The Abingdon Army Cadets have been in the town centre selling poppies again today. Remembrance Sunday is the 13th November.
There was a first frost on Thursday. Leaves have been falling steadily.
It is November the 5th and there is a chance to take part in a Firewalk at the Nags Head. Money raised goes to Blue Skye Thinking.
Also on tonight is the scouts’ fireworks, and tomorrow is Dalton Barracks fireworks and funfair. They normally also have a big bonfire.
I was reading in the library this morning Ron Chung’s recollections of life in Abingdon (a photocopied pamphlet in the local studies section called ‘Where are they now – The Slums and Courts of Abingdon’). He remembers “November 5th we wanted a ‘Bonfire’ so I asked the farmer to dump all the collected rubbish from the shops to be dumped in the ‘Reck’ for this which he carried out provided we kept it tidy and a great fire we had. (Remember all this was collected by horse and cart).”
NO LORRIES
Ron Chung, I’ve resisted temptation to contribute to this thread for fear of “here he goes again’ but since no one else has posted here goes !
Ron and his brothers went to school with my mum and her sisters, they became life long friends of older members of my family.
Rons father immigrated from China at the beginning of WW1 along with an estimated 120k Chinese who volunteered to help with the British war machine, Rons father was an interpreture, the Chinese were “used”‘as labour at the front, they carried munitions, dug trenches and tunnels. Here they were housed in Milton Depot, now Milton park, ( there is a famous poto of Rons father outside the Nelson pub by St Helens church) Ron had 3 brothers, Ken who ran the beehive pub, Derek a builder and Sammy who went on to manage Wolves football club.
But Rons was the most memorable life, in ww2 he joined the Royal Maines and soon became chosen to be a Camando, his biggest mission was the infamouse raid on Dieppe where as the knife man he lead the camandos on the raid dispatching several of the enemy, he was captured, but escaped!
I count myself privalaged to have known Ron and many of his family
Goodness me Captain K. Such an interesting recollection….amazing the different communities who contributed to the efforts ‘to defend the realm’. (Will I get called to task for using that old term?!!).
I remember Sammy Chung from his Wolves days…he lived near to me.
And well done to all the folk out selling poppies.
Indeed Cassandra, but here’s an interesting twist to WW1 and the Chinese who helped us,
Around 1917 a flu pandemic began in Asia, it slowly spread westward and by 1918 it was reported that over half the German fighting force had one way or another succumbed to the pandemic, it is well documented that this had a direct effect on the surrender of the Germans and the outcome of the war, by the time the pandemic had reached the U.S in the 1920’s some 22 million had died from it. However, it is said that Asian/oriental people were particularly susceptible to it, ( and now comes another old Abingdon tale)
It is said that the old Cemetary off Spring rd has a mass grave of Chinese people who died of the pandemic? I’ve searched the register there but can find no mention of it? I’ve searched the local papers of the time but can only find mention of Roysses school being closed because of the pandemic, however, an old friend, one of the longest serving workers of the Pavalova next door recalls the story of the mass grave over the wall ? I know if a bricklayer who when building the hew estate there found a plague on the old stone wall referring to it? Even more bizarre while discussing this once in the brewery Tap a woman who overheard our conversation said while digging her new garden in Anna Pavalova close ( next to the Cemetary ) came across human bones !
Don’t we live in such an amazing town ?
In Spring Road cemetery there a two graves at the back on their own with Chinese names, dated 1919 I think. I have often wondered why these graves were isolated from the rest in the cemetery. Could this be the connection?
Hi Victor, I know these two, they’re typical of a war grave of that period, a couple of years ago I took a photo of them and took it to the Chinese restaurant for interpretation, they it was a fairly common family name but made no reference to cause or place of death? But it is in that area the mass grave is supposed to be?
Hi CaptKaos2 you need to contact the Abingdon Archaeological & Historical Society as they’re doing a lot of research on the Chung family at present.
Ok will do O Of T R !