From the Crimean and Boer Wars, through the First and Second World Wars, this book not only documents the challenges and anxieties faced during these times of turbulence but also the quiet triumphs of kindness, resilience, and adaptation that reflect the inner strength of Burford & District’s community.
 
Complemented by lavish illustrations, the book features many personal, first-hand ac-counts passed down through families and friends that document chapters of Burford’s past that are as poignant as they are compelling, inviting us to reflect on the enduring spirit of a town, united by shared purpose and hope. The index lists around 400 family names.
 
The 204 page book that ends with Burford’s VE80 day celebrations in 2025, commemorates sacrifice and strife, and remembers those who gave their lives for the cause of freedom from tyranny.
 
 
BOOK REVIEW BY GORDON ELLIOT. BRIDGE MAGAZINE- NOVEMBER 2025
 
We left this place in a great hurry on October 30th and travelled all night and went in the trenches at nine o’clock the next morning and were under fire almost all of the time till Tuesday. On Sunday November 1st our captain (Captain Molloy) was killed. Since then we have been in the trenches on three other occasions and there have been five killed and about 15 wounded. When we went into the trenches on November 15th it rained hard and we all got wet through, and the trenches were ankle deep in mud.
 
This matter-of-fact account came from Percy Batchelor, a former pupil of Burford Grammar School, and was published in the winter 1914 edition of the school magazine. He was serving in the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, the first Yeomanry unit to go overseas, landing in France on 22 September 1914 within weeks of the outbreak of the First World War. Percy survived the war, returned to Oxfordshire and died in 1985 aged 90.
 
His account appears in a new book from the Tolsey Press, Burford’s Wartime Stories, a successor to last year’s Treasures of the Burford Tolsey Museum. That book recounted local history by reference to objects in the museum’s collection whereas the new volume, compiled by Peter Martin, to a large part does so in the words of local people. After beginning with brief references to the Crimean and Second Boer Wars, it covers the two World Wars in the last century in much more detail.
 
At this time of year our thoughts turn to those like Percy who fought for their country and came home and to those who did not and whose names are recorded on the memorials in our various communities. However, unlike the case in earlier conflicts, the two World Wars had a huge impact on those at home, especially the second one. The book contains a wealth of memories taken from the diaries, letters and other documents showing how everyone pulled together in many ways. There is a cast list of those mentioned running from Adams (Sybil) to Vick (Baden). One of the first effects of the war in 1939 was an influx of evacuees from London and other built-up areas, greatly increasing the local population. Joanna Turner says that her father, Bill Piercy, bought the Great House as a “country cottage” in 1933. The family moved there when the war broke out and spent the next six years there together with other members of their extended families and some government evacuees placed there by Lady Southby, the billeting officer. Her father recalled sitting down to supper with 17 women.
 
Food and clothing were rationed and food distribution was organised by a committee led by Mr A E Pether, who was also chairman of the parish council. Many people kept chickens, rabbits and even pigs in their gardens. There was much improvisation in respect of clothing and makeup, with “make do and mend” being the order of the day.
 
Women were heavily involved in the war effort, notably through the Women’s Land Army whose members replaced farm workers serving in the military and helped maintain vital food supplies. But women took on many other roles. There is a fascinating account by Diana Barraclough of how she was recruited into what became Bletchley Park where she worked in Hut 6 where staff were tasked with cracking German army and air force Enigma cyphers.
 
There are descriptions of the Home Guard: the Burford platoon at one stage had 120 members. Fire watchers, fire fighters and the police played their part: Burford had 33 volunteer Special Constables and eight sergeants (Special Sergeants?). Various units were billeted here, and later in the war the Americans set up a base at Barrington Park, while a war canteen was set up in Church House, later the Warwick Hall. There is much else in the book, too much to mention here. It is generously illustrated with images on almost every page.
 
Peter Martin and others from the Tolsey Museum team are to be congratulated on the enormous effort they must have made to research and compile this fascinating volume.
 
Gordon Elliot