History
We are slowly gathering some material describing the history of Longparish, much of which will be an update of material previously published in Village Handbooks.
Longparish at War 1914-18
Henry Yelf and Jo Webb researched and produced display boards sharing the history of people from Longparish who died in, or because of, the First World War.
The panels were printed for display, sponsored by Longparish Parish Council. Full copies can be seen on Wherwell History website
The Pillans Plot
Following an enquiry about the plot where Mr James Mowbray and Mrs Edith Mary Pillans were buried, the CttBB captured the following pictures of the plot and produced a schematic highlighting it.
A303 Bridge Demolition 1961
These photos show the demolition of the railway bridge spanning the A303, near to the old George Inn Longparish in 1961. They were taken by Henry Barnes and sent to us by his son Oliver - our thanks to them both.
War Memorial
The Parish Council also maintain the War Memorial.
You can read more about the people commemorated on the War Memorial on the Longparish page of the British Legion website.
One of those remembered is Tom Gradidge. You can read more about him below.
Gradidge Family
Tom Gradidge is commemorated on the Longparish War Memorial. He served in the First World War as a private with the 15th (Hampshire Yeomanry) Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment.
He was killed on 26 October 1918 when his regiment were defending the train station at Vichte in Belgium and is buried at the Military Cemetery there.
His Daughter-in-law, Nora Gradidge (a lively 89 3⁄4 years of age), and her daughter and son-in-law Barbara and Jim Allen visited the War Memorial to pay their respects on Remembrance Day 2009.
Norah’s mother was born in South Africa where her father served with the King’s African Rifles and fought at the Battle of Majuba in 1881 in the Boer War. She was brought up at Winchester Barracks. Norah’s husband, also Tom, was evacuated from Dunkirk.