History of Booker Memorial Hall

The first village hall at Booker Common, originally called the Booker War Memorial Hall, was built in 1919. At the end of the First Would War the residents of Booker decided that rather than erect a memorial in respect to the men from the village that had been killed in the conflict they would build a memorial hall.

Sir Dashwood, who had also recently returned from trenches, readily agreed to donate a piece of land overlooking village common and cricket ground.

The first hall was an ex American Red Cross hut, which had not seen service in France. The hut was transported from Liverpool Docks to West Wycombe Station on the West Wycombe Road. From there it was taken, by the men of Booker village in horse drawn carts to the Common. Initially the hall was organised as an institution for the good of the people of Booker. In a relative short time it become less restricted and a central part of the village along with its three pubs.

The hall had two interesting features both linked to its connection to the First World War. Although many villages halls contain plaques to acknowledge those that did not returned from the First World War, the two at Booker Memorial Hall, also display the names of those who went to war and returned. The names listed include many that can still be found in the village today, such as Pearce and Shingletown. In fact four members of the current Management Committee are decedents not just of those listed, but also members of the halls first management committee. These plaques and that of WWII can still be seen in Halls lobby.

The second interesting feature of the original hall was a German Machine gun mounted above the inner entrance. We can only assume how it got there, and can find no record of what happened to the gun.

During the WWII the hall was requisitioned by the military, and at the end left is a dilapidated condition. Once again the local people gathered to raise money and bring the hall back to life. In many ways they had a bigger task than their predecessors who built the hall, not just in raising the finance, but sourcing the required material. The country was so battered at the end of WWII, and building material so scarce that access to it was controlled by the Ministry of Works, and a village hall was way down the priority list.

As part of the fund raising in 1947 the Management Committee organised a fete on the common. Unfortunately as many other local villages had a fete on the same day the event was not a success. To ensure this never happened again the Committee decided not to organise a fete, but put on a show, and make it bigger and better than anywhere in the district. This it achieved and in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s Booker Common became recognised as the biggest and best show in the district.

In the 1960’s the old hall was taken down and replaced with a brick building. With the help of the Booker Cricket Club this was later extended to the current building.

In 2012 Booker Memorial Hall was the headquarters of GASP, an assembly of local groups brought together to fight the building of a 17,000 to 20,000 seat stadium at Booker Airpark. The history of the hall is closely linked to Airpark, so its central role in the campaign was very fitting. The case against the stadium centred on a number of issues including its financial viability, building on greenbelt land and unsuitable local infrastructure to support such venture. In the end Wycombe District Council refused permission from stadium in June 2012.

Right from the halls beginnings there had been strong links between it and Booker Cricket Club. Sadly the Cricket Club has closed, although the people of Booker hope that one day we will see the game played on the Common again.