return to normality.

At the end of the talk, we were invited to try some recipes from the period (see the photo below). If you want to find out more about the recipes and other homefront activities you can visit Karen and Bret’s website, Doing Their Bit: Life on the Home Front.

Herbert George Mullard and the Cowley Concrete company, 1895 to 1976

The talk by RHC Club member, Martin Buckland, told the story of Cowley Concrete, a company based in Abingdon off the Radley Road. It was founded in the early 1920s in Cowley by ‘Bert’ Mullard and operated in Abingdon until the late 1970s after which the site was redeveloped as a housing estate called Radley Green.  Relocating to Abingdon allowed Cowley Concrete to take advantage of the area’s geology which is rich in gravel, a material heavily used in concrete production.

Cowley Concrete as a company produced many products from those that imitated stone, to those used in the construction of transport infrastructure, and to houses and even some art along the way. Cowley Concrete produced beams used in the Chiswick flyover and over the widened lines of the Underground near Kings Cross Station in London. The enormous concrete beams left the factory on long loaders which often proved a challenge for the drivers on the way to their destination with some of the small and bendy roads in the area at the time.

In terms of buildings around to Oxford, they built the earlier version of the Seacourt Tower in Botley, Research laboratories on South Parks Road in Oxford, the Cowley Centre and numerous social houses. Later in life, Bert Mullard became a member of Abingdon Town Council in 1945, later becoming Mayor of Abingdon 1951-53. In 1960 he was granted the status of Honorary Freeman of the borough of Abingdon. He turned later in life to Philanthropy and was a significant benefactor of Christ’s Hospital in Abingdon, a local charity dating from 1553.

Message from Martin: Martin Buckland thanks all those who spoke to him after the talk and added much useful information, particularly about themselves or their relatives who worked at Cowley Concrete. He would be most grateful if they could send their recollections to him at: martin.buckland@outlook.com. It all adds to the history of Abingdon people and employers maintained by the Abingdon Area Archaeology and History Society (AAAHS), and would be of great interest to the Knight family who provided much of the material for the talk. 

Early in 2022, the Group started recording a series of interviews to capture memories about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people in Radley as a record for future generations. The talk presented the common themes uncovered and the insights gained from these recordings. It was important to do this work as soon as possible as memories and recollections fade quickly.

Of the people interviewed, few of them contracted COVID. Their lived experience varied; for some it worked out well but others had major problems.

On the positive side, online video conference platforms and the internet worked well as did working from home, which for many was the first time this had been an option. In terms of community, the church and village shop were a lifeline for many as was a local volunteer group (SERV) set up by residents.

On the negative side, lack of physical contact with loved ones and family members was a challenge many interviewees faced during the lockdowns. Many people spoke about opportunities that were missed. Some could be rescheduled, but for others, these were gone forever such as attending a funeral or a wedding or attending a year of university.

In general, the rules during the pandemic were adhered to, but there were mixed views regarding the severity of COVID, the government’s role and its trustworthiness. Despite this all the interviewees received vaccines and wore masks. There was a common concern about the knock-on effects of COVID on our nation’s health and impacts on people of delay in diagnosis and treatment. Overall, a very interesting talk and a valuable resource for future historians.