Author Archive: dorchadmin

Historical Society: Mount Farm, Berinsfield: its wartime history

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Our next meeting will be on:

Wednesday 22nd May 2024, 7.30pm, Dorchester Abbey Shrine Chapel, Members free, Visitors welcome (£5).

Bill King will speak on

Mount Farm, Berinsfield: its wartime history

This talk covers the short but significant life of the RAF airfield which became RAF Mount Farm. As war clouds gathered during the mid-1930s the Royal Air Force expanded and sites for new airfields were surveyed. The area around Mount Farm was selected as suitable and the land requisitioned. Building commenced in 1938 and the site was ready for use by July 1940, Originally known as Dorchester but quickly renamed Mount Farm it was designated as a satellite of RAF Benson. Throughout the war RAF Mount Farm played host to bombers and later to RAF photographic reconnaissance aircraft, and from February 1943 to the photographic reconnaissance squadrons of the US Eighth Air Force who remained until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. Aircraft from Mount Farm contributed immensely to the successful strategic bombing campaigns and the preparation for the liberation of Europe. As the war ended flying ceased and the base was quickly run down returning to agriculture and in 1957 to gravel extraction. Today little remains of the site from which so many sorties were flown but the story of its short life deserves to be told.

Bill King, now retired from a busy career as an independent management consultant, came from a naval family. Starting from a keen early interest in Britain’s history, his research on military and political history ultimately focused on WW2 with particular reference to the role of Airborne and Special Forces and clandestine warfare, including the British Resistance Organisation (Auxiliary Units). He has published many book chapters and articles, is a former Chairman of the Ridgeway Military and Aviation Research Group (RMARG) and a member of The Western Front Association and of the Military Vehicle Trust. He has also taken part in local radio, acted as historical adviser and appeared in several television programmes, and gives talks on a wide range of topics.

Recent and Upcoming : April 2024

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To try and help promote news and events within the village, and get the email bulletin sent on a monthly basis, we are going to trial publishing a monthly article which just lists recent posts, upcoming events, and any documents uploaded recently (eg. newsletter, parish council minutes).

If you have something you feel should have been on here, or would like in future posts, please do let us know using the contact page on the website.

You can also view the most recent content we use for this post at https://www.dorchester-on-thames.co.uk/news-and-events/ which updates automatically each day.

Some Upcoming Events

Dorchester fish passage and Bucks pool weir solution Public Consultation

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The River Thame Conservation Trust, in partnership with the Environment Agency and the Hurst Water Meadow Trust, has developed and designed a project to enable fish to migrate upstream and downstream past the current barrier at the Bucks Pool Weir.

The project will involve some in-channel works to install a permanent cascade-type feature. Construction is planned for summer 2025, subject to planning consent.

We invite you to offer your views on the design and learn more about the project ahead of the planning submission, anticipated in mid-May 2024.

  • Date and Time: 29th April from 7pm to 9pm
  • Location: Dorchester-on-Thames Village Hall

School Newsletter : March 2024

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for our quiz night in the village hall. Our PTA did a superb job hosting an excellent quiz and serving delicious food. We raised over £700 towards our playground improvements.

There has been such a lot going on in our school recently.

Our younger children enjoyed a trip to the Royal Festival Hall earlier this term. They enjoyed hearing music from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and joined in the singing with great gusto.

Our older children have taken part in visits to the Winchester Science Centre and experience days at the Abbey. They really enjoyed exploring the Last Supper sculpture in the Abbey and creating their own mosaics.

We also took our Year 5 and 6 children over to Didcot recently to join other schools at an inter-school tag rugby tournament. This was a new sport to most of our children and we were proud of the way they all did their best and persevered against some teams who clearly had way more experience!

Our mini ox for the Sobell House Oxtrail has arrived in school. He has been christened Birinox and we are looking forward to decorating him. He will then be placed in a public space over the summer with other mini oxen from schools and community groups around Oxfordshire. The Oxtrail will be taking place over the summer and we are really proud that our little school is playing a part in this fundraiser. We will share photographs and the exact location with you when we know it.

We have spaces in school and you are welcome to come and visit us to see what we can offer your child. You can find out more from our website here: https://www.st-birinus-pri.oxon.sch.uk/

Jo Staples
Headteacher