Full of bounce on their golden day

9:06am Wednesday 23rd July 2008

BERINSFIELD people last Saturday celebrated the transformation 50 years ago of their village from a group of wartime Nissen huts to a thriving community of 3,000 people.

The celebrations were opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Sir Hugo Brunner, as one of his last official engagements before retiring from the position.

And from that point, village families and friends enjoyed the stalls and sideshows of a typical village fete, together with the Strawberry Fayre Drum Majorettes and Cheerleaders, a dance exhibition by village schoolchildren, a dog agility display, a climbing wall, bungee run, a penalty shoot-out competition and a Gladiators-style arena.

Most of the fun was on the recreation ground, but there was also a gymnastic display and an art exhibition and sale in the Abbey sports hall.

One of the organisers, Izzy Hiles, said: "We wanted there to be something for everyone, something to bring everyone together as a community to show that we are proud of Berinsfield.

"It had a bad reputation in the early days as a dumping ground for people from elsewhere who did not pay their rents and so on, and it has taken many, many years for us to get rid of that reputation.

"Berinsfield is a great village with lots of facilities and there is a tremendous community spirit. And it is that which we were celebrating.

"Berinsfield has been transformed from what it was and it is now a place where people want to come and live."

The transformation started 50 years ago this week when the former Bullingdon Rural District Council decided to build a new village, the first in England for more than 200 years.

They targeted the wartime airfield of Mount Farm, which was at first a satellite of RAF Benson and then the HQ of the American Air Force photo-reconnaissance unit.

After the war, the Nissen huts housed people from London who had been made homeless by the Blitz and developed into its own little community.

It was that basis that prompted the development of the new village, named after St Berin with 'field' added because the Americans called their base an airfield.

The village started off as a huge council house estate, but many of the homes have since become privately owned.

The first people moved in 50 years ago and the village has grown steadily, until it now has a population of almost 3,000 people.

Parish council chairman Ken Hall, who has lived in the village for 43 years, said: "I have always been proud of Berinsfield and I continue to be proud of Berinsfield.

"We have a great community here and it is right that we are celebrating our village."

The landmark in the passage of time prompted the parish council to pay for a clock on the tower of St Mary and St Berin's church as an official commemoration of the village's golden jubilee.