Donald (Don) Bowen was born in Great Witley in 1931, and educated at Great Witley School. He spent all his working life in Great Witley first in horticulture and then agriculture.
A member of Great Witley Bowling Club and Great Witley Mens Club, Don also shot for many years for Great Witley in the Lord Ednam Air Rifle League.
Don has been interviewed twice. His recordings includes his childhood, school day and work memories together with stories and anecdotes about village life and characters of the village over the last 75 years. Full details of topics covered are shown in the breakdown below each recording.
Dons first recording: Bowen_Don_20140605_1_2_A (46 mins 46 secs)
| Start | Topic | Period |
| 00.23 | Tradesmens Deliveries to home at 53 the Hill at Great Witley | |
| 01.40 | Mr Pea the Butcher from Pensax | |
| 01.54 | Quarterman the Grocer from Abberley | |
| 02.40 | Memories of GW School | 1930/40s |
| 04.05 | First job at Dr Johnsons GW | 1940s |
| 04.30 | The old surgeries at Dr Johnsons property at Great Witley | 1940-70 |
| 05.00 | The Village Institute (old Great Witley Village Hall) | |
| 05.31 | Shooting in Lord Ednam Air Rifle League | |
| 07.10 | The Air Gun Team move to the Hundred House at Great Witley | |
| 07.25 | Vic Fryer the Village Blacksmith at Great Witley | |
| 07.40 | The Butchers shop and slaughter house at the Dairy Worcester Rd at Great Witley | |
| 07.56 | Rutter Farmers at Walsgrove Farm at Great Witley | |
| 08.11 | Ploughing Woodbury Hill and Mr Lees Home Farm at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 09.53 | Ploughing with Fordson Major tractor at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 10.25 | Working with Mr Billy Austins shire horses and Stalls Orchard, Redmarley | 1940/50s |
| 13.30 | Haymaking with shire horses in the Glebe Field at Great Witley | 1940/50s |
| 14,21 | The building of the Glebe at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 14.30 | Sale by the Church of the field now known as Quartemans Field at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 15.00 | Mr Les Colebatch threshing contractor from Little Witley. | |
| 16.20 | Dons accident when ploughing a field with his Fordson Tractor on Abberley Hill at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 18.40 | Memories of Great Witley during WW2 | |
| 22.20 | Demolition of Witley Court at Great Witley | 1940s/50s |
| 22.50 | Removal of water pipes for fountains in Witley Park GW | 1940s |
| 23.44 | Impact of Worcestershire War Ag Committee on Farmers in Great Witley | 1940s |
| 25.20 | War time evacuees in Great Witley | 1940s |
| 26,25 | Home Guard at Great Witley | 1940s |
| 27.20 | End of the war | 1954 |
| 28.24 | Hop growing in at Great Witley | |
| 28.40 | The Public Weigh bridge at Hundred House at Great Witley | |
| 29.30 | Cattle Auction at Hundred House at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 30.00 | Shop and Tea room opposite the Hundred House. Christmas Party at tea rooms at Great Witley | |
| 32.00 | Agricultural Haulage with Brother Doug and mushroom farm in Witley Court stable yard at Great Witley | |
| 36.10 | Clearing church yard at parish church leather coffins found under parish church at Great Witley | 1960s |
| 38.00 | Prototype Lan drover trials at Redmarley & Willys Jeep at Great Witley | |
| 39.00 | Binders and first combine harvester in the area | 1950s |
| 40.00 | Corn harvesting with bagger combine. Wire tying balers at Great Witley | 1940/50s |
| 41.46 | Demolition of the Round House by WCC steam roller at Great Witley | |
| 42.40 | Arthur Moors Garage at Great Witley | |
| 43.30 | Harvesting a bumper crop of Cappell Wheat in the Ivy Field – 2.5 tons to the acre at Great Witley | 1950s |
| 42.13 | The Hundred House Thrift Club and Mr Fields accident in Stourport Road at Great Witley | 1960s |
Dons second recording: Bowen_Don_20150223_1_2_A (20 mins 33 secs)
| Start | Topic | Period |
| 00.15 | The Hilarys Tearooms and Cyclists Touring Club. | 1940/50s |
| 01.00 | Putting green at the Hilarys | 1940/50s |
| 02.20 | Sand quarry opposite the Hilarys. | 1940s |
| 03.12 | Beestons Sawmills Walsgrove Lane | 1946 |
| 07.40 | Hop yards at Walsgrove Farm. | 1940s |
| 08.05 | Deaf School founded at Walsgrove Cottages | 1950s |
| 09.40 | Chester Wilmott War Correspondent – Comet Airliner crash | 1950s |
| 12.08 | Hundred House Meadow and original access road to Walsgrove Farm | 1930/40s |
| 13.30 | Hay making and constructing hay ricks in Hundred House meadow. | 1930/40s |
| 15.04 | Cleveland Petrol pump outside the Hundred House. | 1930s |
| 15.45 | Ted Childs hair cutting at the Hundred House. The back bar at the Hundred House. | 1940/50s |
| 16.05 | Changes at the Hundred House | 1940/70s |
| 17.33 | School Days and the flag pole | 1930s |
| 18.05 | Apple Scrumping | 1930s |
| 19.12 | Bill Lewis Turnpike Cottage, rick builder and cider maker | 1940/50s |
| 20.12 | Reflecting on changes in Great Witley |
These interviews with Don Bowen are brilliant, he is of course “Uncle Don” to Jenny, Jo and Chris Hope we love him to bits! Keep these coming its lovely to hear his voice and his chuckle and so interesting hearing all his memories of Great Witley, where we all grew up, what a fantastic memory he has. I am sure he has a lot of stories to tell you about him being Post Master for so many years…
Joanne Hope (currently living in Australia, however, Great Witley will always be home)