Shelley Hughes, Newberg, Oregon (Feb 2019): My grandmother, Olive Dora Belcher, spent her early years in the village. Her father, Frank Belcher purchased a farm in Charney in about 1913. My grandmother always referred to it as The Manor farmhouse. The family lived in Charney for about ten years before moving to Great Coxwell.
My grandmother was born in Burford in 1911, moved to Charney Bassett about 1913 and moved to Great Coxwell in 1923. Raymond Hicks was born in 1907, his mother Eliza and father John, had 4 other children. He married Dora Belcher in 1935 and died in WWII in 1940 (see below). His wife Olive, known as Dora remarried in 1947 and moved to Oregon 1947 (war bride – married an American who was stationed in the American University in Shrivenham) died in 2008.
My Grandmother had many fond memories of her time in the village. Her grandparents, Elizabeth and Thomas Belcher and uncle, Stanley Arthur Belcher are buried at St. Peter’s Church.
An article was published in the Christian Age and Sunday Pictures newspaper in July 1916. It appears that it was a national newspaper as there articles are from many parts of England. The paper includes a photo of my grandmother, age 4, milking a cow at the farm in Charney. [Click to enlarge and scroll]
Raymond Hicks – a local Great Coxwell village boy and was killed in World War II, there is a plaque in Great Coxwell church and the monument in the village honoring him. He died on 21st May 1940, he was 34 years old. He served with 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards and is buried at Esquelmes War Cemetery in Belgium. Raymond was killed during the retreat before the evacuation of Dunkirk which took place between 26th May and 4th June 1940.
[additional info added from Gavin extracted from Great Coxwell website re: Raymond Hicks]
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