The Blue Bus Service

Until the Blue Bus Service started around 1922, villagers walked to Windsor, and schoolboys to Eton. If they were lucky they got a lift on a horse and trap, or cart. The first bus was quite small with a bench seat each side for the passengers. This, and subsequent buses up to the 1930s, were entered by steps and handrails at the back. The service was very popular as it ran at all times and in all weather. It frequently pulled up at any point between specified bus stops to pick up or drop off passengers and always found room for everybody. Late buses after the cinemas and shops closed were often packed with as many standing passengers squeezed together as were seated. In the mid-1930s, another service known as 'The Marguerite' (cream and brown livery) plied the same routes between Windsor Castle, Eton, Eton Wick, Dorney and, less frequently, to Maidenhead. The Marguerite service only lasted a few years. Ultimately the increase in family car ownership slowly forced the successful Blue Bus Service into decline.

Among the popular drivers with the Blue Bus Service there were, as well as Bert and his son, Ted Jeffries, John North, John Bell, Bill Mitchell and Gerry Austin. Gerry is pictured standing in front of one of the Blue Buses (the man on the left) in the photograph. During WWII, Gerry drove ambulance vehicles for London Transport, often bringing wounded servicemen from the docks. After the war he drove the Blue Buses, and then worked for the council, often sporting a top hat for special occasions.

Blue Bus Service proprietor,
Mr Bert Cole on his retirement in 1966.

End of the village based milk round

Pam Jaycock and Joan Cooley with the electric milk float.

In September 1993 Bill and Joan Cooley decided to retire from business of delivering milk to homes in Eton Wick. As they say in their letter they asked Express Dairy to take over their delivery round. Here are images of the letters announcing this change.

The Delivering Milk article gives more details about the history of the dairy men and women of Eton Wick. Click here to read the article.

Dorney Common anti-aircraft battery 1940-45.

Dorney Common anti-aircraft battery site plan. 

The first territorial anti-aircraft (ack-ack) unit arrived on the Dorney Common site in June 1940. Other local sites included the tower mounted 40mm on the Brocas, Eton. This photograph is of the 564(M) AA. Battery stationed on Dorney Common during 1943/4. The troop manning the 3.7 heavy ack-ack guns shot down a German ME 410 on the night of February 23/24th 1944. The raider crashed in High Wycombe. A number of the service personnel, male and female, married local villagers and set up home in Eton Wick. 

The Nissen huts of the Dorney Common anti-aircraft battery.

When the army left in 1946, the acute shortage of domestic homes caused demobilised local men to 'squat' and set up home in the disused huts. Their new homes and furniture were almost immediately ruined by the 1947 floods, when the residents were evacuated by boat. This picture was taken in March 1947. The huts were still occupied in the 1950s. 

Three of the war-time ATS girls in front of their Nissen hut home on Dorney Common. The camp and the 3.7 inch anti-aircraft guns were located along the brook, starting immediately adjacent to the south side of the Eton Wick cattle grid. 

The Armoury 

This was the only building of the wartime Dorney common ack-ack site 1940-45 that was within the boundary of Eton Wick. It stood in what is now the garden of No 22 Tilstone Close. After the army vacated the camp in 1945 this building was taken by Eton Urban Council for accommodation, the residents being Mr and Mrs McGill. 

The vacant huts of Dorney camp became squatter residence before coming under the control of Eton Rural Council. The camp buildings were removed in 1950 having been damaged by the 1947 flood and also having deteriorated beyond use, the land was then restored. 

P. L. KNIGHT ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY

Peter Leo Knight (Gunner No. 30958) - Ammunition Column - Royal Field Artillery - 29th Division.

Peter was born in 1888, and married an Eton girl, Ellen Eliza Sable, on August 5th 1911 when he was 23 years old. He apparently gave the army his parents' address at 108, High Street, Cheriton, Kent, and it is possible that Peter himself was a Kent man, because no local reference to him has been found until his wedding in 1911. It is believed that he and Ellen Eliza made their home at 4, Meadow Lane, Eton. Certainly his widow was living there after the war. There are a number of ponderable points to Peter's story, and the address is but one of them.

One month after the outbreak of the Great War, in September 1914, he was listed in the Parish Magazine as serving in the army. He had one son named Horace. # The Commonwealth War Graves Commission states that he chose to serve under the name of Knighton. There is no apparent reason for adopting a changed name, and this is yet another of the ponderable points.

Peter was a gunner on an ammunition column in the Royal Field Artillery with the 29th Division. This Division was the last of three which were formed in Britain at this time comprising troops of regular serving Battalions returned from overseas service. Half of the 29th's twelve Battalions were English and were the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st Border Regiment, 2nd Hampshires, 4th Worcesters, and 1st Essex. Like other Infantry Divisions they additionally had attachments of Artillery, Army Service Corp, medics etc.

The 29th Division was a famous Division in W.W.I and in April 1915 was the first to go ashore at Cape Helles, Gallipoli. On landing they were faced with strong barbed wire defenses and were mown down by Turkish guns while attempting to cut a way through. The Division artillery was inadequately supplied with shells and was consequently ineffective. Unfortunately the Gallipoli campaign was ill prepared, and by December of the same year the allies had decided to evacuate all the troops. Before this realistic decision was made the 29th had been moved up the west coast of the peninsula in support of a fresh attempt that was launched at Suvla Bay, in August 1915.

In September the allies agreed to send British and French troops to Salonika in Greece, taking two British and one French Division from Gallipoli in support of that country, which felt threatened by a German supported Bulgarian attack on neighbouring Serbia. Had the three Divisions been sent from Gallipoli the campaign there would have been seriously denuded of much needed men and resources. In the event just one British and one French Division was taken. The 29th Division remained on the peninsula until the end of December 1915 when the general evacuation took place.

Peter Knight was drowned on October 23rd 1915 when the transport ship H.T. Marquette was sunk in the Aegean Sea by a U-Boat. There were 99 lost in this incident and most of them were Indian troops. Perhaps this was a draft of men to re-inforce the 29th Division, in which case Peter had not actually served in action at Gallipoli. If he had served in that theatre of war, then he was en route to Salonika as part of the detachment. U-Boats had been very active in Aegean Sea lanes between Gallipoli and Greece, and on September 14th had torpedoed the British troop ship Royal Edward with the loss of 1,000 lives.

Peter is commemorated on the Mikra Memorial, Salonika, Greece. The memorial commemorates 478 missing and is situated in the Mikra British Cemetery, which itself contains 1,962 graves from the 1914-18 war. Peter was 27 years old.

Another small mystery concerns the Eton Wick Memorial. At the time of the dedication and unveiling service on March 13th 1920, Peter's name did not appear on the form of service and more importantly was not on the memorial. Probably this was due to having an Eton town home address. His name was added some months later, after consideration of the fact he had enlisted from Boveney.

Unfortunately the addition is not in alphabetical order, as were the original inscribed names, but appears at the foot of the west panel. His name is also on the Eton Church Gates. Peter left a widow and one son. His widow married again and became Mrs Brant.

Grave Registration Report

Panel List

Peter Knight's Commonwealth War Graves Commission page

Peter Knight's King & Country page

Peter Knight's page on Buckinghamshire  Remembers

This is an extract from Their Names Shall Be Carved in Stone 

and published here with grateful thanks to the author Frank Bond.

A VILLAGE IN THE SHADOW OF ETON BY FRANK BOND

A few years ago, in the course of researching a subject, a member of the Eton Wick History Group asked an Eton College Secretary what difference the College had had on the village. The reply was "None, the College has never tried to influence the village". That may well be, but having an influence and setting out to influence are two very different things. I grew up in Eton Wick during the 1920's and 30's. Like the other lads in the village, this necessitated walking through the College to the Eton Porny School in the middle of the High Street. All boys between the ages of 7 and 14 years went to Eton Porny School unless they had qualified for the Slough Grammar School or the Eton College Choir School. Most of us walked the distance of a little over one mile, three times a day. There were no school meals and we were given the one penny bus fare to get us home for dinner - we walked back and, of course, home again at 4 o'clock.

There were many large families of six or more children - in our family eight - and it seemed perfectly natural that girls when 14 years old - school leavers, should be sent into service at the College where they were required to 'live in'. In my case, I and four younger brothers were all still attending school while three older sisters and an unmarried Aunt provided our living space by working in the College. Their conditions would seem intolerable by today's measure but were certainly not unusual terms of employment at that time. In 1927 my older sister went into College service at the age of 14 years. The days started at 6 a.m. and ended at 9.30 p.m. There was no full day off duty during the school term, but once a week she was off duty between 2.30 p.m. and 10 p.m., by which time she had to be in the house again. She was off duty alternate Sundays between 2.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. The salary was £13 p.a., approximately 36p a week in present day terms. She was required to provide her own uniform of black frock with white collar and cuffs, black stockings and shoes, and a white can. When out of the College houses, servants were always obliged to wear stockings and if walking beyond the point known as the 'Burning Bush' to always wear a hat. Servants were not permitted to acknowledge the boys in the street who they daily waited upon at table.

The living space though was not our only benefit. We never wanted for cricket bats, pads, gloves, balls and even the occasional rugby ball. We also had elastic propelled planes, books in abundance and foreign stamps; these were all thrown away by the College boys as were their coloured house caps and other garments. Most local lads derived benefits in these forms, and although the pads were not always a pair, and the bats were often in need of binding, it was all of a quality that we would not otherwise have acquired. I well remember receiving a book of British Wild Birds in my Christmas stocking, and it mattered not that I guessed Santa had influence in the College. Families in Eton and Eton Wick often purchased dripping from the cooks at about fourpence a basin; this seemed a permissible perk, but it probably stopped at that for I do not remember other food handouts.

Eton Wick has always been a working class village having no big houses or a village squire to give

financial support to deserving causes; however, there was one such person in the past - Edward L. Vaughan. He generously provided a superb Village Hall with the land, promoted the early Eton Wick and Boveney Scout movement, financially supported football and cricket, the Church, the Sunday School and it outings, the Horticultural Society and some of its awards, and much more besides. Mr Vaughan, 'Toddy' as he was well known, died over 50 years ago, but for another 50 years previously he had inspired the village and left it a better place. This article is not about Eton College, but I would never agree that the village, a mile west, has not been influenced by it in these and many other ways.

Eton and Eton Wick are believed to predate the College by several hundred years. Their place names are Saxon in origin and believed to refer to the proximity of the river and its many streams creating an eyot, or island, upon which the inhabitants set up dwellings. Eton Wick is low, and being so close to the Thames very floodable throughout its history. Early settlers would obviously have built upon the marginally higher ground on the north of a stream running through the old village from west to east, and in fact farms and farm buildings still do occupy those drier positions. 

Manor Farm, together with the manor was purchased by John Penn in 1793. About this time the Crown Commissioners, also appreciable land owners, had thoughts concerning the enclosure of the Common and Lammas lands to the east and north of Eton Wick. Penn endeavoured to push an Enclosure Bill through Parliament which would, had it succeeded, left us with a very different village today. Fortunately, the Bill was defeated in 1823, and there was much celebration in Eton and Eton Wick. Nearly 200 local people had signed or marked the petition opposing the enclosure of their common usage grazing lands. Perhaps nothing is exclusively advantageous, and certainly Eton Wick now found it difficult to grow. The Commons and extensive Lammas lands could not be built upon unless there was unanimous agreement or a Parliamentary Bill, and west of the village boundary was the Parish of Burnham, which few probably thought to build upon. 

For four decades after the defeat of Penn's Bill additional homes were added by the purchase of large garden plots and houses - often terraced - were squeezed into the available space. Then, during the early 1880's, farmland to the west of Eton Wick, and in the Parish of Burnham was bought by a Mr Ayes who sold the plots, laid out roads and by the turn of the century the village had doubled its size and population.

Strictly speaking, perhaps one should say 'villages' because this growth beyond the old village boundary of Bell Lane was now to be known as 'Boveney Newtown'; it was to have its own Council and in many ways to be independent of Eton Wick. The first years of 'Newtown' as it was generally known, caused its residents to look to distant Burnham for spiritual guidance or to support their own Primitive Methodist Chapel being built. In 1892 Boveney Newtown came under the Vicar of Eton, and by special arrangement residents could now be buried in Eton Wick - not yet though would the two communities be regarded as one. 

In 1907 the great village benefactor, Edward L Vaughan, gave the land and Institute which being sited close to the border of the two communities was very appropriately named 'The Eton Wick and Boveney Institute' (now the Village Hall) - likewise the Scouts, with other organisations, and the War Memorial etc; all named themselves 'Eton Wick and Boveney'. This is no longer necessary as for over 60 years we have been one village in the same parish. Only in historic matters is there a division which occasionally one complains about. No householder west of Bell Lane (Boveney Newtown) receives any benefit from old Eton Charities, and of course really has no benefit of grazing rights on Lammas lands or Commons. This is of no consequence, however, as the days of rights and obligations associated with the said lands have for most practical purposes gone.  

People moving into Eton Wick often do so because they feel surrounded by fields and commons, and have the Thames within five minutes walk yet are still able to reach towns quickly. Without the Commons and Lammas lands so jealously guarded by earlier generations, we may perhaps be another part of Greater Slough. Other villages such as Cippenham, Chalvey, Farnham and Upton, have all lost their rural identity.

The growth of Eton Wick into Boveney Newtown, and beyond, has almost reached its limit of expansion. After World War II hundreds of houses and new streets brought many new villagers. To a large extent this was a shift of population within the Eton Parish, as many of Eton's own residents were moved into the village. Interestingly, if we look at the population nationwide in 1842 it was 5 million and is now tenfold. Reading was 19,000 and 150,000, London 1.5 million now 7.5 million; Bristol 65,000 now 440,000 - we could go on, but Eton was 3,409 and is still perhaps less than 4,000. The farms have unfortunately largely declined, and the few village ponds have vanished but there is still a feeling of being a 'Wicker' -one is still a villager!

This article was prepared by Frank Bond and presented to an Eton Wick History Group meeting in 1994.

18th Century Cottager in the Wick

The early years of the Century were hard for families getting their subsidence from the land and for those few families living in the Wick the daily toil brought its woes and ill health. They were prey to many killer diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, influenza and tuberculosis to say nothing of accidents. There was also a high risk to women dying in childbirth.

Cottages built in Eton Wick were timbered framed with infilling of brick and cob. The floors of stone slab or compacted earth covered with rush mats with an open wood burning fireplace and lighting by candle or perhaps an oil lamp provided warmth and lighting in the small dim rooms.

Clothing was mainly home made by wives and daughters of the family and a variety of footwear such as leather boots, canvas shoes, wooden sandals and clog type shoes dependent on the family financial status was worn by those working on the land. The more successful farmer or small holder no doubt could afford to buy footwear, but often for the poorer it would be hand me downs or go barefoot.

With a water supply from well, pond or river health and cleanliness were two factors that suffered. Fleas and head lice were prevalent. The passing years brought slow improvement.

During the century to those living in Eton and Eton Wick, trade increased in Eton with new premises opening with tailors and dress makers, boot and shoe makers, together with other trades. These were family businesses where young people from Eton Wick found employment, and with the change in their financial fortune left the land to the more successful farmer.

By the year 1830 there were approximately seventy professional business services and shops in the Eton High Street supplying local needs and hand made goods to the London shops.

The increasing local trade and wealth gave rise to house building in Eton Wick as the century drew to its close continuing during the 19th and 20th centuries until all available land free of Lammas rights or common land within the Wick had been taken for building.

This is an extract from research undertaken by John Denham for at lecture to the WEA at Windsor entitled "18th Century Eton Wick within the environs of Eton."

George Edward Bolton - Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry

George Edward Bolton (No. 7993) - 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry - 5th Brigade - 2nd Division

George was born on July 28th 1889, the second son of William and Louisa Bolton. It was about this time the family moved home from Curlew Cottages in Northfield Road, Boveney Newtown, to Clyde Place, a semi-detached house along the main village road and near to the Three Horse Shoes public house. Several times the family moved while George, together with sister Sophie, were growing up. Apart from the Clyde Place move, the other homes were in Boveney Newtown.

William, the father, was a butcher by trade and for many years was employed in a corner shop on Windsor's Castle Hill. The shop was complete with its own abattoir at the rear of the premises. For a few years he had his own meat business in Alma Road, Boveney Newtown. This later became a general stores, and was in the Shakespere Place terraced row.

Both parents were strong churchgoers: father William attending St. John the Baptist where he was a sidesman, and Louisa attending the Methodist Chapel. Whether George followed his father, or went to chapel with his mother and sister Sophie, is not known. Certainly when he was five years old he attended the Eton Wick Infant School, and at the age of seven he followed the normal village practice for boys, and went to Eton Porny. In 1903 at the age of 14 years he left school for work.

It is believed brother Bill became a regular peacetime soldier, although no evidence has been found to suggest George did likewise. In 1915 the family are recorded as living in No. 4 Primrose Villa, Alma Road. If George was not a full time soldier, he certainly wasted no time in volunteering to serve following the outbreak of the war. He enlisted in Slough. The Parish Magazine lists him as serving by September 1914. His unit, 2nd Battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire L.I., was a regular Battalion and is recorded as landing in Boulogne 10 days after the declaration of war August 14th. Allowing that George was not a peacetime soldier, and consequently would have needed several months training, we will look at the Battalion's service from 1915, by which time it is reasonable to presume he would have joined his unit. His Brigade and Division were with the I Corps in September 1915 and preparing to attack the strong German defences in the opening phase of the Battle of Loos. It took several days to assemble the many Divisions and all their necessary supplies. The attack was planned to commence at 06.30 on September 25th 1915.

The Oxford and Bucks L.I. together with the other units in the 5th Brigade were stationed on the extreme left flank and their line of attack was toward La Bassee. It was here the British planned to use chlorine gas for the first time. Over 5,500 gas cylinders had to be moved to the front and this alone involved 8,000 men, all toiling away under difficult and dangerous conditions. Forty minutes before the attack was due to be launched, the gas was released. Instead of the expected wind blowing the gas across No Man's Land and into the German lines, an early morning change of wind blew much of it back into the British trenches. Unexpected casualties hampered the attack. George Bolton was at least spared this, as he was killed the day before.

In all probability he was killed during the process of assembling the many thousands of men in the "line" for the early attack next day. Perhaps it was shrapnel, or a sniper's bullet that took his life, but we do not know. The cemetery .where he is buried is very close to the Battalion assembly point. He was a single man aged 26 years. He is buried in Guards Cemetery Windy Corner, Cuinchy, in France.

There are 3,396 graves in this cemetery, and all but 32 are the graves of men from the United Kingdom. Private Bolton's grave is No. 2; Row E; Plot 2. He is commemorated on the family headstone in the south west corner of Eton Wick Churchyard. He is the fourth named serviceman on the Village Memorial and is also commemorated on the Eton Church Gate Memorial tablets.

His sister Sophie lived in Alma Road for the rest of her life; she faithfully served the Methodist Chapel and was very well known. She died in the early 1990s.

From the cemetery register, CWGC.

Grave stone inscriptions, CWGC.

The  George Bolton page on  the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website

The George Bolton page on the For King & Country website

This is an extract from Their Names Shall Be Carved in Stone 

and published here with grateful thanks to the author Frank Bond.