[2] In 1957 a late Iron Age cremation burial from the first half of the 1st century was discovered on Pyrton Heath.

[4] The smaller of the beakers contained cremated human remains and fragments of a bronze brooch.

The ancient parish comprised two detached portions extending about 12 miles (19 km) between Standhill Farm near Little Haseley and Stonor in the Chiltern Hills.

[5] The remaining Pyrton portion extends about 6 miles (10 km) between Standhill Farm and a point just north of Christmas Common.

[5] Pyrton was a royal estate in 774, when King Offa of Mercia gave land there to Worcester Cathedral.

The lease remained with his descendants until 1870 when his grandson, another Hugh Hamersley, seems to have bought the manor from the Dean and Chapter of St. George's Chapel.

[5] Alfred St George Hamersley was a 19th-century barrister, English MP and English rugby union international who played in the first ever international match, went on to captain his country and pioneered the sport in the south of New Zealand and in British Columbia.

There was a Hundred of Pyrton, making the manor house the administrative centre of this division of Oxfordshire.

[7] Also in the 18th century the grounds were landscaped, replacing a dovecote and small pond with a larger lake.

They are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves section of Botley Cemetery on the outskirts of Oxford.

The wireless operator, Sgt FW Nixon, was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.