War Years; 1920: Peace Day Celebrations

In the Shadow of the Abbey

Change in the Church, the Bishop visits, Peace Day festivities in the rain, design of the war memorial unveiled, and Bananas for the school treat.
“I spoke last year of the noble way in which the men of Bisham answered the call of their country, and the service also of the women, the hardest perhaps of all being that of those whose duty it was to “stand and wait!” The strain fell on all in various degrees and now we have all to do our part in “building-up”. The present is a difficult and anxious time for us all. ” The waves of the storm which raged for 4 years cannot be expected to subside in a moment, or in a year, perhaps not in many years. Our business however is to ‘bear one another’s burdens’ and to ‘go forward’”

The main events of the year took place in the summer of 1919
The passing of The Church of England Assembly Act in December 1919 was a significant event for the Church of England as the established church. As specified by the Act, an Electoral Roll of the congregation was duly made for Bisham. The initial Parish Church Council (PCC) was elected; some of the names may be familiar: Mr W Alloway, Mr Jerrams, Mrs Brown, Mr H.A Jones, Mrs Cook, Mrs Kelly, Mr W Ellis, Mr Harry Paine, Mrs W Farrer, Mrs H Randall, Mrs Harding, Mr Gilbert Shaw, Mr F Harding, Lady Vansittart Neale, Miss Vansittart Neale and the sidesmen: Mr G Harding, Mr W.G Jones and Mr Albert Paine. It is not surprising that the same village names occur in positions of responsibility.

The Memorial Cross, erected by Lady Kelly, on a piece of ground given by the Vansittart Neale family at the corner of Temple Lane, was dedicated on June 18th 1919. This was not the official War Memorial which was to be in the church

Peace Day was celebrated on Saturday July 19th 1919. Lady Florence wrote; Gloomy looking morning. Festivities all over England. In Bisham a Dinner was held for the soldiers and sailors. 70 were invited and “of the 46 attended, 32 were educated at Bisham School and we were not a little proud of our boys. Each guest was provided with an ounce of tobacco and a packet of cigarettes.

A cricket match was played and swings were erected for the children. “Sports and tea went on all day with as many as 300 enjoying the happy reunion”. Rain fell gently during the afternoon which made it necessary to have tea and games and dancing in the school. Tea was held in relays of a hundred persons, and the fare consisted of bread and butter, jam sandwiches, cake, rock cakes, and buns. Over a hundred children were given a “Peace Mug” each as a souvenir. The cost of the celebrations was £66-6-10 which was more than covered by subscriptions to the Peace Day Fund. £114– 1-1 had been raised. A School Treat was given on July 24th 1919. The chief entertainment was an hour or two spent in boats and punts and a visit the Abbey. Tea and sport came later.
The design for the war memorial tablet by Mr Cogswell was approved. It will be a “framework of alabaster against the Vestry wall, standing 6ft 9 in. in height and a tablet of black marble with the names of our 16 soldiers in white and gold.
"I try to make this letter short without much success. There are so many subjects which require mention." and you can hear more about this year in another episode
Episode researched, written and narrated by Sheila Featherstone-Clark based on The Bisham Parish Report of May 1920. Revd W Farrer is voiced by Nigel Greenwich and Lady Vansittart Neale by Shirley Jenkins-Pandya.

Image is All Saints Bisham Church in 2020
Sound effects downloaded from www.Freesound.org. including handbell, crowd noises, coin, cricket and monkeys. Details available.
War Years music is Shine by Herb Wiedorf and the Cinderella Roof Orchestra from 1923