Committee Members

Martin is a retired Professor of Modern History and formerly the Director of the Research Centre for Evacuee and War Child Studies which he established in 1997 at the University of Reading. He is considered by his peers as a world expert on the short and long-term effects of war on children which was the focus of his PhD and has lectured all over Europe and the USA. He has also been involved in TV and Radio programmes in the UK, USA and Germany and was part of the team which won the Sony Gold Award for best TV documentary.

His 38 years of research into the evacuation schemes in wartime Britain, Finland, Germany, and the children of WW2 Dutch collaborators, now underpins work being carried out by himself and his associates on the psychological and social problems facing present-day refugee children coming into Europe. In 2017 they were commissioned by the EU to establish support teams in Italy, Spain, Romania, and the UK. He is presently engaged in work relating to the refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Martin has also acted as a consultant to NATO Chiefs of Staff on the emotional effects of parental deployment on some service children.

She was born and brought up in Bradfield – in the farm next to the War Memorial.   Her mother’s family (Stevens) had played a prominent role in the village since 1740, and left considerable records.

She read history at Cambridge and had a working career in housing.  Since retiring in 1998 she has enjoyed researching, writing about and giving talks on the history of local villages, especially Bradfield and Frilsham where she now lives.

She has published ‘History of Bradfield in Berkshire’, 2011, which is now out of print, but in local libraries, and ‘A history of Frilsham 2012’ (short version) in the local Broadsheet.

I was brought up on a farm in Northern Ireland, and studied Agricultural at university. After a number of years as an Agriculture Advisor, I moved to Newbury to run a marketing company. After 12 years I set up my own business as a Business Development Consultant specialising in Franchising. 

With my wife, Ruth, we own Hewins Wood Farm in Bradfield as a small holding and enjoy managing the site, which has some 20 businesses utilising the former farm buildings as workshops.  This is a community of business owners that we very much enjoy working with in serving the local rural community in a multiplicity of ways.

I very much enjoy history and jumped at the opportunity to be a founder member of Bradfield Historical Society with Professor Martin Parsons and Dorcas Ward.

My background is a degree in maths & physics and a career in microwave research & development, software engineering, information technology & communications, oil & gas exploration & production, and project management.  But not a lot of history!  Then after retiring, many years ago now, I became interested in local and social history – inspired by Dorcas – and returned to university for a three year course in English Local History with the emphasis on how to research local history.

I have been fascinated by the breadth and diversity of History from a young age. I am particularly interested in the Medieval period and the political and social change that occurred within it; how and why change occurred and the specific details of the reigns of various kings. I am currently at the University of York where I have studied medieval social practices and institutions and am about to complete my third and final year with a study of the French Wars of Religion and a dissertation on the political and social changes of 15th century England as a result of the Hundred Years War and Wars of the Roses

Chris is a Worcestershire lad, having been born and raised in Evesham. He graduated in Chemistry from the University of Bath, completed an MSc. in Analytical Chemistry and joined the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory in 1974, transferring to the Forensic Science Service before he took early retirement in 2010.

History has always been a passion for Chris. He has researched many branches of his own family and apart from discovering a few skeletons, is anxious to point out that most of his ancestors were pretty much good honest agricultural labourers.

Chris is keen on both national and local history having been a member of Newbury U3A and presented on a wide range of topics from the history of science, biographies of the men of the Beenham War Memorial and entertainment in Japanese POW camps.

He has been a member of the Bradfield Historical Society for over five years and is looking forward to supporting and developing the society as a Committee member over the next few years.

I have lived in Bradfield all my life, attending Bradfield Primary School and now studying at Theale Green. In my free time, I love hanging out with friends and family, engaging in games and playing the role of a dungeon master in D&D.

Another activity I thoroughly enjoy is go-karting with my Dad. Recently, I have been working on developing my IT skills by creating and designing this website. Being a part of this project has been incredibly fulfilling, and it complements my passion for learning about history.

My grandfather, Martin Parsons, has been instrumental in nurturing my interest in history.