It’s not cricket!

A small collection of photographs and printed miscellanea is now available which mostly loosely relating to transport in Berkshire, 1810-1980 (D/EX2970). This includes a valuation of personal property lost by individuals in a fire which destroyed the historic house, Wasing Place, in 1945. There are details of work done by named employees of the Wasing Estate and the Great Western Railways, which had its wartime HQ there, to fight the fire and save documents and other items, with suggested cash rewards. There are also photographs of a branch of the Home Guard at Aldermaston, 1944; photographs of anti-apartheid protests with 'It's not cricket' banners outside Slough Cricket Club against a tour by the ‘whites only’ South African cricket team in 1966; and the programme for Newbury Air Festival, RAF Greenham Common, 30 May-1 June 1980.

Sport

A small but interesting collection of papers of the Collins and Martin families of Waltham St Lawrence, n.d. [c.1900]-2010, is of particular interest for photographs of long distance walker Thomas Edgar Hammond during record breaking walks in 1907 and 1908 (D/EX2911) – more about him can be found in our January 2025 blog . Sport is also represented by an addition to the records of the Waltham St Lawrence Cricket (later Cricket and Hockey) and Football Clubs, 1950s-1992 (D/EX2261). We have also received records of matches played by Finchampstead United Football Club, 1922-1925 (D/EX2908); and the programme for a race at Reading Speedway in 1980 (D/EX2640). Berkshire Women's Golf (formerly Berkshire County Ladies' Golf Association) and Berkshire Ladies County Golf Club has added various items from 1923-2014 to their archive (D/EX2303).

Records of The Berkshire Sail Training Centre, Theale (formerly Central Berkshire Schools' Sailing Association), 1964-2017, highlight the work of this organisation which taught many schoolchildren sailing and other watersports such as water-skiing and windsurfing in a flooded quarry in Theale (D/QX44). It was set up by a group of local state schools, but some private schools subsequently joined, notably Bradfield College. The centre ran commercial courses to help subsidise the educational work, but it began to struggle after the abolition of Berkshire County Council meant much of its grant funding was lost. In 2018 the charity merged with the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, a newer foundation with similar aims.

Jack Bridges, the running builder

We have received, separately, two collections of the papers of local builder John Thomas (‘Jack’) Bridges (1883-1969). Born in Faringdon in 1883, he moved to Reading in 1900 to work at Messrs Huntley & Palmer in their drawing office. In 1931 he set up his own business as a builder and contractor, and the first of his two sets of papers comprises deeds and papers relating to various sites he developed in Caversham, Earley, Reading and Tilehurst (D/EX2997).

The second collection (D/EX2868) relates principally to his lifelong involvement with Reading Athletic Club from 1906 until his death. It includes a wonderful album of photographs of athletics events, from the 1880s to the early 1920s. This also includes some interesting non-sport photographs, including a train crash at Reading in 1914, wounded soldiers during the First World War, and American showman and flight pioneer Colonel Samuel Cody at the helm of the experimental Cody V biplane in 1912.

Bridges was President of the club for many years and donated the site of their clubhouse. He was also a founder member of the Berks and South Oxon District of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1910, secretary and treasurer of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Cross Country Association for more than 20 years and a committee member of the Amateur Athletics Association. He officiated at two London Olympic Games, 1908 and 1948, and organised the Berkshire part of the Olympic torch relay in 1948 – we even have a photograph of one of the handovers.

A lawyer’s work is never done

We have received the detailed bills book of Reading solicitor E Dennis Berry, 1927-1932 (D/EX3040). His practice covered the whole gamut of a provincial solicitor’s work, including conveyancing, driving offences (one client was accused of being drunk in charge of a horse and cart), criminal matters, civil disputes, probate, business matters, attendance at inquests, marital cases (separation, divorce and maintenance), school attendance, adoption, affiliation orders for the maintenance of illegitimate children and licencing of premises, etc. His biggest case, in 1929, was for the defence of Mrs Queenie Pennington, accused of murdering her young daughter. She was found guilty but insane – perhaps she is to be found in the Broadmoor records we also hold.