28 February 1939 – 8 July 2023
The Memorial Service for Ella was held on the 26 July 2023 in St Laud’s Church, Sherington, within yards of where she was born at Church Farm. Her father, Frederick Field and his wife, Doris who was the sister of George Fleet, brought together two farming families of the village, Church Farm and Village Farm. The Field Family was first recorded in the village over 500 years ago. It is believed that for well over 300 years, the Fields were the tenants of Church Farm, Sherington, which formed part of the Chester estate.
As a girl Ella took the school bus each day to St Joseph’s Convent School in Olney. After she left she went to work for Newport Pagnell Urban District Council. Her mother died when quite young, she had suffered from poor health and Ella remained with her father.
Ella was active in many local and farming organisations, often as their secretary or treasurer. Ella was a member of the WI, where her Victoria sponges, sandwiches, scones and marmalade were always popular at the stall in Olney. In the North Bucks Agricultural Club she helped organise many meetings, visits and outings that were always interesting and varied. She donated a prize for the young farmers, the “Ella Field Cup”, for the most helpful young farmer. She was a keen quilter, and made beautiful patchwork gifts. Ella kept bees and her honey jars with the lovely Buckinghamshire Honey labels made their way all over the world. For six years running Ella was the overall winner of the Sherington Show Cookery Classes.
Ella wound the church clock regularly and it was only when she was unable to climb the tower steps that the mechanism was installed to keep the clock running. She rang the bells, distributed the SCAN magazine and was the treasurer for many years of the PCC and then St Laud’s DCC. She supported the Friends of St Lauds, and the Sherington Historical Society. Ella was committed to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Injured Jockeys Fund and many a local home displayed one of their wonderful cards at Christmas time.
Ella was talented, industrious and a good friend. Although reticent at times Ella held a store of local information in her head and could be relied upon to recall details of village life going back years. She was acutely aware of the enormous change the village had undergone in the last 75 years, particularly in farming and with her passing a chapter of the history of Sherington has closed. After more than five hundred and thirty years, Ella was the last of the Field family of Sherington.