Author: Colin Such

VE Day Display

Sunday 10th May 2020, 2 pm – 4 pm, Village Hall

Everyone is welcome to view a display of World War II ephemera, documents and personal reminiscences of the day the war ended in Europe. Free admission.

Visit to Lighthorne by the Friends of Warwick County Record Office

Thursday 18th June, afternoon, Village Hall

The Friends of the Warwick County Record Office are visiting Lighthorne to be told about the village by local residents. Maggie Atkins will talk about the stained glass in the church and Colin Such will lead them on a walk around the village, looking at the older buildings, finishing at the church, where Maggie will point out the windows. Tea will follow in the village hall. Lighthorne History Society members are cordially invited.

Joe Gerring, the story of a Lighthorne Countryman by Peter Johnson

Friday 3rd July 2020, 8 pm, Village Hall

Peter Johnson worked with Joe Gerring, in Chesterton Wood, in the summer months of 1974 and 1975, whilst a student. Joe had worked for 40 years as a woodsman and farm hand and revealed to Peter fascinating details about traditional country ways, which had remained unchanged from a bygone age. Peter was able to make 6 hours of tape recordings with Joe, including one 90 minute session in which Joe spoke about his life without any interruption. His story is fascinating and Peter has recently published a new edition of his book about Joe’s life.

The Czechoslovak Army in Britain 1940 – 1945 by John Berkeley OBE

Friday 6th November 2020, 8 pm, Village Hall

This talk combines the personal account of a family’s wartime experience and of the Holocaust with the largely unknown history of the Free Czechoslovak Army, based in Leamington Spa and the surrounding villages from 1940, and then elsewhere in England, including its role in the assassination of SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. It reveals the link between Warwickshire and what Neville Chamberlain called “a faraway country” and “people of whom we know nothing”.

John Berkeley OBE is an experienced speaker with a long association with aircraft preservation and museums.