Articles

Battle of Britain 1940 (World War 2)

Battle of Britain (1940) and Anthony Bartley. By Clive Rodgers Squadron Leader Anthony Charles Bartley DFC (28 March 1919 — 18 April 2001) was an RAF Hurricane and Spitfire fighter ace who was awarded the DFC after scoring eight victories against enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain.  He was born in Dacca (British India) the son of […]

Gurnett Family

The GURNETT Family of Swanbourne (Updated to include the story of Edward Gurnett, December 2023) by Neil Rees The Gurnett Surname Gurnett is an uncommon surname whose origin is not known.  There is also a fish called the gurnet, and there is a place called Gurnet Point near Cape Cod in Massachusetts. In England there is a place […]

PowerPoint Presentations

Copies of PowerPoints used at Swanbourne History Evening Events   Author:- Clive Rodgers 1.  PDF copy of:- From Swanbourne’s Pre-History to AD 1600 evening lecture summary from 8th November, 2013.   2.  PDF copy of Geology & Archaeology of Swanbourne & North Bucks from October, 2012:-  The Earth History of Swanbourne & Aylesbury Vale   3.  […]

The Tonyn Brothers – Swanbourne Links to Africa and Florida

Charles W. Tonyn and his family links to Africa and Florida (revised February 2022) By Clive Rodgers Charles William Tonyn (1732-1805) Reverend Charles William Tonyn, Vicar of St. Swithun’s Church, Swanbourne,  seems to have been unusual in the Tonyn family in that he went into the church rather than following his father into a military career. […]

World War 1 Centenary – Soldiers from Swanbourne (now includes servicemen omitted from the Swanbourne War Memorial)

Soldiers from Swanbourne   Revised by Linda Rodgers  1. Servicemen with Swanbourne connections who are omitted from Swanbourne War Memorial:- The Swanbourne connected servicemen who are omitted from Swanbourne War Memorial 2. War Memorial – Concise summary of names as a PDF      War Memorial brief summary of names 2020.docx   Author: Linda Rodgers 3. The 56 Servicemen […]

Campbell Family

Campbell Family History The Campbell tree researched by Linda Rodgers The Campbell Family are usually quite long lived as individuals, and they have been in Swanbourne for a very long time. Jack Campbell’s interview with his son Paul, recorded early in 2013 just before Jack died at the age of 96.  To see the interview, CLICK […]

Details of all WW1 Servicemen connected to Swanbourne

Details of all WW1 Servicemen connected to Swanbourne By Linda Rodgers More details are also on the previous page:- War Memorial brief summary of names 2020.docx Return to WW1 Centenary Category

Myres Family

The Myres Family    By Clive Rodgers An interesting and distinguished family originating from Swanbourne. Rev. William Miles Myres (1838 – 1901) originated from Preston, and in 1867 he married Jane Linton (1842 – 1871) in Headington. She was the daughter of a vicar from Oxford.  Unfortunately, his wife died in 1871 immediately after the birth of their […]

Archaeology of Swanbourne

Archaeological Artefacts By Clive Rodgers The identification of worked Stone Age flints involves recognition of percussion marks around the edge of the tool. Generally, these are not found in flints in Swanbourne soils which hold flints that were dropped by the passage of ice along with boulder clay from melting glaciers during the Ice Age. Very few prehistoric and Roman […]

Hollywood Star Deborah Kerr marries Swanbourne war hero

The marriage of Anthony Bartley to Deborah Kerr. By Clive Rodgers When Swanbourne RAF fighter ace Anthony Bartley (1919 — 2001) was working in America, lecturing in fighter pilot tactics, he also made the acquaintance of several film personalities (e.g. Elizabeth Taylor).  Subsequently, when then stationed in Brussels it was through an introduction by Stewart Granger in 1945 […]