Lost album of hall’s history found 80 miles away in skip

PHOTOGRAPHS taken on the day the foundation stone was laid at Shiplake Memorial Hall were found 100 years later in a skip in Bournemouth.

They were in an album of Henley discovered by a woman who posted them to Henley library shortly before its refurbishment in January.

They were then passed on to amateur historian Norman Topsom who brought them to the attention of the trustees of the hall in Memorial Avenue.

They were said to be in “awe” of the pictures, which turned up in the same year the hall is celebrating its centenary.

The pictures show the day of July 18, 1925, when several members of Thames Lodge marched in full regalia to the site to witness the laying of the foundation stone. There had previously been no known images of the event.

The hall was built in memory of villagers who had lost their lives in the First World War and its building was financed by the parents of Heber Reginald Mardon, a soldier who was killed in the closing days of the conflict. He was 19.

Mr and Mrs Mardon, of Haileywood House, put forward a proposal to provide land and to finance its construction in 1924 at a cost of £3,500. His war medals were on display at the event.

A special centenary strawberry tea will be held at the village hall next Sunday to commemorate the centenary and two members of the Mardon family are to attend.

The recovered pictures will be exhibited in the hall for guests to look at and the event will also feature a vintage car display.

Mr Topsom, 78, a former railway chargeman, said it was a “collector’s dream” to have been given the album.

As well as the event at the memorial hall, the book also shows dozens of events around Henley from the Twenties, including the funeral of the Viscount of Hambleden. Mr Topsom said: “You often dream of someone offering you a picture album full of pictures of Henley, and it was the second time it has happened to me.”

Mr Topsom, who lives in Gainsborough Hill, put the pictures he had found of the hall on the Facebook page Henley Past and Present and was contacted by the hall’s trustees.

Mr Topsom said he believed that the pictures had originally belonged to the Henley Standard.

He said: “I went to school with a chap called Maurice Churchill-Coleman and he moved to Bournemouth. His father worked for the Henley Standard as a reporter and I think that’s how the album found its way to Bournemouth but I’m not sure how it ended up in a skip.”

Caroline Fairbrother, who has been a trustee of the hall for 26 years, described the find as “amazing”. She said: “We had no record of the event other than a piece in the Henley Standard in 1925. That was literally the most we had.

“We knew it was a big affair from the article but, other than that, we had nothing. So it was amazing when this appeared in Norman’s hands.

“It emphasises what a big event it was. There is a picture of the Bishop of Oxford and parades coming through the streets, lots of little girls in white dresses and Panama hats and men in top hats.

“They are just a wonderful treasure trove that we didn’t even know existed. The quality of them is just so good.”

Since the discovery the photos have been scanned in and digitised for the hall’s use by photographer and Shiplake resident David Davidson. Ms Fairbrother said that the pictures were in such good condition that Mr Davidson could even tell what camera was used to take the photos.

She added: “More than anything, we would like to thank the person who rescued the album.”

Ella Plummer, the new marketing and communications lead for the hall, said: “Everyone is in utter awe about it. They were in impeccable condition. Everyone is really excited and especially with the celebration coming up.”

The centenary celebration will run from 2pm to 4pm next Sunday with other attractions including a local history exhibition and a magician.

The strawberry tea, provided by the village branch of the Women’s Institute, will feature cream teas with strawberry jam.