Jeff Clements is currently working on a
series of articles in which he examines the
war memorials of our neighbouring villages.
In this edition his focus moves to the south
of Carterton, to the village of Black Bourton.
Driving through the area one could
almost be forgiven for ‘missing’ the small
village of Black Bourton. Not because
it is unimportant or the buildings there
unattractive, far from it. But since the 1950s,
when the runway at RAF Brize Norton was
extended, cutting across the road linking
Carterton to its much smaller neighbour,
much of the village has lain down a no-
through road. A factor which has ironically,
enabled the village to retain a markedly
rural feel about it in spite of its location –
alongside the RAF’s largest air base.
At the centre of Black Bourton, at the
junction of the Bampton and Burford
Roads, stands the village war memorial.
Erected in early 1920 and paid for by public
subscription, at a cost of approximately
£100, the memorial is constructed from
Cornish granite and comprises a square
base surmounted by tapering pedestal and
wheel cross. At its base is inscribed“To the
glory of God and in honoured memory of
the men of this parish who fell in the Great
War 1914-1918”, followed by the names of
five local men who gave their lives in the
service of their country during the First
World War:
Oliver Charles Wakefield
(the son of
Charles, a local shepherd and his wife,
Esther) had been employed as an
agricultural worker when he volunteered
for military service in 1914. Posted to France
for active service on 23rd November 1914
he served with the 2nd Bn., Oxfordshire
and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (OBLI).
Oliver was killed at Givenchy on the 25th
September 1915, when his battalion went into
action during the first day of the Battle of
Loos. He is buried in the Guards Cemetery,
Windy Corner, Cuinchy, Pas de Calais.
Francis William Parker
, originally from
Cumnor but a resident of Black Bourton
since early childhood, was the only son of
William, of Glebe Farm and his wife Fanny.
Volunteering for military service in the early
stages of the war Francis served with the
1st Berkshire Yeomanry. Soon after landing
with his unit at Gallipoli in August 1915,
Francis was seriously wounded. Evacuated
from the battlefield he returned to the UK
where he received treatment at the large
The grave of Private Francis Parker who
died of wounds received at Gallipoli and
was brought home to be buried in the
churchyard of St. Mary’s, Black Bourton.
The men on Black
Bourton’s war memorial
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