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Art Editor of “Punch”. Born 15.4.1913 – Died 14.5.1979, by Peter Anderson See also entry for Cartoons of Russel Brockbank. *Former name of Thursley History Society Born in Canada and educated at Ridley College, Ontario, Russell came to England in 1929 and studied Art at Chelsea School of Art in London. A temporary diversion into industry occurred between 1932 and 1936 when he resumed his career as a freelance artist until the War. He married Eileen Hames in 1933. During the War he served as Lieut. RNVR, Northern Convoys, in the British Pacific Fleet and was demobilised in 1946. He then freelanced until 1949 when he became Art Editor of Punch. This appointment was intended to be one to five years but in fact it lasted until 1960. in Thursley. Russell had been secretly receiving agents' particulars of properties for sale in the area including one on “Badgers” in The Lane, or Back Lane as it was then called. By some strange quirk, or so it appeared to Eileen at the time, they arrived in the village following a brief inspection of the property, out of the blue Russell made an offer tp purchase which was accepted! Eileen was “rather surprised”. The year was 1951. Most of his work was carried out above the garage in the studio which Eileen called “The Haven”. He would draw seven days a week and as a result was not often in evidence when it came to various village activities with perhaps one exception – namely the annual New Year's Eve Party given by Val and Paddy at the Three Horse Shoes! Russell was a perfectionist as far as his drawing was concerned, When at work he would be surrounded by many photographs of the subject in order to build as much detail and accuracy into the drawings as possible and avoid too many critical letters from his readers. Publications have included:- 1948   Round The Bend 1953   Up The Straight 1955   Over The Line 1957   The Brockbank Omnibus 1958   Manifold Pressures 1963   Move Over and The Penguin Brockbank 1970   Motoring Through Punch 1900 – 1970 1973   Brockbank's Grand Prix 1975   The Best Of Brockbank   Apart from drawing his other passion was of, and in, cars. He started drawing them at the age of four  and it seems couldn't stop. He was a regular contributor to magazines including Speed and Motor in ten countries including Japan. He also drove fast cars, some say too fast, tried out exotic prototype models such as the Mini Cooper and D type Jaguar and was a motor racing aficionado. He visited all the Grand Prix. With Malcolm Muggeridge, Editor of Punch Russell became ill in the late 1970s and in 1978 they decided to move to Frome in Somerset to be nearer their daughter who was in the medical profession. He had once said to Eileen that he wanted to be buried in Thursley churchyard and wanted someone to draw an eye on his headstone so as to keep watch over Eileen. Sadly he died within two years of leaving the village and was cremated in Somerset. He left a widow and two children, Susan and Roger. From Chris Beetles Gallery: Russell Partridge Brockbank, SIA (1913-1979) During the years following the Second World War, the name of Russell Brockbank became synonymous with his cartoons of cars and planes. Grounded in his obsession with his favourite subjects, his delightful drawings are always completely accurate in detail, so can be enjoyed equally by all, from the non-motorist to the petrolhead. For the full entry click on the link below: https://www.chrisbeetles.com/artists/brockbank-russell-1913-1979.html From Motorsport Memorial: http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/LWFWIW/focusLWFWIW.php?db2=LWF&db=ct& From Epsom & Ewell History Explorer: This is a substantial entry and includes his Birth Certificate: For the full entry click on the link below: https://eehe.org.uk/68919/brockbank-russell-partridge-cartoonist/

As part of the History of Thursley Society's Wedding Belles exhibition held in 2007, this list of marriages that took place in St Michael's and All Angels was compiled. For ease of research a complete file of the marriages from 1613 to date can be found at the end of this post. Overall, the most popular month to be married is October and March the least: 2000 August 19th James Ainsworth & Amik Nadia Steven Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway September 9th Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway   2002 June 14th Giles Parker & Lauraine Anderson September 7th David Slater & Emma Joan Scales   2003 July 5th Adrian Hugh George Linegar & Eulando Florendo Rimando July 26th Andrew Simon Ruffell & Joanne Jobson   2004 October 16th Christopher Melchior Richmond Hall & Louise Jane Burgess   2005 April 1st Simon Nicholas Richmond Hall & Amanda Jane Wood June 11th Theo Ivanovic & Martha Georgina Harvey August 27th Kerry Porter & Katherine Erika Sealy September 3rd Andrew Martin & Susannah Lindsay Prain September 9th Philip Patrick Collier & Abigail Christie Anderson   2006 May 6th Nigel John Hall & Fenella Duyland Wakeley August 26th Peter Rouse & Amanda Baker September 23rd Joseph Douglas Mercer Nairne & Melissa Emily Wakeley Scene from a Wakeley wedding   2007 September 15th Mark Ralph Godman & Katie Helen Cripp 2009 May 2nd Mark Lawrence Gordon Adams & Sarah Anna Maria Keating June 27th Ricardo Nuno Bugia Pires & Hayley Joanna Jutsum July 11th Gilbert Thinghi Yule & Michelle Anna Axford July 17th Christopher James Mendelssohn & Caroline Louise Morris July 25th Michele Ernesto De Gregorio & Catherine Selvarani le Doux Edwards September 12th Paul Tyers & Lynette Mary Jean Lawson November 7th Kevin Dass & Liza Ann Devi Gray December 28th Richard Charles Miller & Anna Hutton-Potts 2010 April 24th Nikolaos Minas & Lydia Laura Stephen May 28th Mehrdad Rahbar Sehat & Charlotte Mary Ford June 12th Edward James Alsford & Lara Camilla Patrick July 24th Deane Richard Eales & Annabel Charlotte Sophia Timberlake November 6th Andrew Neil Peters & Hannah Ellen Ford 2011 June 18th Benjamin James Russell Stoneham & Chloe Ria Rankin November 12th Mark John Fisher Foster & Emily Jane Ockenden 2012 June 30th Alan George Andrew Weir & Hailey Louise Wilkinson July 12th Maximillian Michael Collins & Shannan Louise Keen September 1st Benjamin John Whitehead & Katherine Jeanne Morris 2014 July 12th Benjamin David Clutterbuck & Francesca Louise Goodwin 2015 May 23rd Charles Simon Treadwell & Anne Herforth Finnerup June 6th James Peter Goble & Lucy Kate Wall-Palmer August 1st Peter Edwin David Swabey & Magali Clotilde Marie Webster-Nicol 2016 May 28th Alistair Matthew Smith & Louisa May Hunter 2018 June 30th Peter Justin Rickenberg & Jacqueline Jean Brown 2019 March 15th Ryan John Birse & Amy Louise Rapley June 29th Thomas Clermont Lake Davies & Pollyanna Louise Russell Stoneham 2021 July 30th Toby Oliver Simon Downes & Leonora Susan Chisholm Schofield Historical note: Covid masks worn by most 2022 April 2nd Calum Alastair Gee & Jemma Elizabeth Corridan 2023 May 27th Neil Geoffrey Lankester Woods & Lisa Catherine Rickenberg Neil Woods & Lisa Rickenberg September 9th Rupert Terence Bulkeley Perrier & Elodie Camilla Pendred 2024 April 27th Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank July 20th Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts 2024 Photo: James White Photography September 14th Patrick Hugh Hudson & Matilda India Tess Warner (Wedding Blessing)

This article by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Thursley Parish Magazine I have been gripped by the tragic and rather mysterious tale of an air disaster over Thursley, in days gone by. The observant amongst you may have picked up a mere whisper of it in the poignant epitaph to Edmund Haviland from The Old Parsonage in last month’s magazine. It would appear that Edmund knew the harrowing tale that explains the existence of one of the memorials in Thursley church’s graveyard. The story begins on Wednesday 27th July 1932. It was a blustery day with storms predicted later on in early evening. A bright young man of 21 years old, already qualified as a pilot, planned an outing for his mother and a friend, visiting from Hanover, Germany – a mere afternoon jaunt to Hamble on the south coast and back to Heston, on the west side of London. The young man in question was Bruce Bayne Bossom, his mother Mrs Emily Bayne Bossom and his friend a rather dashing sounding Count Otto Erbach-Fürstenau, or to give him his full title, Count Otto Adolf Joseph Emich Alexander Graf zu Erbach-Fürstenau (aged 23). Mrs Bossom was the wife of wealthy noted architect and Member of Parliament for Maidstone, Mr Alfred C Bossom (later ennobled as Lord Bossom). Mr A C Bossom had had a renowned career in the US, an early exponent and well-respected pioneer and designer of many of New York’s famous skyscrapers in 1910-20’s Manhattan. He married his American wife, before returning to the UK with their three young sons, in order for them to receive a traditional English education (Eton). It was at this stage that he followed his father into political life in Westminster, only to be succeeded many years later by one of his two remaining sons, Sir Clive Bossom MP for Leominster. Mrs Emily Bayne Bossom Bruce Bossom, who piloted the plane, was a promising and talented airman, who by the age of 21 had passed his parts A and B licences and his blind flying licence and according to his father “had flown for several hundred hours and was capable of flying any type of machine”. He was fully intent on making his name in the still emerging world of aviation and had hopes of being an early adventurer, often talking about breaking flying records across the Atlantic. He had just become engaged, to Miss Odette Herard, although not with the blessing of his parents, who felt he was too young and not yet established in a career, for such a step. The young German prince, who hailed from a distinguished aristocratic family, had been visiting the Bossom family on his first trip to the UK, staying with them as their guest in their rather smart house in Carlton Gardens, Belgravia. The story of the actual crash is perhaps better left to the reporters from The Portsmouth Evening News, dated 28th July 1932, the day after the crash: MYSTERY OF MACHINE SHATTERED IN MID-AIR Mrs Emily Bossom, wife of Mr. A. C. Bossom, M.P. for Maidstone, her son Bruce, aged 21, and Prince Otto Erbach Furstenau were killed last night when the aeroplane in which they were flying to Hamble crashed at Tilford, near Churt, Surrey. The cause of the disaster is a mystery. Is it possible the machine may have been struck by lightning, though there is no sign of it having been burned? Or perhaps another view is that the wind may have torn off one of the wings which was seen to come away from the plane in mid-air? These are among the questions which experts will have to solve when they investigate the cause of the crash. Our Special Correspondent gained a grimly vivid idea of the terrible nature of the tragedy when at dawn today he stood atop the brow of Kettlebury Hill, within a mile of Mr. Lloyd George’s country home at Churt, and looked over the wide valley below. Half a-mile away, in a spinney of young beech trees, was the battered fuselage. Six hundred yards to the east of it was a portion of one wing, and nearly a mile still farther away was the wing which was seen to tear off in the air. Five hundred yards to the west of the fuselage, a policeman on guard marked the area about 100 yards square—in which the bodies were found. A gust of storm force wind, might have turned the machine over and put strain on the landing wires which they could not bear; which in turn could have ripped out the side of the aeroplane hurtling the occupants to their death. It is however, practically impossible to say anything definite at the moment, except that one side of the fuselage seems to have disappeared. The men of the Border Regiment were duo to have left their bivouacs at 3.30 a.m. to-day, to march across the slopes where the wreckage lies, to engage in a mock battle with the Devon’s, but the manoeuvres were postponed on account of the tragedy. It was these men who formed the search party which spread over the heather-clad valley looking for the bodies. This is the air accident investigation details of the crash. Date: 27-JUL-1932 Time: 17:45 Type: de Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth Owner/operator: Brian Lewis & Co Ltd Registration: G-ABDH C/n / msn: 2081 Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 Other fatalities: 0 Aircraft damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: Devil's Jump, Hankley Common, Churt, near Hindhead, Surrey Phase: En route Nature: Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi Departure airport: Heston Aerodrome, Heston, Middlesex Destination airport: Hamble, Hampshire We continue with the strange tale of the three passengers in a light aircraft, meeting their fate over Hankley Common. As you saw from last month’s photograph, the two members of the Bossom family killed – mother Emily and son Bruce - are buried in our churchyard. And although Alfred, Emily’s husband, went on to marry another American lady, he, along with a further son, are also buried alongside his first wife and son. An inquest into the plane crash was opened in Farnham Police Station on 29th July 1932, two days after the fatal accident. The Coroner, Mr G. Wills Taylor, stated that he proposed to take evidence just sufficient to permit the funerals to take place and would then adjourn, until the 14th September, to allow the air accident report to be made available. Sir Percy Simmons, solicitor, appeared for Mr A. Bossom, who sat next to him. The post mortems revealed some very odd results. It was confirmed that all three victims had died of multiple injuries, wholly consistent with falling heavily through the air. However, injuries which were indicative of burn marks or electrocution, caused before death, were present on all three bodies. Does this imply the lightening theory, rather than mechanical failure was more likely? Possibly, but never confirmed. Remember, they were flying through a thunderstorm at the time of the crash. The Western Daily Press of 30th July 1932 reported that “the funeral of Mrs Bossom and her son will take place at Thursley Churchyard, at the foot of the famous Hindhead Ridge, today at 2 o’clock”. The bodies were released from Farnham and went on immediately to Thursley. The body of Count Erbach Furstenau was conveyed to London to prepare for it to be taken across the Channel for interment at the family’s castle in Hanover. His brother was present at the Inquest and made the necessary arrangements. However, before rushing back to Germany, he paused briefly in Thursley to attend the funeral of Mrs Bossom and Bruce. The Scotsman newspaper reported on Saturday 1st August “In the secluded churchyard of Thursley, Surrey, about three miles from where they met their deaths on Wednesday evening, Mrs E Bossom and her son, Bruce were buried today. There were only two family mourners, Mr A C Bossom, MP for Maidstone and his elder surviving son Mr Clive Bossom. Other mourners were Count Alfred Graf zu Erbach Furstenau, brother of Count Otto, who was also killed in the crash and Sir Percy Simmons (solicitor). The officiating clergy were the vicar of the parish, the Rev. H G French and the vicar of Maidstone, Canon T K Sopwith. Mendelssohn’s “O for the Wings of a Dove” was played on the organ as the bodies were carried into the church. The only other music was the tune of the hymn “Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past” played as the coffins were borne to the grave. The bodies were laid side by side in a double grave. There was a wreath of Lilies of the Valley from Miss Odette Herard, to whom Mr Bruce Bossom was engaged. It was inscribed “Je t’adore, Odette” “. It was, it would seem, a very desolate and intimate affair. More about Odette. At the time of the accident, she was on a Mediterranean cruise with her mother, reported as being a Knightsbridge dressmaker, although reading between the lines, she was more likely a French dress designer, as she had a personal secretary and they lived in Bedford Square, Bloomsbury, one of the best-preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London. The Daily Herald rather dramatically reported as follows: AIRMAN'S LOVER WHISPERS, "I KNOW" - MONTE CARLO The news of the death of her young fiancé, Mr. Bruce Bossom, in an air crash at Farnham (Surrey) a fortnight ago, was made known to Miss Odette Herard by her mother, to-day, in the hospital at Monaco, where she is ill with scarlet fever. Miss Herard seemed to divine the nature of her mother's mission. " I know, mother. It is Bruce," she whispered, almost before her mother had spoken. Then, in spite of all her courage, Miss Herard. already weak and exhausted from the effects of her severe illness, broke down completely. Her mother said afterwards that her daughter had had a presentiment of impending disaster ever since she left England for her Mediterranean cruise. In parting from her fiancé on the quayside as she left England, she had had to turn away from him with tears in her eyes as she felt certain she would never see him again She had given him a little gold cross for luck in exchange for a ring. Ill in hospital, Miss Herard often said she heard the noise of aeroplane wings, and had feverishly asked when Bruce was coming to see her. A box of chocolates given by Mr Bossom has been kept by Miss Herard's mother as a pathetic souvenir. Only a week before Mr Bossom was killed, his parents had objected to his engagement on the grounds that it would interfere with his career as a pilot. During the research for this article, it was often implied that the flight itself may have had a more sinister raison d’etre, instead of the joyride that it first appeared. Some reports talked about a reward being offered for the return of money or jewels that the plane may have been carrying. That spurned all the local children onto Hankley and surrounding areas, in a vain search for the “illicit” stash. The truth was much more sentimental and believable. Mr and Mrs Bossom had travelled extensively throughout their time together, and rather charmingly, he bought her a pearl from everywhere they visited. This became a four-string set of pearls held together with a precious diamond clasp. When her body was recovered, forty of the sixty rare and highly valuable pearls were missing and her poor distraught husband offered a reward for any pearls recovered. Unfortunately, it was reported on 13th September, some two months later, that none of the missing jewels were ever traced. Finally, interestingly, to this day there are two little known memorials to the Bossom’s on Hankley Common. These mark the spots where their bodies fell. Of course, the bracken and heather will have grown up around them in the intervening years, but if anyone is interested in following up this mysterious tale, the co-ordinates of Emily’s memorial, as seen below, are N 51° 09.023 W 000° 44.760. Bossom aircrash 90th anniversary memorial (From an article written by Jackie Rickenberg in the Parish Magazine in September 2022) Some of you may remember the tragic tale of the Bossom air crash that I retold in the May and June 2021 articles. The crash, on Hankley in 1932, of a light aircraft, killed Lady Emily Bossom, her pilot son, Bruce Bossom and his friend, an aristocratic German Count. By another strange quirk of fate, it transpired that a villager who read it, knew a direct relative of the Bossom’s – both of whom are buried in our churchyard. This in turn led to a delightful meeting with Lady Barbara Bossom, whose late husband Sir Clive, younger brother of Bruce and son of Lady Emily, is also buried in the family plot in Thursley. As this July 27th was the 90th anniversary of the crash, a small memorial service was recall family held in the churchyard and attended by interested parties, Lady Barbara and her eldest son Sir Bruce (I know, a confusion of names!). Rev Hannah delivered a short reflective service and Sir Bruce read an apt poem (see below). Afterwards lunch at Hedge Farm provided an apt opportunity for the Bossom’s to recall family memories from that time. It was a sunny but overcast day and the graveyard was peaceful and tranquil, all very fitting for the occasion. The churchyard working committee had done a tremendous job of clearing around the impressive Bossom headstone and it seemed appropriate for Thursley to remember this part of its past in such a contemplative way. Impressions of a pilot by Gary Claude Stoker:read by Sir Bruce Bossom Flight is freedom in its purest form, To dance with the clouds which follow a storm; To roll and glide, to wheel and spin, To feel the joy that swells within; To leave the earth with its troubles and fly, And know the warmth of a clear spring sky; Then back to earth at the end of a day, Released from the tensions which melted away. Should my end come while I am in flight, Whether brightest day or darkest night; Spare me your pity and shrug off the pain, Secure in the knowledge that I’d do it again; For each of us is created to die, And within me I know, I was born to fly. The report below is from Surrey History: Report of Accidents Investigation Branch dated 27 July 1932 Report by Aviation Safety Network, updated 4 July 2021 de Havilland DH80 Puss Moth

When preparing for the Wedding Belles exhibition in 2008 (see separate entry), research was carried out in the available marriage registers. Nearly 400 weddings were analysed which recorded the occupations of the groom and groom's father. This would be a wonderful subject for a PhD! As a result of updating the Wedding Belles entires of Thursley Marriages, the years 2003 - 2024 have now been analysed and the occupation of the bride has been added:

This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in May 2024 From the left: Joyce, Patricia and Marion Everyone that knew Joyce, was very sad to learn of her recent passing. Joyce had lived in Thursley for around 66 years, an incredible achievement! This month we would like to pay tribute to Joyce through the recollections of her great village friends, Patricia Coles and Marion O’Brien. Joyce and Peter Hall moved into South House, in the village, in 1958. A year later, Pat and Patricia Coles moved into Upper Ridgeway Farm and finally, Michael and Marion O’Brien arrived at Vine Cottage in 1964, before moving to The Lodge, in 1969. All three couples were newly married and yet to start their families. The three wives became firm friends and shared their lives and family experiences. Here are some of their recollections: Marion remembers meeting Joyce and Peter at a party in Cosford House, where they threw the most memorable parties of the time. Patricia thinks she first met Joyce at her strawberry farm, Coles Strawberries, renowned in the area for over 45 years, even supplying Wimbledon for many summers. Everyone in the village went there to buy strawberries in the summer, so Patricia got to know both Marion and Joyce very quickly.   The couples began their families and soon Joyce and Peter had Christopher, Adriana and Simon, the Coles, Stephen and Malcolm and the O’Brien’s had James, Sarah and Charles. They remember the children playing happily for hours on the Common, making camps and having all sorts of adventures. Stephen now lives in New Zealand and Adriana in Australia, but still remain close. I am sure there are lots of stories, as yet untold to parents, even after all these years! Joyce was an excellent cook and soon got into village life, and she, Patricia and Marian helped with the catering of the annual Harvest Suppers, the flowers in the church and latterly, the Over 60’s club – very different to The 60’s Club, which was for all the children in the village, born in the 1960’s. Michael remembers being given the job of the table plan for the Harvest Suppers and each year incurring the wrath of Major Brian Camp, the rather formidable chairman of the Parish Council, who, it would appear, was easily given to criticism! Patricia and Marion reminisced further about village life back in their early days: There was a village policeman living in Harvesters, a busy Post Office, in the Old Post Office, a shop, run by Bernie Karn, in the Old Stores and a butcher alongside the shop. The day Marian and Michael moved in, they found a note on their kitchen table, welcoming them to the village from Nan Wonham, who ran the Post Office. Her husband Ben delivered the daily papers, milk was delivered by Mr Ellis and eggs could be bought from Ron and Mary Rapley, in Highfield Lane. Ron Voller was the postman and could be seen doing his rounds by bicycle. He and his wife, Nellie, also ran a kennels at Hilldown. Today it is Patricia who has a wonderful kennels and cattery at Upper Ridgeway Farm. Fewer people had cars and almost all only one per family. Many caught the bus, either to Guildford, Godalming or Hindhead, from the lay-by just before the slip road onto the A3. There was one bus an hour and the ladies of the village caught it to get their weekly shopping, carrying it all back home with them. Patricia recalled a lady who was terribly shy and if the returning bus had any Canadian soldiers on it (still billeted here after the war), she would walk all the way from Godalming with her shopping! There were at least eight working farms; Hill Farm (Middleton), Hedge Farm (Guyatt), Lower Highfield Farm (Rapley), Upper Highfield Farm (Abels), Cowdray Farm (Goble), Punchbowl Farm (Edwards), Upper Ridgeway Farm (Coles) and Bowlhead Green Farm (Ranson). Four of them are still working today. The Coles, Gobles and Ransons still run their family farms with Sally Scheffers now at Punchbowl Farm. The village school had recently closed when Joyce and Patricia arrived in Thursley and there was a school bus to Milford which originally came all the way up Highfield Lane. However, after some accidents on the lane, it took to stopping near the shop where the children would alight and disembark. The Red Lion had closed and was now a garage owned by Reg Cottle, who was a great help to everyone, but The Half Moon pub, near what is now Silkmill House and The Three Horseshoes were very much open. Streetfield had just been completed and there was a new cricket pavilion, which was later replaced following an arson attack. There was an active Women’s Institute as well as a monthly Church Fellowship and a Church choir which Sarah O’Brien sang in, despite being almost tone deaf (her words)! It was so interesting listening to these recollections and hearing how the village has changed. What hasn’t changed is the strong community spirit and great friendships forged within the village. With Sarah’s recent move back to Thursley, Marion, is impressed at the number of WhatsApp groups and other ways in which this spirit is kept going amongst the different generations. Joyce enjoyed this link with the next generations having her son Simon and his wife Amanda, and their two children Nat and Hannah, living at South House, as does Patricia, with Malcolm farming at Upper Ridgeway. One last fond memory of Joyce was told by Patricia: “Joan was wonderfully bilingual but occasionally got a bit mixed up. She once told me a friend had had aquapuncture! I now have to think every time I use the word acupuncture!" She is much missed.

The portrait is of the English novelist, Margaret Louisa Woods ( 20 November 1855 – 1 December 1945). She died in Vine Cottage, her home in Thursley. From Wikipedia: She was born in Rugby, the daughter of the scholar  George Granville Bradley , an academic and senior priest, who served as  Dean of Westminster  from 1881 to 1902. Her sister was the writer  Mabel Birchenough . In 1879 she married  Henry George Woods , who became President of  Trinity College, Oxford , and  Master of the Temple . They built Thessaly Cottage, on the ridge of  Boars Hill  above Oxford, one of the first brick houses to be established there, and stayed there until 1893. There were three sons. Margaret died at her home, Vine Cottage, in  Thursley , Surrey. Her ashes are interred with her husband, at  Holywell Cemetery , Oxford. A great deal more information on her life can be found in Yellow Nineties 2.0: https://1890s.ca/woods_bio/

First published in 1954, The Unsought Farm is Monica Edwards’s story of how she and her husband Bill bought Punchbowl Farm, just outside Thursley in Surrey, near to the Devil’s Punchbowl. The new printing is being released in March 2025 From the publisher, Girls Gone By : It is an absolutely fascinating book, with masses of black and white photographs, and really helps the reader to understand more about the adult Monica and the family. Never before published by Girls Gone By, this is a must not only for fans of Monica Edwards, but also for all those interested in events of the mid-twentieth century. We have two introductions, one called ‘Punch Bowl and Half House: Memories of Farm Life’ by Julia Edwards (no relation).and also ‘Growing Gold’ by Ali Catmore. The Unsought Farm will be published in March 2025 https://www.ggbp.co.uk/product/me-the-unsought-farm-by-monica-edwards/ Girls Gone By are selling their edition for £13.00 + £1.00 postage (£6.00 for overseas) which is good value when compared to hardback editions on sale through eBay etc which range from £30 to £75 for a copy.

This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in July 2022 Well, I hope you have all recovered from the truly memorable Platinum Jubilee celebrations! A magnificent week of pride and pagaentry in celebration of our hard-working, devoted and beloved monarch. If you can cast your mind back to before this time (it seems an age away!) and the last article, which was all about our famous one time resident H A L Fisher and his involvement in Operation Mincemeat, I wanted to continue the story, this month focusing on his wife Lettice Fisher and next month their daughter, Mary, at one time, all past residents of Thursley. They were both ground-breaking and inspiring women in their own right and here is Lettice’s story. Brass Plaque for H A L Fisher in Brockenhurst Church - Photograph by Sally Scheffers Lettice Fisher (nee Ilbert) was born in 1875 in Kensington, London, to Lady Jessie and Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert, a lawyer who was soon to become Clerk of the House of Commons. She was one of the earliest female students at Somerville College, Oxford and as such, Herbert (HAL) agreed to take her on as a pupil. In 1897, Lettice duly got her first in Modern History, and proceeded to the London School of Economics, working as a researcher for a two-year tenure. The Ilberts, so Lettice’s sister later wrote “had long coveted Mr Fisher as a son-in-law”, and Lady Ilbert took appropriate steps; she rented a house on the outskirts of Oxford for the summer following Lettice’s London placement. With four lively daughters between the ages of sixteen and twenty-three, plus their engaging little sister of eight, there was no shortage of young men to walk up Headington Hill for tennis or dinner, Fisher being among them. The engagement was announced, and in the summer of 1899, they were married. She then returned to Oxford to teach History at St Hugh’s College and also teaching Economics for the Association for the Higher Education of Women in Oxford. As her daughter, Mary, recounted; “ With his in-laws, Fisher was an unqualified success, however the Fishers were not so sure about Lettice. It was true that she was an efficient housekeeper – the Ilbert daughters were all brought up to believe that husbands must be sheltered from practical cares! It was true also that she was an admirable hostess to his colleagues, friends and pupils, and that it never occurred to her not to put his work first. But the Fisher view of Woman was as a “dark star” reflecting the glory of Man and Lettice was not at all like a dark star. She was enthusiastic, confident and articulate, ready to throw herself into any generous cause, not in the least concerned with conventions and quite determined to earn her own living. She gardened and kept hens, she played the violin, she involved herself in housing management, infant welfare, women’s suffrage and liberal politics. As a teacher of History and Economics, she was one of the first, perhaps the very first, married woman to hold a tutorship in an Oxford women’s college. As a good liberal, her husband approved all the causes but perhaps wished there were not so many of them!” In 1913, the Fishers had a daughter Mary, destined to be their only child. It didn’t appear to have diminished Mary’s ambitions and in 1916-1918 she chaired the national executive of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. During World War 1, Lettice undertook welfare work among women munitions workers. It was the wartime scale of illegitimacy and its resulting hardships that led her, in 1918, to found the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child, in order to challenge the stigma associated with single parent families, and to provide them with the support they needed. The Council aimed to reform the Acts that discriminated against illegitimate children, and also to address the higher death rates of children born outside marriage, by providing accommodation for single mothers and their babies. Lettice Fisher was the first chair of the Council, from 1918 to 1950. In the early 1970’s, after Lettice’s departure, the name was changed to National Council for One Parent Families and in 2007, it merged with Gingerbread, and continues to this day working to improve the livelihood of single parents. J K Rowling is currently the charity’s President. Mary continues “There was a very odd situation after my father died in 1940, because my mother thought that New College (where my father was Warden) would elect another Warden and she would be returning to Thursley as soon as she could get out of the house. However, New College decided that they didn’t want to elect another Warden at the beginning of the war; they wanted to hold the position and let the Sub-Warden go on administering. And so, they asked her to stay on and keep on running the Lodgings, perhaps put up some evacuees, keep in touch with undergraduates and so on. So that is what my mother did until 1943, when they did brace themselves and elect another Warden.” Hence why H A L Fisher’s belongings were still in Oxford when Operation Mincemeat had the need for his quality underwear. And why Lettice Fisher did not move permanently to Rock Cottage at the top of Highfield Lane until 1943. She was then able to involve herself in the activities of the village: she was a governor of Thursley School, a member of the WI, started a choir and made many friends. She suffered her first stroke in 1949 and died in 1956. Lettice was an extraordinary woman of her time, strong, fiercely intelligent with a great capacity for empathy and kindness. Thursley should feel very proud to have had such a dazzling (not dark!) star in its midst during this time. Next month – Mary Bennett (nee Fisher).

This walk was devised, written and illustrated by Amanda Flint and Sean Edwards in August 2018 and revised (slightly) in March 2025.

As usual, Thursley is recognising the importance of celebrating VE Day with a variety of events: