Author Archives: Jim Bell

Cecil and Ken in Conversation 1996. By Jim Bell

Jim Bell: “Cecil’s reminiscences are taken from three interviews by his old friend and historian, Ken Goatley. The first two were recorded on audio tape in 1996 when he described his life and reminisced about Wokingham during the first twenty-five … Continue reading

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1919 Victory ! Wokingham celebrates.

Local Historian, Jim Bell unearths this extensive coverage of Wokingham’s Armistice Celebrations: “On Saturday, Wokingham duly celebrated the peace. The proceedings commenced at 7 a.m., when peals were rung on the church bells. At 10 a.m. the town band commenced to … Continue reading

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WW2 Garth: Wokingham’s Destroyer

Jim Bell provides us with a fascinating insight into Wokingham’s contribution to World War Two. Here we learn of how the local people raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to ‘sponsor’ HMS Garth throughout the latter part of the war. … Continue reading

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Wokingham’s news from The Mercury 1913-1923

Jim Bell continues his journey to provide us with an overview of Wokingham during the 19th and 20th centuries. This time he visits the archives to extract  Wokingham’s news from old Reading Mercury newspapers. They go as far back as … Continue reading

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Wokingham News from Reading Mercury 1859-1868

Jim Bell continues his journey to provide us with an overview of Wokingham during the 19th and 20th centuries. This time he visits the archives to extract  Wokingham’s news from old Reading Mercury newspapers. They go as far back as … Continue reading

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Hills Nicholson family: Four sons lost in two World Wars

The Nicholson family have no Wokingham street or building named after them and have sunk below the consciousness of today’s local community. In the 1800’s however, they lived in what is now the Cantley House Hotel and they invested in … Continue reading

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2013 Centenary: Wokingham’s First Cinema !

We have now mostly identified the names on the town’s memorial and have tried where possible to provide details of their short lives. We now have the opportunity to find out what life was like in Wokingham in the late … Continue reading

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