NEWSLETTER 15th January 2019
REMINDER: the yearly subscription (£10) is due in January, please come prepared.
The forthcoming K&DLHG meeting is on 18th January when our founder member David Beaumont will give us a talk entitled Admiral Cowan: Soldier and Sailor. Admiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan KCB, DSO MVO was an extraordinary individual, 
remembered in Kineton not only through his last residence “Admiral’s House” in Bridge Street, but also his solemn funeral through Kineton in 1956. He saw action in the Royal Navy fairly continuously from the late 1880s, including in the Boer War, WWI, and in interwar duties around the Baltic, and then in WWII, in his 70s, with the commandos. We look forward to hearing from David more about our most illustrious military hero, whose banner still hangs in St Peter’s Church.
Report on our 2018 Christmas Treats. As well as the traditional annual mince pies and mulled wine, Christmas 2018 was the opportunity for a few members of the group to give us the benefit of their experiences in short presentations. George Lokuciejewski described his early years in Ettington Park Polish Resettlement 
Camp. This had been a PoW camp during the war (Camp 31) and a stone has been found inscribed “2 PoW Camp 31 1943 Andernach” built into a local farmyard. George put the experience of some of the Polish fighters and their families in the aftermath of WWII into context. The pictures of the camp and the interiors of the nissen huts and temporary buildings vividly showed the way families made the most of the conditions. In the camps Polish national dress and language were fostered, and George demonstrated that he still spoke Polish. It was a surprise to hear that there is still a resettlement camp with inhabitants who have not intergrated into the British community. Peter Waters followed, with reminiscences of his family’s Chislehurst bookselling business dating back to the mid 19th century. After a brief genealogical survey Peter donned a variety of hats to enact a series of apparently real dialogues between customers and 
booksellers. These ranged from being asked to act as a creche, to being berated for not selling things other than books. I enjoyed the idea that signed copies of Shakespeare or even the Bible might be available. If only! Peter’s fine performance caught the absurdity of some bookshop conversations.
Bob Briggs then emerged from the back row to describe, and enact, excepts from Gilbert and Sullivan. We rapidly entered the realm of The Mikado and Ko-Ko the Lord High Executioner, who has to 
execute himself before he can execute anybody else. Bob gave us a moving rendition of “Tit willow, tit willow, tit willow”. Having reduced us to tears, he stiffened our sinews with The Yeoman of the Guard. Gilbert’s lyrics satirising the politics and mores of the late 19th century seemed strangely relevant to our contemporary situation, with many a sage head nodding as parliament, and peers of the realm, got the Gilbert treatment in Bob’s fine and individual account of the songs.
These three splendid presentations were followed by the mince pies, provided by the committee, and mulled wine concocted to a secret recipe by Ilona. Unfortunately there was only a little left to take home, so it was probably satisfactory. Our thanks to the contributors, to the committee, and to Ilona and her helpers who all ensured that our evening was a treat.
Other Societies’ events
From 8 January, Tues, Friday and Saturday 10.00 – 12.00, Southam Heritage Collection: Exhibition of Southam’s Fire Brigades
23 January. Wellesbourne U3A: The Shaping of Southam by Bernard Cadogan
19 February. Warwickshire Local History Society, : “The Catholic Experience, and Aspects of Childhood” by Dr Lucy Underwood, The Friends Meeting House Warwick
19 March. Warwickshire Local History: AGM followed by “George Eliot and Warwickshire” by David Paterson
Portcullis History, Friday 11th 2019 Hatton Village Hall, 10.00am – 2.30pm Dr John Hunt Edward I and his Welsh Castles
KDLHG Committee Matters. There has been no committee meeting since the last newsletter.
The next committee meeting is at 7.30pm on February 11th 2019, in the Library at the Village Hall.
Our treasurer Richard Hurley has moved away from the village, so we have an urgent requirement to find a new treasurer. Please seriously consider this if you or someone you know would be able to take this on.
DF 14.01. 2019