Tony Green

TONY GREEN (1931-2005) - AN APPRECIATION

The flag flew at half mast on 14th April as a tribute to Tony Green, who died 6th April, aged 73. A well-known local villager he served on the Parish Council for 31 years, retiring in 1991.

He was for many years the chairman of the Recreation Committee and in 1980, during his chairmanship, he was one of those instrumental in persuading Bucks County Council to sell to the Parish Council 7 acres of land in Duffield Lane for an allotment site. In 1989 the County Council sold the remaining 14.82 acres of what would have been a school site to the Parish Council and this is now Nettleship Wood.

It is a tribute to the Parish Council of which Tony was a leading member that it was able to finance the £50,000 purchase price because of its good stewardship of the land next to the Village Hall that had been gifted to the parish. The land was leased to Stoke Poges Motor Company for a car lot until it was required for the extension to the Village Centre. The substantial rent obtained went a long way towards the purchase price of land which has served to preserve part of our green belt.

As well as building a community, Tony was responsible for constructing many local buildings as an employee of William Hartley and Sons, the well-known local builder. He started with Hartley's as an apprentice and rose from plumber to general foreman to director of the company. In any building development the site foreman is a key individual and this was Tony's job when Bells Hill was re-developed between 1967 and 1969 with William Hartley and Sons as the main contractor.

Tony's wife Eileen is a Day, an old Stoke Poges family, and for a time they lived in one of the cottages at the junction of what is now Pennylets Green and the B416 and which were demolished to make way the redevelopment. Eileen's father owned the pair of cottages next to the Sefton Arms. They recalled inspecting the deeds to discover that at one time the cottages were handed over to settle a gambling debt. This association with the site made Tony's job in the redevelopment of special significance.

Of the many incidents, which occurred during the work, one of particular interest was the discovery of a well underneath the foundations of the cottage Tony and his wife once lived in. This well was of such a size that it must have served a larger group of people. It was 35 feet deep and perfectly preserved including the timber shoring. The tractor excavating for the road nearly disappeared down the hole.

Tony went on to be responsible for many other developments. Following the end of William Hartley and Sons as a local builder, Tony worked for Slough Council until his retirement. He was also for many years a reaper, one of the volunteers who look after St Giles' Churchyard. We pay tribute to a villager who put a great deal into his community and will be remembered for his many achievements.

L.R.