The Story of a Village - A Changing Community

In past centuries the village expanded several times, but never quite so overwhelmingly as in the post war period. In 1931 the population was just over a thousand, it had risen to 1,640 by 1951, to 2,505 ten years later and now must be nearly three thousand.

With the influx of so many people into the village its inhabitants could no longer feel that each family was related to most others in the Wick. Probably this had never been strictly true; but by marriage and by recognising second cousins and the like, most families had indeed been related. The character of the village was changing in other ways. No longer was the College the most important source of income and employment for the majority of families, and less and less did College people take an interest and control of village affairs. The old gulf between gentry, epitomised in the Wick by College masters, and villagers gradually disappeared. Today new residents may be unaware of the old ties between Eton and Eton Wick. When Mr Vaughan died in 1940 his place as unofficial squire was taken by Bob Bond. Their backgrounds were very different, but both men were intensely interested in the village. It was Bob Bond who was reappointed bailiff at the 1948 Manor Court; he was instrumental in restarting the Boy Scouts after the war, he helped organise gymkhanas, dances and the annual Scout Fete ( which took the place of the old Horticultural Show). He also became the first president of the PTA.

The horse had virtually disappeared from the agricultural scene; though not entirely for George Pagett set up as a smallholder soon after the war and continued to use horses until the 1970s. The car and the lorry replaced the horse and cart, and garages became a necessity. Mr Sibley opened his filling station in 1958 and Ellis Motors were established in Victoria Road. People travelled more and taking holidays became the normal and not the exceptional way of life. Whereas in pre-war days people walked, cycled or used the bus to go to school, work or shopping, the use of the car became more and more the accepted practice. This transport revolution has brought in its wake other changes, such as the loss of the old road which ran from Haywards Mead to Meadow Lane in Eton and which is now only a bridle path. The Windsor Bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic and bus services have been cut, accentuating the hardship of those without a car. The roads are all macadamized and edged with pavements, and there is a profusion of street furniture road signs, electric streetlamps, bus shelters, pillar boxes, telephone kiosks and seats. Most of these have been provided by the statutory authorities, but the seat by Albert Place was the gift of the Women's Institute and the one in the churchyard in memory of Bob Bond.

Soon after the war, in line with national educational changes, Eton Wick School became a primary school, catering for both boys and girls from the ages of five to eleven; while older children were expected to attend secondary schools outside the village. However, it was still a church school, though the diocese was now responsible only for the fabric of the building and not the salaries of the teaching staff or the education of the children. To cater for the needs of the growing population the school was enlarged in 1953 and again in the sixties, but on that occasion the cost was such that a change of management became inevitable and the school was taken over by the County Council. In 1973 national policy brought about another change and the school became the combined infants and middle school with children being required to stay an extra year. But, though its title, appearance and teaching methods have changed over the years, because now almost all 'the children from Eton Wick are taught there, it has become even more the village school than in the years before the war when the older boys attended Porny School.

In spite of the addition of twelve new shops since the war there are now proportionately fewer shops per head than before the war. Several of the older shops have indeed closed and there is only one, Sibley's, in the area of New Town. The village has lost its priest-in-charge and Rev Christopher Johnson is now the only Church of England clergyman serving the parish of Eton, a sharp contrast to the situation a hundred years ago, when the parish was desperately trying to afford to employ two curates to assist the Vicar. Instead the village now has three churches, the Roman Catholic St Gilbert's having been built at the same time as Haywards Mead. The Village Hall stands close by and is still used for a baby clinic and library, but the role of the Hall has substantially diminished.  No longer is there a Village Hall Club; the Management Committee is concerned only with the maintenance of the building and the hiring of Its rooms. It has been overshadowed by its offshoot, the Football and Social Club, whose club rooms stand just behind the Hall. Some organizations still meet in the Hall, but others now use the rival establishment, and the whole of the ground floor is let to the County Council. Even the Village Fete, first organized by the Management Committee in 1962 and then the Youth Club, has now been taken over by the Football and Social Club, and since the mid-sixties it has been known as the Wicko Carnival.  The loss to the village of Wheatbutts Field when it was sold by the College brought about the end of the Scout Fete.

The list of changes seems inexhaustible, but it must suffice to mention only a few more and perhaps it is fitting that these should concentrate on the part of the parish first known as 'le Wyk'. The streams are now much shallower, the ponds filled in and the westernmost part of the common has recently been landscaped. Trees have  always been part of the village landscape, but unfortunately several beautiful elms had to be cut down in the 1950s. Hedges and trees have been grubbed up and in the last few years more elms have been lost through disease so that the area around Little Common has a rather open, desolated look.  It has been one more step in the succession of changes that has taken place since the first cluster of buildings established a wick in a clearing in the woods of Eton. Thankfully Eton Wick is still a village which will continue to evolve and, it is hoped, will remain surrounded and protected by commons and lammas lands.

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

This is the final part of the serialisation of The Story of a Village - Eton Wick - 1217 - 1977. The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission of Judith Hunter's husband to publish her book on its website.

The village and community has continued to change and evolve since Judith completed her history more than 40 years ago and some of this change is reflected in The Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and the Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton.

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.

World War 2 Eighty Years On - March 1940

March 1940

The construction of a new sewer system by Lemon and Blizzard started in 1938 had made good progress with Bell Lane complete and Tilstone Lane almost finished. The contractors confidently informed the Eton U.D.C. that after the testing of the system homes could be connected. Unfortunately for the contractors the arrival of summer thunder storms found serious leaks in the pipe work and the council had to apply pressure to the contractors to rectify the faults. Complaints were also received from village residents about the state of repair in which Bell Lane had been left. Replying to the criticism the contractor claimed difficulties with the weather and the shortage of supplies due to war priorities had delayed the re-instatement of the road.

Re-arrangement of the A.R.P. within the village made the wardens post at the Post Office redundant enabling the protection works to be removed much to the relief of Mr and Mrs Chantler. The wardens post at Burfoots remained until other arrangements were made. To test the efficiency of various ARP organizations based around Slough a large scale practice was held. As the ambulances, fire pumps, rescue units, police, St. Johns and the Red Cross personnel with other essential services gathered on Agars Plough, Eton four hundred Eton College boys prepared to act as casualties. Emergency incidents were staged with the college boys giving a realistic touch to a most successful exercise.

Thursday March 11th

Meat rationing began. The ration was assessed not by weight but price, with a weekly ration for adults of 1/10d per week and for children 11d. Later into the war the adult ration was reduced to six ounces per week for any cut of meat. Rationing encouraged a black market which gave rise to a little wheeling and dealing for various commodities.  Favouring customers with a little extra than the official ration allowed could lead to prosecution of the shop keeper. Through village gossip it became known to the Ministry of Food Inspectors that George Mumford, the village butcher, had occasionally let customers purchase more meat than their entitlement. With indications of prosecution and thoughts of imprisonment, George made arrangements for a manager to run his business. No prosecution followed, but George was not let off the butchers hook as the following relates. At the end of the war a coach party from the village, including George, went to the Victoria Palace, London, to see the show starring the Crazy Gang.  Before the opening of the show one wag from the village party went back stage and tipped off the two comedians, Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen, about the affair.  Later during the performance Bud Flanagan said to Chesney Allen "Ches, Do you know where I can get a little extra meat under the counter?" "Yes Bud, a little village near Windsor called Eton Wick. "The Butcher there will see you alright". Poor George had to take the ribbing as the story got round. 

(Meat rationing together with some other food commodities continued until July 1954.)

Easter Sunday 24th March

Apprehension of what may lie ahead and the desire to pray for peace brought increased attendance at Sunday church services during the war years. To mark certain wartime events special church services were held attended by the military and council dignitaries. A large congregation at the traditional Easter service taken by the Reverent David Wingate in St. John's church, Eton Wick, heard the Eton church choir, conducted by the organist Kenneth Weller, give a recital of ‘Passion music for Easter’.  He was assisted by ladies from Eton Wick and Boveney in a reverent rendering of the Messiah and exerts from John Stanier's "Crucifixion". Duets were also sung by the brothers, Albert and Harry Prior.

The Easter Monday five - a - side annual football competition open to boys under fifteen years, is for the Juvenile Challenge Cup presented by Boveney, Eton Wick and Dorney Discharged Soldiers and Sailors in 1921. Two competitions only (1940 & 41) took place during the war years which were played on the recreation ground. The entry for 1940 being fifty five boys. Eight eliminating games were played in the morning followed by the semi-final and final in the afternoon. The final, between the team of R. Wilson (Capt);    J. Butt; G. Budd; P. Mitchener and H.A. Prior who pitted their skills against R. Lunnun (Capt); E. Steptoe; K. Sibley; F. Wells and H. Lawrence brought a win to R. Wilsons team with a final result of 3- 2 goals. All the games were refereed by Mr W. F. Pardoe. Mrs Pardoe had the honour of presenting the cups and medals to the Winners and Runners Up. The competitors ended the exciting day on a high note as 432 cakes, 45 lb. of toffee and a box of oranges was shared out amongst them'.  

With no blackout arrangements available and used by the L.C.C. School during the day the village hall was not available for recreational purposes. Obtaining material from Bruce and Lumb of Slough the village hall working party made the requisite curtains, but these when finished were inadequate for the purpose due to the poor quality of the material, therefore no dances or other evening activities took place during the winter months. This curtailment on the use of the hall, also the decline in club registers as members volunteered or were conscripted to the forces or other war work reduced the hall finances. The flower show committee had every confidence and they continued making arrangements for the 58th Horticultural Show on August Bank Holiday held at the Wheatbutts. The possibility of air activity over the area was to be no deterrent to Major Dabson, committee chairman with committee members Mr Kemp and Mr Laverty,    

       

The first six months of hostilities, labelled the "Phoney War", had brought no air attacks on London thus encouraging a number of evacuees to return home. Great efforts were made by the civil authorities to deter their return to London but many parents thought it safe to have their children home. A small number returned home from Eton and Eton Wick.

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

Tony Anderson: Village recollections from the 1950's and 60's.

Roy Arnold was correct in saying that my Brother Jerry and I lived with our parents Arthur and Connie Anderson at number 13 Eton Wick Rd. They ran the Newsagents, Tobacconist and Confectioners; there was a barbers shop to the rear. Sadly my father passed away at his home in Princes Risborough in October 1992 and my mother a few years later. The other shops on the Parade were Mr Clark's Fish and Chips, Mr Arnold the Butcher, O'Flaherty the Chemist, Clinch the Baker from Eton, the Ormond family who ran Darvilles, the grocer from Windsor and Frank Bond the green grocer. 

Younger readers who are still interested and not turned off by my ramblings will be concerned by the lack of Banks, Estate Agents, Charity Shops, Coffee Shops, Ladies Hairdressers, and Betting Shops, how did we manage without them. 

Other businesses of note were of course J T Ireland the builder who was a local councillor and county councillor who completed the construction of Tilstone Close whilst I lived in the village. Bob Bond a haulier and Constructor, Ron Clibbon who was an accountant lived in Tilstone Close and traded from a shop in Eton High just a few doors from Gordon Painting's cycle shop. Also of note were the 3 Pubs, other small general stores and Mr Sibley who was the alternative newsagent in the village. There was also a Cycle shop operating from a Garden shed in a house at the end of Alma Road.

I suspect that many older residents will remember my greatest mark on the village was my painting my half of the semidetached house no 60 Eton Wick Road which is now 150 years old bright Blue, fortunately the next inhabitant had a little more taste than I and returned it to White.

I would finally like to pay tribute to both my parents for their dedication of opening their shop for all those years from 6.00 am to 7.00 pm six and a half days a week for 364 days a year. They were also foremost in raising funds with many others for the Catholic Church. Prior to this Mass would be said on a Sunday in the village hall, but after a plot was designated by Eton Urban District Council the fund raising was continued in earnest. Once sufficient Funds had been raised, the Diocese sanctioned loans to be made and the Church to be built. I am indebted to Theresa Stanton on when it was finished which was in 1964 and I was married there in January 1966. What a great pity that it is reported elsewhere that services may end due to various factors.      

Please accept my apologies if I have made any errors or omissions as my memory was never that good, as many paper round customers can testify from incorrect deliveries. I do however hope that these recollections jog a few memories.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - Village Shopkeepers - Past and Present

"As we live day by day we don't notice changes which are happening around us " 

So said Frank Bond as he introduced his talk on "Village Shopkeepers - Past and Present" on the 27th May 1998. He referred first to the hamlet which was Eton Wick in the year 1800, with just 100 residents; and the to the early 20th Century shops which sold hardware„ groceries etc., and his talk progressed through to illustrate not only the various changes which had occurred. in Eton Wick' s shops and services up to the present day, but also the considerable changes in the community itself There had been seven farms, now some had been adapted for riding schools and others given over to engineering. The countryside itself has undergone changes with areas previously used for crops now given over to leisure and recreation facilities. 165 years ago there were 300 people living in Eton Wick. There was no evidence of any shops here then, or any easy means of getting to shops elsewhere; for there was no transport, other than horse-drawn vehicle or 'Shank' s pony' . People grew their own vegetables, they would purchase milk, flour etc. from the farmers, and they would make home-make jams, pickles and other preserves for their larders; some would have kept poultry for their eggs and meat. There would have been work for the village' s blacksmith, a chimney-sweep, and also for cobblers and  boot makers. 

MUFFIN-MAN

By the 1920' s Eton Wick was being visited by the muffin-man, and a winkle-man and a man who sold fly-papers; did the fly-paper become a muffin-man or a cobbler in the Winter months? Gypsies came selling clothesline props and pegs - most people were a little afraid of Gypsies because of their apparent ability to successfully lay a curse on you if you upset them. Visits from the 'rag and bone man' with his horse and cart were more welcome, particularly by the children who might be given a balloon in ex-change for old rags. As the years progressed there were the annual visits from a `gentleman-of-a-darker-hue' who went from door to door selling ties, collar-studs, etc. from a suitcase. A Mr. Henry came out from Windsor every Thursday with a cart loaded with galvanised goods, ironmongery, soda, soap-flakes and the famous 'Reckitts Blue'. Another welcome visitor, perhaps in later years, was Tom Cox on his Walls Ice Cream Stop Me and Buy One' tricycle - the fact that he only had one leg gave him few problems. There were two other ice-cream vendors - Vettise's and Sacco's - they just came round on Sundays. Out of season these ice-cream sellers would use their carts to transport the rabbit skins and other goods they bought locally. Tom Cox also sold cakes and bread for Denney's bakery (14 cakes for 1s. 0d.). He was also pretty handy with his bicycle pump in that when some poor soul stepped out of hedge in front of him he hit him over the head with it. 

STABLE FIRE 

The Greyhound Pub with Mr & Mrs Newell

Eton Wick had its own coal merchants, delivering by horse and cart. Bill Parrot' s horse was stabled in what is now 'The Greyhound' skittle alley. Early in the 1930's Scottie Hood' s horse' s stable caught fire and Scottie had to be physically restrained from entering the inferno to rescue his horse. The horse perished but the village had a whip-round and raised enough for him to buy another horse. The coal carts, and others, would be cleaned up and would carry the children of the village on Sunday School outings. 

Chantler then took the shop over and added gas masks to the provisions on offer. Harry Chanter was a very helpful and kind man. He was a trustee of the Eton Poor's Estate for 60 years, he was held in great an affection. There were other tenants of the shop after Mr. Chantler, until it was converted into flats in 1987. 

ICE CREAM 

A Mr. Slade set up shops in St  Leonard' s Place (possibly named so because of its view across the Thames to St Leonard' Hill?), this was the first shop in Eton Wick to sell ice-cream. Mr Slade moved on to The Grapes'. In the mid 30' s Joan Taylor set up as a newsagents, early in the 50's it was taken over by the Cowells, then Paxton, Lock and in the 1960' s by Mr. Lunn. In recent years the shop has been converted into fiats and is now called Taylor Court. Yet another shop which no longer exists is the old aquarium shop in Wellmans Cottages. This shop was run from 1908 until 1923 by Bill Hearn - he stocked umbrellas, saddlery, etc. He sold the shop when his wife died and took premises in Victoria Road (From `General' Hill who made nuts in the War?) where he set up a workshop - he ran two taxis. Later this business was to become Ellis Motors, and engineering works was still in operation at the time of the talk. Mr Wiggins followed Mr. Hearn into the 'aquarium' shop (yet another place where Tom Cox used to work); it became Graham's grocers and Provision Merchant, then John Barron. Later it became The Aquarium Shop, and has now reverted to being a private dwelling. We mustn't forget the cycle shop run by Ted Woolhouse from Bonaccorde Cottages "Royal Enfield Made Like a Gun", now a private residence. 

There was a doctor' s surgery in Alma Road, and can you believe we once had a Co-op in Alma Road! There was also a small shop in Shakespere Place (1880). Charlie Ayres started selling groceries in there in 1898. Bill Bolton failed as a butcher there; he was followed by Lucie Binfield, then Mr. Wilshire and then the Chinneries who dealt with rationing. Harry Cook then used it as a workshop. This too, has since been convened into flats. Prior' s, the newsagents in Moore's Lane, was built by Annie Tough's father, James Moore. This shop was occupied by Mr Sibley and then by Mr Prior. 

31 & 31a Eton Wick Road

Another butcher's shop was George Mumford's at 31 Eton Wick Road (Bracken Flowers and a Betting Shop were there in 1998). Mr Mumford tended to get into trouble for letting people have meat in excess of the ration (it  even had a 'Flanagan and Allen' mention at the Victoria Palace). Mr Mumford altered the premises to accommodate his elder daughter and converted part (later to become the betting shop) into a Laundrette. The butcher's shop was later to become a Greengrocers, then a baker' s and is now Bracken the Florist. 

Bistro

In 1951 the Eton Urban District Council built the `Darvilles' parade of shops. In the shop 

nearest to the Village Hall was Mr Barnes (wet and fried fish), next came 'Arnolds' the Butcher's, (when Roy Arnold retired it became a hairdressers).The third shop was O'Flaherty (chemist); fourth was Clinch's Bakery and Darvilles the grocer next to them. Anderson (newsagent and gents' hairdresser) occupied the sixth unit and A. Bond & Son (greengrocer) the final shop opposite the Shepherds Hut. 

Terry Anderson (who acquired the land for the Catholic Church) sold to Gowers; Clinch sold to Darville - who doubled the size of the shop; O'Flaherty sold out to a Mrs. Baker, but there have been several tenants since. When Frank Bond sold his Greengrocers shop it had been in business for 90 years. 

In I973 the Bell Lane parade of shops was built; Joyce Howard (ladies clothing); another was for hi-fi and electrical goods and then homemade brewing equipment and vehicle sundries. Country Fair, the equestrian shop, is to close and be replaced by a bistro. The hairdresser' s has become `Pipedreams' for cake-baking accessories. 

The final photograph shown on this fascinating evening was of Mrs. Cooley and Pam with their milk-float - the last of our milk delivery people. A suggestion for a Millennium Memorial - commemorate site of the 1st school, the 1st official building for church services and the 1st Institute for Eton Wick. All in one building at the bottom of the garden of 'The Greyhound'

The following meeting was held on the 8th July 1998 when the topic was LOCAL FETES, FAIRS, CARNIVALS AND CONCERTS. 

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the June 1998 edition.

Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Businesses - Moores Lane Petrol Station

Sibley and Moores Lane petrol pumps.

 Bill opened the Moores Lane filling station 1958, converting the end house of Primrose Villas to a newsagent/confectionery The row of houses comprising Primrose Villas were built for James Moore in 1885. His house, with a distinctive bay window facing onto the Alma Road side, being the one converted to the shop. During the 1930/40 period before establishing the shop, Bill sold newspapers on College Corner, Eton, and delivered papers throughout the village, from his then family home in The Walk. The petrol pumps are now dry, and the shop is by John Prior. 

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

Note John and Pat Prior closed their business and retired in August 2005. The premises were converted into residential accommodation.

Dick Harding's memories of Eton Wick and Gas part 2

1929 to 1935

There was a large sign on the roof at the back of the house proclaiming it to be the 'GAS COMPANY'S DEPOT'. You could see it right across to the 'Shepherds Hut ‘and the Eton Wick Road. It became our address, as it was easier to spell than Perseverance Place. Gas had arrived in the village in 1914. It was supplied from Windsor Gas Works. There was an arrangement between the Windsor and Uxbridge companies to supply the gas. Eventually gas was supplied entirely from Slough, but not until the introduction of North Sea Gas much later on.

The majority of households only had gas lighting in the downstairs rooms. At that time, most people had gas cookers although some people retained the old coal fired kitchen range. Other appliances such as gas fires, water heaters, wash boilers and refrigerators were practically non-existent. During the early 1930's gas street lighting was erected in the village. There was a total of forty four lamps erected, in addition to the one lamp outside Perseverance Place put there earlier, courtesy of the Gas Company. The area covered the whole village from The Slads to Dorney Common gate. One of the fitters, usually either Fred Harris or Bob Williams was paid a quarter of an hour overtime each night to ride his bike around the village at lighting up time to see that they were all alight.

There appeared on the scene a two wheeled hand cart just big enough to carry a gas cooker and its attendant fittings. It was Dougal's job to push it and deliver any new equipment that could not be carried on a Bike. Anything larger, Harry Prior's horse and cart was pressed into service. 'The hand cart became known as the Truck, and so it always remained until it disappeared sometime in the 1950's. Another article of transport was the Barrow. This was a resplendent polished wood two wheeled hand cart not unlike a Post Office parcel barrow. On the sides was printed in Gold Leaf the company's name. It was kept in the offices of 'Hetherington & Son’ in Eton High St. Once a quarter the barrow was used to 'COLLECT THE METERS.' Hetherington'& Son were contracted for this. 

The job entailed Fred Warner, a retired policeman and Gerald Mosley, Hetherington's clerk. Gerald would stand outside and 'guard' the barrow while Fred went inside with the 'BOOK' and a large Gladstone bag. Fred would empty the meter count the money, all in pennies, pay out the rebate, put the money in the bag and when the bag was full, and transfer it to the barrow. It took about two weeks to collect the whole area. 

Hardly Sunday lunchtime went by without someone came to the door, they had got a penny wedged in the meter and they couldn't get any gas. There must be hundreds of bent pennies thrown in Little Common Ditch.

In the early 1930's Fred Harris arrived, and later on, Bob Williams. John North was taken on , on a temporary basis but only when they were busy. Mains Water finally came, which meant we could have a proper plumbing and central heating system with a BATHROOM!!! The kitchen floor was boarded and the scullery floor Quarry tiled.

My brother was born in 1931 and I went to the village school. The boy's stayed until seven years old, the girls remained until fourteen. I am sure that details of school life can be adequately covered somewhere else in this history. 

The motor cycle combination we first had was swapped for a Morgan Three-wheeler. When we went on holiday one year the driving chain wrapped itself around the rear wheel. We went the rest of the way by bus. After the chain episode, a 1929 Morris 8 tourer appeared. It had a torn roof, so a new roof was made. It was home made of course, Father had a knack of 'do it yourself'. We couldn't sell the Morgan, so Father raffled it. He made seventeen pounds on the deal, quite illegal of course. Bill Sibley won it, but he had nowhere to keep it.

1935 was the Silver Jubilee Year. Somewhere I still have the aluminium beaker I received from the Home Park celebration. We decided to celebrate by flood lighting the back of the house, with gas of course.

The depression of 1930 was easing. New houses were being built. Among them were Leeson Gardens, Eton Square and Broken Furlong, together with individual houses infilled.

It meant gas had to be run into every new house. Sales of appliances increased. A show room was made from the front of Perseverance Place. Sales were made usually by appointment often after hours. The show room was not manned during the day, except for selling mantels which were sold at the door by anybody. There was a strict rule; they had to be paid for, no tick. 

Modern cookers began to be sold. They were of pressed steel and stove enamelled. There was a big push on 'Regulo' cooking, where you turned a numbered knob to get the heat you wanted instead of lighting the gas and praying. The old Victorian cast iron cookers were brought back and sent by lorry to Uxbridge for the scrap yard. The old coal fired coppers gradually fell into disuse, replaced by wash boilers. 

The first gas refrigerator appeared; it stood in the showroom as a demonstration model. We kept our milk and butter in it.

Dick Harding's full article has now been published as an e-book by and can be downloaded here.

Eton Wick Remembered - Home and Childhood

Many memories centre round the home and childhood, though naturally they vary from family to family and decade to decade.  In general homes were less sophisticated then those today.  There were few household gadgets and luxury items, and for much of this period many homes in the Wick ware without gas, electricity or running water. None had main drainage.  Fire and elbow-grease provided the energy.  Floors were usually often a home-made peg rug, bright with colours of cut-up rags. Next to this the fender would gleam like silver, having been burnished weekly with a square pad which looked like a piece of chain mail. In contrast to the silver was the black of the cottage range made shiny by dint of hard rubbing and blacklead. The range burnt solid fuel and had two hobs and a small oven. They were still being installed in the 1930s in homes which until then had managed with open grates arid side ovens. The side ovens were heated by the open fire; once hot, they retained their heat for a long time, and the skilful housewife could very  successfully regulate the temperature by  judiciously refuelling the fire. Often there was a trivet on which a kettle or saucepan could be stood to boil; but saucepans were also stood  directly on the glowing coals, and it was hard work to clean off the soot without the use of  detergents and 'Brillo' pads. Bread and even fish could be toasted in front of the fire, and in one family at least it was the regular Sunday job for one of the daughters to toast a bloater for  Father's tea.

One disadvantage of both kitchener and open grate oven was that they made cooking an  

unpleasantly hot job in summer.  The summer months could be trying in other ways. In homes near the brook, clouds of mosquitoes made hot, sticky children hide their heads under the sheets trying to sleep. Flypapers were hung in the downstairs rooms and were soon festooned with dead flies.  However their effectiveness did not last forever, and in time the dead flies would drip off - a horrid but commonplace occurrence which was simply accepted as the way of life.

Those were days when many families still had to fetch water from a communal pump or outside tap. It was a wearisome chore, and on winter mornings the pump had to be primed with a kettle of hot water before it would work and the tap unfrozen with a candle or paper burnt close to the closed stem of the tap. Buckets of water had to be carried in to fill up the copper on washdays and bath nights; afterwards the water had to be baled out into buckets and then tipped on to the garden or common.  Few houses had bathrooms - there are said to have been only two in the village when the first District Nurse came to live there in 1916, and she insisted on living in one of them (Wheatbutts Bungalow). For other households washing in a tin tub in front of the fire was a once weekly routine.  One story concerning bath night is now forever frozen in my  imagination. It tells of an elderly lady bathing in the kitchen but discreetly hidden from view by a draped clothes horse - or at least she was until 'God Save the King' was played on the wireless and, loyal to the chore, she rose to the occasion.

Of necessity most children were required to help a considerable amount in the home. Washing by hand was a long, wearisome task, especially when there were ten children in the family; and there are still sad memories of  mothers washing in the evening by candlelight. When the rubbing, scrubbing, boiling and rinsing was finished., the mangling could begin.  The children could help by folding the things and then turning the handle of the mangle with both hands if necessary - while mother guided the linen through. Washing up, dusting, chopping wood and running errands were jobs which perhaps are not so different  today, but it is rare in the Wick now to see children looking after their younger sisters and brothers - including the baby in the pram or  basinette, as was quite usual in the early years of this century. Gone too is the Saturday morning job of cleaning the knives.  The stains could be removed by a special machine, which some families had; but in others the job was done by rubbing each knife blade with moistened, powdered bathbrick or Oakey paste. Woe betide any youngster who forgot to clean the part of the knife where blade and handle joined.' Children worked on the allotments and while still at school helped in the family business, if there was one.  Young Bob Bond collected the horse from where it was grazing, on the way home from school, and at the age of twelve must have been one of the youngest people in the country with a cab licence.  Some families were poor enough to take   advantage of the soup kitchen in Eton and so perhaps twice a week one of the children would run to Eton in the long school lunch hour to buy a jug of soup.This could be filled out with peas to make a nourishing meal.

In many homes children were expected to earn a few pence whenever possible looking after a neighbour's children, running errands, mangling or maybe even helping in a shop. Payments were small, but when families were large every bit helped and mothers were thankful for 'small mercies'. One man, who worked as a schoolboy for a greengrocer in Eton before school, in the lunch hour and in the evenings for about 2s. 6d. a week before the First World War, remembers one week receiving only a 'hatful of specky apples'. In those years childhood ended with the labour exam at school, and children might start their working life from the age of twelve though   certainly some children stayed until they were fourteen. From then on life was likely to be hard, especially for those who went into service.   At sixteen young Winifred Sibley began working as housemaid at Cippenham Lodge, the home of Mr Twinch, a gentleman farmer. This was her second place and easier than most. Her day did not begin until 6.30 am with the dining room to sweep and dust before the family had breakfast. Mrs Twinch was very strict; there was no skimping on jobs. Church was compulsory on Sunday mornings and young Winifred on her  fortnightly Sunday off had to be back before nine o'clock in the evening.

While so many girls were in service the  launderies provided employment for the married women. It was hot steamy work, without the benefit of electric irons or detergents. Soap was bought by the hundredweight in mottled blue or yellow seven-pound blocks, which were left to dry and then chopped up for use. Washboards and scrubbing-brushes were used for really dirty items, and at Thatch Cottage a second small copper in the yard was used to bring back the whiteness to soiled teacloths. At this laundry the irons were heated and kept hot on a special 'ironing stone' with a ridged surface, which was set by the fire; but at other laundries there was an 'ironing stove' around which the irons could be rested and heated. As well as the flat-irons for the main work there were round-bottomed irons for polishing the starched and glazed shirt  collars; for frills and delicate work there was a range of gophering irons.

The main work of washing was usually done in the cottage scullery, where the copper produced the gallons of hot water needed. Mrs Miles converted one of the pair of cottages known as Vine Cottage into her laundry so that there was room for the various operations indoors, but at other launderies the business had to spread into sheds outside. At Thatch Cottage there was one for mangling, another for drying and a third in which the ironing was done. Some women did one job and others another. Woollen socks and sports gear from College were washed not at the laundries but by individual women, who collected them after games and returned them clean and dry the next day.'

Iron Hoop courtesy of
1900s.org.uk

The children of Eton Wick were country children who knew every hedgerow and footpath in the parish. They knew where to find the birds' nests and that the best cowslips grew in the Hyde. The bushy elms along Bell Lane made marvellous playhouses for the girls, and Blind Alley, the narrow strip of land leading from Little Common to Chalvey Ditch, was a place to light a camp fire and cook wild ducks' and moorhens' eggs. Children played with tops and marbles as in any English village, but I like the picture of schoolboys at the turn of the century rolling their marbles down the centre of Eton Wick Road on their way home from Porny School. Both boys and girls played with iron hoops which could be bought at Hearn's shop. If they had to be mended they were taken to the smithy; this too was a favourite haunt of many boys who would creep in quietly to watch the horseshoes being fitted.  They would wrinkle up their noses at the acrid smell of the burning hooves as they peered through the smoke to admire the skill of the blacksmith - joy of joys if one was allowed to work the bellows.

Although they did not all belong to the same era there are scores of other memories which bring back pleasant and exciting days. At the turn of the century a German one-man-band   occasionally visited the village with a dancing bear, and for many years a man with a   barrel-organ and monkey came to the Wick. The girls loved to dance to his music and sometimes he would encourage a few of them to try out their steps on a kind of platform attached to the organ. Another event belonging to the early years of the century and the 1920s was diving for plates in the river. It was part of the competitions and races organised by the Porny School for the boys who learnt to swim at the Royal Humane Swimming Baths at Cuckoo Weir. There were distance races too, and certificates to be awarded; and the school competed against others.

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