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Cannock Chase (Forest) Memorial Triangle
Cannock Chase, in Staffordshire, was once a Royal hunting-forest, hence its name. In Tudor times, its trees became a source of fuel for the Tudor iron industry. It was formerly owned by the Earls of Lichfield, whose Shugborough Hall seat is nearby.
In 1964. the German Government, decided to create the Deutcher Soldaten Friedhof. 2143 soldiers from the Great War and 2786 from the Second World War were moved and placed in this beautiful place. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission now maintains this place.
Over here - WW2 American Troops
The first American troops to arrive in our part of the world arrived in 1942. They came to what became known as Sudbury Camp (nearly in Marchington).
A hospital was built at the present site of HMP Prison. A great marshalling yard was built outside Sudbury Railway Station.
The first American troops were transportation types, not infantrymen. Firstly, they were all white, then black soldiers arrived.
Henry Fenwick Pickering - Doveridge
I am trying find detail about the career of Henry Fenwick Pickering who is buried under the yew at St. Cuthbert's and whose obituary records a rather large funeral for a man who had been in Doveridge only 3 years as manager of the cooperative. He had formerly taught school for some 10 years in Silverdale in Staffordshire and was known there as "Poet of the Village." The obituary is from the Uttoxeter paper. I would like to find the reasons for his popularity, his place in the social world of Doveridge, anything he wrote.
Wallace Kaufman, 34251 Mt. Tom Dr. Harrisburg, OR 97446 USA
Email : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web : www.sicvita.com
Victoria Jubilee Committee - Bramshall - 1897
I have a copies of the attached photos taken in 1897 of a group that is made up of the Bramshall 'Jubilee Committee' and a second one including the ladies.
I have the identity of the gentlemen but would like to have the names of the ladies in this photo.
Uttoxeter - Hamlet to Town
The main areas of Anglo-Saxon settlements were already established by the late 6th century. The manors of pre conquest land owners were substantial and, with the inclusion of numerous appendages, lay mostly along river valleys and fertile plains. The smaller manors were settled later and, in general, held by lesser men.
To the north of the county the large areas of waste land and moorland supported a sparse population and even as the land became more forgiving as it reached the lower reaches of the Dove and the Churnet the population was no more than 1.6 people per acre.
The conclusions drawn from the Domesday survey indicate the gathering of groups in hamlets and villages that supported a basic system of agriculture. Areas between villages were largely unoccupied except where practical demands necessitated such things as the removal of timber or the operation of a water mill.
The shortage of arable land and meadows restricted the ambition of villager and serf alike, the lord of the manor generally controlling both labour and expansion.
Journeys into Staffordshire
A new book about Staffordshire, which is written, edited, printed and published in the Uttoxeter area, is now available from the Uttoxeter Online Magazine Book Club at £14.99 + £3.50 P&P ( see below ).
"Journeys into Staffordshire" - by bus, bicycle and boat, by road, rail and long distance footpath, Michael Pearson explores the sometimes underestimated County of Staffordshire in such a way as to entertain and inform in equal measure.
This is the sort of book which will appeal as a gift or a souvenir to locals and visitors alike, and once read is likely to be treasured for years to come.
Gluten & Wheat Free Food in Uttoxeter
"Tastes of Staffordshire", the local, regional food store, located in 'The Maltings', Uttoxeter, has announced that, due to popular demand, it will be increasing its range of food products to include Gluten and Wheat Free Food Products from Mid December 2009.
Unsolved wartime murder
Ruth Schemler, an Austrian Jewish refugee, fleeing NAZI persecution, was found raped and murdered in a disused quarry at Counslow Pot, Freehay, Cheadle, Staffordshire in 1943
Wartime investigation was sparse. Lorry tracks in quarry showed that a WD Bedford lorry had been near to the body. This would seem to indicate service personnel. The whole investigation closed down in a few weeks. There are no records at Stafford Police HQ. A promise to contact central records in London not kept.
Despite the time element. someone knows something ... Where are you ?
Hermitage Residential Home Re-development
A quick note on the progress with our Residential Home Re-development
As you can see from the photos below, the site here is very muddy at the moment, and the builders are hoping for some better weather. Completion of the 24-bedded extension is still on course for early August 2010, despite so much rain.
Bombs on Uttoxeter during the war
Uttoxeter did not suffer that much during the war. The first stick of bombs fell in a field at Loxley, and a further stick followed later. The only 'blitz' was on the Bailey and Mellor families, in New Road ( parish of Stramshall ) - exact date forgotten, 1941/2. I was at home at 57 Park Avenue. My father was on Home Guard duties (he was too old for military service) at Bamfords Ltd, ( not JCB ! ).
Tastes of Staffordshire - Regional Food
On Saturday 7th November 2009, a new concept in food shopping opened in Uttoxeter. A regional food store combined with a deli, ‘Tastes of Staffordshire’ is located in "The Maltings Shopping Area" and offers an exciting range of local and regional foods to tempt your taste buds.
Knowing where food has come from is becoming increasingly important and at Tastes of Staffordshire customers are not only able to see exactly how many food miles have been travelled from producer to shelf, but also find information on each producer.
The Fauld Explosion - 1944
In 1937. as a precaution against the growth of Nazi Germany, the Government purchased, from the Duchy of Lancaster, part of a gypsum mine near Fauld in Staffordshire. The mine was to be used as a bomb storage dump. The entrance to the mine was housed within the RAF camp at Fauld, and about a mile away from the more substantial village of Hanbury. Early in the War an adjacent mine belonging to Peter Ford was also purchased. The workings of the two mines were separated below ground by around 120 yards of rock and earth and, perched high above was Upper Castle Hayes Farm, the home of tenant farmer Maurice Goodwin and his wife Mary. Were the Goodwins fully aware of the danger that lay beneath them? That the storage dump existed was an open secret. What was not so well known was the huge amount of bombs stored within the chambers and passages of the former mine. In all some 14.975 tons of bombs, including giant American 4,000 pound blockbusters, were being held on a fateful day in 1944. The Goodwins, and no doubt other locals, would have been extremely worried had they been aware of the disastrous history of similar dumps in other parts of the country. To put it in short, explosions were not uncommon. Uttoxeter had a canal for 36 years
Uttoxeter had a canal for a period of 36 years, from 1811 to 1847.
It was a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal, and it came down the Churnet valley to terminate at a wharf which lay near the north end of High Street, in the angle formed by Cheadle Road and Park Street. In spite of the passage of time this area of town is still known as The Wharf, and the original canal warehouse still existed into the late 20th century, having been converted into the western, or slightly lower, half of the factory belonging to Richard Cooper and Company Limited, locally known as "the corset factory". |
The Spider and the Fly - Mary Howitt
A Poem by Mary Howitt "Will you walk into my parlour" said the Spider to the Fly. Married in Uttoxeter in 1821, to William Howitt, a druggist working in Hanley, Mary ( nee Botham ) is probably our best known 19th century local poet. As William and Mary Howitt they were to gain worldwide fame as authors and poets. They were prolific writers and an important part of the literary scene at the time, helping and working with many famous names like Charles Dickens, Mary Gaskell and Hans Anderson. They later travelled greatly and William and two of his sons became important names in the exploration of Australia and New Zealand. "Mary Howitt's House" can still be seen in Balance Street, Uttoxeter.
About Uttoxeter
The town of Uttoxeter, a place of some 12,000 inhabitants, stands in the eastern half of Staffordshire adjacent to the Derbyshire border and close to the confluence of the Rivers Tean and Dove. It is well away from the industrialised parts of the county and within easy reach of the superb scenery including the beauties of Dovedale and the White Peak on both sides of the county border. |
