On behalf of the Woodcote Charitable Association, the Woodcote Rally Committee is pleased to announce that, following another successful year, we can donate the impressive sum of £16,500 to local charities and worthy good causes that we support within the village of Woodcote or close by. This brings the total donations since the first rally in 1964 to £441,500.
The Donations Evening was held in Woodcote Village Hall on Friday 27th November 2015. This event makes it all worthwhile for the Rally Committee and Association members as they see how all their voluntary efforts and hard work have paid off.
Awards
Following the introduction by Mr Peter Solomons (Woodcote Charitable Association Chairman), he and Mr Nic Bartholomew (Woodcote Rally Director) presented the awards to the best in class for the exhibits at Woodcote Rally 2015. The class winners received their trophies (some coming from far away, but a large number of them being local people from around the Woodcote area) showing their huge interest in the preservation of vintage transport including cars, motorbikes, commercial vehicles, and, of course, steam engines.
Here are just a few of the highlights:
- The Ran Hawthorne Memorial Shield for large steam was awarded to Terry Petty from Aylesbury for his 1913 Marshall Traction Engine, “Emma”.
- The George Ballard Memorial Award for Veteran and Vintage Cars was awarded to Peter Barton from Yateley for his 1924 Bentley 4.5 touring car.
- The Dick Vernon Memorial Award for tractors went to Philip Brennan from Woodcote for his 1969 Ford 4000 tractor.
- The Equine Cup went to Simon Powell’s shire horse exhibit with dray and steam-powered fire engine.
The complete list of Awards can be seen below.
| A. Large Steam | A21 | Ran Hawthorne Memorial Shield | Terry Petty | “Emma” 1913 Marshall Traction Engine |
| B. Vintage Tractors | B131 | Dick Vernon Memorial Award | Philip Brennan | 1969 Ford 4000 Tractor |
| C. Stationary Engines | C27 | Allum Award | S Vaughan | 1924 Hobbs Stationary Engine |
| D. Commercial Vehicles | D53 | Dave Sarney Memorial Cup | David Parslow | 1965 Scammell Highwayman |
| E. Veteran and Vintage Cars | E8 | George Ballard Award | Peter Barton | 1924 Bentley 3 / 4.5 Touring Car |
| F. Vintage Motor Cycles | F18 | Motorcycle Award | David Turner | 1927 Indian Police Scout |
| K. Motor Cars 1940 – 1972 | K156 | Castrol Research Cup | Paul Rathbone | 1957 MG Magnette ZB Variotone |
| L. Motor Cycles 1940 – 1972 | L36 | White Lion Cup | Les Porterfield | 1962 BMW R60, Combination Motorcycle |
| M. Military and Commercials | M18 | Smith Cup | Henry Bennett | 1942 Ford GPW Jeep |
| N. Classic Tractors | B42 | NatWest Trophy | Chris Stansbury | 1948 Ferguson TEA 20 |
| S. Steam Models | S29 | Autovolks Trophy | Chris Cane | “Prometheus” 6 inch model of McClaren Road Locomotive |
| Tractor Driving Competition | Bud Finch Tractor Driving Award | Joe Keitch | 135 Massey | |
| Exceptional Exhibit, Victorian period onwards | E36 | Paul Harrison Award | Peter Bosley | 1920 Ford Model T Tourer |
| The Equine Cup | Simon Powell | Shire Horses exhibit with dray and steam powered fire engine | ||
| D15 | S. B. Engineering Special Award | Ray Fletcher | 1951 Land Rover Series One 80 |
Donations
Following a short interlude for refreshments, kindly provided by the Woodcote Village Hall Committee, members of the Woodcote Charitable Association Trustees went on to conduct the all-important part of the evening by presenting cheques to local charities and organisation.
Here are just a few of the highlights:
- The Village Hall Committee will use their donation towards the purchase of a defibrillator.
- Woodcote Youth Club will buy an X-Box.
- OWL (Our Woodcote Library) to buy new books and put on special events.
- Mowforth House will provide Christmas Lunch for their residents.
- Friends of Woodcote Primary School will help support the funding of school trips.
- The Griffiths Higgs Educational Charity will provide extra books for children as they move between their stages of education.
- Woodcote Cricket Club and Woodcote/Stoke Row Football Club will use their donations to promote football and cricket for the younger people of the village.
The complete list can be seen below.
Sports/Activities
| £400* | Woodcote Cricket Club |
| £400* | Woodcote Badminton Club |
| £200 | Riding for the Disabled (Wyfold) |
| £200 | Woodcote/Stoke Row Football Club |
| £350* | RG8 Badminton Club, Woodcote |
| £300* | Almshouses Bowls Club (Goring Heath) |
| £600* | Thames Valley Tractor Club |
| £300* | Reading Abbey Rugby Football Club |
Youth
| £500* | 1st Stoke Row Scout Group |
| £600* | Goring Heath Scout and Guide Group |
| £850* | Oxfordshire ‘Wallingford’ Army Cadet Force |
Local Community
| £1000 | Woodcote Village Hall |
| £600 | Woodcote/Goring Medical Centre |
| £650 | Woodcote Community Centre |
| £500 | Woodcote Volunteers |
| £200 | Checkendon and District Aid in Sickness |
| £1000* | Thames Valley Air Ambulance |
| £200 | Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service (Firefighters Charity) |
| £300* | Woodcote Youth Club |
| £250 | Woodcote Village Green Committee |
| £300* | Henley & District Young Farmers |
| £350 | OWL (Our Woodcote Library) |
| £200 | RAF Benson (RAF Benevolent Fund) |
| £200 | Woodcote Amateur Dramatic Society |
Seniors
| £200 | Mowforth House, Woodcote |
| £200 | Goring Heath Almshouses |
Juniors
| £550* | Cabin Pre-School Group |
| £550* | Woodcote Pre-School Group |
| £500* | Friends of Woodcote Primary School |
| £350* | Checkendon Brownies |
| £200 | Woodcote Breakfast Club |
Education
| £500 | Langtree School, Woodcote |
| £600 | Griffiths Higgs Educational Charity |
| £200* | Stoke Row C of E Primary School |
Churches
| £200 | Christ The King, Woodcote |
| £300* | St Leonard’s, Woodcote |
| £100* | St Peter’s (Caversham) Church Organ Fund |
Charities
| £300* | Sue Ryder Care, Nettlebed |
| £300* | Marie Curie Cancer Care |
| £500 | Thames Valley LUPUS Group |
| £300 | Hearing Dogs for Deaf People |
| £200 | Macular Society (Goring Group) |
(*) Those donations indicated with an asterisk reflect the assistance given by that organisation in the running of the 2015 Rally. The Rally Committee and the Woodcote Charitable Association wish to thank them for their support.
Over The Years
This is how some of the donations have totalled up over the years out of the £441,500 donated since 1964:
- £40,020 Woodcote Village Hall
- £19,087 Goring Heath Scouts
- £18,780 Woodcote/Goring Medical Centre
- £15,215 Woodcote Village Green
- £13,440 Langtree School
- £11,375 Woodcote Youth Club
- £10,655 St Leonard’s Church
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