Tom Smith was the son of a gypsy Queen and for 1969, the number of people and cars who came to his funeral was a very memorable affair. To this day, locals call the bend just outside Bampton on the Bampton to Brize Norton Road 'Hoppy's Corner.' It's on the right leaving Bampton just after passing the allotments.
Scanned copy of old document containing extracts from Gardener's Gazetteer of Oxon 1852, Lascelles' Gazetteer of Oxon 1853 and Kelly's Directory of Oxon 1895. Listing businesses and trades in Bampton and surrounding villages, and the following surnames are included Adams Andrews Arkell Baines Baker Bateman Beckinsale Beechey Beresford Biddulph Bradshaw Bryant Bullem Burrow Butt Carter Chandler Clack Clifford Clinch Collins Cook Cook Cowley Cox Coxeter Cripps Croft Dewe Dickens Dipper Dumbleton Dutton Edgington Eldridge Evans Forest Fox Frampton Francis Frederick Gerring Giles Gillet Grove Hambridge Hardman Harris Holliday Hollis Hudson Hutchings Jackson Jeeves Jones Knight Lambeth Leforestier Long Lord Luckett May Miller Newport Oakey Patt Perkins Pettyfer Pinnock Pinnocks Plaster Pnnock Prior Pusey Reed Richards Robins Rose and Bullen Sellard Shepherd Smith Southby Sparrowhawk Spiers Spurret Steede Stevens Stone Swinburn Taylor Teall Thompson Townsend Trafford Vesey Waite Walker Walsh Ward Werman Whitaker Widdows Wilkins Williams Winstanley Winterborne Youngâ
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
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.
Witney Gazette December 3rd 2014. Sisters unite in requesting a public inquiry after each of their brothers died from starvation after their benefits were drastically cut.
Cathie Wood and Gill Thompson, sisters to Mark Wood of Bampton and David Clapson spoke of the "austerity war" at a public meeting in Witney. Mark died weighing just over four and a half stones after an assessment by Atos, for the DWP claimed he was fit to work and his disability benefit was cut. Similarly David, a diabetic, had his benefits were suspended and without electricity he could not refrigerate his insulin.
Win Jones aged 94 is a very remarkable lady. She works hard at keeping fit and that is probably what has helped her to get over being infected with covid-19