The Chesham Society £1 when sold Volume 165 Winter 2020 Established 1957 Compliments of the season In thisChairman’s reportissue Page 2 Notice of the 2021 AGM Page 3 Editor’s letter Welcome to the committee Page 4 HS2 - on the front line Another fine performance Page 5 Dr Henry Rumsey, Chesham’s forgotten pioneer The Iron Hospital Page 6 A dog is not just for Christmas Page 7 Christmas cheer Page 8 The policeman and the prince Page 9 Shot in Chesham Page 10 Let the bells ring out for Christmas We remember Page 11 Shop locally for Christmas Matilda’s Christmas quiz Page 12 A walk in the park Join the Society Contacts and credits Putting Cheshamwww.cheshamsociety.org.uk first www.facebook.com/cheshamsociety @cheshamsociety The Chesham Society WINTER 2020 Chairman’s report Once again, the Editor believes that the membership should be cheered up, this time for the festive season. In our last issue, I did my best and listed several ‘reasons to be cheerful’ so let’s take stock again. By the time you read this, will the lockdown have Our committee is spread been extended or will end as advertised - only to rather thin at the moment, be replaced by tier 99 restrictions? Will Santa Claus so we will be taking this have to self-isolate? Only time will tell. opportunity to persuade fresh faces to join us. We There has been some good news since the have specific vacancies on last issue … the committee for Events, Publicity and Planning, Covid Vaccines? but all new recruits are very welcome. If you The unlamented Chiltern and South Bucks local would like to know more about any of these posts, plan has been withdrawn, to be succeeded by a contact me or anyone on the committee – our plan for the new Bucks authority which should details are on the back cover. provide more scope for preserving Green Belt Finally, thank you all for your support during these sites. difficult times. Like everyone, we have been sorry All the rainfall is recharging the Aquifer nicely. to put our 2020 events on hold, but we look … and all four editions of this year’s Focus have forward to rolling them out in the not-too-distant won through, slightly against the odds. future. As you see (below) the 2021 AGM will soon be Cheers and all good wishes for a brighter New upon us. Hopefully we will be able to hold it in the Year! Town Hall as planned but if not, there is a Plan B. Jim Conboy Notice of Annual General Meeting of The Chesham Society Registered charity number 1083213 Members are invited to receive the report of the offi cers and the Society’s accounts for the year ending 31 December 2020 at the Society’s Annual General Meeting to be held at 19:30pm on Thursday 28 January 2021 in the Council Chamber, Chesham Town Hall. This is a ‘Covid free’ environment, so currently subject to restrictions. Nominations are invited for members to serve as Trustees on the Executive Committee. Members are invited to nominate themselves or other members (with their consent) for any of the positions. All current Officers and Trustees, as listed on the back cover, are standing for re-election. Nominations should be sent to the Secretary (by Email) ten days before the meeting, and will also be accepted from the floor on the evening – see http://www. cheshamsociety.org.uk/JoinUs.htm for the nomination form. A ballot will then be held to elect the officers and committee, and reappoint the external auditor. In the event that continuing Covid restrictions prevent us from holding an AGM open to all members wishing to attend, the committee may decide to defer the meeting until that becomes possible. Should that be the case, we will notify members by Email or post. See our website for the latest information. Dr James Conboy Chairman, The Chesham Society 2 Putting Chesham first Focus Winter 2020 Editor’s letter To celebrate the season of good cheer, we bring you a slimline Focus with some cosy fi re-side reading. Troublesome topics have largely been set aside, with the exception HS2 whose ravages seem all-too-likely to continue under cover of Christmas. Our contributors are already mapping out ideas for forthcoming editions of Focus. As well as covering planning and other issues concerning the well-being of the town, we will be featuring a lively mix of subjects This nostalgic view of Chesham High Street was taken touching on Chesham past, present and circa 1950 - when Climate Change was yet unknown! future. There will be local interviews and profi les, more focus on local buildings and businesses and a fresh look at the arts. We also hope to give wider coverage to things of interest in our neighbouring villages, home to a growing number of Chesham Society members. Fingers crossed that the mysterious Matilda will also rouse herself suffi ciently to submit the quarterly quiz that tests our knowledge of the town. The New Year will welcome some new contributors to Focus. One of these is Peter Hawkes, of Hawkes Design and Publishing, who was gifted the extensive Ray East Collection of black-and-white photographs, most of which were taken in and around Chesham in the early 1900s. Each edition of Focus will feature Peter’s selection from that invaluable archive. As a taste of what the Ray East Collection has in store, we are featuring a few of the images here. We are most grateful to Peter for allowing us to share them with you. Jean Slater Welcome to the committee! We are delighted to report that Deborah Wilbee has been co-opted to the committee of The Chesham Society, where she will be bringing us up to speed on social media. Deborah owns and runs The Cupboard in Blucher Street and she volunteered her services after reading the little write-up on the shop which was included in the last edition of Focus. Rest assured that our usual Chesham’s younger residents whose enthusiasm must means of communication sustain the society in future years. This time last year, with members (website, many of our older members would have shuddered at the email and snail-mail) will not thought of Facebook and other adventurous apps, but since change. However, since the then necessity and Zoom have taught many an old dog new relaunch of the Society in tricks. We therefore hope that more activity on social media 2019, we have been looking will be of interest to us all. for ways to reach a wider audience and keep existing Deborah’s enterprise and energy are wonderfully suited to members up to date. the task of putting us on the social media map. We are most Social media is clearly the way forward, especially with grateful to her for stepping forward. www.cheshamsociety.org.uk www.facebook.com/cheshamsociety @cheshamsociety 3 The Chesham Society HS2 - on the front line While this issue is largely written to spread Christmas Cheer, reality has the unfortunate habit of intruding. The HS2 armies have now broken out of their enclave above Great Missenden, and spilled out along the line towards Wendover. The results are not pretty, and while Lowndes Park is not threatened, the AONB is our backyard – one reason why Chesham is a special place. The destruction currently underway will not help the economic recovery from Covid. However, only half the wood is under the control of HS2, and the protest camp continues in the remainder, owned by the Liberty family. HS2 have placed a fence down the middle of the wood to protect their section, occupied by security staff living in B&Q gazebos 24/7. Battle of the Bats Grim’s Ditch Grim’s Ditch is an earthwork believed to date from the middle Bronze Age. After surviving 3500 years, it is about to be obliterated by HS2, as the cutting passes through the northern end of the feature. The first phase of destruction was the removal of the holly and beechwood covering the site, in preparation for archaeological investigations. During the occupation, the protestors (aided by Cambridge Natural History Society) identified Barbastelle bats roosting in the wood – a protected species, which HS2 do not have a license to disturb. Any tree felling, or disturbance of the bats, would be a wildlife crime and HS2 has undertaken not to proceed further until the required surveys have been carried out. As HS2 has a history of ‘accidentally’ felling trees and hedges when it suits them, this doesn’t inspire confidence. At the time of writing, the Chiltern Society, the Conservation Jones Hill Wood Board and Lord Hague have all written letters in support of Is a small ancient woodland, between Bowood Lane and the bats. HS2 could save nearly all the wood, and the bats, Durham Farm. It briefly featured in the national press when the by using a retaining wall rather than a 50m wide cutting. Will tree dwelling protestors were evicted (with some violence) sense prevail? See the news pages at hs2amersham.org.uk to and ‘Swampy’, a veteran of the Newbury bypass protests, got follow developments. himself arrested (for old times’ sake). Photographs by Chartridge Photographic Jim Conboy Another fine performance Geoffrey Palmer, who lived at The Lee, was a staunch opponent of HS2. He gave his time freely and generously to the Stop HS2 campaign. The footage that he appeared in, or voiced, is available on the Stop HS2 website. Take a moment to enjoy his rendering of A Poem for Dave at http://stophs2.