A Shilling And No More!

 

Jane Trask ran her grocery business on this site by 1814. Above is a photo of a building of a premises on the same spot today but note Jane's former premises were demolished and rebuilt before 1894 so what we see today is not the actual building which she used. At her death in 1816 Jane left her business to her niece and nephew Ann and John Hood. They struggled to make a go of the business and became insolvent in 1817. Later that year Ann married William Mathews who took over running things and made a great success of it. He was also a tea dealer.

He died in 1833 and left all his personal property to his wife Ann for her life then it was to go to their youngest son Thomas. William the elder son in the family had, his father wrote, already had sufficient sums advanced to him in life and thus his father did not feel justified in leaving him more than a token shilling as an inheritance. Ann was the will's executor. 

She carried on the business as a widow. Her son Henry was also listed as a grocer, presumably helping his mother, in 1839.

Son William occupied the other part of their subdivided home. In 1833 William's part was worth £10 a year and Ann's part was worth £14. She was on the right hand side.

In 1834 Ann had two whitewash brushes that she had left hanging on a nail outside her window stolen by Henry Neighbour and William Willis. She could prove that they were hers because her deceased husband had carved a distinctive mark onto them. The men received a sentence of six weeks hard labour. William Willis continued offending and ended up being transported to Australia. Read more about him here.

By 1841 the premises the Mathews had previously used were occupied by the Footitt family Chemists. They themselves moved across the street to different premises in 1860. More about them in a post of their own here.

Researched and written by Charlotte Day.

Sources: 

My transcriptions of the wills of William Mathews, Jane Trask and Robert Colbourne. Both wills held at the National Archives.

1833 parochial assessment. Original handwritten notebooks held by my family and transcribed by me.

1831 Pigots Directory.

1853 Mussons and Cravens Commercial Directory. University of Leicester archive.

Bucks Herald 5th July 1834. Copy held at British Library and accessed by me March 2021 via the BNA.

England Marriages from Familysearch:

(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNP9-HJN : 11 March 2020), William Matthews, 1817.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this image or research for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and a link here do that the sources I list do not lose credit for providing information. Thanks.

Jolly Cricketers Bovingdon Green

UPDATED BY CHARLOTTE May 2026

Historic list of landlords for the Jolly Cricketers AKA the Cricketer's Arms Bovingdon Green near Great Marlow.

Gathered from adverts, censuses, wills, court cases etc.

For more on this pub and it's people see my post Bovingdon Green in the 1800s here.

Other Bovingdon Green linked posts are indexed here

1843-44 James Jones.

1853-55 William Davis. Possibly already there 1851. There was a man in Marlow of this name who was a beer seller in 1831. Could be the same man in different premises. William must have died sometime between 1855-61.

1861-83 Hannah Davis, widow of the above. Read about William & Hannah's son in law here.

1883-88 George Robinson.

1888- 1901 Frederick Coleshill, who had moved from the Sadler's Arms, West Street Marlow. Wife Lottie also served behind the bar. In 1900 Frederick donated 2s to the Marlow Transvaal Relief Fund which was organised in conjunction with the Red Cross amongst others. The fund helped the families of soldiers fighting in South Africa, and injured soldiers.

1902 briefly widow Lottie Coleshill as above then Thomas Willis.

1905-16 Francis William Styles. In 1905 Francis was assaulted by two troublesome customers who entered the pub without his permission and then refused to leave. Francis was one of those who gave evidence when the nearby landlord of the Royal Oak killed his brother in a fight. For this case see here. In 1915 Francis was fined £5 because he served convalescing soldiers with alcohol. These men were on an outing from a military hospital to nearby Hooks Farm where they were watching athletic sports and a pony gymkhana. As military patients they were dressed in distinct blue uniforms that Francis was supposed to recognise. Notices of this has been sent to all local pubs and he admitted that he had had one.

1916-33 Walter Simmons. Walter and his wife had moved from Spinfield Lane Marlow.  Their son rifleman W.H Simmonds of the Hampshire Regiment (Isle Of Wight Rifles) was listed as presumed dead in 1918, having been previously listed as missing.

1933-34 Richard Arthur Milliard.

1934 pub force to close by local authorities who were trying to dramatically cut the number of licensed premises. A protest petition by a large number of Bovingdon Green residents demanding the pub be spared was ignored. Landlord Richard Millard had hoped to live out his days there. He said the pub might not do a huge amount of trade (this was the key excuse officials made to shut down a pub) but it was enough for him so why did they have to interfere? Remember he would be losing his home and his business in one go. He would receive compensation but not a huge amount. At this point it was a Wethered's Pub.

©Marlow Ancestors. You are very welcome to use this content for family or local history purposes with credit to this blog and a link here.

The Cherry Tree - landlords and timeline

*UPDATED BY CHARLOTTE May 2026*

The early few years of this pub / lodging house are currently being further investigated due to new information coming to light. It was listed in 1872 as a pub with a start date of 1830. However it is not named within the exhaustive 1833 parish assessment. The building on the site, is listed then as the premises of fruiterer James Bowles, compete with orchard and fruit sheds. The Bowles family would have a long association with the Cherry Tree and he may have had a licence to sell beer at this earlier time. The assessor does not list all the uses the building is put to, but does generally list a beer shop's name. A short distance away and also occupied by a Bowles is The Royal Oak, Dean Street and we initially wondered if there had been some confusion over the pictorial sign and the assessor meant the Cherry Tree. However the Royal Oak appears to be a little further along Dean Street in the direction of the Jolly Maltsters and in the  approximate location later occupied by the later Travellers Friend lodging house/beer shop. 

 There was also a well known Cherry Tree beer house at Flackwell Heath. The Marlow one was located in Dean Street, Spittal Street end. It has now been demolished. 

1830 - premises first mentioned as a lodging house with the name of the Cherry Tree. It had a large cherry tree in the yard. It functioned as a low doss house early on, famed amongst the poor and marginalised across a wide area as a place they could find welcome, but was more "respectable" later on.

[1837- possibly Mrs Fry. In that year she had a lodgings house close to the Jolly Maltsters which would fit this location, though there are other possibilities]

1841- Ann Bowles?

1851 -  Elizabeth Bowles? Or is it Ann?

1861 - William Price (and lodging house keeper) See also Travellers Friend, Dean Street for him.

1864 - 80 Emma Brown, widow (Formerly of The Mint and Jolly Maltsters)

1880 - Emma Brown died. Richard Bowles granted a holdover of the license.

1883 - John Finch who came from the  Bank of England, Dean Street.

1886 - Richard Bowles. Faces closure this year as it does not meet the minimum rateable value then required to be a licenced premises. It was decided to incorporate a small adjoining cottage into the Cherry Tree to nudge up the value. Several licensed premises were forced to do similar things this year. At first the licence renewal was delayed as it was noted the cottage had no interior communication with the pub and also was in the name of a separate tenant. The cottage exterior door was therefore bricked up and an interior communication door knocked through. 

1888 - Richard Bowles. 2. George Pusey.

1891 - George Pusey. May be the same man who was the pot-man at the George and Dragon in 1882. 2. Owen West.

1893 - Owen West transferred to Sidney East.

1896 - Sidney Herbert (alt. Sidney Frederick) East.

1897 - "Cherry Tree Inn" Sidney East.

1900 - Sidney East. 2. Frederick William Crump. "Spittal Square".

1901 - Frederick Crump (moved to Lane End to run The Old Armchair pub there 2. F Clark

1902 - Survived an attempt to close it down based on the number of other licensed premises nearby. In the end the licence was renewed on condition the rear access to cottages behind was stopped up, as it made the premises hard to police.  At this point trade is called good, and there are 5 bedrooms, one for family use, others are let out. Fred Clark. 

1903 - Fred. Clark

1907 Frederick Clark. A man hawks wool cardigans (a newish invention usually worn by men) in the taproom that year.

1909 - Fred Clark. His wife Sarah supervised the premises all day although his name was on licence - a common state of affairs. It had at this point it had 4 guest bedrooms, let to 7 lodgers between them, including one family who were long term residents there. The rooms not let to the family were occupied by single men in rooms of their own. The rest of the premises consisted of a bar, tap room, and two parlours plus the landlord's bedroom. Their trade of 104 barrels a year is described as  very good for a beer house e.g they are not fully licensed and can't sell spirits. Referred to Compensation authority for potential forced closure in 1909, but it survived this threat. 

1912- Sarah Clark landlady bought stolen tokens for deliveries of coal and coke from the nearby gasworks. She paid 3 pints of beer, a packet of "fags" and a shilling sixpence for them and sent one of her lodgers to redeem the voucher at the gasworks. She was not charged with any wrongdoing herself. Perhaps because she bought the vouchers from a gaswork's employee who was drinking in her pub. She had mentioned in conversation that she'd need some coke from his workplace soon and he told her she could buy the voucher from him. The amount paid for the items may have been low enough to warrant suspicion in a more thoughtful buyer but payment wholly or partly in goods rather than cash to businesses was not uncommon for poorer customers. It seems vouchers were bought ahead of time for a certain weight of coal or coke plus delivery if required and these vouchers were presented at the gasworks when the coal or coke was wanted. The vouchers should have been put away in a box as used and redeemed but had been taken away by an employee. We are not quite sure why customers could not just pay for the coal at the gasworks when they wanted it or on receipt of invoice. They may have been vouchers intended for one of the charities that distributed them to the poor. 

1918- T J Willis /Thomas Janes Willis. Also a painter.

1919 Premises altered and repaired .

1928 ; Thomas James Willis. Pub threatened with forced closure by the authorities yet again. Thomas was then selling 2 barrels of beer a week plus bottled beer and mineral waters and did a good trade in tobacco he insisted. Pub survives until... 

Closure agreed 1931, finalised 1932. Last landlord - William George Marshall.  At this time it was described as having a nice exterior (or as one in favour of its closure put it, a "somewhat pretentious" one) but the interior made it the "most inconvenient, darkest, dingiest, and least comfortable house." At this point only one room was in use by the public and this was divided to form the bar and tap room. It was also noted the house did a good "working class trade" which had actually increased significantly in recent years. No doubt the constant threats of closure had caused the landlords to restrict their investment in the property.  But it is sad that a historic pub with a landmark green tiled exterior and a good and increasing trade was seemingly chosen for closure because the licensing and compensation committees didn't find the interior to their taste. Of course there were many other licenced premises very close by which was also a factor. 

Immediately after this closure the Cherry Tree housed the council's winter soup kitchen. It was a time of high unemployment in Marlow and was no doubt much appreciated. 

This post is updated as new information emerges. All listings are as noted in original sources, including alternative spellings. 

The site of the Cherry Tree pub, now demolished. 

Additional research by Charlotte Day.

Related Posts:

There are posts on this blog about individual families associated with certain pubs, as well as on individual pubs themselves so have a look at the Pub Related index here  & don't forget the Person Index for all mentions of someone on this blog. Find it on the top drop down menu. 

Posts about life in Dean Street and neighbouring streets here

More beer sellers than bakers -Temperance in Marlow here

Lists of posts about everyday life in old Great Marlow here

SOURCES

1853, 1863 Mussons and Cravens Commercial Directory from University of Leicester Archives.

Kelly's Post Office Directory - 1859, 1864, 1869, 1877,1883, 1915,1920. By Kelly's Directories Limited.

1833 Parish Assessment. Original record held by my family and transcribed by Charlotte Day.

1872 Beer House Listings, Old Bucks County Council Archives

Pigots Directory 1844

Census 1841,1861,1871,1881,1891 transcribed from microfilm by Jane Pullinger.

Bucks Herald 17 July 1841, 9th August 1873, 22 May 1902 - held at British Library and accessed via the BNA March 2021.

Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News 14 July 1860, as above

Reading Mercury -24 April 1847, 10 November 1855, 29 November 1890, as above

South Bucks Standard July 14 1876, 20 September 1899, June 10 1904, December 25 1908, March 25th 1909 as above. 

Windsor & Eton Express January 25 1868, January 9th 1909 as above

South Bucks Free Press July 14 1860, July 24 1891 as above

Maidenhead Advertiser September 4 1889, as above

Report of the Compensation Committee, 1931. 

Bucks Free Press 2nd March 1928, Wycombe library. 

©Marlow Ancestors. 

Transported! William Willis And Wife Emma

 Emma Archer and William Willis married at Lane End near Marlow in 1838. She was born in Marlow in 1821 one of several children born to unmarried mother Ann Archer. Her father was given at marriage as John Sharp, tailor. John witnessed the marriage as did Emma's older married sister Sarah Butler.

William was born in Marlow in 1817 to Henry and Sophia. At the time of his marriage he was a labourer.

As a teenager he had twice been convicted of theft. Firstly he was sentenced to 6 weeks hard labour for stealing brushes from a High Street shop. Then he was convicted of stealing a pewter pot from Mary Sparkes in Marlow. He deceived a sentence this time of 12 months in the house of correction, two of which were to be in solitary confinement.

His marriage might have meant a fresh start for him but William faltered. In 1841 the local tithing man and a constable knocked at Emma's door when her husband was out and asked to search her home. She made no objection, perhaps because she didn't think that there was anything to worry about. 

She was wrong. In a hole under the stairs the searchers found a hoe and confiscated it. 

The hoe was the stolen property of baker John Cresswell. He had given it to blacksmith Mr Shanks, the hoe's maker, to be blacked up ready for spring work. Mr Shanks had done the blacking and left it outside to dry but it disappeared.

William claimed in court he had just picked it up because he found it lying around in someone's yard.

The court did not believe him and his previous convictions told against him. He was sentenced to 14 years transportation.

Later that year at the time of the 1841 census Emma lived in Dean Street with her sister Sarah Butler and Sarah's much older husband Richard who was a Chelsea Pensioner retired from a regiment of foot.

Emma had no occupation listed then but on the 1851 census she was listed as a dressmaker. She was still living with Richard and Sarah, this time in Marefield Marlow. Emma had moved to Chapel Street by 1861 and was living with a different married sister Elizabeth Owen and Elizabeth's husband Thomas. She was still a dressmaker. That was the last time I found her on a census.

William Willis never reappeared. This doesn't mean he didn't want to reunite with Emma. Getting back from Australia after you had served your sentence was near impossible to afford or manage.

The couple had no children before William was taken away.

To read more about Emma's sister Sarah see here

Emma's Archer grandparents Thomas and Hannah ran the White Hart in Chapel Street. More here

To see more posts about people of Dean Street, Marefield or Chapel Street see our street index here.

Sources:

Great Marlow Parish Registers

Lane End Parish Register transcription, via Find My Past Buckinghamshire Marriage Index.

Newspaper copies held at the British Library and accessed via the BNA October 12th 2020: Bucks Herald 21st March 1835, Bucks Gazette 10th April 1841.

Census my transcription from microfilm.

Chelsea Pensioner Records, National Archives Kew.

A Tribute To Our Bargemen *Updated*

This post is a tribute to some of the many Marlow people who worked on the river, and also to those of other towns that lost their lives on the Thames while passing through. 

The boatman and "bargees" had a contemporary reputation that was somewhat fearsome at times. They were often considered to be hard drinking, dishonest, dismissive of other river users and quarrelsome. The story of the "who ate puppy pies under Marlow Bridge?" jest at the bargemen is well known and is explored further in Charlotte's post here. The work the bargees did was skilled, physically demanding, as well as frequently dangerous. Some of the people who ran barges did well out out of the trade, and were later described as "gentleman" - William Creswell who ran The Swan barge with his brother in the 1830's and 40's is one example. William was also a substantial farmer, but he continued to be described as a wharfinger and bargeman or barge master for many years. He may no longer work the barges himself, but having done so was not a bar to respectability. Many Marlow people had wealth that was supported or created by industries that was entirely reliant on the work of the bargeman bringing in their raw materials and taking away what they wanted to sell. I have also noticed that the pubs most frequently associated with being the drinking holes of those working on the river, such as the Swan (ran by George Creswell of the The Swan barge for many years, brother to William) and the Black Boy and Bargepole, generate far fewer traffic for the petty sessions than many of the other inns. So the story is not a simple one of bad, rough boatmen causing nothing but havoc. Industry would have ground to a halt if that was the case! It's also worth noting that picking a fight with the working boatman was also a Marlow tradition with some who should have known better. Apart from those who thought it funny to mockingly chant the "puppy pie" slogan at the men, (usually high tailing it in the opposite direction pretty quick afterwards), the young gentleman cadets of the Royal Military Academy had a running feud with the bargemen. A young recruit said the origin of the quarrelling was long forgotten but the boys liked to lay ambush and set upon the men when they could in order to give them "a thrashing" to remember. The odds were rather in the boys favour as they were 30 boys to one bargee, "and several of us 18 years old and up". In turn the  cadets could expect a beating if they unexpectedly came across a barge hand when alone. The boys wore a uniform at all times so could not escape attention easily.  Former cadet John Le Couteur, who joined the Academy at age 13 in early 1808, recalled the running battles with the bargeman vividly. The boys threw dirt and stones from the bridge wholesale into passing barges. At one point the bargeman had enough and prevented some boys on a rare half holiday from crossing the bridge, handling them roughly. When word of this got around, it was said 150 boys went to the bridge to exact revenge. We only hear the cadets version of events, which saw them victorious against an untold number of gathered bargeman three or four lines deep apparently. The latter were said to be armed with everything from oars to bludgeons. The boys came with cudgels, and a hidden armoury of stones and catapults which were allegedly responsible for the boys victory. A ten minute battle on the bridge saw many boys hurt rather badly, and the opposition likewise. Someone had alerted the adult officers at the college who promptly arrived to restore order but not before those on both sides were to be found lying senseless. The cadets were confined to college for the rest of the day and were ordered not to engage in any further acts of the kind. No charges appear to have been made against the bargeman. The event may have got embellished in the retelling by cocky youths but it's interesting how battles of this kind were remembered by more than one cadet. 

The language the bargemen used may not have been what the polite society was used to. George Monk Berkeley writing in 1797 and recalling a memory of his mothers, said that once the service at All Saints came to a halt because the voice of a bargeman using loud colourful language on the river outside could be heard within the church. The Rev Cleobury was the incumbent then. 

And Sarah Winford, of Thames Bank, complained that the crews of barges were commiting "great indecencies" while moored outside her garden wall. Her servant Samuel Clarke said sometimes Mrs Winford had been obliged to close the shutters of all windows facing the river. They said the situation had worsened since the new lock had been built, with boats now passing closer to her home and mooring near there for 2-3 days together. She petitioned parliament on the issue in  1774 and a committee looking into her complaint recommended that a clause be added to the Thames improvement and navigation bill which would forbid the creation of any towing path or wharf between her garden wall and the river and forbid the anchoring, mooring or resting of boats anywhere near her garden, other than at the proper wharves and only when loading or unloading cargo. To facilitate this, it was announced in July 1773 that a "pile would be drove against Marlow winch and another pile 30ft from the bottom of Mrs Winford's wall" and once they were in place if a barge master was to "suffer his barge or boat to lie, continue or stop under the said wall, in the passage between the said pound and winch" will be prosecuted by the Thames Navigation commissioners. [Sarah Winford erected a gravestone to the memory of Samuel on his death, you can see it here]

Flash locks were long regarded as dangerous, and Marlow one of the worst. There are surviving reports of Elizabethan fatalities of boatman who were attempting to navigate the lock. Some thought this was because the lock was poorly maintained. Others that the fall of water was too "sudden and immense" even for a flash lock. John Willis, a bargeman drowned navigating the lock in 1772 after falling overboard, a few years before the new pound type lock was finished. 

Henry Allnutt, writing in the Anglers Journal in 1886, described the dangers of the old flash locks. The boats were hauled through the lock with the aid of a capstan and rope on the bank. If the rope should break, "the poor fellows [operating the capstan] were cast off flying into the air by the tremendous increasing velocity of the capstan unwinding itself". It was tedious and "most perilous" work that required a lot of strength. Henry, and both his father and grandfather had fulfilled roles within the Thames Navigation Commission.

Some lives claimed by the river

When we think of boatmen we don't perhaps think of people like barge boy "Master White" age 14. An orphan, he had been found a position on the Hope Barge, owned by Thomas Jordan of Bath. In the autumn of 1826, the Hope was moored at Marlow. The crew went to get supplies and refreshment in the town, sending the boy back to the boat with some things. When they arrived back at the riverside, the boy could not be found. The water was searched but the lad's body was not recovered until the next morning, 4ft from the stern and in 14ft of water. It was believed he had slipped and fallen from the moored vessel in the dark. In the reports of his death and inquest, his first name is not given. It does not seem the crew actually knew it. 

Another hazard is illustrated by the death in 1829 of James Spokes. He was working horses towing a barge travelling from a wharf at Spade Oak to Marlow. The rapidity of the "stream" was believed to have pulled the horses towards the river and to have caused them to slip and fall into the water. James was dragged in and while he managed to grab a branch extending from the bank, it slipped from his hand and he was drowned, along with the horses. He left a wife and two young children.

The fact that habitual drunkenness was not compatible with the skill and co ordination required to operate a barge is shown by what happened to some who tried to work them while a little inebriated. In 1826, William Winter was working on the Helen Barge travelling between Bristol and London via Marlow. He went to haul a line in, despite the warning from his brother not to attempt it as he had been drinking. He over balanced, and although a strong swimmer, sank and died despite his brothers efforts to rescue him. His body was not recovered for 3 days**, found just 40 yards from where he sank. 

Those working on the the River in other ways could also loose their lives. William Sayer of Dean Street, working as an ostler at the time, drowned while swimming horses at the back of Marlow Lock near Marlow Point. He was exercising an injured horse by swimming it across the river to aid it's recovery. It appears the horse got into difficulties with William astride it's swimming back and he fell off. He could not swim and a strong current had been noted there. 

And then there was George Cox, an engineer managing a steam launch for the summer season who fell off the launch in 1884, and did not surface. There are many more names we could mention. 

One Robert Goldswain, bargeman of Great Marlow, experienced another boat mans hazard in 1778 when he was press ganged into the navy while taking a load of timber to the Kings ship yard in London. He had a protection order from the Naval Board that was supposed to have exempted him from this indignity, as he was on naval business after all. Unfortunately for Robert, the press gang had been ordered by the Admiralty to ignore Naval Board exemptions as they were especially keen to recruit men who knew what they were doing around boats. He was put on board the "Conquestadore" and after a bit of passing to and fro and a court case, was returned home after a little more than 3 months in naval service. The court was aghast that the authorities admitted issuing protection orders to boatmen with the express intention of lulling them into a false sense of security so they would venture out onto the river ready to be pressed into service! 

 *For more on the woman's riots of 1800 which was also said to have involved some bargeman see this post here.  That post also contains reference to rioting bargemen in Marlow in 1766.

** Or much later the same day according to one report.  

For a biography of the barge owning family the Sparks see here and the Cresswells here

Will of bargeman John Piggot 1695 here

List of Great Marlow and Little Marlow bargemen 1700s (ongoing upload) here and 1600s here and here

And more on the cadets of the Royal Military College junior branch see here

Child drowning victims of Victorian and Edwardian Marlow here

To search for any individual on this blog use the A-Z Person Index option on the top drop down menu.

More river related posts can be found in the General History index here

SOURCES

Anglers Journal, Vol 6 . Article by Henry Allnutt, 16 June 1886.

Bentleys Miscellany, Vol 20. (Richard Bentley, 1846)

Berkeley, George Monk - Poems (J N Nicholls, 1797)

Salter, John Henry - A Guide To The River Thames (John Salter, 1881)

Wright, William - Fishes and Fishing (Thomas Caultley Newby 1858)

St Paul's Magazine Vol 5, edited by Anthony Trollope. 1870. 

Parliamentary Papers, vol 33, Great Britain House of Parliament (Houses of Parliament 1866)

Journals of House of Commons Vol 34 (HMSO 1804)

Reading Mercury 13 April 1772, copy at the British Library and accessed via the BNA, August 2020. 

Windsor and Eton Express 15 April, 4 November 1826, as above. 

Berkshire Chronicle 26 September 1829, as above. 

South Bucks Standard 18 October 1907, as above.

Bucks Herald 30 August 1884, as above. 

Oxford Journal 17 June 1773. 

Kelly's Post Office Directory 1847 (Kelly's Directories Ltd, 1847)

©Marlow Ancestors. 

 .

History of Marlow in the First World War - 1916

 

Poppy Day commerations, 2020

JANUARY

- The number of public lamps lit has been gradually reducing. The ones that are lit are shaded. In the end it's decided to abandon evening church services in Marlow as a result. 

- Sapper G Willis, son of Mrs Willis of 7 Cambridge Road is awarded the DCM for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, relating to events in  December 1915. When a "gallery" collapses on Sapper Willis, it takes 2 hours to extricate him. Despite this, he returns immediately to the "extremely critical" position, which is eventually held. 

FEBRUARY

- Captain L.S.Metford, home on leave, returns to his old school, Borlase, to address the boys. He tells them about the work of the Royal Flying Corps and the many "thrilling experiences" he has had while on active service with them. 

- Not to be outdone by the musical RAMC and their public concerts at Marlow, the Royal Engineers stationed here put on a "popular entertainment" in the Public Hall. So many people try to get in that the doors are closed and many people turned away. As the purpose is to raise funds for the Red Cross, it's decided to repeat the entertainment the next day so the disappointed Marlovians can have the chance to gain admission. 

- The vicar decides it would be a good idea to insure All Saints against the risk posed by aircraft, military or otherwise. This will cost a steep £17 so he issues an appeal for donations. 

- The Petty Sessions see their first case of someone appearing before them accused of not shading the lights in their home so they could not shine outside. Unfortunately for Annie Coventry of Chapel Street, it's decided to make an example of her as the first offender, and she is fined £1. However it's likely she would have recieved a higher fine anyway as Inspector West said she used "very bad language" and had not shaded the light when asked, or answered the door when he returned. Annie said she'd been busy putting the children to bed and didn't even know what the regulations were - at which point it was pointed out the poster explaining them was 200 yards from her home.

MARCH 

- The Marlow tribunal begins regular meetings, usually at the Institute. Their job is to decide on applications made by men for a deferral or cancellation of call up for military service. It's headed by local Urban District Council chairman Mr J Langley, with other members being local tradesman. There is of course a military representative (sometimes two) present. Many of the exemptions granted are temporary and allow agricultural labourers to delay service until essential farm work has been completed. Others ask to be excused on the ground they are self employed and no one else can do the business. Some employers ask for the only man who knows how to operate a particular piece of machinery to be allowed to stay home, with varying degrees of success. The military representative often answers that a woman could be bought in to do the job of a man an employer thinks is essential. On one occasion, when told by one such business that the job could not be suitable for a woman, the military man holds up a picture of a woman already performing the manual role successfully elsewhere, causing laughter all round. 

APRIL

- After a gale, the Royal Engineers in town are put to good use removing 5 fallen trees that block Oxford Road, as well as others in Spinfield Lane. 

JUNE

- Lillian Bowles, Lillian Bowler, and Mary Jane Langley are fined 4s each for stealing sausages and currants from the larder of the Royal Engineers Officers mess at Quarry Wood House. They say they did it as a joke. 

- The Royal Engineers stationed in Marlow stand in for the absent Grenadier Guards, who last year paraded before their former commander, General Sir George Higginson. The occasion now is his 90th birthday. He inspects the ranks as the soldiers line up on the Meadow opposite Sir George's Henley Road home, Gyldernscroft. 

- The riverside is busy as the Royal Engineers construct a pontoon bridge across the Thames to facilitate the passage of troops and heavy equipment. But following a period of heavy rain the pontoons become treacherously muddy and the situation quickly becomes dangerous. The horses pulling the cable cart of the 1st Signal Corps of the RE struggle to maintain their footing, and one stumbles, falling into the water. The horse harnessed with it is also dragged under, along with several men who narrowly escape with their lives. The two horses are not so lucky, and are drowned despite the frantic efforts of onlookers. A little later, the tragedy is almost repeated during the crossing of the pontoon bridge by the Kings Royal Rifles. A horse slips and slides into the water, with the water cart it was hauling. Sapper Morrison, of the 23rd Company Royal Engineers miraculously manages to cut the horse free of its harness, while underwater, dodging the plunging hooves. For a few moments, everyone believe that Sapper Morrison is drowned as the churning of water by the panicked horse makes it impossible to see him. But he makes it to the river bank, as does happily the horse. Morrison is praised for his courage and quick thinking. 

- The Royal Engineers hold a memorial service in All Saints in honour of the late Lord Kitchener. They had originally planned to hold a large outdoor event in Colonel's Meadow but the weather is awful so they settle on a parade with the band through town before the service. 

- The parochial roll of honour, showing men of the parish who have left to serve "king and country" is now hanging in the porch of All Saints. It lists 1,100 men of whom 54 are believed dead. The latter names are added to a tablet within the church. 

- On happier note, Royal Engineers still at Marlow are able to enjoy another sports day, this one followed by a dance. 

- All eyes are on Bisham where a military aeroplane descends into a field. A large crowd gathers as always, despite the planes short stay - to do a slight repair. 

JULY -

- Residents unaware of munitions work being conducted at the Brewery will now know about it thanks to reports of men engaged in work there being exempted from call up on those grounds. 

- More river sports for the Royal Engineers as well as cricket matches at the Marlow Cricket ground. Our home counties Royal Engineers play the East Anglians who are camped at Bourne End. They lose but are compensated by the "ladies of Marlow" entertaining them at tea. 

- 100 members of the 3rd home counties Royal Engineers leave Marlow for the Front. Another contingent head by train to Bourne End where they will stay in camp. All the leaving soldiers are proceeded by a band on their march through town. Marlow people immediately know what the sound of this music means by now and come out to line the streets as the men say farewell. 

AUGUST

- General Sir George Higginson, gives a speech to the boys of Borlase on their prize giving day. He tells them he hopes none could now go to sleep at night without a thought for those "maintaining the honour of King and Country in other lands".

-Gertrude Clayton, district representative of the Bucks agricultural committee writes a letter about their work to the local press. She appeals to those who could provide useful war work to those men exempted from armed service on grounds of conscientious objection, to come forward. She also says that farmers wanting to employ woman on the land could apply to the registrar of the Marlow district at the Old Parsonage.

- Mrs Damant, of West End Gardens, receives a heart breaking letter from Canon Phillips Smith of The Lee, relating to the death of her son Sidney. Canon Smith says Sidney died while trying to save the life of his own son Charles. Sidney had gone to bring back Charles, who had been wounded. Sadly both were killed but Canon Smith wished to thank Sidney's parents for his "courage and devotion to my beloved son." "It is hard for me to write more.."

- The home counties Royal Engineers left at Marlow leave Marlow for a short camp at Bourne End where they will stay for 3 weeks to undergo pontoon training. 

- The first wounded soldiers arrive at Little Marlow Manor house which has been loaned by Mrs Bradish Ellames for use as a convalescent home. 

SEPTEMBER

- The Home Counties Royal Engineers have formed a football team and will play games at Crown Meadow (Now Riley Recreation ground) for the rest of their stay, becoming a popular fixture as it's been a long time since the Marlow football teams have been able to play. 

- a number of local people report hearing the dull boom of guns in Marlow. Later they realise it occurred at the time of an Zeppelin air raid at Wycombe. Railway passengers there claim to see the Zeppelin shot down in flames. Initially there is doubt about whether this successful hit can be true, but the downing is said to be confirmed by those on West Wycombe hills as well as some soldiers at Wycombe. They say they saw the Zeppelin illuminated by the searchlights, before bursting into flame. It seemed to remain stationary for a moment, then began to descend, looking like a "red hot cigar".

- Gyldernscroft in Henley Road hosts a fete in aid of the Red Cross, raising £200. 

- The home counties Royal Engineers at Marlow start a mixed hockey team for officers and local ladies. They will become a popular feature, and play at Star Meadow (off Wycombe Rd, part of it becoming the Marlow FC ground.) 

OCTOBER - 

- The Maidenhead Military Football league has begun and Marlow's teams formed from the Home Counties Royal Engineers take part enthusiastically. 

- The family of Sergeant CV Austin of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry allow the publication of a letter received by them relating to their son. The young soldier, age 23, had been reported wounded and missing in July. He became a German POW and died of his wounds in captivity. His parents then received the letter from Ivor Stewart Liberty who knew the circumstances of their sons injury and capture. He said both Austin and himself  had been hurt in the same attack. Austin could see that Ivor was severely wounded and despite his own injuries, crawled to his assistance. While bandaging Ivor's wounds, he was hit again, this time in the back and could not survive this last. Ivor wrote "he gave his life for a fellow soldier. Marlow may well be proud of him."

- Marlow Congregational Church lend their hall to the recreation club of the Royal Engineers stationed in town. 

NOVEMBER 

- Marlow Fair is held as usual, in the Star Meadow. (It stopped occupying the streets of the Town Centre in 1903, to the delight of some and to the sadness of others). 

DECEMBER 

-The list of Marlow men fallen now stands at 92 names with 100 more reported wounded and 7 recorded as a prisoner of war. 

- On Christmas Day, the parents of Lieutenant John Bath, receive news that their 23 year old son had been killed in action on the 22nd. He is the son of All Saints organist Dr Bath of Newfield, and the news is broken to the congregation during the service. He had been back at the front for less than a month after returning to Marlow on leave. 

Written and researched by Kathryn Day. 

For a post on Marlow in 1914 see here, 

1915 here 

1917   here

1918 here

Brewery First World War Memorial tablet here

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