Progamme 2002 - 2003
Thursday 3 rd. October 2002
FARM & FIELDS IN NORTH BUCKS
Professor Michael Drake and David Watson = 2 Villages Archive Trust
Explores the names, sizes and uses of of fields
in MIlton Keynes Parish and the farmers who worked them.
Thursday, 7 th. November 2002
AIRCREW LIFE IN THE RAF
Jack Biggs, Jack Bromfield and Charlie Browning
These former members of the RAF talk about
Bomber and Fighter Command in World War II
Thursday, 5 th. December 2002
MY LIFE ON THE RAILWAY
Bob Berry
Former engine driver and Schools Safety Officer
will reminisce about his experiences
Thursday 6 th. February 2003
THE HIDDEN PAST OF QURNA VILLAGE, THEBES,
EGYPT
The villagers of Qurna are notorious in Egyptian
history as "tomb-robbers" blamed for ransacking the tombs in the nearby
Valley of the Kings (Tutankhamen's was one they missed!). Caroline Simpson
has researched Qurna's history and from this a differenr picture emerges.
Thursday 6 th. March 2003
MARKHAM MEMORIAL LECTURE:
INVASION OF 1940
Dr. Peter Jarvis
Thursday 3 rd April 2003
ROMAN CHILDHOOD
Dr Janet Huskinson, Head of Department of Classics, Open University
Did the Romans regard childhood as we do?
Were Roman adults "indifferent" to their Children? Dr Huskinson will examine
these questions (if not definitively answer them!).
Thursday, 16 May 2003
AGM:
THE HISTORY OF POLLARD'S BLETCHLEY
John Pollard
John Pollard, a third generation of the Bletchley
firm pf ironmongers, will relate its history and stories of the people
who worked for the company. He will also display stock dating back 100
years.
Chairman
Ena Halmos 01525
261652
Vice-Chairman
Roland Doggett.
Secretary
Diana Kesterton 01908 373055
Treasurer
Justine Smith 01908
645957
Membership
Joanne Beard 01908
222847
MEMBERS EVENING 2002
January 17 2002 - The Turnpike Roads of North Bucks Julian Hunt
In the 20th century, we have seen for ourselves how motorways transformed the look of much of our countryside (not often for the better!) and affected the economic growth or decline of much of the country. A similar transformation took place in the 18th century with the coming of turnpike roads. We have experienced the former (would there have been a Milton Keynes without the M1?), now we heared about the changes the latter made to the area in which we live.
Julian Hunt is the County Records & Local Studies Manager and Head of the County Museum Service.
Programme for Spring 2002
7 th. February The Lycians, Southern Turkey: A Tale of Survival
The Lycians survived
from the prehistoric almost into the Roman period in part of Asia Minor
which is now Southern Turkey.. They were noted for the houselike caves
in which they buried their dead and their willingness to sacrifice their
lives rather than capitulate. The pictures below show views of the necropolis
of the Lycians on the hillside above Myra on Turkey's south coast.
7 th. March The Romance of the straw Hat
16 th. May
AGM Radio & TV Service 1950-2000
AUTUMN 2001
October 4 THE TUDORS AT HOME
Steve Parrish
Steve Parrish practises Living History rather than just talking about it. He showed us what Tudor men wore, and his partner Jo Ellis modelled what Tudor women wore, and also what they ate, drank, cultivated and fought with. He has created a settlement at Pitsford, Northants with a Bronze Age house, an Anglo-Saxon grave and aTudor knot garden which we hope to visit next summer.
November 1 Black Propaganda
John Pether
We all know now what went on at Bletchley Park during the last war but do you know what was happening in Woburn Abbey or in what is now Maryland College or the Paris House Restaurant or some very repectable houses in Aspley Guise? And why was a German Forces Radio station broadcasting the latest German song hits from Potsgrove?
John Pether is the author of the Bletchley Park booklet Black Propoganda and he will reveal all.
December 6 Pilot Training in USAAC
Jack Biggs
Popular speaker, Jack Biggs, recountted his experiences as one of the first intake of RAF trainies selected to train with the United States Air Corps
Friday December 7 A Victorian Christmas
Members were invited to make a seasonal visit to the Milton Keynes Museum. We were met there by the butler who gave us each a glass of mulled wine, and showed us into the parlour to enjoy an entertainment of music and recitations. Then we savoured the chestnuts cooked on the range before our very eyes.
As well as all this, the museum itself, suitably decorated, was open, and also the Granary Tea Room with more substantial fare and the excellent shop.
We arranged to share cars (not hansom cabs, alas!) from Rectory Cottages at 4pm, and meet those going under their own steam at the Museum at 4.30pm.
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Saturday 29th September Bucks Local History Network (BLHN)
2001 LOCAL HISTORY FAIR AND CONFERENCE
Fairburn Lecture Hall, Chandos Road,
University of Buckingham
This was the second annual fair organised by the recently formed Bucks Local History Network. The day wa planned as a largely informal occasion for local historians within the county to meet and exchange ideas and contacts. Those of us who attended the first one in Aylesbury last year found the displays by local societies of their various activities particular interesting. Our own display, concentrating mostly on our part in saving Bletchley Park, aroused much interest.
This year your committee wished to feature other activities of our society both past and present eg the saving of Rectory Cottages, our past archaeological digs, and also the researches of individual members. We were grateful to hear from any member who had any material eg photographs or press reports of past activities that we might use for our display. We would also welcomed any reminiscences of members about such activities.
We were happy to put on sale any publications by members.
As well as these displays, there were three lectures during the course of the day viz:
The Old Enemies: Buckingham and Aylesbury
Professor John Clarke, University of Buckingham
North Bucks and the Industrial Revolution
Julian Hunt, Head of Museum Service, Bucks County Museum
Farms and Fields in North Bucks
Professor Michael Drake, Emeritus Professor, Open University
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SUBSCRIPTIONS AND THEIR RENEWAL
At present, the Society has a somewhat chaotic system whereby each member's annual renewal of subscription falls due on the anniversary of the date of their joining. At the Annual General Meeting in May it was agreed that the Society's financial year should run from October 1st and that all subscriptions should become due on that date. It was further agreed that members who fail to renew their subscription during the course of the year, would be sent a copy of the Newsletter and Programme for the following year with a reminder that if the subscription were not then paid, their membership would be deemed to have lapsed and that they would become liable to pay the non-members entrance fee for any meetings attended and receive no futher communications from the Society. New members who join during the course of the year after attending one or two meetings as paying guests will have their subscription reduced for that year by £2.
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BLETCHLEY COMMUNITY HERITAGE INITIATIVE
Members may like to be reminded that the Living Archive has set up in Bletchley Library a Heritage Centre with a photo archive which has hundreds of photographs of past Bletchley and a newspaper archive with cuttings of stories about Bletchley from 1880 onwards. These could be a boon to members engaged in a local history project or a pleasant stroll down memory lane for others. When you are next in the Library or nearby why not look in?
There will soon also be an oral archive of recordings of the reminiscences of Bletchley people. Could you contribute to this by recording some of your memories of Bletchley past? At Roly DoggettÕs talk and slide show in May, lots of members helped identified places and people shown. Why not make sure this information is handed on to future residents of Bletchley?
Have you got time to spare? The Community Heritage Initiative needs helpers who will be given training in all aspects of the work including working on computers, scanning photographs, oral interviewing techniques etc.
The Community Heritage Officer is Tracy Whitmore who can be contacted at the Library or on MK 322568. The web-site is: www.bletchley.org.uk
THE WEB
Are all these www.dot.coms a mystery to you? The Living Archive also runs 10 week courses in Leon school for people of all ages, so far the age range has been from 17 - 82 so whatever your age you can move in to today's world if you wish. Information about these is also available from Tracy Whitmore or the library.
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PRACTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
In the early years of the Society, we ourselves undertook excavations at local sites but for various reasons - the highly sophisticated technology now employed (geophysics and all that) and the 'increasing maturity' of many of us - we have not engaged in this activity for a number of years. Some of our members, especially young ones, may regret this so we would like to draw their attention to the following opportunities for taking part in digs at the following local excavations that do seek helpers.
The Roman Villa at Piddington Piddington is just off the B526 between Newport Pagnall and Northampton. This is an ongoing excavation administered by the Upper Nene Archaeological Society and the leader is Dr Jill Eyers. Last year, they excavated a Roman midden (rubbish heap!) and they were amazed to find a wealth of interesting materials including pots, jewellery and coins. And it is not just the physically fit that are needed: as well as diggers, helpers are also needed with cleaning and recording finds, environmental sampling and analysis etc. The 2001 digs have now taken place over three weekends in August. Dr Eyers came to talk to us in February - about archaeology in Turkey - so you will have a chance to find out more from her about this. Before that, however, she is ran a...............
Conservation Day at Linford Quarry, Milton Keynes on Saturday November 25th.
This was a training and work day using well-founded conservation techniques, clearing quarry faces for geological exposure. The cost was £20.
Whitehall Farm Roman Villa, Nether Heyford, Northants This is another ongoing excavation led by Steve Young of University College, Northampton. Last year's dig took place during June and July. Justine Smith visited it on one of its Open Days and writes:
This site was only discovered a few years ago and as it is on a working farm they only dig for 4 weeks in the year. They have uncovered much of the ground plan of the main building which was largely robbed out but the bath house was quite well preserved. They are hoping to uncover more of the surrounding buildings in the next dig. There were a lot of finds in the buildings and also in the surrounding area including a Saxon burial of a warrior with his sword. I went to their open day on 22nd July 2001 and picked up a leaflet. They were also looking for helpers for this year's dig. Anyone is welcome. If they are not up to wielding a spade, there are lots of other jobs such as washing and cataloguing the finds.
Their web-site is www.whitehallvilla.co.uk
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PUBLICATIONS
The Society has the
following publications for sale which may be purchased at any of our meetings:
'Rothschilds and Disraeli
in Buckinghamshire' by David Kessler Price £3
'Historical Guide to Four Walks around West Bletchley' by Keith Woodward Price 80p
'Around Stony Stratford - A Third Selection' by Audrey Lambert, published by Sutton Publishing Ltd Price £9.99
YOUNG ARCHAEOLOGISTS CLUB
The Council for British Archaeology runs the very lively Young Archaeologists Club for young people beween the ages of 9 - 16. Even younger applicants (known as YAC Supporters) may join but will receive just a membership pack which will keep them up to date until they are old enough to participate more fully. The membership pack contains a badge, a bookmark, a membership certificate, a membership card allowing free entry to all English Heritage and Cadw Welsh Historic Monument sites and discounted/free entry to a large number of museums and centres across the UK, branch information , details of current competitions and a copy of the magazine Young Archaeologist. Tony Robinson of Time Team fame is the Hon. President. The Club organises YAC holidays, National Archaeology Days, and an annual Young Archaeologist of the Year Award (last yearÕs competition was to design a time capsule for future archaeologists) There are 68 local branches which organise their own activities, the nearest to us being the Northampton branch
If you know a young person who is a fan of Time Team or is otherwise interested in archaeology, membership of the Club would make a marvellous birthday or Christmas present. Individual membership is £7.50 but Family membership is just £10 which gives one magazine per family, with a badge, certificate and membership card for each child. A real bargain! School membership at £13.50 is also available.
Further information from Diana Kesterton or from their website www.britarch.ac.uk/yac
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City Discovery Centre, Bradwell abbey
Are you recently retired and don't know what to do with yourself? are your weekends dull and uneventful? if so, and if you are looking for an exciting new hobby, are interested in the history of this area, intrigued by the man-made and natural environment and enjoy spending your spare time with people, why not consider becoming a volunteer at the City Discovery Centre, Bradwell Abbey? Volunteers are are needed to act as guides, sales assistants, library assistants, newsletter editors, guide book writers, publicity promoters and a variety of other tasks. If you want to find out more, ask Diana Kesterton for a leaflet and application form.
Next issue: We would very much like to have input from you the members. Whether you have reminiscences about people, places or events, or a piece of local history you have researched , or would like to request information from members to help with any research you are undertaking, please give or send them to the Secretary,Diana Kesterton, 4 Woburn Sands Road, Bow Brickhill, Milton Keynes, MK17 9LA