The next meeting will be on Thursday 18th September 2008
at FAIRFORD COMMUNITY CENTRE, Farmor Room at 7.30 pm when June Lewis will be speaking about Fairford in Manitoba.
Abraham Cowley, the son of a stonemason left Fairford in 1841 to go to Rupert’s Land as a missionary. He built a
wooden Church and mission house with a small school room at Pinn Nay Moo Ta. When the Archbishop of Rupert’s Land
visited the mission in 1851 he changed the name to Fairford in honour of the work done by Abraham Cowley.
19th June 2008: Fourth AGM
The Society returned to the newly refurbished Community Centre for its fourth Annual General Meeting. In his last
report as Chair, Keith Cottam began by showing everyone the lectern beautifully crafted by Ian Westlake for the
Heritage Room. It had been funded from a donation from the collection at the funeral of Enid Johnson, a founder
member of the Society: Enid had been extremely interested in local and family history and kindly bequested a
donation to the Society. Keith continued by reviewing the substantial achievements since the setting up of the
Society four years ago from its tentative beginnings to the culmination of the Fairford Community Play and with
the resulting income setting up the Heritage and Archive Room in the Centre. The Society has also held successful
events and produced scholarly publications. He thanked his Committee for all their support and hard work. An appeal
was made for a treasurer and Gill Compton kindly volunteered.
The new Committee was elected with Geoff Hawkes
as Chairman, Brian Routledge Vice-Chair, Alison Hobson Secretary, Gill Compton treasurer, Ian Westlake Membership,
Margaret Bishop FCC representative, Maurice Jones FTC, John Read, Julie Parker and Chris Hobson. Geoff Hawkes
thanked Keith for his expert leadership and gave him a token of appreciation, a photographic record of his years
as Chair and some liquid refreshment.
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The lectern crafted by Ian Westlake for the Heritage Room in memory of Enid Johnson.
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The retiring Chair Keith Cottam being presented with a token of the Committee's appreciation by the incoming Chair Geoff Hawkes.
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The refreshments which followed were generously sponsored by our president June Lewis-Jones to celebrate the setting
up of the Heritage and Archive Room.
Geoff Bishop gave an interesting and informative talk on Fairford during World War II compiled from the oral
history recordings, finishing with a very moving account from Tony Rogers, a Pole from what is now Lithuania, who
had survived horrific experiences and finally ended up in England flying with 18 OTU, RAF and eventually retired to
Fairford. Over 20 CDs have been made of the recordings and Geoff asked for anyone interested in interviewing or
being interviewed to contact him.
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21st February 2008: From Crawling to Concorde
Edwin Cuss gave an excellent slide show from his vast collection at this meeting. He covered the topic of transport in
Fairford ranging from a delightful picture of him crawling as a baby to nostalgic pictures of Concorde. Prams, wheeled toys,
bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, steam powered vehicles, buses, cars and aircraft plus walking all featured with interesting
pictures of local people, some of whom were known to the audience. Edwin said he had thought it was going to be an easy
selection but when he came to it he found it difficult to choose what to exclude. The talk was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
15th November 2007: God Sent a Plague of Frogs to Fairford
Dr Andrew Warmington gave a fascinating talk about the religious turmoil that followed the English Civil War
when Fairford hit the national headlines! He told the story of the pamphlets that were published in 1660 telling
of a plague of frogs that visited the houses of Fairford’s Justice of the Peace and Lord of the Manor as a ‘punishment’
following their refusal to act when nonconformists were harassed by the locals. Dr Warmington studied the English
Civil War for his doctorate and is the author of books and articles on the subject, especially Gloucestershire’s
part in the War.
See Dr Warmington's Prize winning Essay on the Subject
20th September 2007: Farmor’s School – in transition
Hugh Dudley, deputy head teacher at Farmor’s School gave an interesting insight as to how Farmor’s made the change
from a school of a few hundred when it moved to the Park site in 1961, to a comprehensive school in 1966 and in 2007
has 1094 pupils. It also gave an insight to the great changes in education that were happening when some of the audience
were at school and was also an exercise in nostalgia for ex teachers and former pupils present.
Mr Dudley gave the Society a metal box with Farmor’s Endowed School printed on the side which was used as safe
storage for registers and also the school cane!
17th May 2007: Third AGM and Fairford’s Railway
The Society held its third Annual General Meeting at the new venue of Fairford Primary School as the Community Centre is
undergoing its refurbishment. The Chairman and Treasurer gave their reports after which the Committee was voted in for
another year. The Treasurer divided his report into funds belonging to the Society and funds relating to the Local Heritage
Initiative grant. He reported that, as far as the Society’s funds were concerned, expenditure had exceeded revenue and a
vote was called for to increase subscriptions from £2.50 to £3. The vote was carried.
After the business meeting Colin Moulden gave a fascinating account of the Fairford Branch Line and its place in railway
history. Well illustrated by some excellent photographs, many taken by Colin himself, the talk was very well received as it
brought back many memories to some of the Fairfordians in the audience!
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The next two meetings will be held in the Business Centre of Farmor’s School, after which we should be able to return to
the Community Centre.
2007 – 2008 events are:-
September 20th - Hugh Dudley will talk on Farmor’s School
October 17th- 20th - Lizzie Farmor’s Edifying Circus in St Mary’s Church
November 15th 2007 – Dr Andrew Warmington - God sent a Plague of Frogs to Fairford
February 21st 2008 - Edwin Cuss
May 15th 2008 - AGM
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15th February 2007: Along the River Coln in Fairford
Despite technical difficulties Edwin Cuss gave an interesting and informative illustrated talk on views along the River Coln
through Fairford. The photographs spanned well over a century, the earliest being 1858. He pointed out important sighting landmarks
such as the gas works chimney and the Church and useful dating clues such as costume and the size of trees. One of the more recent
pictures was of several youths sitting on the town bridge, one of whom was sitting in the audience much older and wiser!
We were very grateful to the member who lent a substitute projector that enabled the talk to continue. Edwin was very disappointed
that his equipment let him down and has offered to give us another talk on a different topic in 2008.
Meeting Reports for 2006
Meeting Reports for 2004 and 2005
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