Denis William Manners MBE

17 Jan 1920 - 2 Jan 2009

Denis was one of the founders of the Festival and ran the event until the 11th Festival in 1975.  He continued working for the event throughout his life and even up until 2008 Denis could be found at the souvenir stall, telling stories, passing on pearls of wisdom (as he called them), and selling the odd t-shirt.

The first Festival in 1965 was a fundraiser for the provision of better toilets in the village hall.  This first event presented sing-arounds in the pub and dancing in Denis' garden.  It soon moved to a paddock opposite the church (now bungalows), and grew over the next few years to take in the village green and numerous other village locations.

In the late 60’s Denis, along with three other village residents negotiated the purchase of 10 acres of land for the village.  This became the Towersey playing field and on outgrowing its many village locations the Festival moved to this land and remains (in part), on the playing field to this day.

Denis sadly passed away on 2 January 2009. He touched many people’s lives through his passion for Folk music, Morris Dancing and his lifelong commitment to world peace and a fair society for all and will continue to touch the lives of all those that come to the Festival.