Does anyone recall the custom of gathering farthings and then offering them to the Bishop of Oxford during a service at Christ Church Cathedral?

Youngsters would spend considerable time amassing these small denomination coins, each representing a quarter of an old penny, before presenting them to benefit other children at what became known as the Whitsun Farthings ceremony.

Following the withdrawal of the farthing from circulation in 1961, alternative coins were welcomed at the Whit Tuesday presentation service.

Once the ceremony concluded, the children would parade out of the cathedral clutching vibrant banners representing their schools, churches or parishes.

Whitsun refers to the Pentecost festival, observed on the seventh Sunday following Easter, commemorating when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples.

A 1974 photograph depicts the Right Reverend Kenneth Woollcombe after accepting £1,000 designated to furnish a school in Bangladesh.

In excess of 1,000 young people participated in the cathedral service, with two representatives from each educational institution or congregation delivering contributions.

As the image reveals, the Bishop received the kind of reception typically reserved for celebrity athletes, with everyone keen to obtain his autograph!

The young people featured in another photograph were part of a group of 800 who donated funds to the Right Reverend Patrick Rodger in 1979 to assist local children experiencing speech problems.

Singer-songwriter Maria Barton provided musical entertainment at the 1981 presentation ceremony.

That year saw more than 800 children alongside parents and educators gather, presenting donations to support the Children’s Society, which operated residential homes and nurseries and was marking its 100th anniversary.

The funds were intended to support the organisation’s work and to provide breaks for underprivileged youngsters.

The 1965 service drew 900 children, some visible in another photograph, who presented contributions to Dr Harry Carpenter for constructing new places of worship.

Dr Carpenter also presided over proceedings in 1969 when over 1,000 children accompanied by their parents attended. Another photograph captures moments from this occasion.

A further image from 1976 shows funds being directed toward the purchase of a £2,200 minibus for seminarians at a theological institution in New Guinea.

Dr Woollcombe appears alongside Jane Enticott from Abingdon in this photograph.