Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Eton Parish Church Fete

 

This photograph is believed to be the 'celebrity' opening of the summer c1974 Fete, by the Emperor 'Iedo Kung Fu' and his entourage. From the left are: the Rev. Christopher Johnson, Rita Pidgeon, Lesley Ballard, Celia Russell and George Paget. George was a very well known character, often to be seen with his carriage and horses taking tourists and bridal parties to their destinations (and the odd appearance in 1960s cinema films). 

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

Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Eton Wick and Boveney Women's Institute

The Eton Wick and Boveney Women's Institute was founded in December 1933, due largely, like many other village organisations, to the influence of Edward Littleton Vaughan. His wife Dorothea was the Institute's first President. The Women's Institute is a national educational charity and Mr Vaughan was an enthusiastic supporter of education for the working class.

Through the years Eton Wick and Boveney W.I. has gained a high reputation for its friendliness and standard of work in the many County and National competitions and events in which it has taken part. The Institute has made its voice heard on many local issues including the closure of Windsor Bridge, the proposed closure of the Library and, most recently, the construction of the Thames Flood Alleviation Channel. 

The Institute hosts events, both informative and purely entertaining for its members. To mark its 50th and 60th anniversaries in 1983 and 1993, Art and Craft exhibitions, open to all the village were organised. In 1983 members produced a Pictorial History of the village. The original is held in Eton College and a reference copy is available in Eton Wick Library. 

Photograph taken on the Institute's 40th Anniversary party in 1973. 

In the back row left to right: Unidentified, Mrs Greenwold, Mrs Paintin, Mrs Swatton, Mrs Harrison and Mrs Wyeth. 

Third row (standing behind table): Mrs Durbin (later Leary), Mrs Crook, Mrs Flint, Mrs Butler, Mrs Attride, Mrs Day, Mrs Tatham, Mrs Hessey, Mrs Harding, Mrs Ballhatchet (President), Mrs Kinross, Mrs Neate, Mrs Lund, Mrs Sharrat, Mrs Wilson, Mrs Joan Bond and Mrs Charlton (later Moss). 

Second row (either side of table): Mrs Millis, Mrs Elsie Bond, Mrs Friend, Mrs Jacobs (Past President), Mrs Borrett, Miss Bannister, Mrs Beckett, Mrs Jones and Mrs Ash. Front row (seated): Mrs Cutler, Nurse Lee, Mrs Wickens (Past President), Mrs Hartley (Past President), Mrs Pat James and Mrs Cooley. 

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

Events on Silver Jubilee Day

This is the programme of events that were held on the Recreation Ground to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 25 years as monarch. 

ETON WICK SILVER JUBILEE DAY 

TUESDAY 7TH JUNE 1977

From 10 a.m. — 6 p.m. FUN for all bring the family.

10.00 a.m. -        Day starts with Eton Wick Silver Jubilee Queen cutting the tape across the entrance and letting everyone.

10.15 a.m. -        Races start for age groups. e.g. Egg & Spoon, Three legged,  

                           Obstacle, Bean Bag and Straight Race.

                           PRIZES for all Races.

10.30 a.m. -        Marathon Pram Race commences, continues all day.

                           PRIZES.

11.00 a.m. -        Cake competition in the Gym. (For all ages and entries must be received by 10.30 a.m.) Cakes are non-returnable and are to be used for the afternoon tea. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd PRIZES.

12.00 p.m. —      Side Shows around the arena will be available, all are FREE OF CHARGE' e.g. Welly Throwing, Skittle Alley, Tent Pitching Display, Treasure Hunt. Scout Ariel Runway etc.

12.50 p.m. -        Suggest you bring a picnic lunch and sit somewhere around the field to eat it. The Bars will be open for drinks.

2.00 p.m. —        Fancy Dress Competition. All ages.

                           Decorated Cycles Contest. All ages.

                           PRIZES for both events.

2.30 p.m. -          Bingo Session In the Gym for the over 60’s (PRIZES ONLY) Followed by The Glamorous Gran contest.

                           Then a free tea followed by a sing-song.

3.00 p.m. -          Five-a-side football starts. Three age groups wanted.

                           5 – 10 years, 11 – 15 years and Adults. Prizes for each group. Dress optional.

4.00 p.m. -          Knobbly Knees Contest and Lovely Legs Contest. PRIZES.

4.30 p.m. -          Tea will be served to all children free of charge.

                           (20p donation gratefully received.)

Races and Games will continue throughout the day, until evening.

It is known that there were Street Parties also held elsewhere in the Village on the day of the Jubilee. If you have memories of 7th June 1977 or photographs taken on the day we would be delighted to hear from you.

Farmhouses and Cottages

   At the close of the Middle Ages many houses in the village, the homes of ordinary villagers, would have been poor affairs, huts which could be built or demolished in a day.  But not all, for those who could afford it built in timber with an infilling of wattle and daub.  Bell Farm has already been mentioned and there were certainly others, though none has survived.  It is difficult to be sure which modern houses now stand on their sites. However, the Tudor-Stuart period from about 1550 to 1640 was a time of prosperity for a considerable portion of the population. In the country this meant the landowners, the farmers and the more successful cottagers. They left their mark on the countryside in the very pleasing shape of many new or enlarged homes. Eton Wick shared in this building boom.   Exactly how many houses were built or improved is not known, but at least eight cottages were built in the years immediately prior to 1605 when this was reported to the Crown Commissioners.      Unfortunately it has not proved possible to identify these cottages, but ten timber-framed houses survived into this century and five are still standing today.

   Bell Farm was almost certainly enlarged by the Bell family, who lived there in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They were undoubtedly responsible for the addition of the great chimney stack on the west, and for the parlour on the north side with its own stack. The fireplace of the parlour, with its lovely Tudor arch, was rediscovered in the 1950's. No longer was it necessary for the smoke to swirl around the rafters before finding its way out through a hole in the roof. The old hall could be ceiled over, giving another upstairs room, and a new staircase was built. One can still see many of the old beams and roof trusses in the bedrooms, and an original medieval window with two delightful trefoil lights has survived, though it must have been blocked ever since the parlour was built.

   The Bell family was a large and prosperous one, farmers and gentlemen as their wills and other records testify. Their names are frequently found in deeds and parish records for over a hundred years until the second half of the seventeenth century when all mention of them ceases in connection with Eton Wick except in the past tense.  At the height of their importance locally they owned property in Eton town and were the owners and not the tenants of Bell Farm. A Joan Bell leased 'a fishery in the chapel waters at Boveney in 1578 and a Richard Bell was still in possession of this some thirty years later. In 1605 Henry Bell was tenant of Saddocks Farm and his brother Matthew of Mustians. About 1600 Henry Bell bought the manor house at Chalvey which he still owned in 1612 though not when he died. In 1641 there was a Thomas Bell at Chalvey and about the same time different members of the Bell family were farming Bell, Saddocks and Mustians Farms. The farmhouse of the last stood on the south side of Common Lane, but its land stretched into Eton Wick.

   Of the five timber buildings only Little Common Farmhouse still shows its timber frame. It must have been built in the seventeenth century when, so it was thought, there was a shortage of timber because of the increased use of charcoal (for iron-smelting) and for shipbuilding. This meant that the house wrights not only left wider spaces between the vertical posts but also made greater use of odd shaped pieces of wood and re-used old timbers.  In Little Common Farmhouse the curved timbers on the front and back of the house have clearly been used before for each has a series of narrow groves along its length. Until the house was enlarged this century it had probably remained little altered , with its two rooms up and down and one large chimney. It was probably never the home of a farmer until recent times, but that of a husbandman or smallholder who rented his few acres in the common fields.

   On the other side of the Little Common is the house known as Long Close. It is now encased in bricks, its timber frame and its beaten earth floor was not covered until after the First World War. Even then in the living room red tiles were laid directly on to the earth until this was altered in the 1970's. Beams can now only be seen in the ceilings, but many more were exposed during those alterations; the thin red bricks of a chimney breast suggested that it was built or enlarged during the Tudor period.

   On the south side of the Great Common stands Crown Farmhouse, probably the oldest house in the village still used as a farmhouse. Despite the name its connections with the Crown Estates was quite short, merely from 1864 to 1932. Its timber frame is visible only on the inside, but the thick studs and beams, low ceilings and absence of jettying all indicate it was built in the early seventeenth century.  Since then, as the fortunes of its owners and tenants prospered it was altered or enlarged and encased in a shell of plaster and warm red bricks. Some of these alterations undoubtedly took place when it was occupied by one of the Tarrant family. A Robert Tarrant first became tenant about 1800 and one or more of the family have lived there for most of the years since. They have lived in Eton Wick for over two hundred years, the earliest discovered reference to them occurring in the parish registers for the year 1763. Today scores of old farming and household objects, maps and photographs adorn the walls or are put away in cupboards, linking the present family with its predecessors.

   The fifth of the timber-framed houses is Saddocks Farm. A great deal is known about this farm and house. The name is first associated with Eton Wick in a deed of 1539 when a Robert Sadocke , yeoman, of New Windsor occupied a messuage (house, outbuildings, garden, etc) and lands in the Wick. At this date the property seems to have been owned by Eton College, but in the reigns of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, Robert was leasing the farm from the Crown. In the archives of Eton College there is a draft of a grant from the College to King Henry VIII of property including several acres of land, four messuages and a cottage.  One of these was the Christopher Inn in Eton, two were in Windsor, another in the tenure of John Butler in *le Weke' and the fourth was occupied by Robert Saddock. The grant is dated 1546. In 1584 a deed was drawn up concerning a messuage and garden in le Wyk' described as a 'parcel of Eton (Royal) Manor, lately bought of Eton College and annexed to the Honour of Windsor'. None of these properties has positively been identified as Saddocks, but it is certain that the College was selling to the Crown and it seems likely that the land and house soon to be known as Saddocks Farm was included.  It was undeniably Crown property from the seventeenth century on wards until it was sold in about 1940.

   As Crown property it was subject to a number of surveys, but in spite of, or maybe because of these, the house presents a tantalising mystery. Three surveys of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries suggest that the whole layout of the farmyard and garden was changed about the turn of the century and the house rebuilt in a new position; yet within the present farmhouse, so clearly built in Georgian times, is a much smaller cottage. It consists of two rooms up and down with a downstairs room height of only 6 ft 4 in. The mystery deepens when attention is paid to the earlier survey of the estates of the late King Charles I under the direction of Oliver Cromwell. At this date the Royal Manor consisted of three tenanted farms, Saddocks, Mustians and the Christopher though it is not clear whether the innkeeper was also the farmer.  There were three houses and a cottage belonging to Saddocks and the detailed description of them suggests that they had been built at different periods. The first two, with their timber and earthen walls, and each with a hall, kitchen and buttery and three chambers above, may well have already been at least two hundred years old in 1650.  The third house appears to be larger and newer, for its walls were of timber and brick and there were six rooms downstairs, including a parlour, very much a status symbol for the small farmer.   But, most intriguing, the small cottage was described as 'built with timber and flemish walls'; if  this meant flemish bond,  the construction of this  cottage was very much 'avant garde' for this method of laying bricks did not come into general use until the second half of the seventeenth century.

   Where were these buildings? It is frustrating that none can be identified with certainty. It is possible that the cottage is Little Common Farmhouse for it is thought that this was once part of the Crown Estate, or Saddocks Farmhouse itself.

    Of the five houses that have been demolished this century much less is known and no photographs or plans of them have been found. Three of them formed one building and may originally have been one substantial cottage that was subdivided to form three tiny cottages, each with only one room upstairs and one room down.  When this might have happened has not been discovered, but various deeds and maps suggest it had occurred before the end of the eighteenth century.  To the east of Crown Farm once stood a pair of cottages, though only one survived into the twentieth century.  According to the Royal Commissioners on Historical Monuments this was built early in the seventeenth century. Whether it was ever a farmhouse before Mr. Bunce owned it in the 1920's seems doubtful; in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was part of Crown Farm and was sometimes occupied by a farm worker. Even less has been discovered about the last of the known timber-framed houses. It stood just west of the Greyhound Inn on a plot of land which stretched from the common to Eton Wick Road. It once belonged to Bell Farm, but in the nineteenth century it was sold and became known as Hardings Cottage, a name it shared with several others owned by the same Eton family.

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

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. 

Mr and Mrs Cyril Tarrant

Mr Cyril Tarrant and his wife Vera

Mr Tarrant bred show poultry, specialising in rare and exotic breeds. He became a well-known poultry judge. This picture was taken around 1970 and shows Mr Tarrant's prize silver laced wyandottes.

Bob Tarrant's memories of farming in Eton Wick can be read here.

Eton Wick School - memories of Mr Moss' time as headmaster

This picture was taken in 1976 on the occasion of Mr Moss's retirement as headmaster of the school since 1955. It features, centre, Mr Moss being presented with a radio-cassette player by right, Mr J T Ireland, a school manager and chairman of Bucks County Council. Between them is Mrs Moss, also a former teacher at Eton Wick School. Present for the photograph were Mr and Mrs Moss's three sons, l to r: Stephen, James and Robert.

Mr Moss, Headmaster 1955 - 1976 Vernon Moss arrived in Eton Wick with his family in 1955, having previously been headmaster of a small school in the village of Hopton, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border. Over the next 21 years he made a substantial contribution to village life. In addition to term-time operations, he spent many hours at weekends and during holidays raising both standards and funds on behalf of the school. In this he was greatly assisted by a dedicated and supportive PTA. A football pools scheme was launched and enough money raised to build a swimming pool at the school, as a result of which the vast majority of children could swim by the time they left the school. Performance in the 11+ examination improved year by year and by the time Mr Moss retired in 1976, the school had become one of the most popular and reputable in the area.           Despite (or perhaps because of) its disciplinary regime, Eton Wick was generally a happy as well as a successful school. The cane was still administered occasionally in those days, but Mr Moss always maintained that pupils never resented their punishment as long as they realised that it had been deserved. He also noted that the pupils who were most troublesome at home often gave no behavioural problems at all at school – and vice versa! Thus it was that he was sometimes wrong-footed when a parent came to complain or apologise about their child. Besides his work at the school, Mr Moss also organised village sports activities for a number of years. Many will remember the annual competitions involving shinty, Danish rounders, darts, table-tennis and shove-ha’penny. Shinty was quite an unusual sport but proved popular among both children and parents, though one or two were liable to swing their sticks a little over-enthusiastically. The final was held at the village fete at the Wheatbutts, while the indoor activities reached their conclusion at the Michaelmas Fayre in the autumn, which Mr Moss also initiated. Mr Moss and his wife left the village in 1980 and moved to South Gloucestershire, where he died in 2001 at the age of 87. Mrs Moss, died in in 2010. - contributed by Robert Moss

Eton Wick prefabs, built 1946-47.

Eton Wick prefabs, built 1946-47.

Eton Wick's Prefabs were built to meet the housing shorting in the years following the end of the Second World War. They were in use until the end of the 1960's when they were demolished to make for the Bellsfield shops that were built by Eton Urban District Council.

Prefabs built on land east of Vaughan Gardens

Bellsfield shops

Eton Wick School in the post-war years

Eton Wick School in the post-war years

The school diary records that the air raid shelters were removed in 1946 and school life was back to normal by 1947. As the school is of Church of England denomination an inspection by the Oxford Diocesan brought forth the following comment—

“The service was carefully and reverently conducted, but some of the older boys were inclined to loll and I should have liked to see a more alert attitude on the part of the bigger ones who should be an example to the rest. The singing was tuneful, but the general effect would be better if the boys did not stand anyhow and sing into their boots!”

January 29th. 1947 was a very cold winter and with fuel rationing still in force the classrooms remained very cold recording a temperature of 38f (3c) at the start of morning class and rising only to 41f (5c) by 4pm close of school. The daily temperature continued to fall, reaching a classroom temperature of 28f (-2c) on January 30th. The combination of heavy frost and snow made for difficult conditions and the school attendance dropped to 28 pupils on January 29th.

The thaw in the weather set in during the third week of March leading to severe flooding in Windsor, Eton and Eton Wick and forcing the village school to close from March 17th – 24th. In the following month, whilst the school was on Easter holiday, one pupil died from tetanus: it was thought to have been an infection from the flooded land.

Photo of the school - probably taken in 1950s

Three new classrooms were added in 1953 followed in 1959 by another building extension. Further building and amenities followed between 1962 and 1974 with more new classrooms and provision for science and cooking.

Whilst the building work was taking place during mid 1960’s, some children were taught in the Village Hall where school meals were also partaken.

In 1965 class 7 pupils were taught in one of the ground floor rooms in the Village Hall, because of a shortage of accommodation in the school. The children are seen here on the climbing frame at the back of the Hall.

The use of the Village Hall for schooling ceased at the beginning of the summer term in 1966. Work continued on the completion of the Assembly Hall and Old building was converted to kitchen and dining hall.

In 1962 the school’s Parent Teacher Association donated a heated swimming pool for learners.

From 1882 onwards, the Head Teacher of the village school had always been a woman until the appointment of Mr V.C. Moss in 1955, which brought change to the school staffing. The longest serving teacher in the school’s history was Miss Florence Stearn, who was also the Headmistress, and who spent 32 years at the school (1903—1935). Ida M. Rooke, who was headmistress for 14 years (1941—1955), was followed by Mr V.C. Moss, the school’s first headmaster who held the post for 21 years. Headmaster Ian Hampshire was appointed on January 1st 1977, and was later followed by a new Headteacher, Mrs Robinson. The current Headteacher is Mrs M. Houston.

For at least 20 years after the Second World War, the children of Eton Wick school walked to the Village Hall every day at dinnertime. Well-balanced dinners were delivered every day by Buckinghamshire County Council.

The photo shows Mrs Michener, school meals supervisor, with the delivery driver.

Many incidents go to make up school life, a summary of which can be gleaned from the book published to mark the School Centenary Year 1888—1988. There was some success in sport: at football under the tuition of sports master, Mr R.C .Nash, being League Champions in 1967; and in swimming, where the school won the Dolphin Swimming Trophy in 1969.

Celebrating Swimming success: Mr Nash, Sports Master, with (left to right) Shirley Ann Morrell, Debbie Neil, Linda Devonshire and Amanda Denham.

In 1967 Mr Moss lead a 4th year class trip to The Netherlands. Mrs Smith, the Class teacher also went on the trip and Mrs Pam Kreamer was a helper. 

The photograph has been shared by Sally Dodd.

On several special occasions the Opening ceremonies were performed by personalities from the world of entertainment and sport. The new swimming pool was opened by Billy Wood, British Boys Diving Champion in 1962. Valerie Singleton from the BBC’s Blue Peter programme was a guest at the Middle School party in 1972, and there was a visit by the American Space Apollo Astronaut, Ed Mitchell, in 1977.

In 1993 the addition of a Foundation Unit allowed children to start school at three years old. The age for leaving the junior school for a more senior school was changed from eleven to nine years, with pupils generally going on to Windsor Middle School.

School Centenary Dinner, January 23rd 1988.

From left to right: Mr Vernon C. Moss, Headmaster,
Mr W. Cooley, Chairman of School Governors and Mrs Cooley

If you attended Eton Wick School, please use the comment box below to add your memories and any photographs of your school days.

Eton Wick Scouts

The Eton Wick Scout Troop was first formed in the early days of the Boy Scout movement before World War I by Mr E. L. Vaughan, a master at Eton College. The photo shows the troop at camp at Osmington Mills near Weymouth, August 1914, with their Scoutmaster E. L. Vaughan.

1914 Scout camp

From left to right: Bill Woolhouse, George Percy, Bill Bond, Scoutmaster E.L.Vaughan, C. Jacobs, Ernie Wetherhead, Ern Thomas, C.Balm, and George Newall.

The camp was held at the outbreak of World War I; George Percy was destined to be killed serving on the Western Front, while Bill Woolhouse became a prisoner of war. He suffered severe facial wounds, which were tended by his captors.

The troop having been disbanded during the war, a new Troop was formed in October 1926. Mr Sharp was appointed Scout Master with Mr Wetherhead as Assistant Scoutmaster, and Mr E. L. Vaughan became Chairman of the group. To set the group off, Eton College Scout Troop offered secondhand uniforms at 2/6d each, the colours being green and white. Weekly subscriptions were 1d a week, and the troop met in the Eton Wick School Room.

In February 1927 Mr Evans, Vicar of Eton, took over as Chairman with Mr Vaughan becoming Vice-chairman. The group flourished with twenty Scouts attending their first camp at Lulworth Cove, Dorset at a cost of fifteen shillings a head.

February 1928 brought changes in the leadership with Mr Weatherhead becoming the Scoutmaster, assisted by Mr Judd who later became Scoutmaster of the Eton Troop.

Good Scouting achievement won badges and awards, and one particular feat won special recognition. William Hodge, a nine year-old Wolf Cub of the 1st. Eton Group, was awarded the Scout Gilt cross and Certificate by the Chief Scout, Robert Baden Powell, in April 1929. William and his friend, six year-old Alan Kingston had been playing on the ice, when it gave way under their weight and Alan fell through. William and another boy tried to pull Alan out but the ice gave way under their combined weight and they also went under. William continued his efforts alone after the other eight year-old boy left the scene. Eventually William succeeded in pulling his friend out of the freezing mire, no doubt averting a fatality.

 Alan Kingston and William Hodge

Certificate awarded to William Hodge by the Chief Scout, Robert Baden Powell, to accompany his Gilt Cross. The certificate reads: This certificate is granted to Wolf Cub William Hodge of the 1st Eton Group as evidence that I have awarded him the Gilt Cross in recognition of the pluck & promptitude he displayed in the rescue of a boy who had fallen through the ice, at South Meadow, Eton, on March 1st, 1929.

The Eton Wick troop continued to gathered numbers and in January 1930 a Scout Cub Pack was set up under the leadership of Miss Clatworthy. Another welcome phase was the completion of the new Scout Hut during 1930. The hut was located in Wheatbutts field, the site being leased from Mr Vaughan, the owner of Wheatbutts.

                                            Robert Baden Powell

The first Scout Hut in Wheatbutts

Building of this Scout hut had started in 1927: Ernest Coke, who joined the Scouts in 1927, helped his father with the building work. This Scout hut was destroyed by fire in 1963.

The Girl Guide Company was formed in the 1920’s and met at the Village hall. The photograph is of the Eton Wick and Boveney Guide Company outside the hall (known in earlier time as the Institute) in the 1930s.

Girl Guides, Eton Wick

A diary of events for the Troop covering the 1930’s is not available but it is remembered that there were changes in the leadership, with Mr Williams, Mr Short, Mr Ernie Coke and Mr Maoelin becoming leaders. The last two were Rover Scouts; Ernie Coke later became Eton Wick Troop Scout Master. Another local troop change during the 1930’s was the troop scarf which went from green and white to black and white.

Eton Wick and Boveney Scouts 1933.

At the back: Stan Bond and George Bright. 

Fourth row from the front: unidentified, Jack Ling, Ern Lovell, Bob Cook, Bryant. 

Third row: Stan Bright, Ern Lynch, Basil Bavin, Ken Weller, Bob Huse, unidentified, Jim Stannett, Gordon Paintin, George Newell, Francis Holcombe. 

Second Row: Frank Bond, Fred Sibley, Cyril Short, Ernie Coke, unidentified, Miss Clatworthy (Akela) Peter Cooley, Harold Woodley. 

Front: Arthur Hood, Sid Gomm, Dick Harding, Ken Lovell, Doug Slade, Ed Bond, Fred Harris, Ern Bond, Alf Turner, Walter Pates, Albe Bond, Jim Newell and Maurice Young.

This particular Scout Troop was formed in 1926. In WW2, Stan Bond was killed in the Desert campaign and Walter Pates (an air gunner) over France.

There is no record showing how active the Scouts and Guides were in the village during the Second World War. A local newspaper report on paper and metal salvage within the village says that the Guides went about the task with so much enthusiasm that "if it was not screwed down on the cart it went", while the boys showed little interest in salvage!

It seems that the Scout Troop ceased sometime during the war years as from the diary we learn that a group meeting was held on March 1st 1946 to discuss reforming the 1st. Eton Wick and Boveney Scout Group. A new committee was formed and the Reverend Hare appointed Chairman. Mr Stevens became the Cub Master and Miss Morris became Guide Leader.

In 1949 Ernest Coke became Scoutmaster and reformed the Scout Troop with his leadership. Also at this time, Mr Peter Morris took over as Cub Master.

Ernie Coke enrolled as a Boy Scout in the Eton Wick Troop on April 9th 1927.

Ernie Coke

He became Scout Master of the Troop in 1949. After he retired, his son John Coke took the post of Troop Scout Master in the late 1960’s.

The 1950s

To raise funds for new equipment the troop turned to collecting waste paper and holding fetes, and in 1952 were able to purchase new Troop and Cub flags, tents and other equipment. The new flags were dedicated by the Reverend Hare at St John the Baptist church, Eton Wick.

Flag parade outside church

The first Scout Fete held in 1952 in the Wheatbutts. The fete was opened by Geraldene McKeown. Also in the photograph below are Bob Bond and Ernest Coke (Scout Master).

Fete opening party

During 1952 John and Margaret Fennel became Cub Masters of the Eton Wick Cubs. The photograph below shows Margaret Fennel (Eton Wick Cub Akela) and Ernest Coke viewing the gold Medal of Merit for outstanding service to Scouting which was presented to John Fennel, Area District Commissioner in November 1964.

John Fennel and his gold medal of merit

Ernie Coke (left), Group Scout Master, congratulates his son John on winning his Queen's Scout badge. 

Stan Humphries, Eton Wick Scout leader looks on. 

John later succeeded Stan as Troop leader for the Eton Wick Troop.

From left to right: David Springford, Peter Lines and Tony Cutts 

receive their Queens Scout Badges in 1955/6.

Eton Wick and Boveney Scout Camp Scout Rally, Beaconsfield, 1954.

Some of the boys are holding tin mugs, which are about to be filled from the pitcher. Among those present (left to right) were Mike thorn, Alec Benham, Chris Smith (at back), David Springford, unidentified, (?) Pitchard, Rob (?) Hood, (?) Emery, Terry Harman, Tom Foster and Tony Clibbon. Kneeling on the right is Ern Coke the Scout Leader.

The 1960’s were eventful years for the Eton Wick Scouts and Guides, and the Cub and Brownie packs. In January 1960 the Eton Wick Wolf Cub Pack entertained ten American boys from the 178 High Wycombe pack at the Wheatbutts Scout hut. The Windsor and Eton Express reported that the guests were welcomed with a “Grand Howl” and entertained with a sausage and mash supper, games, and a camp fire sing-song.

Eton Wick Scout Group Gang Show April 1960

After raising money in a ‘Long Slog’ by Scouts, Guides, and parents, the new Scout hut was opened in December 1960 by Air Commodore E.L. Brodie, County Commissioner (Scouts) for Buckinghamshire. During the opening ceremony the Air Commodore unveiled a portrait of Baden Powell which had been given by Colonel Butcher, the Chief Scout Commissioner for Australia. Also during the ceremony Margaret Fennel was presented with a medal of merit for outstanding service to the movement, recognizing her many years' service as Cub Master, Guide Captain and Ranger Skipper.

Entertaining the American visitors

Margaret Fennel receiving her medal for outstanding service.

The Scouts' and Guides' fundraising activities included the annual Scout Fete at the Wheatbutts, camp fire evenings, Gang shows, Bob-a-Job weeks, and the collection of waste paper. The money raised was used to organize Christmas parties for Eton Wick pensioners, to send Scouts to the World Jamborees, and finance the annual Scout and Guide camp.

Margaret Fennel leads the Cubs' campfire sing-song 

(see Martin Deebank's message below)

Local Scouts of the Buckinghamshire Contingent to the 13th World Scout Jamboree in Japan being seen off by Mrs Wilson, Chairman of Eton Town Council at Slough Station (1971).

2nd left, Stan Mills, (Eton Wick) group leader; centre, Steven Denham (Eton Wick).

The 13th World Jamboree scout camp was struck by a hurricane

Flooding at the 13th World Scout Jamboree, following a hurricane. Many scouts had to be evacuated to schools and public buildings by the Japanese Home Defence Force and the American Army.
Scouts digging drainage ditches

The British contingent dug drainage ditches in their camp.

The Buckinghamshire Scouts contingent performed a sword dance at the Jamboree, taught by the Datchet Morris men over several weeks before the Scouts left for Japan. The final act of the dance involved interlocking the individual swords for one member to hold aloft a star made by the interlocking swords.

The picture shows Steven Denham, foreground, and the completed sword star (inset).

Eton Wick School children performing at the Scout Fete July 1973. which was opened by Miss Beryl Reid. Other attractions were the Village Shinty competition finals, Can-Can dancers, Trick motorcyclist and various competitions.

In July 1997 a disastrous fire, thought to have been started by vandals, destroyed the Scout Hut. Many trophies and much equipment was lost. Although the building was replaced, money for new equipment had to be found.

Many fundraising events were held by parents and well-wishers, including a Valentine Dance, car boot sales, and a firework night. £6000 was raised for replacement gear, but much memorabilia was lost for ever. The new Scout hut was opened by former England Rugby Captain, Will Carling, in 1998.

The new Scout Hut 

Cubs football team c.1968/69

This picture was provided by Martin Deebank, who wrote:

"The photo is of the Cubs team around 1968/9, after playing in an end of season cup competition on the day of my birthday party. If I remember rightly, we had hardly won a game all season, then we played this cup competition (possibly at Richings Park - it was somewhere near the Crooked Billet roundabout at Iver Heath). We expected to get knocked out in the first round, but we managed to get to the final (so making me late for my party).

The Eton Wick cubs are in the front row; left to right as you look: Paul Miller (?), Rod Pethybridge, Steve Hynam (his parent's went on to run the Pineaple pub at Dorney), Andrew Everitt, Bruce Gould, James Moss, Roger Paintin, Martin Deebank, Paul Connor (later to die as a teenager in a horrific motor-bike accident outside the Grapes pub), don't know (?), don't know (?), Martin Rowlands. Our manager Terry (?) Reeves is the chap on the right behind the players."

Martin's mother Ellen used to run the 2nd Eton Wick Brownies as Brown Owl, and he writes:

"In the loft I've still got a scrapbook that the Brownies did for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Guiding movement. Names of the Brownies who helped to compile the scrapbook are inside the front cover. They are as follows: Gnomes - Irene Brudenall, Diane Jarratt, Kay Symons & Cheryl Norbury; Elves - Lisa Hunt, Heather Caley, Fiona Hunt & Jane Greenwood; Imps - Pauline Sharp & Elizabeth Reilly; Sprites - Nancy Attride, Christine Marik & Jennifer Hughes.

Also, I think that my mum has sneaked into one of the photographs on your site. Under "Eton Wick Scouts" it looks like her 5 from the right (with the white hair) in the picture of Margaret Fennel leading the Cub's campfire sing-song."

Would you like to share your memories of your time as a Scout, Guide, Cub or Brownie with the Eton Wick or Eton Troop? Maybe you were involved in their competitions, or in committee work?

If you have any stories we could publish on the website, please get in touch by sending an email to guestbook@etonwickhistory.co.uk. If you have any photographs, even better!

This article focuses on the Scouts and Cubs, but it would be good to hear from former Guides and Brownies too.

There are other memories of Eton Wick Scouts in the article "A Sixties Childhood in Eton Wick" by Steven Denham.