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Much to my regret I do not know enough about fourteenth century jury service to be able to work out John Atte Bere's probable social class and standing; nor have I ever discovered mention of “Bere of Oakingham“; and nor do I yet know the origin of the place-name Billingbear. However I did find proof that the A'Bears fought at the Battle of Crécy on August 26 1346!

But nor indeed should that be so surprising. It would have been more surprising if I had succeeded in proofing the conjecture that the family was descended from “Bere of Oakingham“, or if I could not prove with records going back six hundred years that their existence was at least somewhat more eventful than Pope seemed to imply. Yet it is almost incredible that such a legend should have been preserved, apparently only by word of mouth, from 1346 to 1929, when it was first written down. Even today I think the legend is still remembered as a story told to one in childhood rather than as a story remembered from the lost “History of Wargrave“. Perhaps therefore if one relies wholly upon “word of mouth“ as a means of communication even this is not so incredible. My grandmother, Winifred May A'Bear (one of the daughters of John A'Bear of Aldsworth), was one of those who when told of the new-found “proof“ replied only: “Oh yes, we already knew that.“!

However the legend as it was told to me is slightly different to that which Pope recorded. In the “History of Wargrave“ it is recorded that an A'Bear was said to have been standard bearer at the Battle of Crécy. But as I now understand these legends an A'Bear was said to have been standard bearer for William the Conqueror (of which legend I could find no proof, but of which more later) and an (another) A'Bear was said to have fought at the Battle of Crecy, to have saved the life of the Black Prince!

It is this latter legend which I an Inclined to believe for it tallies exactly with a family legend described to me by Sir Cameron De la Bere (who now lives in Geneva), whose family In the early fourteenth century must have been one and the same as the A'Bears of Wargrave.

Although the A'Bear coat of arms has never been registered at the College of Arms the De la Bere section of the above coat of arms is identical to the existent A'Bear coat of arms, and the other sections of the De la Bere coat of arms only cam into existence at later stages in the De la Beres' history.

A copy of the complete [ie. pre-15th century] De Ia Bere family tree [ie. pedigree] was later given to me by Mr. Oswald-Jones, a cousin by marriage of Sir Cameron De la Bere (the present head of the De la Bere family), and this I have reproduced overleaf [click].

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