Author: Alison Hobson

June Lewis-Jones told the Society something of the fascinating story of Abraham Cowley who left his native Fairford to minister to the indigenous people of Canada. He was the son of a stonemason and left school at the age of 12. He overcame his lack of formal education and with the encouragement of the Vicar, the Rev Francis Rice (later Lord Dynevor), he trained for the ministry and went off to the wilds of Canada. He and his wife coped with the harsh winters and raised a family there. Converts were slow to appear but eventually he made progress and built a church and school house. His family background in stonework undoubtedly helped him in such practical tasks. The original Indian name for the settlement was changed on the suggestion of the Bishop of Rupert’s Land to Fairford in honour of Cowley’s home town in 1851.

June described the warm reception on her visits to Manitoba – that warmth contrasting with the chill of -30o C outside – and she showed pictures of the more recent occasion when in 1997 a deputation came to Fairford for the 500th anniversary of the re-dedication of St Mary’s Church. A colourful procession made its way from the Market Place to the Church for the thanksgiving service. The Bishop of Gloucester was present in his robes plus priests, choir, two Mounties, various members of the visiting party and most important the chief with his feathered head-dress.

The Society returned to the newly refurbished Community Centre for its fourth Annual General Meeting. In his last report as Chair, Keith Cottam began by showing everyone the lectern beautifully crafted by Ian Westlake for the Heritage Room. It had been funded from a donation from the collection at the funeral of Enid Johnson, a founder member of the Society: Enid had been extremely interested in local and family history and kindly bequested a donation to the Society. Keith continued by reviewing the substantial achievements since the setting up of the Society four years ago from its tentative beginnings to the culmination of the Fairford Community Play and with the resulting income setting up the Heritage and Archive Room in the Centre. The Society has also held successful events and produced scholarly publications. He thanked his Committee for all their support and hard work. An appeal was made for a treasurer and Gill Compton kindly volunteered.

The new Committee was elected with Geoff Hawkes as Chairman, Brian Routledge Vice-Chair, Alison Hobson Secretary, Gill Compton treasurer, Ian Westlake Membership, Margaret Bishop FCC representative, Maurice Jones FTC, John Read, Julie Parker and Chris Hobson. Geoff Hawkes thanked Keith for his expert leadership and gave him a token of appreciation, a photographic record of his years as Chair and some liquid refreshment.

The refreshments which followed were generously sponsored by our president June Lewis-Jones to celebrate the setting up of the Heritage and Archive Room.

Geoff Bishop gave an interesting and informative talk on Fairford during World War II compiled from the oral history recordings, finishing with a very moving account from Tony Rogers, a Pole from what is now Lithuania, who had survived horrific experiences and finally ended up in England flying with 18 OTU, RAF and eventually retired to Fairford. Over 20 CDs have been made of the recordings and Geoff asked for anyone interested in interviewing or being interviewed to contact him.

Edwin Cuss gave an excellent slide show from his vast collection at this meeting. He covered the topic of transport in Fairford ranging from a delightful picture of him crawling as a baby to nostalgic pictures of Concorde. Prams, wheeled toys, bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, steam powered vehicles, buses, cars and aircraft plus walking all featured with interesting pictures of local people, some of whom were known to the audience. Edwin said he had thought it was going to be an easy selection but when he came to it he found it difficult to choose what to exclude. The talk was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Dr Andrew Warmington gave a fascinating talk about the religious turmoil that followed the English Civil War when Fairford hit the national headlines! He told the story of the pamphlets that were published in 1660 telling of a plague of frogs that visited the houses of Fairford’s Justice of the Peace and Lord of the Manor as a ‘punishment’ following their refusal to act when nonconformists were harassed by the locals. Dr Warmington studied the English Civil War for his doctorate and is the author of books and articles on the subject, especially Gloucestershire’s part in the War.

See Dr Warmington’s Prize winning Essay on the Subject

 

Hugh Dudley, deputy head teacher at Farmor’s School gave an interesting insight as to how Farmor’s made the change from a school of a few hundred when it moved to the Park site in 1961, to a comprehensive school in 1966 and in 2007 has 1094 pupils. It also gave an insight to the great changes in education that were happening when some of the audience were at school and was also an exercise in nostalgia for ex teachers and former pupils present.

Mr Dudley gave the Society a metal box with Farmor’s Endowed School printed on the side which was used as safe storage for registers and also the school cane!

The Society held its third Annual General Meeting at the new venue of Fairford Primary School as the Community Centre is undergoing its refurbishment. The Chairman and Treasurer gave their reports after which the Committee was voted in for another year. The Treasurer divided his report into funds belonging to the Society and funds relating to the Local Heritage Initiative grant. He reported that, as far as the Society’s funds were concerned, expenditure had exceeded revenue and a vote was called for to increase subscriptions from £2.50 to £3. The vote was carried.

After the business meeting Colin Moulden gave a fascinating account of the Fairford Branch Line and its place in railway history. Well illustrated by some excellent photographs, many taken by Colin himself, the talk was very well received as it brought back many memories to some of the Fairfordians in the audience!