Author: Sonja Francis

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses to a fatal collision in Haddenham yesterday (10/11), involving a woman in a wheelchair and a camper van.

The collision happened in Stanbridge Road at 1.50pm and involved a red VW camper van which collided with two pedestrians, a 52-year-old woman who was pushing a 69-year-old woman in a wheelchair.

The 69-year-old woman was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where she died later that day .

The 52-year-old woman sustained broken bones and was taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where she is currently being treated.

PC Alan Turnbull, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit in Bicester, said: “I would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the camper van before it happened.

“Anyone with information should call 24-hour Thames Valley Police enquiry centre on 101 quoting URN 701 10/09.

“If you do not want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers (opens new window) anonymously on 0800 555 111. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

THAME’S Masonic Hall, the headquarters of the Hampden Lodge, 14, at High Street, is opening its doors to the people of Thame, offering a rare and unique opportunity to go and have a look around the hall and to find out a bit more about Freemasonry.

Members of the Hampden Lodge will be present on September 26, to answer any questions visitors may have, as well as showing them around the Lodge’s temple.

Mason, Mark Butler, explained: “Maybe you are interested in joining the Freemasons and would like to chat to an existing member first? Or maybe you have a family member who was a Freemason and you would like to see a bit more of what it’s all about? Or maybe you would just like to take this opportunity to look inside one of Thame’s interesting buildings?

“Either way, you will be made to feel very welcome. So save the date and come along and say ‘hello’ on the September 26, between 10am and 3pm.”

Find out more about Freemasonry by visiting the website: http://www.oxfordshirefreemasons.org.uk/

SEVEN homes in the Howland Road area iin thame, had to be evacuated this morning because of, what police described as ‘a significant’ gas leak, after a gas mains pipe was damaged by, what the Gas Network, SGN described as ‘a third party’.

The company said that it was alerted at 9.10am, and police and the fire service were called an hour later.

Roads in the area were closed and the seven properties evacuated as a precaution. One the leak was stopped, the road re-opend at around 11am.

ONE of the greatest war plays ever written opened on Tuesday this week at The Players Theatre in Nelson Street, Thame. The play, Journey’s End, written in 1928 by English playwright R C Sherriff, is set in the trenches near St-Quentin, Aisne in the days building up to the major German offensive of March 21, 1918. This offensive was intended to separate the British and French Armies, push the British back to the sea, and seize the Channel Ports.

Collaborating with this production is Thame Remembers, a charity set up to commemorate the centenary of World War One by researching all the names on Thame War Memorials, for all conflicts, and discover more about their lives. Thame Remembers, which was set up with Heritage Lottery Funding in 2014, aims to identify the location of each grave or memorial and place a ‘Thame Remembers’ cross on each resting place, wherever in the world that may be.

There is a close link between the timing of the play and the lives of men from Thame who were caught up in the conflict at the time. As Mike Dyer of Thame Remembers explained: “Journey’s End is set in the days before the start of the German offensive of March 21, 1918. Just two days after it began, on March 23, two men from Thame, both members of the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, lost their lives in the fighting at St Quentin.

“Sergeant Hugh Kidman was an ex-pupil at Lord Williams’s Grammar School and worked on his parents’ farm at Waterstock. He was reported wounded and missing on March 23, and died seven days later, aged 28, in a German field hospital. He is buried in the military cemetery at Maubeuge in France. Corporal Ralph Line, the son of a butcher, lived at 24 Upper High Street, Thame, working as a warehouseman at Pursers in Thame. He married Sarah Humphris at St Mary’s Church in November 1917, aged 30, but was killed in action on March 23, 1918. He is buried at Chauny Communal Cemetery, Aisne, France.

“Both men will be commemorated by the laying of a cross at their graves during the Thame Remembers project.”

Members of the cast in the Thame Players’ production have their own family memories of those caught up in the First World War. Mike Rochford, who plays 2nd Lieutenant Trotter, recalled: “Both my grandfathers fought in the First World War. My maternal grandfather was a radio operator on a minesweeper, taking part in the Battle of Jutland. My paternal grandfather was a fighter pilot who was shot down and captured. Happily, both survived the war. The most illustrious Rochford was my great uncle, Squadron Leader Leonard Henry (‘Tich’) Rochford, DSC & Bar and DFC. He attempted joining up at the start of the war but was rejected as too young. So he obtained a pilot’s licence and joined the Royal Naval Air Service once he was old enough. He was credited with downing 29 enemy aircraft, placing him in the top 15 of British Aces. He survived the First World War and signed up again in the Second World War, when he was stationed at RAF Halton.’”
Adam Hurst, who plays 2nd Lieutenant Hibbert, also has a story to tell: “The story, long held in our family, is that I owe my life to a can of corned beef. My grandfather, Henry Hurst, served in the First World War and was in the front line in the trenches. One morning, he and four of his comrades were in the trenches keeping watch. As my grandfather bent down to pick up and open a tin of corned beef, a stray shell from the Germans landed in the trench. All his fellow soldiers were killed, but he survived with just a few minor scratches.”

Journey’s End continues at The Players Theatre until Saturday, September 12. Tickets cost £9, concessions £8 and are available from Spear Travels, Greyhound Walk, Thame, telephone 01844 217228 or from our website www.thameplayers.co.uk (booking fee applies).