Author: Colin Such

Visit to Lighthorne by the Friends of Warwick County Record Office

Postponed because of coronavirus

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


Postponed because of coronavirus

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.

A Brief History of Moreton Hall by Brian Morgan

Friday 18th September 2020, 8 pm, Village Hall

The presentation will be  an illustrated guide to the designing and development  of a country estate and its role in the community in the early 1900s. It will briefly outline the legacy left by previous owners and the Hall’s use, up until it was bought by Warwickshire County Council in 1948 to establish a farm institute, which was later to become ‘Warwickshire College, Moreton Morrell Centre’.

Brian writes:

I joined the college in 1983, as an Instructor in Agriculture. The Hall was an integral part of the college activities and my early impressions, were one of grandeur, past and present.  I have very happy memories of spending time in oak panelled rooms and decorated ceilings, during meetings and staff events. I still work at the college, so I have witnessed many changes. I have also been able to use extensive information from Frank Howell who was the first Vice Principal of the college in 1953 and who also lived in Moreton Morrell  Village most of his 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.