Banstead History Research Group


	A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES
A talk by Dr Nick Barratt, genealogical consultant for series 1-4, at Banstead Community Hall on 30 March 2012. Click here for full details.
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Banstead History Centre AGM followed by "Five Hundred Teas later" a talk by Mark Davison of The Surrey Mirror on 15 February 2012.

Information wanted ... (Move cursor over title to view details)
Photograph of Court Cottages pre 1908 — £100 to anyone who can find one A local gentleman visited the BHRG stall at the Banstead Village fair and asked about any photographs of Court Cottages prior to 1908. None of our members could come up with any and that includes LW who has a collection of some 600 Banstead postcards from the early 1900s. This gentleman has left us his details and is prepared to offer £100 to anyone who can provide him with a good photograph of Court Cottages taken before 1908. Can you help? If so, please contact us here.
Local memories of the Coronation, Silver/Golden Jubilee and Olympics 2012 will see two momentous events, both with echoes of the past. These are the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. The Banstead History Centre intends to create two spectacular displays in the Banstead Library to celebrate these two events and would like to collect material from the local community that can be included in these displays. If you have any papers, photographs, brochures and memories of the Coronation, Silver Jubilee and Golden Jubilee we would like to see them and with your permission copy them for our records. These might include photographs of family gatherings, street parties or other community celebrations. Did you perhaps go to the Wembley Olympics? Do you know local people who have competed in the Olympics over the years? We would really like to hear from you. Please contact us here or visit the Banstead History Centre in the library any Saturday morning.
Wilmot Way Tree We are after any photograph or knowledge of the tree which was located at the top of Wilmot Way in the 1930s. The Banstead Quarterly dated October 1934 reports that '. . . we are still hoping the tree at the top of Wilmot Way may be saved . . .'. It was eventually cut down, but to date we can find no image of it. Can you help? If so, please contact us here.
Memorial WWII Rededication service Do you remember or have any knowledge of the Rededication Service of the Banstead War Memorial which must have taken place after WWII when the men from that war were added to the original WWI list? Despite several years of searching, we can find no record of this event. Please mail us here with any information, however insignificant.
Local Postcards and documents We have access to two large collections of local postcards but we know that there are many more than we currently have. If you have any local postcards, whatever the condition, we will be pleased to know about them and can sometimes purchase them or scan them for our archives. See also here. We are also interested to hear about any deeds, letters, old newspaper cuttings, church magazines, posters, in fact any historical document with local interest. If you can help please contact us here .

Did you know . . .

Banstead were the
first team
to win the
Sutton and District
Football League
Championship Shield
back in the
1921/22 season.

A young pilot from
Banstead
was the first person
to shoot down
six enemy aircraft
in one day during WW1.
He was
Captain John Lightfoot MC and bar
of Green Hayes.

Looking for an interesting and educational gift? Try one of our publications.

Banstead
Past and Present

Beechholme
A Children's Village

Banstead Boy at Trafalgar
George Perceval's letters to his parents Lord and Lady Arden
1805 to 1815

These Men of Banstead
Stories from the War Memorial

Read reviews

All our publications can be purchased at the IBIS bookshop
in Banstead High Street (opposite Waitrose).
We can also post them to anywhere in the world.

Bertram Ives' box

Banstead's War Memorial . . .

The Village War Memorial lists 119 men who died in the two World Wars. Five years of research has identified almost all of them and the results of our investigations, including a photograph where we have one, are included in a special section of this website. We would welcome more information on any of the men, as there are many where we have not been able to trace relatives. Click here to read the men's stories. We have also published a book called THESE MEN OF BANSTEAD – scroll down this page for further details.

Photo on right:
Reverend Maria Pallis rededicating the Banstead War Memorial following the addition of Robert Monk in August this year.

Robert was killed in Burma in 1944 but was reported as missing at the time and was never included on the memorial. Read his amazing story here.

Your history could be our history . . .

Upload your own local photographs...
or take a look at photos already uploaded.
Don't leave your old local photographs gathering dust. Let others enjoy them too by adding them to our Banstead Village Photographic Archive. They don't have to be Banstead images as we also cover Nork, Tattenham Corner, Tadworth, Burgh Heath and Woodmansterne.

Once a picture has been accepted on to the site, anyone will be able to add their own comments or memories and you may find the answer to that mystery photo. Who was it? Where was it taken? What was the event? etc etc.

We have had over two hundred contributions so far.

To view them all, visit the Banstead Village Photographic Archive. We regularly add to the collection from our existing archives but we are always on the lookout for new contributions.

Start finding those old photos so you can add to your local history.

TRACE YOUR ANCESTORS
(or long lost family members)

Christine Kent is a BHRG member who has used her genealogy skills and expertise to trace many Banstead families, including worldwide descendants of the men on the local memorial.

Christine also offers a Family History service to anyone interested in tracing their Family Tree and finding out more about their ancestors.

All enquiries are welcome, so if you would like to find out more, visit Christine's website. She will be delighted to hear from you.

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.

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.

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 Greetings Cards where you can 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.

Banstead 'Snowy scenes' Christmas Cards.

Visit Local Postcards(UK)

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

Revisions and Updates UPDATES TO HOME PAGE ARE NOT INCLUDED

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Date	Icon	Page	Details of updates Unique visitors since 15th June 2005. .
3/02/2012		Beechholme	Frank Burgess ex Beechholme boy found guilty of murder.
3/02/2012		Beechholme	Frank Heard supplied the names of Beechholme children shown in a group photograph . It was the Maple House contingent on holiday in Rhyl, in the 1950s.
2/02//2012		Memorial Feature	New information about the final flight of the Wellington Bomber in which Sgt James Croxall was killed. 'Jimmy' was just 22 years old.
3/01/2012		People	Peter Denton sent in memories of Derek McCulloch (Uncle Mac) who was a resident of Banstead and well known for his broadcasting of children's programmes on the BBC.
30/11/2011		Schools	Jenny Barnfield (nee Gregory) sent in additions to the list of students in the 1960 village school photo.
19/11/2011		People	Memories of Derek McCullock (Uncle Mac) sent in by Wendy Henningsson
8/11//2011		Memorial Feature	New photographs of Sergeant Cyril Duce of 129 Winkworth Road Banstead, killed in action whilst on a bombing mission with 144 Sqn in February 1942. Cyril was just 21 years old.
23/08/2011		Schools	Sally Rivett (nee duncan) sent in additions and corrections to the list of students in the 1954/5 village school photo.
18/08/2011		Memorial	Added numerous photographs of the contents of Bertram Ives' box as promised on page 232 of THESE MEN OF BANSTEAD.
22/07/2011		Schools	Penny Bowen nee Stephenson sent in memories of Greenacreand her recollections of her family in Banstead in the 1960s.
22/07/2011		Churches	Added a photograph of the interior of St Ann's RC Church, taken in 2005.
22/07/2011		Schools	Dick Tracy sent us a certificate awarded to Roger Teague of Banstead Hall, dated 1924 and signed by J S Maitland.
22/07/2011		Misc. Scouts	Brian Nibbs sent us photographs and memories of the 3rd Banstead Scouts from around 1950 . . . but who was the attractive Scout Mistress?
21/07/2011		Banstead URC	Susan Ryder nee Cheek spotted herself in our URC group photo from 1953 and has sent in memories of her childhood days.
21/07/2011		Beechholme	Expanded the information on applying for your personal care file from the London Metropolitan Archives.
20/07/2011		Beechholme	Roger Armstrong, ex Beechholme resident reports on the process of applying for his personal records and tells us what happened next after he left Beechholme.
20/07/2011		Home	Added a new WANTED request from the Banstead History Centre asking for memories and documents for use in their 2012 presentations.
19/07/2011		Fire Station	Fireman Francis 'Jack' Burrows identified in group photo. Read his story sent in by his daughter, Margaret.
19/07/2011		Beechholme	New information on Aunt Joyce sent in by Michael George. (click on link and scroll down to photo)
19/07/2011		Home	Added a new WANTED item on the home page after we were approached to source a photograph of Court Cottages by a local person willing to pay £100 for a pre 1908 photo.
19/07/2011		Beechholme	New contribution from Susan Gibbs daughter of Frank and Freda Gibbs, houseparents of Fir Cottage at Beechholme during the late 1950s.
18/07/2011		Beechholme	New story added to the Beechholme 1960s page. It documents the memories of Diana Graham, one of three siblings at Beechholme between 1961 and 1969. They lived in Drake House with Eva Knights as houseparent.
18/07/2011		Beechholme	New story and photograph added to the Beechholme Pre 1950s page. It relates the events surrounding the Griffiths and the Smiths who were at the school during WWI.
17/07/2011		Home	Introduced the DID YOU KNOW . . . feature on the home page.
07/07/2011		Beechholme	65 year-old note book from Beechholme detailing a trip to the Isle of Wight in 1936
12/06//2011		Memorial Feature	Brand new portrait and story update for Sgt Cyril Duce of Winkworth Road Banstead, No.144 Squadron, killed in 1942 when his Handley Page Hampden bomber was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf109. Click here
11/06/2011		Home	Yes its finally happened - I have had to update my own portrait on the home page! LNW
08/06/2011		Beechholme	Published a completely new format to split up the contributions which ran to 45 pages! The new layout shows memories from 1960s, 1950s, and Pre 1950. An empty Gallery page has been included and this will be populated over time.This is a yet more Work in Progress!
31/05/2011		Home	Added brand new Information wanted section in expandable form, redesigned the header and generally updated the top half of the home page - This is a Work in Progress!
20/04/2011		Publications	Added details of latest publication The Banstead Boy at Trafalgar
06/01/2011		Village School	Large group photograph identified as Miss Honer's class 4A 1958 here
25/12//2010		Memorial Feature	New information on Edward James (Jasper) Cross of Well House Banstead, a WWI casualty who died in March 1916. Click here
23/10/2010		Publications Home page	Added Surrey Mirror review of These Men of Banstead, as well as details of a second publication about . The first thirty years of the Banstead Arts Festival Society.
14/09/2010		Memorial Home page	News about this new publication which has now been published and is available from BHRG. For full details click here
28/07//2010		Memorial Feature	Brand new portrait of Peter Denys Parkes of 37 Squadron killed in 1944. Click here
30/06/2010		Churches	Carol Gilchrist nee Shuman added six more names to the photo of the 1953 Banstead Congregational Church group.
09/03/2010		Memorial WWI	New photograph and story of the battle at Salonika for Lt. A S Paterson killed in October 1918 in Greece.
09/03/2010		Beechholme feature	Latest Addition - FIVE new photos from Peter Farmer.
04/02/2010		Beechholme feature	New photographs added to Diana's story. Diana Lawrence was in Acacia, Beechholme in the 1960s.
01/02/2010		Houses feature	New picture of Bentley Lodge a large Victorian house previously on the site adjacent to The Horseshoe in Banstead.
24/01/2010		Beechholme feature	Detailed memories of Beechholme (Acacia) in the 1960s sent in by Diana Hipple nee Lawrence.
24/01/2010		People	New photograph from 1902 of Henry Knibbs headmaster of the Village school sent in by Don Knibbs.
20/01/2010		Memorial WWI	New photograph of Brigadier General Archie Stewart Buckle from WW1.
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Photograph of Court Cottages pre 1908 — £100 to anyone who can find one

Local memories of the Coronation, Silver/Golden Jubilee and Olympics

Wilmot Way Tree

Memorial WWII Rededication service

Local Postcards and documents