Swavesey and District History Society

December 2024 meeting. 

Around 30 members attended the AGM.  After the formal AGM proceedings three Swavesey residents gave short presentations, each relating to the late John Shepperson, History Society’s president, who died aged 93, on 27 September 2024.

Selwyn Richardson reported that John was born on 22 July 1931 in  the farmhouse at Boxworth End Farm.  He  was the youngest of four children, and with the three others being girls his parents were absolutely delighted and enormously relieved to have a boy at last.  In February 1960 he married Ann Woodward.  Ann, John’s wife, died 6 years ago, in early 2019.  John spent just about his whole working life as an active member of many community groups.  He was on Swavesey Parish Council for 37 years, being Chairman for many of these years.  He was a South Cambs District Councillor for 28 years.  He was on the Board of Governors of Swavesey Primary School, being Chairman for some years and he was also on the Board of Governors at the Village College.  For six years he was a Trustee of the George Long Charity for Swavesey Memorial Hall, and before that he was a member of the Parish Council Hall Committee for many years.  John and Ann regularly attended St. Andrew’s church in Swavesey where he was a bell ringer for over 60 years and a long-standing member of the Parochial Church Council.  He died peacefully in the afternoon of Friday 27 September.  He was an outstanding person and he was a legend in his own lifetime.

Carol Pook reported that in 1957 a young John Shepperson agreed to become a Trustee of the Thomas Galon Charity.  He served without a break for 60 years until 2017 and for 41 of the 60 years he was Chairman of the Trustees.  In 1528,  during the reign of Henry VIII Thomas Galon of Wilburton left agricultural land in Swavesey in his will for the benefit of the local Swavesey community.  Carol showed a copy of the will which stated that each year in June all the poor of Swavesey should be provided with ale, bread and cheese.  So far as anyone knows, this hasn’t happened yet.

John Pook reported that John Shepperson was a Trustee for over 30 years of the Swavesey Fire Relief Cottages Charity.  The four original cottages were built in 1914 after the disastrous fire in March 1913.  Two more cottages were added more recently in the rear garden during 2021/22 and at the entrance track to the right of the original four there is a plaque saying, “These cottages were made possible by the generosity of John Shepperson BEM, 2022”.

Next meeting-

21 January.  A very English dynasty.  Four generations of the D’Oyly Carte family.  Jim Stebbings.