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Wed, January 06, 2010

When I was at junior school in the 60’s near Eton we used to go to an organised school camp in tents in the field by the Wolverton Mill. There was a local story that the mill is haunted by the ghost of a gilted lady who leapt from an upper floor into the mill stream where she was swept into the mill gear which “noisily ground and crushed her bones”....I still remember those words from a local guide pamphlet after all these years!
Cheers
Andy

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Wed, April 07, 2010

Hi Andy, nice to see your comment and interesting to hear the ghost story! We’ve had a couple of strange happenings but none involved a lady - in fact both times it was a small dog!! I thank my lucky stars the wheel gear is mostly gone now or we might be hanuted by those awful noises. I don’t suppose you have any old pics do you? We are desperately trying to get hold of some old photos of the Mill as it was.
Regards, Helen

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Thu, June 24, 2010

Hi Helen - sadly no pics that I’m aware of….they didn’t trust small children with cameras in those days! I can vaguely remember a large protruding beam at the top of the mill supported by an another angled beam, all just above door out of the top floor. I’m assuming this was the remains of some kind of hoist or crane having seen similar outside old warehouses along the wharfs on the Thames in London. Our young imaginations ran away with us a bit I think… peeping out of our tents in dead of night some of us (me included) saw a ghostly white orb drift up to that door then rapidly fall to earth. Are you living in the mill?? Cheers Andy

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Thu, June 24, 2010

Helen, another thought that might help your quest for old pictures….I went to school at Eton Wick Primary School, Sheepcote Road, Eton Wick, Near Windsor, Berks. If you contact them they may just have some old photos the teachers took of the school camps around the mill….

Good luck!

Cheers
Andy

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Fri, June 25, 2010

Yes Andy we live on the ground floor. I grew up in Windsor too, went to Windsor Girls’ School! Small world huh
Helen

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Sat, August 28, 2010

Sat 28 Aug 2010
Andy and others,
Was at primary school in Slough and went to a school camp, near Wolverton, a couple of times around 1949-50.
Site was within walking distance of a canal aqueduct over a river, where there was also a tunnel under the canal; presumably Cosgrove. Also walked to a local church where we went up spiral stairs in a corner turret to top of the tower. Think we went by coach into Wolverton, for tour of the railway works; perhaps too far to walk.
Don’t recall a mill, or that the site was near a river.
Only memories of the campsite are rows of tents at either side of a field - girls on one side, boys on the other, with a large ‘no mans land’ (games field) in between. There was a wooden dining hall in a smaller paddock, and a storage shed full of hay or straw, where we were each issued with a large sack which we had to fill, to make a mattress.
Would this be the same place?

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Sat, August 28, 2010

Sounds like a different camp site. The one near the mill where I stayed a couple of times (1964 and 65 I think) had two rows of tents as you describe (with many furtive nocturnal trips across the divide!), but the kitchen and dining building were in little woods up slight hill (few yards) off same field. The mill was about 50 yards outside the tent field in the opposite direction to kitchen - in clear and spooky view. We did the aqueduct walk too but it was a long long walk.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Sat, August 28, 2010

Wow Helen - that is a very cool place to live. Hope my tales of hauntings and ghostly happenings at the mill haven’t caused any disturbed nights! Amazing that we were at nearby schools - Tis a small world indeed….

Andy

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Sat, August 28, 2010

Here’s a link to a couple of school camp photos in the field by the mill (look down the page)

http://www.etonwickhistory.co.uk/schoolgallery.html

But sadly the mill not in shot…

Cheers

Andy

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Sun, August 29, 2010

Hi, yes I had a look at the photos and although it’s only a field, it certainly looks like here. If you are ever in this neck of the woods and fancy a trip down memory lane, feel free to bang on the door.

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