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Burton A'Bear (1891-1972)

Burton was the second of the twin sons of John Burton A'Bear and his first wife, Lizzie. He was born while his father was farming in Pinkney's Green, near Maidenhead, while his mother and brother ran the old family home, the Hill at Harehatch. Family tradition dictated that the eldest son of the head of the family should be called 'John Burton'. So, as John had twins, he called the eldest, John, and the second, Burton. Sadly John died soon afterward, but Burton grew into a strong lad. He grew up on a number of farms which his father rented in Berkshire and Oxfordshire, before moving, with the rest of the family, to Manor Farm. Aldsworth (Gloucestershire) in 1919.

Not long afterward, Burton met a local Gloucestershire girl, Doris Maylam, and the two were married in Cheltenham on 3rd January 1923. Burton farmed at Rectory Farm at Westwell in Oxfordshire until 1935 and it was here that his three sons were born. It was mixed farming, with corn, beef, sheep, pigs, turkeys and hens; but he made no money out of the venture and so eventually moved on. At first, he worked on a farm in Minster Lovell, but, after two months, found a job working for Mr. A. Carter of Shifford Manor, near Witney. Living, at Church Cottage, he worked on the Shifford estate for thirty-five years, until his retirement in 1970.

When Doris died in April 1971, Burton moved in with his brother and sister-in-law, Mr & Mrs. E. Walker, in Cheltenham. After a short time, however, he moved on to be with his eldest son, John, at Knightsmead Farm, Seend (Wiltshire).

He died in January 1972.