St. James' Church
CALENDAR FOR CHURCH SERVICES CAN BE FOUND IN
THE CHARLTON LINK EACH MONTH
Following the donkey to Jerusalem
On Palm Sunday about 35 adults and
15 children assembled at the village hall
to `follow the donkey to Jerusalem'
– metaphorically speaking, as in fact
we were following a pony to Newbottle church.
Led by the vicar in full regalia, and bearing
palm crosses, with a few green branches
being waved, we sang All Glory Laud and
Honour at three different places on the walk,
to the accompaniment of David Morgan's
accordion.
Reaching the church there was a short
communion service followed by
refreshments – an excellent start to
Holy Week.
Many thanks to Katja and Hayley Bennet for
lending their lovely pony Bracken, and to
Jenny Whitrow for fetching her from
Hinton for the occasion.
Weddings in St. James' Church
Brad Clark to Samantha Baker on 3rd July 2004
Joe Rayfield to Sharon Brown on 10th July 2004
Richard Bland to Eleanor Townsend on 7th August 2004
Births
To Emma & Jonathan Bray a daughter Molly Sophia born Friday 24 September 2004 at 6lbs 1.5ozs.
In Memorium
Mr Paul Bharali
The Village was shocked and saddened to hear the death of Paul on 21st April
2007 at the John
Radcliffe Hospital, a real gentleman who was devoted to his family.
We pass on our deepest
sympathy to his wife Eileen and the family.
.........................
Mrs Kathleen Williams
We are sorry to announce the recent sad death of Mrs Kathleen Williams who
died in the Horton
Hospital on March 9th 2007. Kathleen with her husband Ernest, and
their two boys, Alan and
Geoffrey came to live in Charlton in the mid 1960's. For some years
she was Sceretary to the
Headmaster of Bicester School.
Kathleen was a quiet but friendly lady and for some while a member of the
Charlton WI and
Gardening Club until a serious back problem made it impossible to do many
things she
enjoyed. Her passions were flower arranging, embriodery and ceramics.
We pass on our deepest sympathy to Alan and Geoffrey and their families.
......................
Mr John Cliffe
It is with deep regret that we announce the sudden death of our Headteacher,
Mr John Cliffe.
Mr Cliffe died at his home in Charlton on Friday, 5th January, 2007
aged 56.
John had been Headteacher at our school for 24 years. During those years
the numbers of pupils has
doubled and it has achieved excellent results in OFSTED Inspections.
The school is also a fine example
of a Christian community. There is a wonderful ethos, good
relationships between staff, governors,
volunteers, parents and children. John has been central to this and
the school's success is largely
due to his inspired leadership.
John believed that the school was an important part of the village and wider
community, and he was very
much involved in village life. His death is an immense loss to our
school and to the village. We mourn a
gentle and caring man, and offer our heart-felt sympathy to his wife, Sue
and their children,
Joanna and Thomas, and his son-in-law, Gareth.
We hope the Family can be comforted by knowing that
he will be sadly missed by all his
pupils, fellow
teachers and all the villagers for his dedication, this was confirmed by
the number of tributes left outside
the School gates since the announcement of his death. We all
will miss John as a First Class Teacher
and Headteacher, as well as a close friend, colleague, and Pillar of our
community -The Webmaster.
........................
Mr Ronald Kerby
Ronald was the son of Mr and Mrs Fred Kerby, who with his brother were local
builders and Ron's mother's
family, The Bloxhams, kept the Post Office for many years when it was part
of West House, both families
being very involved with village affairs between the wars. Ron joined
the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry
at the begining of WWII and was subsequently in the 13th Para Troop Reg,
6th Airborne Division and the
SAS, and was one of the first to be dropped over the Rhine.
In 1946 he was the Clerk to the newly formed Parish Council, a post he held
until he moved to Scarborough,
when his father took over the position as Clerk. He was also a member
of Charlton Cricket Club.
Ron died very suddenly on February 25th. His wife predeceased him.
.......................
Mr Peter Bull
Peter Bull died in London just before Christmas and his ashes were recently
buried in his parent's grave
in Charlton Cemetery. He was the son of Mr and Mrs Fred Bull. Peter
had lived in London
for many years, but still has brothers and sisters living in this area.
.......................
Sylvia Elim
Lots of villagers were shocked just before the Christmas holidays to hear
of the sudden death of Sylvia
whilst out walking with her husband Henry. A large number of family
and friends attended the
Service at Banbury Crematorium on Wednesday 21 December 2005 which showed
how popular she was.
There was also a small Interment for Sylvia on Wednesday 11 January 2006
at the Charlton Village Cemetery.
Sylvia was very well known in the village as an active Memorial Hall Committee
member and of the Charlton
WI and was always keen helping on all village celebrations and special
occassions with the late Flo Adams.
Our deepest sympathy is extended to husband Henry and Sylvia's family.
..........................
Bruce Hybart
Many people who knew Bruce wiil be saddened to hear of his death at the Horton Hospital on 19 November 2005.
Bruce came to Charlton in the early 1950's with his parents and sister Rosemary,
who now live in Australia.
For many years Bruce was Secretary and Lay Preacher at the Old Congregational
Chapel in the village and
ran a very successful Sunday School for children of all denominations.
After his father's death Bruce took care of his mother until she went int
a nursing home just
before her 100th Birthday.
........................
Ron Caves
We regret to report the peaceful death of Ron, aged 77 years, on 27 August 2005.
Beloved husband of Margaret (Marn) loving dad of Nicky, Cindy and James and
a dear
grandad to all his grandchildren, he will be sadly missed by all his loving
family and friends.
Ron will also sadly be missed by the village, as he served the local community
for over 36 years,
serving 17 years as the Vice Chairman to the Parish
Council. Unfortunately, due to ill health,
Ron was unable to attend a special presentation
on Tuesday 13 July 2004 but his Daughter
Nichola was there on his behalf to collect his presentation gift.
We send our deepest sympathy to all his family.
..........................
Kathleen Comfort
It is also sad to report the sudden death of Kathleen Comfort, who for some
years lived
in Myers Close. In 2000 she moved to Bridgewater House in Brackley.
She was a quiet but very kind and friendly lady who loved gardening and spent
many happy hours
in her pretty garden in Myers Close. She was a member of Charlton
Friendship Club and continued
attending the monthly meeting when she moved to Brackley. Kathleen's
husband died some years
ago, they had no children. Her sister lives in Seattle USA. Kathleen
died in her sleep on Monday
15 August 2005, for those who knew her, she will be sadly missed.
......
Canon Michael Hayter
We are saddened to hear of the death of Cannon Michael Hayter who died peacefully
at his home on
May 17th 2005. Cannon Hayter, who had been Rector of Steeple Aston
for the previous 37 years, came
with his wife Patcie to live in Charlton in 1983. He soon became a
well known figure in the village and
was called on frequently to help at St James during Interregnums, when we
had no vicar of our own.
He had many interests including painting, archery, restoring antique furniture,
gardening, music and
writing pantomimes and poems. He wrote amost interesting book about
Steeple Aston and his life there.
The book includes a number of his fine poems. Canon Hayter was
a kind and friendly man and despite
his disability was determined to live as full a life as possible. One
sign of his popularity was the large
number of friends and family who attended his funeral in Newbottle. He
would have enjoyed the
beautiful singing and moving and amusing address by his daughter Katherine.
He will be very
much missed in the village. We send our deepest sympathy to all his
family.
.......................
Jim Arthur
Another recent death was that of Jim Arthur who some people will remember
lived at Little Garth
for some 20 years from the 60s. Jim was a member of the Parish Council
for 16 years, 10 of which
he was a very active Chairman. During his years as Chairman he played
a large part in preventing
the M40 being routed near Charlton and also fought to prevent Twyford Farms
ploughing up Stonepits.
In 1982 Jim and his wife, Audrey, moved to Budleigh Salterton where
he wrote a very successfull
book "Practical Greens Keeping". Over the years he had advised on the
maintenance of hundreds of
golf courses and for many years he worked with The Royal and Ancient helping
to prepare for
championship events. Sadly over the last years Audrey's health deteriorated
and Jim devoted
the rest of his life taking care of her. Audrey survives him as well
as his son Richard.
.......................
Mr Jim Hirons
It is with great sadness to to report the death of Jim Hirons who passed
away on September 12th 2004
at Katharine House Hospice. Jim had lived in the village all his married
life, joined the Royal Navy
before the Second World War and saw service in most countries of the world.
His knowledge of Royal Navy ships was most incredible and one of his hobbies
was to make the
most intricate models of the ships he served in. He was also an avid
gardener and loved family life,
taking great care of his wife Rene, for some years before her death in 1999.
Our deepest sympathy is offered to the family, - Jim will be greatly missed
St. James' Church is looking for a cleaner, Interested parties please contact Wendy Tuffrey or David Morgan.