The name of this operation bugs me.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence that this operation was named after a village in Bucks, some 6 miles from High Wycombe. But the name still bugs me.
Does anyone have any idea why this specific name might have been chosen?
Could it be that Operation Stokenchurch was initiated as the result of a complaint made in the High Wycombe district?
Here's what Wikipedia says about Stokenchurch:
"The village name is Old English in origin, although there is a difference of opinion among scholars as to its original meaning.
Patrick Hanks points out that 13th century manorial records describe the village as Stockenechurch, which would logically come from OE stoccen + cirice, literally "logs church". This therefore means, he argues, that the village's name originated from a description of a church made from logs.[2]
However Starey and Viccars, in their study of the village point to the geography of the local area and the fact that in 1086 Stokenchurch was a woodland in the chapelry of Aston Rowant.[3] They present the Hanks opinion as a credible origin however argue that due to the geography the name is more likely to come from the alternative meaning for the Anglo Saxon word stocc, which is an outlying farm or secondary settlement.[3]
The guide to the Parish Church, on sale in the church in the late 1970's (but no publishing information); mentions a battle fought between the locals and Danes on nearby Beacon Hill in the year 914AD. It is said that where juniper grows blood has been spilt - there is certainly lots of juniper on Beacon Hill.The site of the village, (being on the main London to Oxford Road) proved a good resting and changing place for horses. For this reason in the English Civil War it was commonly used as a resting place for both Royalist and Parliamentarian troops..."
I'm off out to do some shopping now.
