Page 27 - Moreton Village Only Book

Moreton Village Only 27

The Sunday school outing was also one of the memorable events of the year, to
which the children looked forward for months. At last the great day would arrive. The
group would catch the 9a.m. train from Thame station to West Wycombe and walk to
the hill. The children could hire a wooden chairback for one penny, which they would
use as a sledge. Sliding down the side of the hill and dragging it back up again would
provide them with hours of fun. Candles in cardboard holders were available and the
children were able to wander in the Hell Fire caves at will. It was, no doubt, very
spooky and they were certainly frightened of getting lost, but thankfully there is no
record of any child ever failing to return to Moreton.

One ditty, which was often sung on the journey on these occasions, went as follows:

“Shut up your Public Houses
We don’t want your beer
Shut up your Public Houses
We’re all teetotallers here”

Methodists were of course, by tradition, staunch temperance people and it says much
for their zeal that almost 100 years after the foundation of the Chapel in Moreton, the same
principles continued to guide the leaders and they presumably, members of their congregation.

On 3rd September 1939, the nation learned that they were once more at war. Barely 20
years after the end of the “war to end all wars” the process was to start all over again. During
the first few months of what was called the “phoney war”, Moreton folk went about their
business in the usual way, but the phoney part was not to last very long. By the summer of
1940 the Battle of Britain was being fought over the skies of southern England without the
majority of the population being aware of it, but there was to be no further respite. The war
really had started in earnest.

Tree planting on the village
green in 1935 to commemorate
the Silver Jubilee of George V.