Category: Talks and Events

For Jonathan and Joe’s update presentation to their 2023 visit, we had an encouraging turnout of 40+ members and guests for the first talk of the year, so soon after Christmas and New year festivities and with snow still lingering.

After a quick recap on the work and findings of the Gloucestershire Speleological Society for Windrush 1 and 2, Jonathan took us through the highlights of the discoveries and research on areas of the quarries, suitably named Windrush 3 to 5.

We were reminded how the Windrush Quarries was opened in the strip of Taynton stone that crops out in a continuous band between the river Windrush and the main road past Burford  (A40, Oxford to Cheltenham) that rises 150-200 feet above. The quarrymen moved from surface quarrying to underground activity to avoid the need to dig through layers of Hampen Marley Beds, and White Limestone.

Developing the story from the discovery of Windrush 2 and the establishment of the location of the “Windrush Stables” where the horses/ponies used for moving the stone were kept, Jonathan showed the locations of other sections of the quarry complex. These included the 2013 discovery of workings in Windrush 3, and more workings nearby discovered a year later known as Windrush 4, with a final set of workings discovered in 2015 known as Windrush 5 – currently the extent of the known workings of the quarries.

We learned in the Q&A at the end, that in addition to extensive local use, Windrush stone has been used for some of the Oxford Colleges (estimates and accounts from 1716 & 1788 report Windrush stone being selected) and in 1804 replacing inner worn stone in some Oxford colleges as well as the exterior of Oriel Library. It is recorded in 1883 as being used in the inside of St George’s Chapel, Windsor.  It was also used for the new Houses of Parliament in 1839.

Not everyone in the hall would share Jonathan and Joe’s passion for crawling through dark narrow spaces, but their enthusiasm and excitement at what they might discover – and the care, of course, in gingerly stepping onto fresh ground to avoid damaging any possible finds – was infectious.

The clues which miners left behind all connect us in a time capsule to the local men who worked these quarries.  These included slabs of good stone awaiting transport, the marks along the walls left by the tackle of the horse-drawn carts, carved drainage channels of varying and mysterious purpose, broken clay pipes, old shoes, bits of broken tools, and not least, the graffiti which gives us names and dates of many of those men.

Joe gave us a summary from census records of the numbers of stone masons, stone miners and mason’s labourers which showed a decline from the 1880s. But it seems that at no time were the quarries a major employer of skilled workers. However, the quarries offered an important additional income for landowners, and crucially, gave winter employment for farm workers during the lean months for agriculture.

Sadly, the social and economic value of the quarries was finally compromised by the introduction nationwide of new government regulations for mining activity specifically geared to the larger and vital national scale mines in the UK. An unintended consequence of such legislation was to make such smaller enterprises as the Windrush Mines uneconomical due to the prohibitive costs involved.

Our evening ended with some very engaging questions from many of  the group, and particularly focussed around the possibility of finding descendants of the named miners, including any connections with workers employed by Groves in Milton.

About Jonathan and Joe

Jonathan Maisey  has been involved with caving and the Gloucester Speleological Society (GSS) since 1983 and has undertaken a wide range of caving/mining trips across the UK, France and the USA. Nowadays, his underground interest is more towards mines rather than caves. Of particular interest are the underground stone quarries of the Cotswolds and ongoing work to uncover some of these lost mines. Jonathan has also been a member of the Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group for 30+ years.

Joe Duxbury has been caving for nearly 60 years, and has been a member of GSS for about 40. He has visited caves throughout Europe and North America. Mines and underground quarries are just as interesting to him as caves, and Windrush has proved to be a fascinating project over the years.

John covered the background to the history of New Zealand emigration, focussing of course on the Wychwoods. In particular, he focussed on the role of Julius Vogel, Treasury Minister for the newly formed colony of New Zealand, who implemented a major drive for immigrant workers to build the country’s infrastructure.

He touched on the appointment of immigration agents such as Charles Carter who operated in the Wychwoods area. John mentioned key names such as Christopher Holloway and Joseph Leggett. These men were appointed by Carter as emigration agents for the area. They worked in tandem with Joseph Arch, Methodist firebrand and key player in promoting the interests of agricultural labourers at a time of extreme difficulty and hardship.

In giving  illustrated insights into the types and styles of the vessels which carried emigrant to their new lives, John also covered the story of the Cospatrick’s fate, and the memorial on Shipton Green to the members of the Hedges and Townsend families. And finally he offered some insights into the hardships of the voyages and their aftermath during quarantine. These were illustrated also by an audio clip of the fate of one particular child Mary Jane Johnson [ shown here on our Cospatrick Resources area ].

Carol’s talk followed on with the theme of expectations and realities of immigrant life in New Zealand, offering contrasting views and anecdotes from correspondence of the time.

Carol focussed particularly on the story of Eli Pratley, who had suffered misfortune on his first migration attempt to Canada. He finally, with a second family, made the journey to New Zealand to eventually become a landowner and successful family man. Carol contrasted this tale with words from a letter of 1875 “I shall never make my fortune… This country is not what the agents represented it to be.”

These reflections were rounded off in good spirits by Jim Pearse’s delivery of his poem “Emigration” which he had also recited at the society’s 1990 Victorian Evening, with audience participation on good form.

We are grateful to Jim for offering to reprise this poem for us. It was a perfect note on which to end a memorable evening.

The Cospatrick Tragedy: Booklet

Members were able to collect their copies of the society’s new booklet “The Cospatrick Tragedy- 150^th Anniversary reflections on a Wychwoods story of hope and loss”. This booklet, sponsored by Shipton Parish Council and compiled and researched by John, Carol and other society members, covers the full story. It especially looks deeper into the Hedges and Townsend families, researched by Diane Melvin.

Here are the introductory pages to the booklet, copies of which remain available and free to members.

Visit our special Cospatrick Pages here

Julie’s book “Our Boys 1914–1918: who were the fallen of one Oxfordshire valley? “ traces the often-surprising lives of 48 of the men and boys from Oxfordshire who fell in the First World War. From the workhouse boy who became an early submariner to the officer who proved to be not quite a gentleman, all of life is here.

A fine attendance of 50+ members and guests enjoyed Julie’s focus on the background of a few of these individuals, looking at their lives before the war rather than focussing on the business of battles and warfare.

We learned of individuals working with their families at various trades, practicing their crafts and toiling in fields and indeed signing up pre-war for army and navy adventures.

Remembrance of the First World War often brings to mind stone  monuments, quiet churchyards, and endless rows of gravestones in distant fields. 

Julie Ann’s talk told a different story of the lives of men in their familiar villages and farms, and encouraged a different way of remembering them. And she also showed reasons why names appeared on village monuments, of individuals not necessarily domiciled in that village. The reasons were intriguing.

Julie Ann’s book is available on Amazon here

September 11th 2024

Edward loves studying and writing reports for artefacts of all time periods. He is particularly passionate about analysing the patterns we can see in big datasets such as the PAS database.

Edward’s wide ranging presentation demonstrated how the PAS database can be instrumental in developing our understanding of the nature, scale and effects of the large social transformations occurring in Britain over time.  This is achieved by integrating burial, settlement information, artefacts and landscape evidence – creating narratives previously hidden from view to researchers.

About the Portable Antiquities Scheme

The Portable Antiquities Scheme is run by the British Museum and Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. Every year many thousands of archaeological objects are discovered, many of these by metal detector users, but also by people whilst out walking, gardening or going about their daily work.

The Database

The Portable Antiquities Database can be found here. The database is easy to search, and your search results can be filtered to find just the data you want. Tips on searching the database.

This link is especially interesting for Wychwoods-related queries

Introduction

Maurice started the evening with a discussion of the role of Oxford in the nation’s consciousness and the myths around its contribution or otherwise to the war effort in World War Two.  

He played a BBC excerpt from the programme “Rogue Heroes” which exemplified the usual idea of war heroes. However, as he pointed out, all their equipment and weaponry was actually manufactured by equally committed individuals who are  far less lionised.

And so, the theme of the evening was how the contribution of the Cowley Motor Works became instrumental in the war effort in a way which is often underestimated.

William Morris and Morris Motors at Cowley

Maurice covered the development of the Cowley  works through the story of William Morris and his creation of a major manufacturing business from early beginnings. [ A story also told here : Morris Metropolis ] . With the advent of World War One, William Morris’ enterprise engaged in war work. This included the making of mine sinkers for the Royal Navy in large quantities.

After the First World War, in the 1920s there was a major expansion. This included, in 1926, the building of the Pressed Steel factory which created a huge demand for labour. Men came from all over the UK and especially from South Wales, building the centre of gravity of the population of Oxford eastwards around the villages of Barton, Headington and Iffley amongst others.

By the outbreak of World War Two it was clear that the country was ill-prepared and short of arms and equipment, especially of aircraft for the Battle of Britain. At the nation’s low ebb, Dunkirk, things looked bleak.

Wartime Production at Cowley

But as these concerns grew, William Morris (Now Lord Nuffield) acted. In the late 1930s, his company began developing tanks and aircraft engines. When war erupted, the vast Cowley factory transformed once again, this time into an armaments and military equipment production hub.

The output ranged from army trucks, utility vehicles and light reconnaissance vehicles to Cruiser and Crusader tanks. Additionally, the factory produced aircraft components such as engines for the Lancaster bomber, as well as wings and tail units for the Horsa glider. By 1940, Cowley was also making complete Tiger Moth training aircraft for the RAF.

Everyday military essentials, such as wireless communication devices and searchlights, also rolled off the assembly lines – not least, millions of helmets and field canteens for the army. Extraordinarily also, in the field of neurosurgery, the production of metal plates used in surgery for head injuries pioneered by surgeon Hugh Cairns.

Beyond “Production” at Cowley

However, the Cowley factory’s role extended beyond production, and this was a key theme of Maurice’s talk, with extraordinary and copious illustrations of recycling and re-purposing materials from crashed aircraft, both allied and German.

Given the chronic shortage of planes, restoring damaged aircraft was crucial, allowing them to return to the front lines. To manage repairs across the country, the government established the Civilian Repair Organisation (CRO) in secrecy, coordinating repairs in a network of factories and workshops. Lord Nuffield was invited to lead the CRO, initially based at Cowley but later relocated to Merton College in 1940. Repaired sections of aircraft, and sometimes entire planes, were transported to airfields for reassembly and test flights

The Cowley factory specialised in repairing crucial Hurricane and Spitfire fighter planes, along with trainers produced by Miles Aircraft and the Tiger Moths they manufactured. During the intense three months of the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Cowley Unit restored up to 150 planes to active service.

To improve efficiencies and expediate repairs, Cowley Airfield was constructed adjacent to the factory. We even learned that damaged planes were occasionally flown directly to the airfield for “while you wait” repairs, swiftly returning to battle.

We also learned that Cowley served as the hub for a civilian salvage group (50MU), operating seven days a week to collect and transport damaged aircraft and parts for firms participating in the CRO network. Over the course of the war, this unit handled upwards of 12,000 aircraft. Maurice showed us extraordinary pictures of the transporter vehicles used for this work.

However, not all recovered planes could be repaired. The Morris factory housed a “Metal and Produce Recovery Depot” (MPRD), which salvaged badly damaged aircraft from various nationalities for parts and raw materials. For this work, the extraordinary “Cowley Dump,” a sprawling area of mangled wreckage from severely damaged planes, covered 100 acres of adjacent farmland.

These twisted metal piles, organised in blocks and “roads” for easy access, were immortalised in Paul Nash’s 1941 painting titled Totes Meer (Dead Sea), displayed today in the Tate Gallery. Thousands of tons of high-grade aluminium, rubber, steel, and plastics were reclaimed and reused as part of this programme. 

By the end of the war, Cowley had more than twice as many employees as it had before the war. Most of these workers were women because of course most of the men in the regular workforce had been drafted into the armed forces.

It was a great blessing that Oxford and the Cowley area was never damaged by bombs. But clearly the workforce at Cowley were instrumental in the eventual victory for the Allies, risking its own set of dangers with commitment, imagination and effort. Maurice’s talk was an eye-opener and indeed pointed to another – and very important – definition of wartime heroism.

About Maurice East

Maurice East was born and raised in Headington Quarry at a time when everyone you met seemed to have a connection to the car factory. His father, grandfather and uncles all worked ‘on the line’. After living in London for many years he returned to Oxford in 2013 and found a city much changed by de-industrialisation.

During lockdown he used his love of local history to develop walking tours which deliberately avoid the typical tales of dreaming spires and instead seek to reflect the overlooked experiences of ordinary Oxonians. This is history from below, less grand but no less exciting.  The story of how Cowley helped win World War Two is one of those hidden stories of Oxford.

Ingram introduced his talk with a quick introduction to the work of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, and the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He reminded us that Commission has been responsible over the years for the continued task of identification and reburial of the fallen.

Ingram then outlined the full story of his work with the late Tom Shannon, on one soldier, an officer of the Oxfordshire and Buckingham Light Infantry

On May 3, 1917, during World War I, the 5th Battalion of the regiment launched an attack against the enemy, who held a fortified trench. Tragically, over 300 officers and men were either killed, wounded, or went missing that day. Among the missing were two young Second Lieutenants who were never found.

Fast forward ninety-six years, and a local farmer stumbled upon the remains of a body. Artefacts found alongside the body, including a button, whistle, pocket watch, and uniform fragments, indicated that the deceased was an officer from the 5th Battalion. However, the officer’s identity remained a mystery at that time.

Ingram and Tom   dedicated many years on the research. After navigating through numerous false leads, they finally succeeded in identifying the young officer. His name: Osmond Bartle Wordsworth, a great nephew of the renowned poet Wordsworth. In recognition of his sacrifice, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission have carried out the reburial.

More details on the full story are here:

About Ingram Murray

Ingram Murray grew up in various police states due to his father’s work as a BBC foreign correspondent and involvement in the Political Warfare Executive during World War II.

In 1956, Ingram joined the Royal Engineers, serving in the Middle East during National Service. At Oxford University, he became part of the Airborne Engineer Regiment, eventually commanding the Parachute Engineer Squadron.

His military career took him to Aden, Libya, Egypt, Cyprus, and Germany. Simultaneously, he consulted for the British Railways Board across Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

After retiring, Murray volunteered at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, deeply involved in many of the museum’s important projects. As a trustee of the Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust, he remains active in preserving and sharing historical narratives.