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Meeting report archive

Alf Beckford, a true Wargravian

A-000295

Maureen Prince

8 October 2024

Maureen Prince, who was born and grew up in the parish, shared
some of her family history, starting with her father, Alf Beckford

Cliveden: power politics and scandal

A-000294

Peter Hague

10 September 2024

The Society resumed its meeting programme after a summer break with a presentation
by Peter Hague about Cliveden - the house itself and some of its owners and occupants

Local History Walk around Woodley

A-000293

Peter Delaney

6 August 2024

A historic walk around Woodley with our guide Ann Smith

Visit to Pendon Museum and Dorchester Abbey

A-000292

Peter Delaney

10 July 2024

In July, the Wargrave Local History Society visited Pendon
Museum in the village of Long Wittenham, and Dorchester Abbey

Wargrave Village Festival - 2024

A-000291

Peter Delaney

16 June 2024

Wargrave Village Festival 2024: Society events - Historic Village Walk and an Evening with Simon Williams

Polehampton School - Twyford’s New Library

A-000290

Andrew Cardy and James Fort

14 May 2024

Edward Polehampton left his significant wealth to the village of Twyford, establishing the Polehampton
Charity about 300 years ago, which built the old Polehampton Boys’ School there. For Wargrave Local
History Society’s May meeting, Andrew Cardy and James Fort recounted its history through to the present,
when it has been adapted to form Twyford’s new library

Maiwand: The battle and the Great Game

A-000289

Mike Cooper

9 April 2024

The Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens, Reading commemorates a battle fought in Afghanistan in 1880. The lion is posed snarling defiance to the north – towards Russia
Mike Cooper’s talk looked at the Battle of Maiwand against the background of Anglo-Russian rivalry in Asia – The Great Game – and the history of the lion itself

The Annual General Meeting - 2024 and Reminiscences of Wargrave (part 2)

A-000288

Di Evans

12 March 2024

Following the Society's AGM and review of the year, Di Evans recounted more of her Reminiscences of Wargrave in the 1950s and 1960s, following on from her presentation in December

A History of Woodley

A-000287

Ann Smith

13 February 2024

Woodley grew from a village to a suburb of Reading in the 20th Century. It is famous for Miles Aircraft and the Aerodrome. Ann Smith told us about this and also revealed the earlier, hidden history of Woodley

Chalk, Caverns and Commandos

A-000286

Rob Wallace

9 January 2024

Rob told us of 100 million years of Reading’s underground history, from the creation of chalk in the area, to the opening of Emmer Green chalk mines in the 18th century, and the later uses of these underground chambers

Reminiscences of Wargrave (1950 - 1969)

A-000285

Di Evans

12 December 2023

Di Evans told us about Wargrave through the eyes of a fourth-generation villager with stories of school and work in the village during the 1950s and 1960s. It's the place she will always call home

Brunel and the Great Western Railway

A-000284

Lionel Williams

14 November 2023

Lionel Williams charts the years from the railways’ inception to the British Rail era. The talk looks at Brunel’s forward-thinking ideas and the legacy that he left, enabling the GWR to be one of the most progressive railways of its age

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