ownership of land adjacent to a house towards the east of the village. The 'battle' was widely reported, and photographed, by the contemporary national newspapers. The altercation was of such fury, that it resulted in much spilt blood and many battered heads. It was decades before some relationships were healed after the incident. Even 70 years later, the annual walk around the common boundaries continues, now organised under the auspices of the Parish Council as a social event, it is still not universally welcomed.

The earliest maps show a pond at the west end of the village. The pond has had a recent restoration, seats have been provided, paths have been laid, flowers planted, and other water vegetation encouraged. Archie's pond has become an attractive asset to the village. Does anyone know just how it got its name?

Longhorsley has a long, and proud connection, with military service. During the First World War there was an aircraft landing ground on Longhorsley Moor.

The Second World War saw the village turned into a large-scale military training camp. Soldiers, of many famous regiments, were subject to intensive battle training, in and around the village. At the end of the training the soldiers moved on to less welcoming locations.

There were army huts on the village green, in the Shoulder of Mutton car park, and in the fields where Drummonds Close was later built. A large concrete park for the tanks was built on the top of the common, and an ash covered park for the wagons at the bottom of it.

The old tithe barn - which before it was demolished, was on the site where Oaklands now stands - became a munitions store. The 'battle' training area was centred on the burn (beck) to the south of the village. The officers even used some of the village houses as their living quarters.

Even though the parish of Longhorsley had a population of over 500 in 1914, which had increased by 1939, there is no war memorial in the village. Many men answered the call and volunteered during the First World War and again for the Second World War, where many served both as volunteers and conscripts in the three services. It is a remarkable fact that of all the men, and women, who were living in the village at the commencement of hostilities, none lost their lives on active service in either war! There can be very few communities so fortunate.

The first major development, and perhaps the most significant, which determined the future of the village was Drummonds Close. Named after an itinerant 'General Dealer', who in the late 19th century stayed with his horse drawn van in the field where the estate was built. The estate built in 1950, with its well-tended houses and gardens, bears no resemblance to the origins of its name.

In 1978, the Whitegates estate became the next development, followed by Reivers Gate in 1989 and Church View in 1996.

Forget Me Not Caravan Park, which has recently seen welcomed improvement and development, commenced its life as a hostel for agricultural workers. Built in 1940, its use was changed when it became a POW camp, where Italian prisoners were detained.

Immediately post war it became the home for 'displaced persons' from Eastern Europe. The refugees were gradually assimilated into the area. Later, the 'Hostel' as it was known, became a pig farm. Eventually it mutated via a stable to a restaurant and then into a caravan park.

Residents can, and do, avail themselves of the services, which are provided by the Post Bus, the Library Bus and of course, the weekly visit of the Fish and Chip Van.

Longhorsley, while not continuously, has, for almost two hundred years staged a local show and sports. It was an opportunity, through friendly competition, to determine who had the fastest horse, the fleetest feet or best onion. This welcome tradition still carries on in the modern format of a 'Village Day'.

It was perhaps not so leisurely in the past, as it is today, competition was fierce, the prize money saw to that. The sports programme for the Longhorsley Show and Sports of 1948, offered a £10 prize for the winner of the 80 yards novices foot handicap - probably about three weeks wages! To the winner of the quoits went £3, and to the best novice wrestler £3.

In the Industrial Section, four shillings was awarded for the best darn, four shillings for the best article made from waste, and four shillings for the best handwriting done by a boy in Longhorsley School.