VV_June July Web 20-compressed

Village Voice June/July 2020
range of standard crops: winter and spring
wheat, oats, oilseed rape and forage beans.
Although not immediately obvious, the Estate’s
farm has just experienced the worst conditions
in half a century for the establishment of these
crops. Only the assiduousness and ingenuity of
my farm staff prevented us from suffering the
catastrophe that has befallen many farmers in
the south of England who were unable to plant
any winter crops whatever last autumn due to
the almost unprecedented amounts of rainfall
that arrived at critical points in the season.
In the woods, the story is more concerning.
The beech tree, which we associate closely with
the Chilterns, is threatened over the next fifty
years by global warming. Oak trees are falling
prey to a predatory moth as well as a destructive
disease called Acute Oak Decline. Horse
chestnuts in the south of England are being
attacked by a canker that can kill them within a
few years of first infection. And now the ash
tree, another prominent species in our
woodlands, is falling victim to a die-back
disease which will mean their virtual
disappearance from this part of England over
the next few years. When mature trees are felled
– which they have to be at some point – we
replace them with saplings. However the lethal
combination of attacks from deer and squirrels
can see new plantations wiped out in the space
of a few days. This is not only disheartening but
also costly.
Despite these challenges, it is an immense
privilege for me to be responsible for such a
beautiful corner of our county. This is a working
estate, and it is never possible to ignore
commercial considerations in the way it is run if
it is to be self-sustaining. Nevertheless, not a
square metre of it has been sold for
development since I first took charge. Indeed, I
am clear that the estate’s future as a rural
enterprise lies in its being kept together. I am
thus determined, by ensuring its viability, to
keep improving it and to maintain it as an
amenity to be enjoyed by all who use and visit
it. Earl Howe
Cannonades From the Continent
(A repeat and revision of an article which I wrote
for St Margaret's Church magazine back in 1983)
There is an intriguing contribution to the Bucks
Herald of 5th August 1916 by the second Sir Philip
Rose, which goes as follows:
"Just lately some correspondence has appeared in
the daily papers in reference to the great distance at
which the report of heavy ordnance can be heard,
and it may be of interest to recall the fact that the
cannonading of Valenciennes in 1793 was distinctly
heard by the inhabitants of the village, and a similar
thing has been noted on other occasions."
It is about 120 miles, as the crow flies, from Tylers
Green to the nearest point on the French coast
below Calais and a further 80 miles on to
Valenciennes which is on the border between
France and Belgium i.e. a total of 200 miles of which
30 miles are across the sea. This would seem to be
an almost impossibly long distance for sound to
travel but there is a similar tale relating to the heavy
guns of the First World War to which Sir Philip's
letter refers and which is still remembered today.
Valenciennes is fairly close to the main
battlegrounds of the Great War such as Loos,
Cambrai, Ypres and so on.
If true, then the explanation must be that, when the
wind is right, our high position (550 feet) on the
edge of the Chilterns gives us an unimpeded line of
sound from these lower lying battlegrounds, with
the Channel, which lies roughly at mid-point,
perhaps acting as a sounding board and bouncing
the noise of the guns up to us. We should bear in
mind that there would have been much less
background noise of machinery of all kinds in 1914
and none at all in 1793.
I concluded my 1983 story by asking, "Does anyone
actually remember hearing the guns in the First
World War or know of anyone who did? " I
subsequently noted the following responses. Mrs
Evelyn Clark of Shepherds Cottage, Hammersley
Lane was sure that her father, who used to patrol as
a Special Constable during WWI, talked about
hearing the guns from France. Mrs Hitchens of
Wheelers Flats told me that when living in
Crowhurst, Sussex in August 1918, aged 10, she
heard gunfire and the farmer's wife told her that
they often did when the wind was right.. Mr
Goddard of 61 St John's Road remembered hearing
the guns when he was living in Essex during the
war. Miles Green
30 www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk