Amanda Monique Nixon nee Wilford
11th November 1958 to Sunday 9th March 2025
Mandy was born on the 11th November 1958 in Nicosia, Cyprus where her parents were stationed in the RAF, but the family returned to the UK within a few months of Mandy’s birth, to live in Carterton.
Following nursery and primary schools Mandy was educated at a private boarding school in west Sussex, before attending a 2 year secretarial college in Banbury Road Oxford.
Mandy became friends with Dave’s sister Carol, who introduced her to Dave in 1982. Dave and Mandy then set up a home together in Staffordshire in 1985. In 1991, Dave started working on an engineering contract in London they lived in a company house in Barking and were married in 1996 by Ron Lloyd at Shilton Church.
They purchased Holly Cottage in 1997, but at first, only lived as weekenders until they had finished modernising and extending the house.
Mandy worked in several management positions in Witney and Oxford and eventually back in Carterton, before retiring in 2013. Happily, they then travelled together extensively to many parts of the world, including North and South America, Middle East and SE Asia following the many different contracts that Dave was involved in, often spending several weeks at a time away from home.
Tragically, the first signs of Mandy’s illness first occurred only a few months after her retirement.
In retrospect, Dave could detect differences in Mandy’s manner and behaviour, but as we now appreciate the illness has many different forms and rates of decline. Mandy’s decline was slow and Dave was able to look after Mandy, lovingly at home until her death. Not many men would have been capable of such an achievement. All his friends in the village and further afield have admired the way Dave has managed Mandy’s illness these last few years.
Mandy loved the village of Black Bourton, she will long be remembered striding out with her dogs along Burford Road and along many of the footpaths.
Mandy’s funeral will be on Thursday 17th April at 12 midday in St Mary’s Church, Black Bourton, where Mandy will be interred in the graveyard.
All are welcome to attend the church service and afterwards at the Vines. There will be additional parking in the paddock should it be necessary.
Any donations in Mandy’s memory will be made to Young Dementia UK.
Joe Edwards
1945 to 16th January 2025
Very sadly, Joe Edwards, engineer and vintner, one of the great characters of our village died on Thursday 16th January and was cremated in a private ceremony.
Joe was born at 1 Elmwood Road, Carterton in a house that was half way across what is now RAF Brize Norton, before the runway was lengthened to accommodate American planes.
Joe’s Father was a civilian Air Ministry Police Constable and he attended Brize Norton school until the family moved house to Clanfield, when Joe was 11 years old and he then went to Burford Grammar School. On leaving school he joined Crawford Collets as an apprentice electrician and married Jackie in 1967, before he joined the family hydraulics business in Witney.
He purchased his first piece of land at The Vineyard in 1986 when the first vines were planted. He then bought two more plots extending the land to 8 acres. Joe and Jackie moved permanently onto the farm in 1995, and sold not only wine but a variety of items from vine stock, to chicken and duck eggs, a variety of vegetables, asparagus and of course sweet eating grapes. Their wine was available on the menu at the Poachers Rest in Bampton, The Horse and Groom in Black Bourton and at the Blenheim Palace shop.
Joe was not a fan of the Common Market and in 2005 closed down the wine business, after licencing law changes were imposed.
Joe, who spent his whole life locally, will be sadly missed by all who knew him and the village sends its sincere condolences to Jackie. Recently, many friends and villagers met at The Vines to raise a glass and discuss all their memories.
Barbara Gianni
25th February 1929 to 19th July 2021
Barbara Gianni was born in Italy on the 25th February 1929 and died peacefully on the 19th July. “Our” Italian family have lived in Black Bourton for 57 years. Barbara the widow of Lido who were both very well known in the local villages, through their various businesses of landscape gardening and maintenance, to selling fruit, vegetables, chicken and duck eggs, logs for wood burners and tree bark mulches, not forgetting a variety of wines and ciders.
Back in the early 60’s Lido answered an advertisement in some Italian papers placed by Frank Stewart-Wood’s father to attract horticultural and mushroom experts to West Oxon. Lido came on his own initially, took a liking to the area and enjoyed working at the mushroom farm, so he returned to Italy to bring Barbara and their sons Ibridi and Claudio to Black Bourton. Lido and Barbara proved to be entrepreneurs. Lido formed a landscaping and horticulture partnership with Mr Tilley at the American School in Alvescot and Barbara also worked at the school.
They lived in one of the Model Cottage for many years, until about 30 years ago when Lido and Barbara acquired the land at ‘The Yellow Gate Farm’ on Alvescot Road and a short time later achieved a life long ambition to build their own house on the farm, which the boys have developed into a thriving market garden business and farm shop, all the time well supported by Barbara, especially since the death of Lido in 2003. The boys have continued the work and nothing has given Barbara greater pleasure than the arrival of Luca, Claudio and Bonnie’s son. We hope to see them all at their stall at the Village Fete.
Dorothy ‘Peggy’ Margaret Tidsall
30th April 1926 to 28th January 2021
We learnt the news at the end of January that one of our past residents in the village, Peggy Tidsall had died in Solihull at the age of 94. She was buried in our churchyard on 11th February with her husband and alongside her daughter Carolyn.
Peggy was born in Birmingham in 1926 where she grew up with two half brothers. After she left school she went to work in her father’s shop and then subsequently decided she would like to work as a nursery nurse. She met her husband to be, Geoffrey, on a coach trip whilst they were both on holiday and eventually when retirement approached, they decided to look for somewhere to live near Geoff’s parents who had moved to Ducklington.
Hence the Tidsall family arrived at Clack’s Cottage in the mid 1970’s and very quickly became involved in village life. Peggy was active on the ‘Signpost’ helping with the organising and delivering of the magazine around the village every month. She was also a member of the BBVA (husband Geoff was the treasurer) helping to set up the fetes and coffee mornings and baking cakes for all these events. Needless to say the church was not forgotten and benefited from her considerable creative skills beautifully displayed in her flower arranging. Indeed, her next door neighbour at the time will always remember Peggy standing in her cottage garden surrounded by flowers. She will always be remembered for her gentle nature, goodness and kindness, always at hand to help when needed and a hugely respected member of the village community.
In latter years Peggy looked after her sister-in-law who still lived in Ducklington and in August 2007 after her sister-in-law’s death Peggy moved into the family bungalow before finally going back to Solihull and daughter Jackie. She has another daughter Elizabeth and a son Richard.
Frederick Thomas Alexander
28th April 1925 – 20th October 2020
Our friend Fred was born in Tadworth Surrey in April 1925 to Fred and Ada. Fred senior was invalided out of the Met. Police after injury and moved to Black Bourton and built a house “Holbeche” on Alvescot Road.
Freds’ senior and junior ran the Carterton Egg Packing station until young Fred was called up in 1942 and served in Burma from 1944 to 46. Fortunately, he avoided falling into the hands of the Japanese. He met Margaret in 1947 and they married in Witney and would have been married for 73 years this November. They have two daughters Janet and Sue, two granddaughters and four great grandchildren.
Both Fred and Margaret were always great “community helpers”, how much we need such help at the moment, but they did it throughout their lives.
Margaret helped Nora Fookes with school dinners at Alvescot and Fred, drove vehicles, mainly milk tankers, buses, lorries and a mobile shop belonging to the Alvescot shop and post office. The children of our village would line up at the mobile shop to buy sweets on a Saturday afternoon! Fred enjoyed commenting about present day lorry driving and the hours allowed to work. He would take a bus load of tourists from Witney to Blackpool for a day trip (before any motorways), setting off at 4.00 a.m and returning well after midnight, as the only driver !
After retirement, Fred would become well known and greatly respected, while helping many villagers with their gardening, tending the graveyard and locking up the church in the evening. He was an “outdoorsman” and a lover of wildlife, he knew all the birds by their songs and the names of all plants and shrubs.
One of Fred’s main social interests was attending the annual Burma Star Reunion dinners in London, with several local friends, where the star guest would often be Vera Lynn. Some older residents will remember Fred driving his beautiful old vintage Rover 90 saloon car around the area.
Fred’s dry sense of humour, his unfailing gentlemanly behaviour and his “good neighbourliness” will be much missed. Margaret will continue to live in Church Close and welcomes visits from their friends.
Bob Cross
4th August 1930 – 26th April 2020
Robert ‘Bob’ Cross was born in Buckinghamshire in August 1930. He grew up at Yew Tree Farm in Ludgershall the family farm, along with his three brothers and sister Mary.
The family worked hard during the war years on the land and afterwards Bob qualified as a draughtsman and worked in Bicester, but office work did not suit Bob and he eventually worked as head herdsman for Lord Bicester on the Tusmore Estate.
It was during this time that Bob met Iris his wife and they married in 1959 in Aylesbury. Sandy and David were born a few years later. Bob and Iris’s dream was to have their own farm and after careful saving they managed it in 1966 and moved to The Willows at the end of Mill Lane in Black Bourton, where Martyn, their third child was born.
Bob worked very long hours for two local farmers before starting his own pig breeding farm, where he worked even longer hours! The family enjoyed their animals, which eventually included, in addition to the pigs, hens, sheep, ducks and Cindy the terrier ! With the help of the family they survived two national foot and mouth outbreaks and some difficult farming years.
Bob and Iris were a much respected and well known couple. Bob was a member of the BBVA for many years, played in the Horse and Groom (The Vines) darts team, was a champion hedge layer, surrounded the farm with dry stone walling – all his own work – would support the Old Berkshire Hunt and enjoy a stirrup cup or two with the huntsmen, before following the day on foot.
Bob and Iris decided to retire in 1997 and moved to Clanfield and enjoyed the ‘extra’ free time holidaying with the family, but were frequently seen returning to BB to visit friends and join the luncheon club outings. After Iris’s death in 2011 Bob bought a retirement apartment at Blenheim Heights in Witney.
Bob was a true gentleman, was very sociable, a man of many talents, loved reciting his poetry, singing, amateur dramatics and when playing golf with David and Martyn at Carswell achieved a famous “hole in one”.
The sight of Bob driving through the village with his famous “grey Fergie” tractor with the terrier in the trailer behind, will be very sadly missed.
Rowland Peace
8th October 1919 – 20th April 2020
Rowland Peace died on 20th April this year at 100 years old. Born in the south Yorkshire mining village of Maltby. At the age of fourteen Rowland went to work in the local pit alongside his father and brothers. He was a member of the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade and helped with many injuries and fatalities, that happened regularly. He was quickly promoted to “deputy” but volunteered at the outbreak of WW2, but was soon repatriated back to the mines to help with the war effort as one of Bevin’s Boys. At the end of the war he married his wife Olive and they had a daughter Elizabeth, who came to live in Black Bourton years later.
Rowland was a unique chap, self educated he would rattle off the Telegraph cryptic crossword in ten minutes and had a love of poetry. He would recite from memory a huge repertoire to his listeners. With a droll sense of humour, he would tell of his time in the pit, but generally not a happy one as he had dreamt of being a medical doctor, but never had the opportunity. He would tell of his colleague Harold Trueman, father of Fred (Yorkshire and England cricketer). Fred only worked for one winter at Maltby, because he would leave to play cricket in the spring. Eventually, an autobiography of Fred appeared. Rowland noted that the book related “Harold was very modest about Fred’s achievements and rarely mentioned him”. Rowland remembered it differently … “very modest … he never stopped bragging about him”!
Rowland, given the chance, could have become a doctor, such was life. In later years he built a self-contained bungalow in the garden of Elizabeth’s house. He was a lovely man and delighted in his garden and greenhouse , he would say “I’m in God’s pocket”
A family man, he loved his daughter, grandson and grandchildren and even in his final months at The Homestead in Carterton, where he was wonderfully well looked after and received visits almost every day, he was always asking after family members and friends in the village.
Elizabeth remarked, “this loving blunt opinionated outspoken Yorkshireman, was befriended by many in the village and we are eternally grateful to all who took their time to spend it with Rowland. He lived a good life, doing tough work, was kind and caring, he was honest and proud and he will be remembered by all who knew him.”