hi susan, Can you kindly tell me, who is 'We' and when it was last discussed on the Forum?
Hello KEIRA, I have, I think, discovered the significance of STOKENCHURCH. EUREKA!!! It wasn't a RED KITE emblem on George Harris's tie from the RSPB site alongside the M40. It transpires that it may well be his Regimental tie- symbol a dove and olive branch, or alternatively, a lightning bolt, fof the RAF Regiment TCR (motto Ubique Loquimur-We Speak Everywhere !!!!!!) Mertol, there is, or was until recently, a SECRET Underground Bunker ( Southdown) in the vicinity.
Hi Campion,
So what is the significance of Stokenchurch? As you know, I always had a hunch about this, to refresh your memory, the following is one of my posts about the place and op name:
"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 perhaps 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: OE stoccen + cirice, literally "logs church".
Starey and Viccars: more likely to come from the alternative meaning for the Anglo Saxon word stocc, which is an outlying farm or secondary settlement.
The guide to the Parish Church: a battle fought between the locals and Danes on nearby Beacon Hill in 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..."