Helen Cadd wrote"The photo was posted over from America by Olive McCabe, nee Olive Peacock back when the photo was taken . Aunty Olive found the photo in a set of drawers she was clearing out.

Photo of Children dressed in fancy dress at the WI Christmas Party 1958,
People in the Christmas party photo in Fancy Dress file Some are recognised below:
Celia and Tina John
Rosemary and Peter Ham
Lynne Rouse
Teresa Rouse
Linda Smith & Roger Powell & Julie Powell
Daphne Jackson
Maureen Nichols
Pamela Quick
Mary Gerring
Jannette Keyte
Christine Weston

While the title of this piece refers to the Shirt Race, which started as a celebration of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, this articles talks about many people and is a lovely snapshot of social life in Bampton in 1959. People mentioned include:-

Albert Chandlers, saddler and leather worker and chairman of the parish council and still working hard at his leather work aged 81. Reference is made to the 100 or so council houses built in Weald since the war but there have been no council houses built in Weald, they were along New Road and the area north of New Road.

Percival O Money, "bespoke and surgical boot maker where everything was done by hand, even stitching when repairing footwear. Mr Money was a founding member of the debating society and secretary of the bowls club (which was in the grounds of Weald Manor.)

John Quick, one of the founder member of the SPAJERS - The Society for Ancient Junketer - who organise the Great Shirt Race and other events to raise money for Bampton's senior citizens while providing fun for all.

Mr & Mrs Arthur Scott-Norman licensee of the Elephant and Castle Inn in Bridge Street, knew each other in their school days then bumped into each other again in Tanganyika, never to be parted again. During the war Mr Scott-Norman was in the RAF and later in the Colonial office in Dar-es-Salaam and Mrs Scott-Norman was matron of the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar-es-Salaam.

There is much more of interest in the articel.

Harry Pocock with his thrashing machine and tractor in 1958 driving out of Church Street into Broad Street. Edwin, Ruth and Joe Buckingham are on the tractor with him.

An invoice from Harry Pocock & Son, Agricultural and Thrashing Contractor to Alex Townsend of Ashtree Farm (in Weald Street) for threshing and baling @ £47 5s (£47.25p) but with a contra account of 2ctw of tater (potatoes), 2 men combing and 5 gallons of paraffin £8.11s.6d (£8.55½p) giving a bill of £38.13s.6d (£38.65½p) sent April 1959.

An invoice from Harry Pocock & Son, Agricultural and Thrashing Contractor to Alex Townsend of Ashtree Farm (Weald Street) for threshing and baling sent December 1959.

Seen in the spring of 1963, talking with Marjorie Pollard in Cheapside, when we had huge drifts of snow.

Newspaper clipping from the Witney Gazette April 4th 1958 advertising the weekly cattle market held in Witney

Bertie Clark. Fiddle rear Harry Hampton (fool) Peter Alum, George Hunt, Bobby Wells cake
Bertie (1877.-1958) was another Bampton Morris fiddler, but unlike Wells
was not born into the tradition. He was brought up in London, where he worked at a railway depot
in Camden Town. He had some violin lessons, and played in the railway staff orchestra. Sometime
before the Great War he moved to Carterton, the village next to Bampton. When in 1926 Jinky Wells
had a falling-out with his Morris side, and went off to form his own, Bertie Clark was invited to be
fiddler for the original Bampton Morris; he initially learned the tunes from Cecil Sharp’s published
manuscripts (presumably relations with Wells were such that he wasn’t going to teach them to
Bertie himself!) Recordings of his playing made in 1958 appear on Rig-a-jig jig; dance music of the
south of England from Topic Records’ "Voice of the People" collection. A listen to his playing is very
instructive. At the time he would have been 81 years old, was quite likely well out of practice and
possibly arthritic.

Taken about 1958 opposite the Elephant & Castle and by Castle View farm. Gladys was one of the daughters of Mary Elizabeth and Albert Townsend. Syd White and Bobby Wells in the centre front. Sisters Lynne and Teresa Rouse on the left edge.

Sales brochure for Calais farm January 15th 1959

This teacher is Mr Evans who taught at Bampton School and the picture was taken about 1959.Janet Westman said "Mr Evans was my favourite teacher. He was so young and handsome!, he encouraged me to draw, and would take us on cycle rides

The contestants in the Shirt Race are at The Lamb Inn in the Market Square. This Inn was known locally as The Tree because there was a very large Ash tree in the garden.