Archie and the Strict Baptists

by John Betjeman

This story of Archibald Ormsby Gore, the bear, was written by John Betjeman for his family when they lived at Uffington in Berkshire under the shadow of the White Horse. Since childhood, Archie, whose Christian name came from one of George Robey's music-hall songs, has been an inseparable companion--like his master he is now getting on in years. This book tells of his youthful adventures while hunting for history, and flying with home-made wings (what might now be called hang-gliding) over the Berkshire Downs and over the village in the valley with its church, its four chapels and four public houses.