Liz Woolley is a local historian specialising the history of Oxford’s “town” – as opposed to “gown” – and in the everyday lives of rural people across the county, chiefly during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Oxfordshire escaped major bombing during World War Two but the county’s inhabitants were, none-the-less, heavily affected by the War. Preparations for attack and invasion altered the familiar landscape and everyday life in towns and villages was disrupted. Thousands of evacuees found refuge here and became part of local homes and schools. This talk examines how the lives of Oxfordshire children – those born in the county and those evacuated here – were affected. It is likely to prompt older listeners to recall and share their own wartime experiences, whether from Oxfordshire or elsewhere.