RAINBOW REMOVALS - Key Persons
During WWII a factory in Amersham made parachutes and barrage balloons for the MoD. The town was also one of many locations where troops were gathered, well away from coastal towns, in the build up to D-Day. On the outskirts of the town Shardeloes, a grand house was converted into a maternity hospital for Londoners to have their children away from the blitz. Over 5,200 children had been born there by the time it closed in 1948 including the lyricist Sir Tim Rice who co-wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Evita and Chess.
The Lowndes were a wealthy and influential family who along with owning much of the area also owned a fine house, The Bury. They were said to be rivals of the Skottowes who owned the mansion next door. Local stories say that after losing a game of cards, the Skottowes were forced to sell their mansion (that was next to the Lowndes' gaff), which the Lowndes pulled down and turned into Chesham's Lowndes Park.
Who's Who
Famous residents to have lived in the area include; Stephen Fry, DH Lawrence, Nye Bevan (father of the NHS), Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty (the founder of Liberty's) and Eddie Howe (football manager).
Claude Duval came from a noble French family who fell on hard times after having to flee France. It's believed Duval lived in a cottage in Highwater Lane. He's notable for his fancy clothes, gentle and often amusing treatment of his victims (he was said to have charmed the ladies he robbed). He is one of a number of highwaymen and women who prowled the area in the 1600s including The Golden Farmer Moll Cutpurse and Dick Turpin.
Job Titles:
- Author of Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, wrote A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain in 1726. Essentially a travel guide written as he travelled across the country, he described the area that is now Camberley as "…a mark of the just resentment shew'd by Heaven upon the Englishmen's pride… horrid and frightful to look on, not only good for little, but good for nothing". Bit rude.
Henry VIII made Aylesbury the county town of Buckinghamshire to win favour with Thomas Boleyn who owned Aylesbury manor and was a wealthy landowner. It did the trick, Thomas was suitably impressed and soon Henry was married to Thomas's daughter, Anne Boleyn. Things didn't have such a happy ending after that. Having lost her heart to Henry, she eventually lost her head too.
John Coxeter was at it again after the Battle of Waterloo. To celebrate the nation's victory, he ordered a pudding to be made, but not just any pudding. The 20ft plum pudding was the work of 12 ladies, it was so monstrous it had to be pulled on a timber wagon by 2 oxen, decorated in ribbons, with a sword bearing driver. The locals were invited to enjoy a slice and a local journalist reported wrote of the pudding it was "as nice as mother makes 'em."
One of the largest and most important towns of the Ancient Britons, it became a major stronghold for Anglo Saxons when they fought against Viking invasion. It was one of the capital towns of the Kingdom of Mercia and where Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia and daughter of Alfred the Great often stayed there. Æthelflæd captured Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and even freed York from Viking rule known as Danelaw.
Whether there was or wasn't a yew tree may be up for debate, but the Magna Carter, which formed the blueprint for modern democracy and was cited in the writing of the American Constitution, was signed at Runnymede in Berkshire. King John was left with no choice but to sign the document by a force of rebellious barons and lords, the charter gave greater rights to the common man (although really gave more protection to those with wealth than those lower down the social scale).
Ok, so Salisbury's mighty monument might have history on its side but the people of Milton would point out that it's far too old. Milton's salute to the solstice is younger, funkier and the entire town moved for it. When planners were deciding on the layout, one grand plan was Midsummer Boulevard that lines up with the rising sun on the summer solstice. To get it exactly right, the entire town's construction had to be lined up accordingly.
Napoleon III was the first President of France and nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Young Napoleon had witnessed his uncle sweep into Paris and declare himself ruler. He had similar grand plans but not as much style, when he did march on Paris he and his troops were attacked and force to flee. After a second failed coup (both times he fled to England) he did eventually regain power following the French Revolution and eventually declared himself Emperor of France. It wasn't a happy ending, losing popular opinion, a war and being imprisoned, he fled to England (again!!) and after his death was buried at St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough.
Napoleon III was the first President of France and nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. Young Napoleon had witnessed his uncle sweep into Paris and declare himself ruler. He had similar grand plans but not as much style, when he did march on Paris he and his troops were attacked and force to flee. After a second failed coup (both times he fled to England) he did eventually regain power following the French Revolution and eventually declared himself Emperor of France. It wasn't a happy ending, losing popular opinion, a war and being imprisoned, he fled to England (again!!) and after his death was buried at St Michael's Abbey in Farnborough.
Former Arsenal and England footballer Theo Walcott began his early career playing for Newbury FC.
Sir Roger Moore, arguably the smoothest of the Bond actors was left shaken (and stirred) while filming in Guildford. During filming Moore stayed at the Angel Hotel and awoke in the night, "I was sitting bolt upright in my bed and watching a white ghostly figure moving towards me. It was the apparition of a man." Other guests and staff have reported seeing various apparitions including nuns and a 19th century soldier.
Yes, Surrey had its very own dragon. And it wasn't happy! According to local legend, it had been terrorising the village of West Clandon, eating livestock, scaring children, chasing wagons, the usual dragon-like behaviour. The villagers were at a loss, when a soldier, who had been imprisoned for deserting, offered to rid them of the beast in return for the freedom of him and his dog. With his dog by his side, he killed the beast and won his liberty. In later years the story was celebrated on the village sign and in a huge chalk dragon (which still lies under shrubbery somewhere in the village.