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 ‘The Abingdon I remember‘ is transcribed from a copy held by Judy White, with added sub-headings and minor changes to punctuation. The date and author are unknown. It describes Abingdon c.1920, but was probably written c.1960.

Despite being a very personal account and lack of a date or author, it is probably the best detailed description of Abingdon as it was in the early 20th century. Somebody must know who the author was?

The following document grouped under the title “Old Courts and Slums of Abingdon” was written by the late Ron Chung and is reproduced here with the support and permission of his family. The papers are notes for a book that was unfortunately not published. They contain information about the families and the various courts that they lived in and the new houses on Saxton Road.

The Chung family, though might be considered ordinary, was exceptional. Fong, known as Harry Chung came from China as part of the importation of labour during WWI. Most worked in France where many died but some worked in England. Harry worked at the Milton Depot, perhaps because he spoke English. In 1918 he married Lily Painton and settled locally though most of his compatriots were repatriated after the war. They had a number of children including Ron Chung. During WWII Ron was in 12 Commando and was part of the demolition team on the St Nazaire raid where he was captured. He was very proud of living in Abingdon and took a great interest in our town and its history.