ALDERMAN Frank Wise died more than 50 years ago, but his contribution to public life in Oxfordshire is still remembered.

He was so well known he was often referred to as Lord Mayor or Mayor of his home village of Kidlington.

A road in the village – Wise Avenue – is named after him, while his memory also lives on at Frank Wise School in Hornbeam Close, Banbury.

There was further recognition of him when the Railway pub in Kidlington was renamed The Wise Alderman, although its name has since been changed again, to The Highwayman.

We were reminded of Alderman Wise when reader Angus Fisher remembered a relative who sat with him and the Duke of Marlborough at Woodstock magistrates’ court (Memory Lane, September 18).

The relative often commented on the comparison between the two – the ‘posh-speaking’ duke and the ‘rough and ready, down to earth’ alderman.

My colleague, Chris Gray, on his weekly page, Gray Matter, in our sister paper, The Oxford Times, had earlier written about how the Duke often confused defendants when sentencing them with the use of the word ‘corsts’ – meaning, of course, costs they faced in addition to a fine.

Frank Wise was born in Emmer Green, Berkshire, and began his working life on the railways as a booking boy in Reading in 1906, earning eight shillings a week.

By 1910, he was a signalman in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, drawing £1 for a 72-hour week.

He moved to Kidlington in 1912 and apart from three years during the First World War, he remained a signalman at the former village station until he retired in 1953.

However, it was his interest in local government and local affairs that made his name.

He was elected a member of Kidlington Parish Council in 1919 and later became its chairman.

He was also chairman of Ploughley Rural District Council, the forerunner of Cherwell District Council, for 22 years.

Chairing a district council and a parish council would have been more than enough for most working people, but Frank Wise never ducked any challenges.

He was also elected to Oxfordshire County Council in 1934, became vice-chairman, and in 1943, he was promoted from county councillor to county alderman. This was a position designed to give stability to a council – aldermen did not have to seek election from voters, only from their fellow members.

His public service did not end there – he was a magistrate in Woodstock for 27 years and served as chairman of the bench, and was associated with a host of local groups.

John Amor, archivist of Kidlington Historical Society, recalls: “He was interested in the young people of the village and was a manager of several local schools. He also took a great interest in sports clubs and the youth club of the day.”

Alderman Wise and his wife, Winifred, had no children but, as he once said, “I remedied that by becoming chairman of the Oxfordshire child care committee and adopting 600 children”.

Alderman Wise, who was awarded the OBE for public service in 1963, died at his home in Mill Street, Kidlington, on March 20, 1966, aged 74.

His funeral service at St Mary’s Church, Kidlington, was attended by many dignitaries, including the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Colonel John Thomson, the Earl of Macclesfield, the Bishop of Dorchester, local Army base commanders and mayors.

Officials and members of many local organisations he had supported were also present to pay tribute to him.

Members of the Kidlington division of the St John Ambulance Brigade, of which he was president, escorted the cortege to the church and acted as bearers. Former Oxford Mail news editor Ralph Brain, who knew Alderman Wise well, wrote at the time: “He was a man who was passionate about the welfare of other people.”

pAny memories of Frank Wise to share with readers? Write and let me know.