BHRG Banstead History Research Group - Local history

BHRG Banstead History Research Group - Local history - Home Page

Banstead Village sign- photo by Lewis Wood

Banstead Village is situated on the North Downs about 17 miles South of Central London. The Banstead History Research Group ( BHRG ) undertakes research on local history and also publishes various books and booklets on local topics.

Last update
7th June 2008
View details

Contact the BHRG
Webmaster

John Sweetman manning the BHRG stall at the Banstead May Fayre. Visit our stall and get your local history questions answered at the
BANSTEAD VILLAGE FAIR
on SATURDAY 12th July.

WANTED!

(3 received so far)

Early Banstead Parish Magazines wanted, titled Banstead Church magazine or The Steeple.

We have a copy of two pages from the 1918 edition and the one pictured from December 1956. There must be some more stashed away somewhere. Please search out the old suitcase in your loft. Do you remember seeing any when you last had a sort out? We will give them a new home and put them to good use.
IS THIS AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK?.........
If you have any at all, do please contact BHRG.

Banstead Fire Station
Fire Station staff at Banstead

Click here to enlarge photo.

Tin Tabernacle Banstead Children at Banstead Tin Tabernacle Banstead Baptist Church

Click here to enlarge photo.

CURRENT BHRG RESEARCH PROJECTS - as at June 2008
- Updating the Beechholme book
- Digitising the Beechholme admissions register (1933 to 1945)- over 2000 records - completed, needs checking.
- Writing the history of St Mary's at Burgh Heath
- Collating entries from The Times archive related to Banstead (project on hold temporarily)
- Writing the history of the Banstead War Memorial - Still missing information on the WWll rededication ceremony.
- Researching all the men on the War Memorial - Still missing information on A Stemp and five others.
- Researching Frank Burgess, an ex Beechholme resident hanged for murder -research complete needs to be added to the website.
- Writing the history of Garratts Hall - now almost ready for publishers.
- WARTIME MEMORIES Latest contribution - Summmmer 1944.

BEECHHOLME BOOK NEWS

Pictured right is the draft cover for our new book on Beechholme.

We already have a list of people who wish to be advised when the new book is available. If you would like to be added to this list please contact the Webmaster.

Click here for the very latest update (23 April 2008) on the publication of this new book.

BANSTEAD WAR MEMORIAL PROJECT - Update 8 June 2008

112 of the 118 men listed on the memorial have been identified and much research undertaken to find out about these men. This website includes numerous accounts of their exploits. Three are shown below:

Flight Lieutenant Pilot J. P. M. Lintott a famous Banstead RAF nightfighter pilot who shot down four enemy aircraft in 12 weeks. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was killed in an aircrash at the age of just 22. (web page significantly updated - June 2008)

Flight Lieutenant Ronald William Armstrong who died of wounds in Singapore after his launch was shelled by a Japanese destroyer.

Brigadier-General Archie Stewart Buckle who was already fighting in the Sudan in 1898.

Lewis Wood, the webmaster for BHRG, is leading the project supported by Mark Stanley on RAF research and Christine Kent and Barbara Rough on family history research. You can contact this small team by mailing The Memorial Project. Their progress to date can be found on the War Memorial feature.

The feature is split into three sections, the first covering the history of the memorial itself including pictures of the unveiling in 1921 and the moving of it in 1996. The second and third sections document the stories of the men killed in WWl and WWll respectively.

The Group intends to publish this research but this will not be for at least another twelve months due to the detailed nature of the research required. If you have any information about the men listed on the memorial do please get in touch.

The Banstead History Research Group welcomes all contributions, comments and / or enquiries. Why not send us yours?.........

Members of the Banstead History Research Group maintain ongoing research into the history of the area, and have collated a substantial amount of archive material including many photographs. We welcome any memories, local stories, old photographs or pictures. Please contact us and add to your local history. We look forward to hearing from you.

New in July 2007 - In Association with Pauline Harrison, we have published a set of 12 Greeting cards showing local landmarks in Banstead. These are available from the BHRG stall at the Banstead Village Fair and other local events, or on-line via Local Postcards(UK). Click once on the image on the left to view larger versions and order on-line. A percentage of the price is donated to the Group if you mention BHRG when ordering. All profits go towards publication costs of local history books issued by the Banstead History Research Group.

Local history research on : Banstead, Nork, Tadworth, Tattenham Corner, Burgh Heath & Woodmansterne

Revisions and Updates

Return to Top

Date	Icon	Page	Details of updates Unique visitors since 15th June 2005. .
07/06/2008		Wartime Memories	memories of The Summer of 1944 sent in by Tom Slaughter.
06/06//2008		Memorial Feature	Added details of Arthur Boobier who was killed at the battle of the Somme in 1916
19/05/2008		Memorial Feature	Added details and memorial photos of WWl casualty, Brigadier-general Archie Stewart Buckle who died during the Battle of the Somme in August 1916.
24/04/08		Beechholme	Latest update on publication of Beechholme book. Tin Tabernacle photo - 5 new names added.
23/04/2008		Beechholme Feature	New Beechholme memories (1962- 1967) from Susan Furlong nee Charlott.
18/04/2008		Memorial Feature	Added WWl casualty, Private John William Taylor who was killed in action in August 1917
23/03/08		Home page	New group photograph of Banstead Tin Tabernacle (Banstead Baptist Church).
22/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New pictures of cemetery and grave of Flying Officer Arthur Thomas BARTON killed whilst serving with 108 Squadron in Malta. Added photographs of the Malta War Memorial and the relevant panels for Flight Serjeant James Croxall and Pilot Officer Peter Parkes , both killed in flying operations over the Mediterranean.
21/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, and photographs on Second Lieutenant Douglas Roy Baple killed in action during the Japanese attack on Singapore.
20/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, and photographs Serjeant Eric Harold Botting killed in action at El Alemain whilst attempting to save another officer.
19/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, and photographs Flight Lieutenant Ronald William Armstrong died of wounds in Singapore after his launch was shelled by a Japanese destroyer.
17/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, and photographs Trooper Stanley Cull who died around the time of operation Bluecoat in France.
10/03/2008		Memorial Feature	New information and photographs of Leading Seaman Edward Peasley who died in an accident in Genoa Italy.
04/03/08		Home page	New photograph of Fire Station staff.
04/03/08		Churches	New photograph of the Banstead United Reformed Church.
18/02/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, photograph of Private Stephen Muggeridge who was killed in the explosion of HMS Bulwark on the River Medway.
14/02/2008		Memorial Feature	New information, photographs and letter from Monica Saunders daughter of Lieutenant Stanley Percy Lawrence who died from his injuries when an HE bomb was dropped on the Flemingate area in Hull.
03/02/2008		Memorial Feature	New information and WWl postcards sent by Private John William Gatland .
30/01/2008		Special Page	Added poster for the 2008 Banstead History Centre Talk.
20/01/2008		Home Page	Complete update of all items and redesign of page implemented.
11/01/2008		Beechholme Feature	Beechholme memories (1951 -1964) and photos from June Brown ex Beechholme resident now living in Canada.
4/01/2008		War Memorial Feature	Remembrance Sunday at the War Memorial. Colin Sutherland has provided more information about the groups attending and has also spotted a few notable people amongst the crowd, in the photos sent in by Carol Gilchrist. If you attended, you are probably in one of the photographs. Let us know.
10/12/2007		War Memorial Feature	Seventeen Photographs of Remembrance Service at the War Memorial, sent in by Carol Gilchrist. If you attended, you are probably in one of the photographs. Let us know.
24/11/2007		Beechholme Feature	New Photograph of Beechholme group on a trip to Sandown isle of White in 1936
22/11/2007		Wartime Memories	Brand new section added to record Wartime Memories. The first from Michael Woodman recalls air crashes and bomb damage in and around Nork. Take a look!
18/11/2007		Feature	Memorial - added two new pictures and accompanying text. The first shows the Memorial floodlit and the other the Memorial in the old position prior to it being moved. see updated feature
17/11/0207		Home Page Beechholme	Added request for early copies of the Banstead Parish Magazine (Banstead Church magazine). More memories from Clive Parish.
12/11/2007		Home Page	Added photos of Remembrance Day service at the Memorial.
10/11/2007		Feature	Beechholme New memories and pictures from Clive Parish who was at Beechholme for about twelve years during the late fifties and sixties.
28/10/2007		Feature	Memorial - added best information on Albert Edward Stemp
26/10/2007		Memorial Feature	New information,some from personal letters, from Sutton Grammer School Archives for the following men listed on the War Memorial WWII Arthur Thomas BARTON WWII Kenneth HOBDEN WWII William HOBDEN WWII James Leonard Gordon HAMMOND WWII Peter Denys PARKES WWII Robert Charles REEDER
14/09/07		Home	List of current research projects added to Home page.
08/09/07		Feature	Memorial - added photographs of the Cenotaph for 5 OTU of the Royal Canadian Air Force. J L G Hammond was killed while flying with this unit in Canada. Also added is a map showing the location of the airfield and crash site.James Leonard Gordon HAMMOND
10/08/07		Feature	Memorial WWII added photographs of the inscriptions on the RAF Memorial at Runnymede for Duce, Grimwood, Hayward, Needham, Seal and Sutehall. Follow this link.
06/08/07		Feature	Memorial WWI names now available via alphabetical link here. Added photo showing the moving of the Memorial.
13/07/07		Home	Street Photo request.
05/07/07		Feature	New information and photos from Sutton Grammer School Archives for the following men listed on the War Memorial WWII Arthur Thomas BARTON WWII Kenneth Thomas BELL WWII Kenneth HOBDEN (new photo) WWII William HOBDEN (new photo) WWII James Leonard Gordon HAMMOND WWII Peter Denys PARKES WWII Robert Charles REEDER WWII Peter SUTEHALL (Mentioned in Despatches) WWI Frederick George DAVIS (new photo)
04/07/07		Home	Brand new item available Banstead Greeting Cards.

Banstead Movie 1958