Wargrave Local History Society
Meeting programme
Wargrave Local History Society
2023 - 2024 meeting programme
Tuesday April 11th 2023
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Jane Burrell
Jane will give an overview of the CWGC from its founding and principles to the present day. She will illustrate this by showing the sites cared for in the UK and internationally, and explain how to find out where relatives are buried
Tuesday May 9th 2023
The History of Yeomanry House, Reading
Katie Amos
Set in the Castle Hill area of Reading, Yeomanry House was previously home to Berkshire Family History Society and the Berkshire Register office. Katie Amos will reveal the origin of its name, links to a school, the military and weddings
Tuesday June 13th 2023
Wycombe Unmasked
William Reid
Learn about the medieval welfare state and see the Wycombe remains; discover the bunker from where the US Army Air Force directed bombing operations over Europe in WW2 and hear about the first railway to arrive in town in 1854 designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Monday July 10th 2023
Local History Visit
Chiltern Open Air Museum
The museum contains a variety of buildings from the Chilterns area, from Reading northwards, that have been reconstructed on the museum site. We will have a guided tour, and then after our afternoon tea, there will be time to look again at items of particular interest
Tuesday September 12th 2023
History of Greyfriars Church, Reading
Malcolm Summers
Originally part of Reading’s Franciscan Friary, the church building has had a ‘chequered’ career, including being town hall, poor house and a prison. Starting with the medieval foundation, Malcolm Summers will tell the story of one of Reading’s oldest buildings
Tuesday October 10th 2023
Royal Blue coach services
Peter Delaney
Peter, the archivist for the Thames Valley and Great Western Omnibus Trust - who is also the society secretary - will recount the history of Royal Blue - from horse drawn carriages to the express coach services which ran to the holiday areas of the south and west of England
Tuesday November 14th 2023
Brunel and the Great Western Railway
Lionel Williams
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
Tuesday December 12th 2023
Christmas Party Event
Lifting the Lid on Wargrave
Diane Evans
Diane Evans (née Ladd) will tell 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
Tuesday January 9th 2024
Chalk, Caverns and Commandos
Rob Wallace
Rob will tell 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
Tuesday February 13th 2024
A History of Woodley
Ann Smith
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 will tell us about this and also reveal the earlier, hidden history of Woodley
Tuesday March 12th 2024
Annual General Meeting