Our forgotten local WW2 Airfield

During WW2 a field at Crazies Hill became an operational grass airfield, known as RAF Henley. One use was for the first flights of Spitfires manufactured by local people. This talk illustrates the operations that were undertaken there and explains the 'shadow factory concept'

The People and Places of Bletchley Park

Peter is a guide at Bletchley Park, a place where history happened. His talk revealed the story of the critically important work of the allied code breakers of WW2

Visit to Hinton Ampner

July is the time of year when members of Wargrave Local History Society make a visit to a place of historic interest, this year the location was Hinton Ampner, between Winchester and Petersfield in Hampshire

Wargrave Village Festival 2026

The activities of the Society in alternate years are linked to the Wargrave Village Festival. For 2026, we had a stand at the Fete and organised an Historic Village Walk

Life as an international tennis umpire and the outfits worn

At the May meeting of the Society, Julia Freeman recalled her time as a tennis umpire, not only at Wimbledon, but internationally

Reading - Ice age to Romans

At the April meeting of Wargrave Local History Society, returning speaker Mike Cooper’s presentation considered the evidence of human settlement around Reading from the hunter-gatherers to the Romans

The Annual General Meeting - 2026 and 'Bring and Tell'

Following the formal business of the evening, the society held a 'Bring and Tell' time, when various members brought along an ‘item of interest’ to present to the meeting

Trooper Potts VC

Three members of the Trooper Potts VC Memorial Trust - Richard Bennett, Brig Tony Verey and Capt Andrew French, gave a presentation to explain why Fred Potts VC, from Reading, became known as ‘The Hero with the Shovel’ for his deeds on the battlefield of Gallipoli in August 1915

The Bull Hotel at Wargrave

The subject of the Society’s January meeting was The Bull Hotel at Wargrave, when the present landlady, Jayne Worrall recounted its history, in what she called ‘an informal chat’ about her ‘three lives’ at the Bull. The Bull is around 600 years old, having started as a 15th century coaching inn - somewhere where travellers could obtain refreshment, and the horses could also take a rest

Christmas Party - 2025

December is the time for the society Christmas Party, when the society secretary showed some postcards from the society archive - this time looking as much at the messages as the pictures - and revealing who the mystery recipient of many of them was

The Last Horse Dealers in Reading: Oliver Dixon

The history of horse dealers in Reading in the 19th and early 20th century, including the Irishman, Oliver Dixon

Henley: the Victorian and Edwardian Town

Henley modernised rapidly in Victorian and Edwardian times. The population grew, new suburbs developed and town life became more liberal. The streets were improved, its centre was relocated and a modern drainage system was installed. What brought this about, who were the agents of change, and how did the town react?