Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Eton Girl Guides Camp

The summer camp was run by Mrs Grizel Hartley, wife of Eton College master, with Miss Margery Mead. Photo taken about 1937. Left to right: Betty Devonshire, Betty Morris, Hilda Irvin, Edith Weeks, Gwen Allen (on running board), three unknowns, Winnie Thorn, Lilian Branwhite, Eileen Horsgood, Everlyn Irvin and Jean Morris. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - The Horticultural Society

 

The Eton Wick Horticultural Society's float c1931, decorated with donated produce and about to leave Common Road to join the procession of the decorated floats, Fire Brigade, musicians, etc. taking part in the King Edward VII Hospital Parade. The route took the procession to Slough, Eton, up Thames Street hill and on to the Hospital. The horse and cart was traditionally supplied by Bert Bond, the village greengrocer. Parades ceased after WW2 when the National Health Service funded the hospitals.

On the float is Ted Bond. Standing, left to right are, Mr Benham, George Paget, Bert Bond, <r Hemmings (Secretary), Joe Clarke, Hugh Haverly, Ern Woodhouse, Bert Benham (not believed to be related to the Benham on the left) and Harry Young.

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Tough Assignment - Chapel Officials in 1936

This is a table showing the active members of the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel congregation.

Society Stewards	Mr Archibald Chew and
	Mrs Annie Chew
Chapel Steward	Mr Harry Cook
Trust Secretary & Treasurer	Mr Archibald Chew
Poor Stewards	Mr Frank Styles and
	Miss Winifred Jewell
Organist & Choirmaster	Mr Frank Styles
Assistant Organist	Mrs Annie Chew
Class Leader	Mrs Annie Chew
Assistant Class Leaders	Messrs Arthur Morris and
	Harry Cook
Sunday School
Superintendent	Mr Archibald Chew
Secretary	Miss Sylvia Chew
Treasurer	Mr Harry Cook
Teachers	Mrs Chew,
	Mrs Hilda Paice,
	Mrs Olive Wiltshire,
	Miss Joyce Chew,
	Miss Sylvia Chew,
	Miss Marjorie Morris,
	Miss Winifred Jewell,
	Mr Harry Cook and
Sisterhood President)	Mrs Annie Chew
Treasurer)
Secretary)
Women's Work President	Mrs Spencer
Secretary	Mrs Annie Chew
Home Missions Secretary	Mr Arthur Morris
Overseas Missions Secretary	Miss Winifred Jewell
JMA Secretary	Miss Sylvia Chew
Prayer Reading Secretary	Miss Sylvia Chew
Church Temperance & Social Secretary	Miss Winifred Jewell
Christian Endeavour President	Mr Harry Cook
Vice President	Miss Winifred Jewell
Secretary	Miss Sylvia Chew
Treasurer	Miss Joyce Chew
Chapel Keeper	Mrs Sophie Chamberlain

The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission given by the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel to republish this history, Tough Assignment on this website.

Tough Assignment - 50 Years and Missionary Work

The mid 1930's was a period of change and increasing expenses.

These last two years had been very expensive ones for the chapel, for as well as the new Hall and all its attendant costs there had been a considerable increase in the ordinary expenses of running the chapel. The most crippling of these had been the quarterly quotas to the Circuit Funds which were first imposed in December 1933 at £8, and then increased to £10 per quarter a year and a half later. In 1935 the chapel was also redecorated throughout, both inside and out and there were several other new incidental expenses and increases. All of this meant that annual expenditure, and therefore income, doubled from 1933 to 1934, and then again, the following year. 

Annual expenditure stayed above £80 for the rest of the 1930s - a far cry from the 1920s average of a mere £13 per annum. The chapel keeper now had far more to do, and her salary had been substantially increased. The extension had brought other added expenses, such as water rates, increased insurance, and higher gas bills. More money was paid out to various funds, and small repairs to the chapel together with the necessary purchase of items of furniture and fittings were frequently recorded in the account book. Never again was income or expenditure to revert to the low figures of the pre-extension years, and at first sight it comes as a surprise to find the chapel ceasing to collect pew rents in 1938. Such rents had long been recognised as a regular source of income, but the idea was now considered old fashioned and undemocratic. Financially they were no great loss for they brought in less than £2 per year, and the 'envelope system' of voluntary contributions which was introduced a few years later proved more satisfactory. 

In 1936 the chapel was fifty years old and the anniversary was celebrated with a summer garden fete (held at Bryanston, the home of Mr and Mrs Chew) a jubilee service and an evening lecture. The Rev. Dr. Dinsdale Young of Central Hall, Westminster, was the chief speaker and he attracted members and ministers from the whole Circuit as well as a crowd of other people. He was a large man in stature and personality and one of the most well known and loved Methodist preachers. More than this he was recognised nationally as a superb speaker in an era that still set great store by such talent. It was both an honour and a delight that he was willing to preach at Eton Wick. 

The chapel was certainly showing no loss of vigour. Small it might be, but its members were ready, willing and able to serve their Lord and the wider community of the Circuit and neighbourhood. The first of the new groups or organisations which appears to have been started about this time was Christian Endeavour. It had been formed about 1929 and consisted of some dozen young people who met on a weekday evening for bible study, prayer, discussion and talks given by their own members.

Members of the group, were expected to be active Christians, willing to help at services and to prepare themselves for becoming local preachers. It was an inter-denominational organisation and some of them did preach at various churches in the district, Baptist and Congregational as well as Methodist. 

In the end, although several of the young men and women served the chapel in many capacities, only one of them became a local preacher. This was Bill Templeman, an ICI scientist (described in 'The Times' as one of the makers of the 20th century) who found Christianity at Eton Wick and also a wife in Mabel (the eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Chew). He later became Circuit Steward of the Windsor and Maidenhead Society. 

Missionary work had almost certainly long been a concern of the chapel, but it is not until the 1930s that we have any details of the work, by which time it would seem to have become a more organised activity. Since the mid-thirties there have always been secretaries concerned with the activities and collections made for Home Mission, Overseas Missions and the Junior Missionary Association (JMA). The first recorded officials were Miss Winifred Jewell (Overseas Missions, 1934), Miss Sylvia Chew (JMA 1934) and Mr Arthur Morris (Home Missions 1936). The Sisterhood was still functioning and was now under the presidency of Mrs Chew. Its programme was changing as the work sessions and readings were replaced by talks given by invited speakers. Class meetings also continued, though there appears to have been only one class at this time. Mrs Chew was the leader, assisted by Arthur Morris in 1935 and Harry Cook from the year after. In 1936 Mr Morris distributed tracts to 250 houses in the local area hoping thereby to achieve some small measure of good influence. There was also a Women's Work Committee and secretaries to the chapel's prayer union, Bible reading group and Temperance and Social Welfare. With so small a chapel membership, those that were active and willing served in many capacities! 

Perhaps the most vital work of the chapel, took place in the Sunday School. Classes were held twice each Sunday and the numbers of scholars stayed comfortably in the sixties with nine or ten teachers and sometimes two or three helpers as well. The surviving minute book of the teachers' meetings begins in 1939 when there were four classes for boys, five for girls and two for the infants. But perhaps the most fascinating details given in the minutes are those concerning prizes. It was resolved that year that scholars making: 

100 or more attendances should receive prizes valued at 1s 3d (6½p)

90 to 99 attendances should receive at prizes 1s valued  (5p) 

75 to 89 attendances should receive at prizes 9d valued (4½p) 

60 to 74 attendances should receive at prizes 6d valued (2½p) 

Every child who sat the scripture examination was to receive an extra 6d and there was to be a special prize for the scholar with the highest marks, and another for the boy or girl who had the highest attendance record. That summer, the last before the war, the Sunday School outing was to Hayling Island. Tea was taken at the Grotto Café and 1,000 half price tickets for amusements were purchased from Butlins!

Tough Assignment - The Tough Memorial Hall

 A New Era

The 1930s were a decade of change. Mrs Annie Chew, in place of her aunt, became joint society steward with her husband, Archibald Chew. They brought to the role their own ideas and a loosening of the reins. Such changes, however, were over-shadowed locally by the plans for an extension to the chapel and also nationally by the Methodist Church Union and the publication of 'The Methodist Hymn Book'. 

The first steps in bringing to fruition Mrs Tough's dream of a larger schoolroom were taken within a few months of here death and in January 1931 it was decided that 'rough plans and an estimated cost' should be obtained by Mr Chew as soon as possible. By September the Circuit Committee was able to give the necessary permission for a fund to be set up and early in 1932 the Tough Memorial Fund was launched. It was a large undertaking for so small a Society. Membership was only about twenty and much of the money would have to be found from outside the chapel. 

Meanwhile another problem had to be faced - the need for new trustees. Of the original eight appointed in 1886, only three remained. James Leaver and Robert Kirby, both elderly men, asked to be allowed to retire. It was decided that in future there should be twelve trustees, and in January 1933 eleven new ones were appointed with only Jessie Wilkins continuing in harness to give continuity to the Trust. Both Mr and Mrs Chew became trustees with Mr Chew the new secretary and treasurer. 

The important change which took place in 1932, however, was the union of the various Methodist Churches. The Primitives had broken away from the Wesleyan Church in the early 19th century over their evangelical preference for open air services, or camp meetings. Now some hundred years later such differences were being resolved and the Windsor and Maidenhead Wesleyan Circuit and the two Primitive Methodist Circuits centred on Maidenhead and Slough (previously Windsor) became one Methodist Circuit. Eton Wick was no longer a Primitive Methodist chapel, and in the wake of the amalgamation came a re-organisation in the running of the society. It is difficult now to separate these changes from those brought about by the death of Mrs Tough and the end of her autocratic rule, but the appointment of Mr Frederick Styles and Miss Winifred Jewell as poor stewards was an innovation taken from the Wesleyan Church. The annual meetings of the trustees were now more formal affairs with minutes being taken, and class leader meetings were begun. Mr and Mrs Chew were clearly the central figures running the chapel, but other members were also taking more responsibilities.

The Society, however, was still very small, with less that twenty five members at the beginning of the decade and only twenty nine at the end. But in spite of this there were over sixty children on the Sunday School roll. The little schoolroom on the other hand could only seat comfortably about a dozen children, and most of the classes had to be taught in the chapel itself. A new schoolroom was badly needed. 

The first appeal letters were sent out in 1932. A concert was held in the village hall in June and throughout the year subscriptions and promissory notes trickled in. The fund grew slowly, and it wasn't until January 1934 that Mr Cooper of Langley was appointed architect. By April tenders had been received from three building firms - but with these the blow fell. All three were much higher than anticipated and any decision to proceed with the plans had to-be deferred until more money could be raised. The fund had started with a legacy of £90 (£100 before tax) left by Mrs Tough, but even counting this the total amount collected was woefully far below the £390 of the lowest tender. Indeed, a month later when Mr Chew filled in the official application form for permission to enlarge the chapel, no more than £190 had either been received or promised. To the question as to what other money was likely to be received from subscriptions and public collections, he could only answer 'uncertain'. As to whether any other amounts were expected he simply wrote, 'Hopeful and trusting that financial help will come'. 

It was obvious that greater efforts would have to be made and over the next year Mr Chew was to write many more letters appealing for help. Sales of work, buffet suppers, socials and house to house collections all boosted the fund. The Manchester and London Extension Committee indicated that it was prepared to make a grant, and the plans were altered to comply with their suggestions. New tenders were received and in June 1935 that of Mr Miles, builder of Eton Wick, was accepted. A sub-committee with powers to act was formed and at last, on June 18th, the contract was signed. Building could now begin. 

 

After the five-year struggle to raise the money it took only three months for the extension to be built and the main arrangements for the lighting, heating and furnishing to be completed. It was in fact more than a mere schoolroom. The architect's plans included a kitchen, two toilets and a meeting room labelled the main room. The whole building was dignified with the title, 'The Tough Memorial Hall'. 

 

The Hall was officially opened at 4pm on 28th September 1935. The dedication address was given by the Rev. W. George Tucker, Synod Secretary, but it was Mrs Annie Chew who performed the actual opening ceremony by unlocking the door of the new Hall. After the service, tea was served in the Hall and a public meeting was held there in the evening. Both the local newspaper and the 'Methodist Recorder' reported the success of the occasion making much of the fact that the Hall had been opened free of debt - or nearly so. It had cost just over £519 but on the morning of the 28th, £56 was still needed, and this had to be raised before the end of the day if the chapel was to qualify for the remainder of the grant from the Manchester and London Extension Committee. Collections from the service and the profits from the tea had done much to reduce the outstanding amount, but when the treasurer was given opportunity to thank all those who had helped and given so freely that day, he also had to report that the total was still short by £11 14s. It was at this moment that Mr Russell Smith of Cricklewood, London (brother-in-law of Mrs Chew) handed over an open cheque, and thus saved the day --and the grant. 

The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission given by the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel to republish this history, Tough Assignment on this website.

Eton Wick: A Changing Village Before 1934

This part of the village has almost always been mainly residential, but elsewhere there 

Clifton House

were new shops and businesses being set up. One of the first additions in the twentieth century was probably the shop at Clifton House, now the post office. It has the distinction of being the first purpose-built shop in the village, and the cause of much open-eyed wonder to at least one small boy, who about 1902 watched they high sky-light going into place, and large marble slabs for counters being carried in. Before this he had only seen marble as tomb stones! The shop was 'built as a wedding present to young Mr Pratt from his father of Pratt & Sons, family grocers of Eton High Street. Unfortunately romance and business did not mix: tradition has it that the young couple were too kind-hearted so that within a few years the shop had to be sold. The next shopkeepers after this were the Harman's, after them Anderson, then Wiggington; until in 1931 the shop became Chantler's and remained so for the next forty years.

About 1907 Edward Woolhouse set up in business at 58 Eton Wick Road as a cyclemaker and repairer, though there was far more to his business than that. He hired out cycles, particularly to Eton College boys for this was the era of the bicycle. He also made and mended perambulators and many other household items. There is no doubt of his importance in Eton Wick nor his prestige when he became one of the first villagers to own a car, a De Dion. For many years the present Baron's Stores (no 62 Eton Wick Road) was occupied by William Hearn, boot and shoe repairer, saddler and even umbrella maker. Thomas Henry of Inkerman Road, on the other hand was a bespoke shoemaker. Like several other shoemakers in the village, though their names were not recorded in the trade directories, Mr Henry worked for Ganes of Eton and his customers were mainly from the College. About this period in the years before the First World War, Thomas Bond was first advertised as greengrocer of Alma Road; Albert Bond was following the same trade from his home at Ye Olde Cottage. Bert had begun his interest in business long before - while he was still at school - by selling fish to the workmen building the new lock at Boveney. When he left school he took to selling fruit and vegetables from a donkey and cart, promoting himself to a horse and cart as soon as he was able, and selling fish and rabbits as well. He was a familiar figure in the village for well over half a century, and his cart, piled high with clean and polished produce, annually took part in the Windsor Hospital Parade. North of New Town the land not built upon was a market garden known as Home Close and owned by Harry Prior. Albert Borret was a cowkeeper though he lived at Vine Cottage in the Eton Wick Road until he moved to Eton Cottage. Like the farmers he sold milk from a churn, measuring out the quantities into the customers' own jugs.

The Fly-paper Man

The long established shops continued through this forty year period, though the shopkeepers and the types of goods they sold changed. At one time there was a fish and chip shop, a fishmonger's, a confectioner's and Uneedus the draper's. All of these were advertised in the directories; but there were several small businesses that were not. Tinker' Palmer mended pots and pans, and boots and shoes at his home in Prospect Place. Mr Bolton attempted to establish a butcher's shop in Alma Road, but it was not a success. Meat could be bought from one of the grocer's shops when a carcass had been bought from Windsor market, or from one of the travelling horse-drawn shops that came into the village each week. Hendley's high-box type van was a familiar sight each Thursday until the Second World War. It carried all manner of household goods, pots, pans, baskets, tin baths, oil for lamps which were hung outside and inside of the van and piled high on top as it was so laden. Mappin's from Slough delivered cakes; the muffin man and the winkle man came in their seasons and in the summer the fly-paper man, complete with his top hat adorned with a sticky paper ribbon decorated with dead flies. How far he travelled is not known, but his song is remembered in Slough, Chalvey and Windsor: - 'Flies! Flies! Catch 'em alive! His appearance fascinated one small boy in Slough who captured his likeness on a page in his school history book.

After 1895 the launderies were rarely advertised either, though until the end of the 1920s they continued to play an important part in the working life of the village. Before the First World War there were at least five launderies operating. These were cottage launderies employing at the most about eight women as at Mrs Langridge's of Thatch Cottage. Even so not all the workers came from the village. At least a few lived in Dorney. Gradually much of the work done by these launderies was taken over by the College Laundry until there were only those of Mrs Cox and Mrs Miles left. All seem to have ceased by 1930. Many women, however, still took in washing, specialising in the items of clothing that were better hand washed such as jerseys and woollen socks.

In the village two other businesses still in existence, made their beginnings in the first decade of this century. From his home in Inkerman Road Albert Sibley, a shoemaker by trade, began his newspaper agency. It was a part time family affair, the sons collecting the local newspapers from the printer's in Windsor, and carrying them home in a home-made box on wheels. They would then distribute them if it were not too late at night. It became a full-time business when Bill Sibley set up at the corner of Alma Road in the 1940s. Rolley Bond was a smallholder, but he supplemented his income by running a cab service from his home at Palmer Place. He took College boys to the station, sick people to hospital, and regularly each holiday Miss Stearn, the village schoolmistress, to the station. Even before he left school Bob Bond, with his brothers, was helping his father with the horse and trap. Through the 1920s the business expanded to cover road haulage, becoming motorised at the end of the decade; the first advertisement is in the 1931 directory: - R. Bond & Sons, motor haulage and cartage, contractor, sand and ballast merchant. The firm was to flourish in the council building boom of the post war years, and Bob was to become one of the important members of the community. About 1935 he bought Dairy Farm and renovated the old farmhouse, and when Bell Farm no longer served as sewage farm he took over much of the land.

Other names are to be read in the directories of the 1930s - Jack Newall had taken over from Arthur Gregory as blacksmith, Miles & Sons were carpenters and undertakers in The Walk, and Scotty Hood was a coal merchant with premises in Sheepcote Road until the terrible night when his stables caught fire. There was now a chimney sweep, William Neal, and Mr Mumford had opened his butcher's shop at 31 Eton Wick Road (now Kelly's). The 1931 directory listed seven farmers and dairymen in Eton Wick; three of them were Tarrents - Alfred, George and Arthur, tenants of Little Common, Manor and Crown, and Saddocks Farms.

Perseverance House in Alma Road was the depot of the Uxbridge Gas Company. Gas had come to the village lust before the First World War; oil lamps were exchanged for gas mantles in the main rooms, and open fires and cottage ranges could be replaced by gas cookers - though this happened only very slowly. Two - or was it three - gas lamps lit the Eton Wick Road through the village. Electricity did not arrive in the village until the end of the 1930s; like gas, water and main drainage, it was brought into Eton Wick long after it was installed in Eton. Even so not all the houses were converted, several still had only gas in the 1950s, and at least one cottage in Albert Place was still without electricity when it was demolished in 1969. The only artificial light in the bedrooms was candlelight. Piped water did not come to the Boveney part of the village until the late 1920s, and only then after a campaign because the water had become contaminated.

About this time the first bus service reached Eton Wick. That was the Blue Bus which at first was no more than a converted Model H Ford van, seating six passengers and entered by steps at the back. A few years later there was competition from the yellow and brown Marguerite buses to take people to Windsor. This was the era of small bus companies and one man operations with much com-petition between rivals. The Blue Bus van was replaced by a proper bus and for several years in the late twenties and thirties Eton Wick had two bus services . Fares were only 1d and 1½d and the conductor-cum-driver would obligingly set down passengers anywhere along the Eton Wick Road. The Marguerite ceased operating before the end of the thirties, but the Blue Bus driven by Mr Cole continued well into the 1960s when his personal service was replaced by that offered by the national bus companies.

Edward Littleton Vaughan

These forty years while Eton Wick was a separate parish saw many innovations, but perhaps the most lasting has been the Village Hall. It was built by Burfoot and Son in 1906, but the land was the gift of Edward Littleton Vaughan. Known at first as the Eton Wick and Boveney Institute it was opened a year later on 22nd January 'under auspicious circumstances' according to the parish magazine. The opening ceremony was brief but impressive. The large room up-stairs was filled long before the appointed hour with parishioners and visitors'. The Institute, however, was more than just a building, it was a club replacing the old Working Men's Club which had been meeting at Wheatbutts. The new Institute, so it was explained in the speeches and reports of 1907, had been founded 'primarily for men and boys to promote fellowship and to provide whole-some recreation among these. The billiard room, a reading room and a large room suitable for concerts, the boys' room and a bar selling light refreshments and non-alcoholic drinks, all contributed to give the right atmosphere for a successful beginning to the Institute. Before the year was out, however, one note at least of dissension was being heard in the village - the women and girls were expressing their indignation and disappointment at being excluded. By December this had been altered, and the parish magazine was 'pleased to announce the formation of a Women's and Girls' Club, who thanks to the kindness of Mr Vaughan (were) now able to share in the recreation of the Institute'. Girls over thirteen years of age were eligible to become members at the cost of a 1d per week or a 1s per quarter. As well as the weekly social club there were a library, sewing class, fancy work class, gymnastics, dancing and table games.

Mr Vaughan became president of the institute and remained keenly interested in all its 

The Village Hall - 1907

activities; it was not in his character to be merely a figurehead. In 1934 he conveyed the Hall to Trustees for the use of the inhabitants of Eton Wick and Boveney. The first three trustees were all from the College and even today the Bursar by virtue of his office is always a trustee. The day to day running, however, has always been in the hands of a Village Hall Committee and various subcommittees. Over the years the range of activities and rules of the Institute have changed, and even its name as well, to the less formal 'Village Hall and Vaughan Club' , and the Boys' and Girls' Clubs have at times had no leader and had to be closed. Yet throughout the period the Hall seems to have been the social centre of the village. Dances, whist drives, concerts and debates were held there, many of them organised by the Institutes' own clubs and committees. Billiards, table tennis, darts and table games were available to its members; a billiard championship was organised in the 1930s ; Mr Vaughan presented a cup. Toddy' Vaughan, as he was affectionately known was associated with the Wick for over half a century - as president of the Village Hall, as chairman of the Parish Council and as father figure and benefactor. He took a personal interest in many of the sorrows and joys of the village, and many people still remember the help he gave them and the fun they had at his hay teas and cherry parties. It was he who bought Wheatbutts and restored it in the 1920s and who allowed Wheatbutts Field to be used each year for the Horticultural Show. He died in 1940 and the village did honour to his memory with a plaque in the Village Hall. After Mrs Vaughan's death in 1951 a stained glass window was placed in the church; it was her bequest in memory of her late husband

At last Eton Wick had become a real village and not merely a hamlet of Eton. Although it still had many connections with the town and College it had its own church and priest, a chapel, school, village hall, its own nurse and policeman, its own clubs and social life and most of the shops and services for everyday living. It seems a strange paradox then, that at this time when Eton Wick could offer its residents so much more than in any earlier period, that it should be reunited with Eton. In 1934, however, the life of the Eton Wick and Boveney Parish Councils came to an end, and all parts of the village were taken in to the Eton Urban District, while the remainder of Boveney was merged with Dorney Parish. Today Eton Wick is still part of Eton Town Council within the much larger Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

This is an extract from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 to 1977 by Judith Hunter.

Word War 2 Eighty Years On - Summer 1939

During the summer months of 1939 there was much to be done on the Home Front.  Men and Women  who volunteered to serve as wardens, firemen, rescue, ambulance and first aid personnel had to give of their available time for lectures and practical training Instruction. This training was generally taken after a day’s work or at the weekend. Wardens and firemen were then called upon to instruct citizens in the correct way to use stirrup pumps, how to deal with incendiary bombs, the use of the gas mask and how to take shelter safely in the event of an air raid. Air Raid Wardens were also  responsible for the fitting of gas masks and enforcing the blackout.  Parades and reviews of the military services and civil defence organizations were held during the war years. During July 1939  Harry Chantler in his capacity as ARP Warden represented Eton at the national review of ARP personnel held in Hyde Park, London where the salute was taken by Queen Elizabeth.

Although negotiations had been taking place for a considerable time regarding the installation of an electricity supply to the village, no agreement had been reached before the outbreak of hostilities, therefore no air raid siren was installed in the village.   Eton Wick relied on the sirens located at Eton, Slough and Datchet to give warning of enemy aircraft in the vicinity. Safeguards put in place to combat dislocation resulting from air raids included the establishment of emergency food supplies.  Large and small stores of dry goods were set up by the  Ministry of Food during 1940/41 at sites considered safe from bombing.  A small quantity of essential foodstuffs was deposited in Eton Wick village hall  also an emergency meat supply was lodged with the village butcher, George Mumford.  Local memories indicate that a refrigerator was installed, probably gas operated, but hearsay has it that a  temporary  electric power line  was rigged from a near point;  if this was so, the nearest supply would have been from  Cippenham or Dorney.

Civilian Gas Mask - image courtesy of Object Lessons website. 

Before an issue of gas masks could begin, the separate component parts supplied  in bulk to the local ARP units required assembly.  For the Eton district this involved the assembly of more than three thousand units,  the work being carried out during one evening by Eton College staff and helpers.  Initially there was a shortage but before September,  ARP Wardens had fitted each resident of Eton and Eton Wick with their mask complete with its cardboard carrying case.  During the summer of 1940 smoke filters were fitted to the masks. This may have been a selective procedure to combat the effects of the smoke screen lamps installed during 1940 to protect the Slough trading estate.  Damage to one’s gas mask incurred the following charges,  complete mask adult 2/6d, face piece 1/6d, container 1/0d and the cardboard box 2d.  To ensure residents knew how to use their gas masks, Wardens visited homes to checked that the fit was correct. This  sometimes presented difficulties and Warden Harry Chantler remembered the tantrums of children who would not co-operate, whilst others found the smell of the rubber face piece nauseous.  Also to be fitted were the special designed gas mask for babies and invalids.   One case  requiring patience and tact involved a resident who mentally could not  come to terms with wearing a gas mask.  After several visits and attempts at persuasion that always met with point blank refusal even to try on the gas mask, Harry with his cool and Christian approach to such matters, decided that, rather than upset the person, it would be better to leave the situation and nip around quickly if a gas attack was likely and then see what could be done!!.

The Eton U.D.C., being responsible for the provision of private and public air raid shelters. asked for tenders from local ironmongers and engineering firms. The Council Surveyor recommended a 'Fortress' type shelter from Metal Agencies of Slough at a quoted price of £4-10 shillings with the suggestion that tenants of council properties erect their own shelters.  It was pointed out that many people in Eton living in Brocas Street, Kings Stable and other streets in that area had no space for a shelter, suggesting that permission be sought from Eton College to erect shelters on the Brocas but this scheme for various reasons was thought not to be practicable and did not proceed. Shelters had been completed at the College Arms and the archway to the Eton College boathouses with other sites already selected including the tunnels under Barnes Pool and the railway arches. The provision of air raid shelters became the subject of heated debate in the Eton Council Chamber during the following year (1940). Assurance from the Surveyor and Council Chairman that Eton was deemed a safe area, therefore having no priority for shelters, did nothing to allay the fears of the residents.

The approaching war was not the sole interest in the village. Ten new dwellings, the first council development in Eton Wick, had been erected on Bells field and were ready for letting. The new houses were of one bedroom, three bedroom and four bedroom type with corresponding rents of three shillings and sixpence, eight shillings, and ten shillings and sixpence per week.  These dwellings were named after the village benefactor ‘Toddy’ Vaughan,  and called ‘Vaughan Gardens’.

This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham. 

World War 2 - April 1939

Britain re-introduced conscription on April 26th 1939 for men aged twenty to twenty one years to undertake six months military training.  Many  of those  called under the act went for training with anti-aircraft and searchlight regiments.  During the months prior to the outbreak of war, recruitment of volunteers for the Air Raid Precaution (A.R.P.) service was stepped up. Eton Urban District Council (E.U.D.C.), under the authority of Buckinghamshire County Council, became responsible for the local air raid precautions which were administration and directed from the Council Offices at Barnes Pool Bridge, Eton.   

Harry Chantler’s Post Office and Grocery Store — 1960

Eton Wick volunteers to the local A.R.P. units included  Arthur Codd; Harry Chantler; Albert Bond; Ernie Drake; Walter Elkins;  Mr Gregory; and Reverend Morris.  Mr Codd, then  employed as the manager of the E.U.D.C. Bell Farm sewage beds, became Chief Warden.  A.R.P. Messengers for the village were Frank Bond and Ken Weller.   Bill Akers and Harry Johnson with others joined the Auxiliary Fire Service.  Two A.R.P. Posts were  established in the village, one at  Clifton House,  the Post Office and Grocery Store of  Mr Chantler, the other at the Red House, the home and office of Burfoots, the local builder.  These business premises were chosen as being equipped with a telephone and someone always present to receive calls during air raid alerts. 

Establishment of an A.R.P. wardens’ post at Harry Chantler’s shop involved  shoring up the back room with bulks of timber and sand bags against bomb blast.  The job was so well done that when Harry married, he was unable to take delivery of his new furniture due to the obstruction.   This added protection raised another problem  for Mr an Mrs Chantler when the evacuees arrived in the village.  Upon inspection of their home they were told by the London County Council (L.C.C.) Headmaster,  Mr Cawsley, that their premises were not suitable to take children.  

The loan of the Coach House in Hogarth Road, (now part of Victoria Road). free of charge by Mr Nottage to the Eton fire Brigade for the duration of the war,  allowed for the establishment of an auxiliary fire point at Eton Wick and was agreed on the  condition that the council undertook the insurance  of the building.

Coach House. Eton Wick.  Wartime auxiliary fire point

Additional  protection of the building against bomb blast was needed requiring the reinforcement of the external walls; the addition of this extra walling was carried out by Burfoots including an office at the Eton Fire Station at a cost  of £142 - 5s.

Responding to the call  by the County Police Authority for men to train as Special Constables, Mr Morrell, Johnny Bell, Bob Friend, Edwin Buckland, Ernie Thomas. Ernie Prosser and Norman Lane  volunteered and were sworn in carrying out their duties at Eton and Eton Wick.  David Bryant with Eddie and Ernie Bond joined as police messengers.  At first their reporting post was the surface shelter located in the garden of the police house, Moores Lane, until such time as other facilities became available at the Wheatbutts Scout Hut.  The average duty rosta was two nights per week unless an alert sounded, then every one reported for duty which often became an all night stint. Night duty by civil defence volunteers was not an acceptable excuse for absenteeism from work the following day.   Persistent offenders working in factories engaged in the production of military equipment or in public transport risked being summoned to appear at court to explain their action and possibly face a court fine. 

This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham. 

Recollections of boyhood holidays spent in Eton 1931-1939

The memories I relate here are those I recall after a lapse of more than 70 years. They are fragmentary in nature and of no special significance, except insofar as they give me pleasure in recalling scenes of my boyhood.

My first acquaintance with Eton would have been in 1931. We lived in Belfast, where my father had moved after the 1914-18 war, and this was my first journey outside Ireland. Leaving Belfast on the evening boat to Liverpool, we journeyed by train to Euston, then over to Paddington, from whence we traveled to Slough, changed trains for the Windsor branch line, and arrived in Windsor Central sometime in the late afternoon. Crossing Windsor Bridge, we walked down the High Street until we came to a Garage. Suddenly we turned down a narrow lane — Tangier Lane. A short distance further on we turned off into Sunbury Road, where my grandparents lived at No. 11. A meal, and then, for my sister and 1, bed. Sunbury Road was a quiet little cul-de-sac, at the end of which was a large yard containing some timber sheds and a wired-off hen run. On the opposite side of the road was a small shop of the General Store variety, where my sister and I — when we were given the money — bought Sherbet Bags from which one sucked sherbet through a liquorice tube, Grandma occasionally gave us scraps of bread to feed to the hens, which were owned by a rather dour man whose name I cannot remember with certainty.

Granddad's house was small, two downstairs rooms and a kitchen. The WC was outside, accessed from the back garden. It was in the front room that, one sunny afternoon, I discovered on a bookshelf Jules Verne's "From the Earth to The Moon". I was entranced by this, and could hardly put it down when called for tea.

Two sounds stay in my memory. One, the mellow chimes of the College clock; the other, the peculiar yodelling call of the milkman "Milk-ooo", as I sat reading in the front room.

In those years, the High Street was quite busy with buses and lorries of various sorts, although as the years passed the traffic became heavier. However, it was easy enough to cross over to the passageway leading to St. John's — which at that time still had a spire — and which brought us into South Meadow, A short distance away were two swings, which my sister and I made frequent use of
The river played a large part in our holidays. At approximately the spot where the river boats now start, one could hire rowing boats of various sizes. My father, whose service in the Royal Navy in the 1914-18 war probably influenced his choice, always hired a four-oar Gig, in which in the course of time I learned to row quite competently under his instruction, and could "feather" my oars. The photograph below shows one of these Gigs with my sister and I rowing, with father and Granddad in the stern seat Granddad is the one with a cap and the tiller lines over his shoulder. I think that I was making some uncomplimentary remark to my sister.

We usually rowed up towards Boveney, as I remember my father instructing me to turn "bows on" to the not inconsiderable wake left by the river steamers of that time, so this photo was most likely taken by my mother somewhere on the way.

River steamers at that time started from Riverside, and had to lower their funnels to pass under Windsor Bridge. A partial view of one of the steamers in shown on Page 122 of the series of photographs of Windsor and district taken by the late Samuel Logan in the mid 1930's, and is reproduced below.

On the way up to Windsor, there was at the corner of the Bridge and on the left hand side, there was a small shop that sold fishing tackle (could this by the one mentioned by Brinsley-Richard in his "Seven Years at Eton"?). One day my father bought a fishing rod and tackle, and, equipped with sandwiches and ginger beer tablets, he and I proceeded along the Brocas until we found a suitable spot to sit and cast our 1ine into the water. Our catch that day was five gudgeon. We had them fried for tea and a disappointment they were, as they had a distinctly muddy flavour, as also had our ginger beer when we dissolved the ginger beer tablets in river water. 

My father was always interested in church architecture, and we never failed to take a walk up to Boveney Church which I think was still in use at that time. The door was open, and I recollect the Sanctuary Lamp suspended from the roof was lit on the occasion of my first visit. 

At that time, Windsor was not nearly as crowded with tourists as it is now. Access to the Castle was simply a matter of walking through the Henry VIII Gateway — no queue or entrance charge — and thereafter the whole Castle, with the exception of the private areas, was open to one. Up the circular staircase in the Round Tower, passing the Sebastopol Bell and onto the battlements, the Curfew Tower, Cloisters, and down the Hundred Steps. Other walks took us through the College, past the Cloisters, where the pump was still in working order, out past King Prajadhipok's Garden and so over to Fellows Pond and Sixth Form Bench, where for the first time in my life I saw a kingfisher. 

Reverting to Granddad's house, the street door opened directly into the front room, where the penny in the slot gas meter was installed. As the only lighting was by gas, a sudden diminution in the light warned that another penny had to be put into the meter. Cooking was by gas stove in the kitchen, entered from the living room, where a large coal-fired range was still in place, but never used except possibly in winter for heating the room. 

In the garden at the back was an arch, over which and along the railings separating the house Granddad had trained hops which, according to Grandma, came from the "Hop Garden". My father took a root of this home, where it flourished. In course of time I took a root of this when I moved to and settled in Dublin. It still grows vigorously in my back garden, and it is to me my last living link with Eton. 

With the outbreak of war our visits to Eton ceased, and I did not see it again until 1948. Grandma was dead, and Granddad was in a nursing home in Slough. That summer I went to visit him, and stayed in the Cockpit which at that time took paying guests. Apart from the damage to the College, Eton looked much the same as I remembered it. Buses to Slough were still operating via the High Street, Undoubtedly, the closing of Windsor Bridge to traffic has, in my opinion, improved Eton by restoring to it comparative calm and peacefulness. 

While jotting down these recollections of the past, brief and inconsequential as they are, I wondered why I have such an interest in, and affection for, Eton. It may simply be that I was so happy and received so many new experiences there as a boy. It may be because it appealed so much to my interest in history and things of the past.

By S. Baldwin

Eton Wick WI - Our Community Today & Tomorrow

The Eton Wick and Boveney WI was started in the 1930's by Edward L. Vaughan and his wife. Mr Vaughan was an Eton College master who lived in the village. The village WI ran for 72 years until Christmas 2006, here are some photographs from the final meeting.

Mrs Joan Ballhatchet, a long time member of the village WI told Windsor and Eton Express "We were determined to keep going until 2006 so we could have our Christmas party and go out with a bang. We brought out all our trophies that the branch had won over the years and former members came back especially."

One of the scrapbooks on display was Our Community Today & Tomorrow that was produced and entered into the Berkshire Federation of the Women's Institue Golden Jubilee Cup Competiton in 1992. The Eton Wick and Boveney WI entry came 1st. To read the full report click here or copy the URL and paste it into your web browser: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mn7PXZieX69ypFxkUNJqQ0-hXS1GHNPJ 

THE EARLY HISTORY OF 24, VICTORIA ROAD, ETON WICK,

EARLY HISTORY, IN OUTLINE, RELATING TO 

24, VICTORIA ROAD, ETON WICK, SL4 6LY.

Photograph above of Thames View Stores
and Eton Wick Road taken in 1913

WILLIAM HEARN : Apprenticeship in saddlery; employment in harness making; more interested in the motor car, driving in 1903; returned to Eton Wick, married in 1906; bought Thames View (by 1991 was Thames View Aquarium), opened a shop and started in business; had some arrangement with 'General' Hill who had a Wheelwright business at the premises now known as 24, Victoria Road; outline plan of area used by Hill before the first World War and taken over by Hearn during the War for engineering.

This plan shows what I remember in 1920. My father purchased the land from No 18 to 36 (present numbers), down to the brook; divided into three plots and retained the centre plot, 24 to 28/30.


Early in the 1920's he phased out  engineering and engaged employees only on a casual basis. Later he discontinued repair and exchange and concentrated on car hire, driving and maintaining his own cars until the end of his life.






In 1924 Thames View was sold and a bungalow erected as shown for our family. A store was made for reserve petrol supply (2 gallon tins) etc. below ground level.

By mid 1930's the bungalow was extended and a new house was built on the adjoining property. A small tank and hand pump for petrol (not for re-sale) was added other changes made as shown.











The Second World War came and the premises not again in use until 1946. Electricity (3 phase) was laid on and the property was connected to the main drainage. Tanks and equipment was installed for petrol for resale. Full motor engineering service was started. The was questioned by the Borough Engineer (Mr Smith) and his Dept. but finally permitted as there had been light engineering industry at the premises well before 1937 so permission not required.

Victoria Road was a cul-de-sac and stopped off at Shepherds Hut Field (now Princes Close). In 1948 this leaflet was distributed to every letter box in the area to make our presence known business card at that time.













My brother soon left working for Hearn Motors to run a business of his own. A small holding keeping pigs and poultry in the field along the back of properties 24 to 36. The plan shows the promises as they were when I sold Hearn Motors in 1952 to B.A.Nuts Ltd. who had rented part of the property for about a year before for their automatic machines. A 21 year lease was granted for the whole premises; an income for my sister who lived in the bungalow.

My sister (3 years old in the photograph at the beginning of this article, outside the shop) sold out to J.T.Ireland for housing development that became Queens Road. The bungalow extension was immediately removed to make way for the entrance to Queens Road from Victoria Road;. She moved out when her new chalet in Slough was finished in 1960. Ireland paid higher rate for premises with light industrial use (leased to B.A.Nuts Ltd.). He appears to have been disregarded it and made application for more houses, but this was not granted and the lease not renewed. I visited the property with Jim Ireland on 11th June 1974. It was empty and not in a good state of repair he offered the premises back for £20,000.



This history was prepared for ASTEEL ENGINEERING SERVICES Ltd of 24, Victoria Road, Eton Wick By J.W.E.Hearn in 1991.