This is the funeral program from the church service for Constance Irene de Hamel. Constance did many things but is possibly best known for being a continuity announcer during WWII

There is a sound recording of Constance talking about her whole working life on YouTube at https://youtu.be/lnKzcJOBO8Q

This threshing machine was used to thresh the grain from the stooks of corn and was the normal way to do this in the first half of the twentieth century, before the combine harvester did the job as the corn was cut in the field.

It was a labour intensive job with people taking stooks from the pile, others lobbed them on to the top where yet more people fed them into the machine. Two ladies and a man can be seen on top of the threshing machine doing this part of the job.

At least one person hooked sacks on to the back to catch the grain while others gathered up the straw and chaff. The straw would have been used for bedding animals under cover in winter and some used as feed.

The whole machine was belt driven - no protection - with power from a steam engine which had men keeping it going in good order. With a live fire in the steam engine, it's no wonder there were fires in the ricks from time to time.

There are 13 people working in this picture. Some have bailing string tied round their calves, probably to stop rats running up as the rick was slowly dismantled.

A threshing machine is nearly always seen working at the Fairford, Faringdon, Filkins & Burford ploughing match held the last Saturday in September on a farm within 16 miles of Lechlade.

Dr Alan Cole was in the practice in Bampton for many years. In this picture you can see his on-call alarm in his top pocket.

Colin Harold Bathe died on May 8th 2011 at the age of seventy three. His close friend David John Titchener, widely known as Curly, preceded him by just a few months dying at the age of seventy six on January 20th 2011. Both were well known in the area around their home town of Swindon for numerous activities relating to sports and motorised vehicles, but it is their involvement with traditional music, Morris dancing and song for which they will be remembered by Bampton people.

The article gives you far more information about these two men.

There was a very full program of events that took place throughout Bampton from Saturday June 2nd to Tuesday June 5th.
This is the full list of the events.

This map was produced in 1922 and shows the field system as well as the parliamentary boundaries as at 1918.

There are many interesting notes written on in pencil. The water tower and gas works along the Aston Road were in existence. The allotment gardens NW of Beam Cottage are labelled as is the gravel pit to the SW of Beam Cottage.

There are no houses to the north of New Road and none to the south of it going east from Bushey Row.

Rushy Weir is shown clearly as is the tow path to the south side of the river Thames.

The photographs were all taken by Bob West who carried the cake for the Morris for very many years. They are all of the May Bank Holiday 1997 Morris Dancing

These photographs, all taken by Bob West at the Spring Bank Holiday day of Morris Dancing 2000. All but the last two are Tony Daniels' morris side, (now at 2020 under Craig Godwin). The next to last picture is of Sherbourne Morris and the last picture is Eynsham Morris, both guests of the local side.

These pictures all taken by Bob West, were taken in 2004. Many are taken in the garden of the Horse Shoe. Some of the people in the pictures include
Bob West
Ted Poole
Billy Main
Mary Cook & brother Tommy Tanner
Tony Daniels
Dave Rose
Ann & Francis Shergold
Clare Hall
Maurice New
Jasper Walsh
Reg Hall
Jim Buckingham
Heather David (at Tickhill)
Eric Stott
Ivy Poole
Carole New
Liz Rose
Roger West