The Hampshire Family Historian | Volume 51 No.4 | March 2025

Local Group Programmes

photographs of Fair Oak. This then suggested a theme of villages and photographs. Richard had recently found out his great grandparent lived in Botley Lane, Fair Oak and was pleasantly surprised to find their house was one of the photographs. Mike’s in laws, the Axfords, owned Springfield Nursery in Botley Road which is now housing although the main residence is still there. Maureen took us to Westmoreland (now Cumbria) and the village of Milnthorpe. She had wondered why her ancestors had moved from a cotton mill in a rural village to industrial Bolton. The answer came in a book about the village which explained that the railway at Arnside had cut off the access for shipping causing the mill to close. Keith told how one of his grandfathers was the butler at Marwell Hall. He had found photos of family members in a book about Owslebury School. His family had moved away as their employer had lost money in the 1930s financial crash. Sandra brought along two books for people to look at - 'Hampshire Villages' and 'Victorian Villages'. She also had a link to Fair Oak via an ancestor who lived in Stroudwood Lane - but was transported to Australia where he stayed. She had other ancestors in other villages, such as Crampmoor, near Romsey. Paul had a book on Mount Bures on the Essex/Suffolk border close to the river Stour. Research in this area can be confusing as there are three neighbouring villages with similar names - Mount Bures (Essex), Bures St Mary (Suffolk) and Bures Hamlet (in Essex but part of a Suffolk parish)! Unlike most places where the population has increased over the years, Mount Bures had 276 inhabitants in 1881 but only 218 in 1991. Hazel had traced the ownership of 26 and 28 Market Street in Eastleigh, a former family home. These were originally one house, built about 1869, but subsequently divided into two. Her grandfather (W G Bush, the founder of the firm of funeral directors which still operates from Eastleigh), bought both houses and for a time Hazel and her family lived at 26 whilst the business was run from 28. Sadly, the houses were lost to compulsory purchase for redevelopment. (November) Members Evening – Aviation This member meeting resulted from Alan Matlock having to cancel his talk on Building Spitfires Without a Factory because of family illness. It was decided to follow the theme and have a subject: Aviation Jacky brought along a fine painting of a Beaufighter which her father had painted. She also had transcript of a recording of his wartime memories and a log of the base activities. (See article in this journal - Ed) Paul noted that both his grandfather and father had been aircraft mechanics in World War I and II respectively. He presented quite a lot of detail including letters of transfer which Paul was able to follow up on and trace how they had ended up in their various roles. Mike presented the story of the Giddings, Toomer and Weston families. One amusing incident concerned Air Gunner Giddins complaining about the heat in Egypt and was

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