From the main biography page of this site:

Rural English Village of Sutton Courtenay

 

With the start of the Second World War in 1939, Jasper and his fellow students were evacuated to the English countryside for fear of the aerial bombardment of the whole city of London by the German Luftwaffe.  For the same reason, Jasper's mother Dorothy left London for her rural English village of Sutton Courtenay.  And, German high explosive bombs did fall on Brook Green in London during the 1940-41 Blitz. Jasper's father William had left London in 1939 to be deployed with the British Army.

 

Jasper: "My mother's village was Sutton Courtenay where we had a cottage." (It was about 12 miles from Oxford, and about 3 miles from Jasper's school in Abingdon.)  "We had a great garden, a huge kitchen garden, vegetables and that sort of thing, which was tended by the gardener, Mr. Pizzy.  From nine years old, when Jasper was not away at boarding school, he lived with his family at their cottage in Sutton Courtenay.

 

Jasper: "There was rationing during and after the Second World War. All the ladies would line up and push each other forward in order to gain their ration, and the butcher in a rather suitable costume, would cut meat up into smaller and smaller bits for them."

 

Comparing Sutton Courtenay of the 1940s with today

Sutton Courtenay has grown and changed tremendously since the 1940s.  It was a rural village when Jasper and his family lived there in the 1940s.  Over the years there has been a very considerable amount of new housing and other development.  Sutton Courtenay now has the feel of a suburban town.  In the 1940s, most of the homes were located on High and Church Streets (and both streets intersect at the point seen in the postcard entitled "The Village, Sutton Courtenay").  However, the exact address of Jasper's home has not been identified.  But, many of the older homes still exist and are well maintained.  Also, the Swan Public House on Church Street shows up on a 1905 postcard, on a 1913 village map and is still in operation under that name today.

Above: Four homes in a row on "High Street, Sutton Courtenay" in 1907.

Above: Four homes in a row on High Street, Sutton Courtenay in 2019.

Above: "The Village, Sutton Courtenay," at the intersection of High and Church Streets in the 1940s.

Above:  Sutton Courtenay at the intersection of High and Church Streets in 2019.

Above:  "Sutton Courtenay Village & Church" on Church Street in 1905.  The Swan Public House is the last building on the right.

Above:  Sutton Courtenay's Church on Church Street in 2019.  The Swan Public House is still operating under that name on the far right.

Above:  Homes and automobiles on "Church Street, Sutton Courtenay" in the 1940s.

Above:  The same homes on Church Street in Sutton Courtenay in 2019.  The picture is taken from a different angle because of a tree obstructing the same view.  The orange arrows mark the same house in both the 1940s and 2019 views.

Above:  A map of Sutton Courtenay Village in 1913 showing homes along High and Church Streets.

Above:  A map of Sutton Courtenay Village in 1961 showing homes along High and Church Streets.  The placement of homes did not change much since 1913.

Above:  A map of a much more developed Sutton Courtenay in 2019, showing new homes in all directions.

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