| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Group email: | History group |
| When: | Monthly on Friday afternoons 2:30 pm-4:00 pm 3rd Friday in Reading Room |
| Venue: | The Reading Room |
During 2026, the History Group has enjoyed a wide range of talks, provided by a variety of people
In January, we were given an update on the work being done by the local organisation, Chinnor Heritage, which members found very interesting as there were links to their personal pasts.
In February, the story of Thame Workhouse was shared. This also incorporated wider socio-political issues impacting at the time.
March saw a talk about the process involved in identifying people for recognition for the Blue Plaques seen on buildings as well as a journey through Oxford/Bucks/Berks identifying where they are.
In April, the story of how coal has played an important part in our lives, the political decisions which has led to the socio-economic factors impacted on our lives today.
May saw a talk on the story of World War 11 ships, one British, one American and how they ended up on the seabed, and what they look like now from a diver’s perspective.
June and July saw a two-part event where Eva Peron’s (Evita) life was charted in depth and at the end, the question of whether she was a saint or a sinner was asked.
August was our annual Bring and Tell, where group members bring items and share them with the group. As usual, a wide range of interesting items were shared:
A decorative tile from Germany.
A Wooden box, containing Bayko bricks, much discussion ensued about members memories of these bricks . The box was originally used to store a navigational aid used by aircraft during the World War 11.
There were a couple of items of jewellery – A Norwegian silver ring belonging to a members Grandfather. A silver charm bracelet documenting someone’s life through the range of charms collected.
The history of Trinity House, the nautical service founded by Henry VII, whose role is to monitor the light houses and buoys around our coastline through its Flagship – Patricia which is based in Harwich.
A member shared a story written by her grandson of what her father told him about his wartime experiences including how an acoustic mine was set off, resulting in the ship breaking in two and how he was rescued by a French fishing boat.
Pencil Picture by a relative when based in Iraq.
A number of historic books documenting areas from around Britain but not Ireland. There were some local pictures and stories.
We then had a mystery item, a box owned by a grandmother, which turned out to be probably a collar and stud box.
There were lots of old photos of Chinnor and the surrounding area.
An old drawing book with some dates going back to mid 1800s
So, what’s next? In September the group are going to Rycote for a look around. In October, we are going to hear about a Day at the Beach by the Thames in London. In November the first part of a Naval Story is going to be told, with the second part next year. Finally, in December, we have a broad general knowledge quiz. It is a fun quiz, but the members are very competitive!
The 2027 Programme will be equally varied.
Ann Hedges
Coordinator
The fascination of the subject of History, for many, is that there is plenty of it to keep our programme varied, interesting and, usually, enjoyable.
Today, is tomorrow’s yesterday. Make of it what you will. If you would like to join the History Group, please click on the button below:
Click to send an email to the Groups Coordinator
HISTORIC PLACES IN CHINNOR
HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN THAME
