MY LIFE SO FAR - CHAPTER 1
PAGE 1 Here we go with Warts, and all, and Strong Language, you have been Warned
Born in the Hamlet of Mangreen, about one mile from Swardeson, home of nurse Edith Cavell, at the age of about two or three we moved to another hamlet of Markshall with Caistor St Edmunds. This is when life started for me running around getting in to mischief and up to my eyes in dirt other wise as happy as a Pig in shit as we say in Norfolk. About this time a Mr Durrant nicknamed me Fiddlesticks as l had my fingers in to everything, always wanted to know the why the wherefores of everything that went on around the farm, and in the lane we lived in. A Mr Seaman lived in the lane also; we had to pass his house when we went out. Every time he saw me riding in my pushchair he used to shout “ you little wimp “ you should be walking at your age, when l saw him coming l would jump out, and walk. Our house was covered in black tar to keep the weather out, as then most were built of 9” brickwork solid with lime mortar joints, house martins, and swallows built under the soffit, they made a lot of mess on the paths around the house, Mum said the birds were good luck, who would argue with mum. Recently l have been back to the house, it has new extensions, and is now painted white, some of the old features have been kept, including my bedroom, well my bed room was part of a large bedroom that was partitioned of in half including the window. I remember one birthday present, a tricycle in the shape of a horse which l rode around the garden paths, Gyp our dog was often tied to the trike pulling me along it was great fun. In the thirties we had outside toilets built at the bottom of the garden with a large pail under the seat (thunder boxes we called them) weekly the contents were buried in a hole in the garden in that way helped to fertilised the garden (recycling you call it now) this job was a Saturday night ritual.
When l was old enough to go to school l started at Stoke Holy Cross School, which was about three miles from home. There was a bus, but we walked as money was scarce, what was saved on bus fares, put bread on the table, no hand outs from the government in those days, if you did not work you starved, and the workers were treated like slaves, and you still hear people say they were good old days, by hell they were, six days a week hard slog in all weathers, farm workers ploughing with three horses, in all weathers, wet through at end of the day and walked miles behind it, most died before sixty years, as their bodies had worn out. I suppose when the tractors came in, it was a blessing, work loads became more easy, but life speeded up a little as a tractor could plough twice as much as a horse in a day, so farm workers had to become part engineers to look after the machinery. Well it's first day at school, and all strange things happening, first shown to my desk, then collect slate board, and clalk plus a duster between about six, now there is always one who hang on to this so a shouting match begin. Teacher steps in takes it away now we only get it after the lesson to clean the slate boards. Our teacher is a Miss Turner I think she had red hair, and she looked old, then a twenty year old woman would look old to a five year old. It's out to play, and toilets, these have not got pails under
Born in the Hamlet of Mangreen, about one mile from Swardeson, home of nurse Edith Cavell, at the age of about two or three we moved to another hamlet of Markshall with Caistor St Edmunds. This is when life started for me running around getting in to mischief and up to my eyes in dirt other wise as happy as a Pig in shit as we say in Norfolk. About this time a Mr Durrant nicknamed me Fiddlesticks as l had my fingers in to everything, always wanted to know the why the wherefores of everything that went on around the farm, and in the lane we lived in. A Mr Seaman lived in the lane also; we had to pass his house when we went out. Every time he saw me riding in my pushchair he used to shout “ you little wimp “ you should be walking at your age, when l saw him coming l would jump out, and walk. Our house was covered in black tar to keep the weather out, as then most were built of 9” brickwork solid with lime mortar joints, house martins, and swallows built under the soffit, they made a lot of mess on the paths around the house, Mum said the birds were good luck, who would argue with mum. Recently l have been back to the house, it has new extensions, and is now painted white, some of the old features have been kept, including my bedroom, well my bed room was part of a large bedroom that was partitioned of in half including the window. I remember one birthday present, a tricycle in the shape of a horse which l rode around the garden paths, Gyp our dog was often tied to the trike pulling me along it was great fun. In the thirties we had outside toilets built at the bottom of the garden with a large pail under the seat (thunder boxes we called them) weekly the contents were buried in a hole in the garden in that way helped to fertilised the garden (recycling you call it now) this job was a Saturday night ritual.
When l was old enough to go to school l started at Stoke Holy Cross School, which was about three miles from home. There was a bus, but we walked as money was scarce, what was saved on bus fares, put bread on the table, no hand outs from the government in those days, if you did not work you starved, and the workers were treated like slaves, and you still hear people say they were good old days, by hell they were, six days a week hard slog in all weathers, farm workers ploughing with three horses, in all weathers, wet through at end of the day and walked miles behind it, most died before sixty years, as their bodies had worn out. I suppose when the tractors came in, it was a blessing, work loads became more easy, but life speeded up a little as a tractor could plough twice as much as a horse in a day, so farm workers had to become part engineers to look after the machinery. Well it's first day at school, and all strange things happening, first shown to my desk, then collect slate board, and clalk plus a duster between about six, now there is always one who hang on to this so a shouting match begin. Teacher steps in takes it away now we only get it after the lesson to clean the slate boards. Our teacher is a Miss Turner I think she had red hair, and she looked old, then a twenty year old woman would look old to a five year old. It's out to play, and toilets, these have not got pails under
PAGE 2. these are posh, and also a channel to pee in. In the playground we are all first day little terrors getting together, and making new friends, most of them l had never seen before. The playground is split up into areas, one for us infants, and one for midstream, one for seniors, and one for girls. That was good we did not want sissy girls with us we were in to catching frogs, newts, grass snakes, and stickle backs, and just being noisy running around the playground. It's back to class now and the three R’s are about to begin, reading, writing and arithmetic. I am left handed, and left footed, so when l played football, l always played left wing. The teacher had other ideas we will make you write, right-handed l am going to tie your left hand behind you, so she did. After some time of doing this, maybe a few weeks' l tell mum what was happening, you in this era of time little boys were seen not heard, and you only spoke when spoken too, if you back chattered you got a ding of the ear Mum said she cannot do that, you were born left handed, l will see her, well this teacher had red hair so you know the saying red hair fiery temper, Mum was short maybe five foot, the words were something like this, stop tying my boys hand behind him, its not right thing to do. Teachers reply its better for him to write with his right hand, every body writes with the right hand, answer he does not, and if its not stopped l will get the school governor, and the school doctor to sort it, well teacher l think had second thoughts no more tying of left hand. But from then on l do not think l got the same attention as the others.
Well it was not long before l went in to the middle class, new teacher new things to learn, great, history of our country, battles we won. In this class its, football, cricket, and in the nice weather it was nature walks, but my writing was below average, l but it down to the first few weeks of school, not being able to do the writing my way. In my days at school I wanted to know about everything that was being said by the teachers, mainly history, and foreign places, it all fascinated me. I also liked drawing lessens, and colouring with chalks of fields and rivers, and trees, l remember one of the Turner family that was in my class like drawing animals he was quite good at drawing and colouring. I used to sit and think of all these places that were in the books and wonder what it would like to be to visit these places, never thought one day l might go to see for myself. It all so puzzled me how a ship could sail the seas, being so big, and made of steel that it did not sink, and the moon controlled the tides of the sea, but later l found out. Making new friends, now there’s Herbert Lemon, Russell Ramm, Bert Turner, and Ron Ashby who came later, and l am still in touch with. I think l must be around seven or eight now, and things in life at school were more interesting lessons, seem to be a lot going on, there’s the football, cricket and gardening, study of wild life, talks on stars, we also had a teacher come out from Norwich, and tell us about science and germs. We also had talks on the great builders, such as the Egyptians and the Romans, and that’s the one l liked best, The Roman Empire, also l can relate to that being on my door step the Roman Settlement at Caistor St Edmunds, VENTA ICENORUM. You see we never played Cowboys and Indians; it was Roman soldiers and the Invaders. Now our school had a benefactor who gave us all a day out at the Seaside once a year it was usually to Cromer, this ladies name is Mrs Birkbeck who lived in Stoke Holy Cross Hall. This good lady also paid
Well it was not long before l went in to the middle class, new teacher new things to learn, great, history of our country, battles we won. In this class its, football, cricket, and in the nice weather it was nature walks, but my writing was below average, l but it down to the first few weeks of school, not being able to do the writing my way. In my days at school I wanted to know about everything that was being said by the teachers, mainly history, and foreign places, it all fascinated me. I also liked drawing lessens, and colouring with chalks of fields and rivers, and trees, l remember one of the Turner family that was in my class like drawing animals he was quite good at drawing and colouring. I used to sit and think of all these places that were in the books and wonder what it would like to be to visit these places, never thought one day l might go to see for myself. It all so puzzled me how a ship could sail the seas, being so big, and made of steel that it did not sink, and the moon controlled the tides of the sea, but later l found out. Making new friends, now there’s Herbert Lemon, Russell Ramm, Bert Turner, and Ron Ashby who came later, and l am still in touch with. I think l must be around seven or eight now, and things in life at school were more interesting lessons, seem to be a lot going on, there’s the football, cricket and gardening, study of wild life, talks on stars, we also had a teacher come out from Norwich, and tell us about science and germs. We also had talks on the great builders, such as the Egyptians and the Romans, and that’s the one l liked best, The Roman Empire, also l can relate to that being on my door step the Roman Settlement at Caistor St Edmunds, VENTA ICENORUM. You see we never played Cowboys and Indians; it was Roman soldiers and the Invaders. Now our school had a benefactor who gave us all a day out at the Seaside once a year it was usually to Cromer, this ladies name is Mrs Birkbeck who lived in Stoke Holy Cross Hall. This good lady also paid
PAGE 3. for us to go to Trouse, which is part of Norwich, and had buildings there for woodwork, metalwork, and cookery. This was to help the brighter children, and l was one of them, l took up woodwork and metalwork. At this school was a Mr Fox the teacher, and to up set him we used to sing (we will get old fox and stick him in a box) then run like hell because he would not be far behind, he was a great teacher you could have fun with, and this made the lessons that more easy, but if you were really naughty he would bring out his two foot long steel rule, and you got it edge ways across your hands boy did that sting, once you had, had it you made sure you never got it again lesson learnt. Now mum wanted a stool so l made one its 13x 10 x 9 inches high, l have still got it today Mum's stool that’s about sixty-four years ago maybe more.
I think l must tell you about the depression, first there’s no work Country at a stand still, the big Wall Street crash in America has coursed all this to happen, remember no government handouts in those days you might get a little unemployment money, and that was means tested. So there was hunger marches, and big rallies in London most took to the road picking up odd jobs here, and there, especially trades men with there tools on there backs walking down from the Northern Counties. My Mum had a heart, as big as a Bullock if someone needed something, and she had it they got it so when these men knocked on the door, can l do some work lady for something to eat, there was always something to do around the buildings, and being on a farm never short of food as Granddad always killed a Pig or Bullock, and also some Chickens so meat was plentiful. I can also say my Granddad was also a bit of a poacher, l will come to that later, as a young lad not knowing really what was going on in the world l used to say why do you give those old tramps all that food, Mum said not tramps but good men who have fell on hard times, and she made sure that l understood, you see in those days if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat, no hand outs, like today, and the Boss was always right, no back chat, other wise Barrens and Serfs. So from an early age l was taught not to judge a person by how he looked, but in today’s circumstances things are a little different as a lot of people now make themselves homeless just to get hand outs, and do not intend to find work, l must say this do not apply to every person as there are some with problems that need medical treatment. As l said this is a true story with warts and all.
So I better start with myself you will notice that l will be mentioning my Mum, my Grandmother, Granddad, and my Uncles, and Aunts with the rest of the family. But l will not be mentioning my Dad, as he was not around, he in good old English terms had beggared off to Australia on a ten pound emigrant passage through the Salvation Army, it was known at a young age he died out there. So now it left my Mum a single parent, and had to work to keep me that’s why we went to live with Gran and Granddad, now l am well cared for, and Gran gave me lots of love, but in a the Victorian way of respecting other people. My Gran was an up right woman with long dresses that nearly touched the ground as in the thirties that’s how they all dressed. I think l was lucky really as children with one parent usually ended up in a home for children, such as Dr Barnardo’s or even the Workhouse. Now going to the local Post Office come Grocery store if we met the local Vicar my Gran would curtsy to him, and l would
PAGE 4. have to touch my cap, and at my age then l thought a bit odd but that’s what you did in those days. Some of the time it was to make sure you had a roof over your head as houses and farms were mostly tied properties to the church so keep in with the vicar, and then you did not have to move at Mickalmas that’s the time when people moved around, or had too. My Mum worked in Norwich at the Pantry Tea Rooms as a cook for a Miss Long, who owned it. Quite an up market place for those days; l used to get lots of leftover cream cakes and buns. My Mum made me go to Church every Sunday either morning or evening even at this age l was not that interested in church, l would rather be playing football or helping Granddad feed the cattle. The only thing l liked about church if they had a lantern slide show l mean the old magic lanterns which were on a tripod and burners in the back like the modern projector but more smelly. I can remember one set of slides that was all about the Prodigal son now these slides are made of glass about four inches square. As l have said earlier l liked history, and reading books of history and reading the bible in lots of case's history out ways what’s in the bible. You see when the romans arrived here in about fifty odd A.D. there was no Churches but life went on. Till someone in Rome thought there is money to be had out of this, so now what have we got a Roman Catholic Empire with a Pope in Rome, that no one dare question, (things are changing). Why should one man have all that power over millions by ruling them with fear, people are getting educated and the power of these hierarchy is being eroded from them, for me sooner the better. Christianity came to England in around three hundred AD with the Monks who built monasteries, and the Romans were turning as well. Enough about this at the moment l will come back to this subject later.
Helping Granddad around the farm was great fun, also with one of my uncles who milked all the Cows, by hand no milking machines yet you see milking was done twice a day, five in the morning start, and in the afternoons three o’clock. After milking all the milk put through a cooler with continual running water going through it, and the milk was put in a large container above it. Then allowed to run over and down to the churn then put out for the lorry to collect we on this farm did not sell milk to the door, this Farm is at Caistor the other Farm did that was Markshall they supplied most of the villages. I n all cases the milk had to be tested so once a week a sample was taken, and the top sealed with sealing wax, and dated, and then an inspector would turn up take them away for testing for TB. One of my jobs was to watch the Pigs, you say that’s an easy job well yes, and no, Granddad would turn a Boar pig in the compound with about twenty sows, who were ready for service of the Boar, otherwise sex. My job was to jump over the gate, and mark each with a red kind of crayon every time he serviced one. You say today what age should sex be taught well at the age of about eight for me, never thought much about it, it was part of Farming life another job to be done. When you went to school on Monday your mates would say what did you do at the weekend, and you say watching the old Boar with sows, answer how boring, we made a tree house that was more important, so you see sex was of no interest to us at that age. Well Electric is coming to the countryside to Farms, large Houses, and Garages. The electric arrived at the Farm only to the Cow shed at first for the men
PAGE 5. to see the cows in early morning, and dark nights, this did away with the old storm lantern paraffin burner, they were dangerous if a cow knocked one over it could cause a fire, and in one corner was the place for the Mangolds, Swedes, and Kale, all had to be hand cut up for the cows that meant turning a big wheel and putting the beet in the top hopper and away you went turning this wheel it was hard work. First thing was lights for early morn, and winter nights next was a electric motor this was bolted to the floor, so was the beet chopper, and the chaff cutter, belt on and away you go, we all thought it great then as time went on all the other buildings got it, l think the next was the horse stables, as they started early in the mornings, it was early morning feed then a rub down to make their coats shine, and orders for the day, would be given out, some to plough, beet cart, and straw cart for the animals in the stables . Then some horses had to go to the Blacksmiths for new shoes, and that was very interesting to watch a horse being shod as they say, and the Blacksmith knew all the sizes to every horse. I will stay with the horses as Granddad loved his animals the man that looked after the horses was called a Teamman a man that looked after a team of horses, and l can here Granddad saying l want them brasses shinning like a sixpence on a sweeps arse on Monday morning he told the teammen. He never allowed any of the men to use a whip or stick to make the horses to work hard, his theory was if a horse will not work, sell it, and get one that will work. Another job l did was collecting chickens eggs, this was fun as the chickens roamed all over the farm free range l think you call it now but this was the norm in those days, the yokes then were lovely deep yellow not like today’s eggs a paler shade of yellow. Going to school at times we got a lift on a tumbrel, or a wagon if it was going that way, better than walking, and at other times the old traction engine with drum, and pitcher behind it, we used to jump on the back of the pitcher for a ride, all children did it part of country life, and of cause my other Uncle drove the engine.
That’s my uncle Harry a chain smoker, as one was down to the last puff, the other cigarette was in his mouth to light with the dog end as they called them. I have seen him when he was threshing with a full head of steam, him on the engine fag in mouth, arms crossed, resting his arms just behind the steam lever, as you now the engine when working rocked slightly so he often fell asleep with fag in mouth, some workers would say Harry is off again. If anyone said anything, he would say just resting my eyes, he was a man of no engineering skills but he could turn his hand to anything a self-taught man. Now my other Uncle the cowman or cowherds man, his is Billy short for William well he also was a bit of a wheeler dealer, he also bred rabbits for the table when people came round to buy one, they picked one out, he killed it straight away, then said do you want me to skin it, usually yes, so that was another sixpence for that, and he kept the skin to sell as well, once he was paid he would say that’s scwitts, always that word so he became Billy Scwitts, the word scwitts is also used for other things ,if you said ,that’s a load of scwitts , that meaning its a load of rubbish talk , also if you were going to the toilet a few times that day , you would say ,l have got the scwitts today ,.Granddad nick name was toady as he was as far round as he was high like a little toad. Well, when you are in the country you do country things, me especially l love nature so l never hurt anything deliberately.
PAGE 6. So what I am going to say most properly gave a pet of mine an extra good life. I got a pet Jackdaw a fledgling out of the nest, feed it well on worms l had to dig up, and sow beetles he loved them, it grows into a nice bird it follows me every where, yes even to school it even came in the class room, now my school Teacher is not a happy person as my jackdaw is getting all the attention, l am politely told to keep it out of school. I am now in deep trouble, in other words keep that bird out of school, so we cage him up till l am at school, then Grin lets him out, most of the time he fly’s around the garden, he can fly off he wishes too. But most of the time he spends his time with the chickens in the chicken run. Then when he hears me coming up the lane next stop my shoulder, and pecking my ear. I keep trying to make him talk, in the end he does as plain as punch, my Mums name Maude, and he don’t not stop its Maude, Maude, Maude. Lots of times she comes out of the house, and nobody there only old jack, ill kill that bird getting me out here she would say, but l think she was really fond of him. But after a year or so he just flew off l suppose nature called to breed l had fond memories of that bird. Now if Grin was shelling peas he was there like a flash, his beady eyes watching them fall in the bowl, and as quick as snapping your eyes he had pinched one then he would give a little squawk as much to say you did not see me that time.
Early on l said Granddad was a bit of a poacher well he was, and at times' l went with him on moonlight nights a pheasant here, and there, or rabbits snared of course, he had a shot gun that took apart, the barrel in one side of his coat, and the butt in the other side of his coat, these were proper made pockets in the lining, l think Grin made them in the coat. Now what ever we got, some went to the local Bobby, and no questions asked as a good rapport with poachers on his patch, he was his eyes, and ears, of crimes being committed, a kind of neighbour hood watch. But woe be tided if a poacher came in from another village that’s a different story. The same with most farmers in the area the Bobby was well looked after with spuds, eggs, and greens, you see a lot of people could not read or write, and as for filling in forms, they just didn’t now how. Most of these people were born in the 1800,s you had to pay to go to school with very little money so no schooling. Now in 1930,s the local Bobby sorted the farmers forms out, and gun licenses for a job well done a little remuneration, not a bribe, it helped the community to live easier this is what’s lacking now. I wonder how many crimes were stopped just his presents in the village, that’s what’s lacking now no village Bobby. Well in the year 2000 no village Bobby crime out of control does that not tell the politicians something. When the time was right Grin would give me a basket to go, and pick the wild mushrooms, the buttons l had to leave, as the most sort after were size of a teacup, and over. Now can you smell breakfast, mushrooms, bacon, either egg or fried spuds, all home grown, bacon our own pig, and the spuds out of the garden. Fry ups like that are frowned on today’s living style, all we hear about is cholesterol, too much fat is not good for you, well l was brought up on this, and milk straight from the cow, none of this skimmed milk, it taste like coloured water, no goodness in it.
PAGE 7. Also the mushrooms came from the fields, also, the eggs did not always come from the chickens as in our area there were lots of marsh land, and Granddad, myself with Grandma’s linen prop with a desert spoon tied to the end of it that gave us extra reach to the middle of a pond or dyke. This idea of Granddads was to find water hen's nests, and get the eggs for a fry up, well some of you will say you should not do that, yes maybe you are right in today’s terms. But look at this in another way, there are hundreds of wild foul here in the thirties so a few eggs taken was not a miss. This is what we done we took one egg from the nest broke it to test it, then if the egg was OK, we then only take them, except for two or three, so she would lay more and hatch them off, you see we were not destroyers of wild life, as we only had just for our needs. Sadly to say all this wet land is now gone, not by what Granddad did but your generation in draining the wet lands, put in the plough no habitat for the water birds also the river that flows there is polluted, by all the villages sewerage works that pour hundred of gallons in to it. The river Tas as l new it was lovely and clear only about three feet deep, you could see the fish all swimming, now its a murky grey with no weeds and no fish, you call that progress? Well lets get back to the story we only raided three or four nests, these eggs are very rich so really over a nesting season about twenty nests would be raided by us out of then hundreds. I can say in those days' farmers nurtured the land, and looked after wild life. No birds flying over the land now, not a swallow, a swift, a housemartin or a sky lark to give us a song, and also no birds following the plough as there’s no worms, our so called modern farmer spray with pesticides killed them all. How sad farming has got through greed, and how wonderful in my days as a lad catching butterfly’s frogs newts, and fishing for sticklebacks, then going home, and walking indoors with all these creatures in my pockets, and mum going spare, and saying get them out of here, or words to that effect. Also of course we went birds nesting to collect birds eggs well it was not as bad as it sounds, as l was the only one who collected them out of maybe half the school so no big deal. It was frowned upon to collect them but not illegal, I only took one egg from each nest and once you had that birds egg you did not get anymore of that type of bird, l have not got them now as when war came, and I was away, mum gave them to Norwich museum. We also in those days at school had each year a competition to write an essay on a wild bird and tree, known as the bird and tree essay, and if you won you got a medal and a certificate this was very popular with both boys and girls, this was for the over eleven’s year olds it wasn’t compulsory to do it, I did it one year, but never came anywhere. Living in the country it was almost a ritual to go out looking for birds nest and plotting where they were, the best fun was looking for Goldcrest nests they would build them in Larch trees under the branches, tiny little nests, just seem to stick there. Talking of local Bobby’s, well about five or six of us were out Birds nesting one Saturday morning, on the way home to dinner we were walking home just past Caistor Church on the path, and who should creep up behind us our local Bobby on his bike, it went something like this, hello my boys, you have not been birds nesting have you, oh no Sir said us, that’s good, on saying that, he promptly put his hand on my head, now under my cap was the eggs, so doing it eggs broke, yokes run down my face, now I
PAGE 8. high tail it with the others over the Roman walls, but l bet he had a good laugh on us back at the station.
We have talked about the thunder boxes at the bottom of the garden, now what about bath nights, what a palaver, first in to the wash house if you had one, its a square building about ten feet square with a window in, and in one corner a copper, and one side wash board. This copper was about four feet square, a round copper bowl which held about five gallons of water or more, some had a tap at the bottom to take off the hot water or other wise you ladled it out, a little fire place underneath to boil the water. Right the water hot, bath now a large tin one placed in front of the fire in the kitchen or where ever, children first then to bed, Mum next with other family to follow or what ever. The water for this palaver of a bath, either came out of the water butts around the house if empty walk across a field about fifty yards to the river if not that down the lane to village pump, l would say about fifty yards. When we first arrived in the village the pump was a horse or cow tail pump why the name, because you lifted it up, and down. After a while we got a new one this was a chain pump on the side was a cranking handle that you turned round and round, the water came out the same but easier. But in the summer time we all used to bath in the river, nearly every night, as we had a place that we called the bathing pool it was just a part of the river that had a sandy bottom and clear of weeds, I suppose at its deepest three foot, we had no costumes, so it was skinny dipping, great days. I shall call this Mum getting her own back. Well I am a little bit of a prankster I take after Mum and the family all loved a bit of fun so if I had been having a go at Mum she got her own back. This particular day Mum got Grandma to call me to the kitchen door, she shouted a fresh cooked bun so off l go now Mum up stairs there’s a window over the door Gran hand me the bun but too late a jug of water drowns me that will teach you my lad though the laughter, l could not win two against me.
Tractors are now coming to farms to do the ploughing under contract they called it, but it was the thin end of the wedge for the working horse. So off I go to find out what’s it all about, that’s were the name fiddlesticks come in, wanting to now. The tractors that first came out only pulled a two furrow plough, but you see three horses also pulled a two furrow plough, now for every tractor, at least half the horses are now redundant, carts also have to be changed, horse shaves gone, in with a tow bars, and pneumatic wheels. I had been standing at the end of the field as the tractor came to the end a voice shouted out want a ride, before the last word was out I was on that tractor like a flash. These are the first I had seen, the old Fordsons came in two sorts, some with pneumatic tyres the others had steel wheels with spikes on.
They ran on petrol to start, and then switched to paraffin, the people who were ploughing these fields were the Emerson Bro’s from around the Mulbarton area, after about three or four days I was aloud to sit in the seat, and steer the tractor and keep it straight in the furrow, while he jumped off from time to time to the grass from the plough shears, this allowed him to keep going other wise he would have to stop, he also showed me how to stop. That was a bit of a laugh as he did it with one foot, now I have to stand on it to make it go down, it works, now l am the driver, boy wait till I get back to school something to tell them. The field we are ploughing is the one
PAGE 9. inside the roman walls, we used to put beet and corn on it and then rest it for hay and grazing. Also at this time another thing comes along called a Gyrotiler with caterpillar tracks, the people who worked these, worked day and night. This monster had like two wheels at the back with long iron fingers facing down, these were about two feet long and had six finger spikes to each wheel. To steer this thing was two levers, either side to make it turn, at either end of the field to keep it straight was a lever in the middle you pushed it forward or pulled it back it kept it in check. I am ridding on this thing now, can not steer this one, levers too tough to pull but riding was something there’s a big tool box at the back with sacks on, that’s OK, now Mum wants me for something, in the mean time l fell asleep on the seat so the driver said to Mum leave him he is OK I will see he gets home, that was then, today Mums would not dare leave a child with a strange man, people cared for each other in those days. I used to go home filthy dirty, oil and grease everywhere but l was happy. Sometimes the Norwich stag hounds would come to hunt and bring a stag with them, they turned it loose about a half an hour before they gave chase. Grandma was all against this, she always said La De Da people with more money than sense. Once there was a Stag being chased and it found refugee in Grans washhouse and she would not let the people get it. Gran said no its mine now, possession is nine points of the law; I’ll let it out after you have gone and she did.
You see Gran was educated, her side of the family were Blacksmiths think horses need shoeing, and carts need iron tyres so she was sent to school In the 1800’s, granddad was not, now that’s another story. Now in the 1800s gran said it was a penny a week to go to school and if the family could not afford the penny you got no schooling. Remember families in those days were large, anything up to ten children in a family so that was ten pence a week, a lot of money in those days. Getting back to granddad, the story is typical of those days, Barons and Serfs. In the end granddad did make it, must have been a hard struggle .
Granddad, now he was born in 1871on the 25th May in the workhouse at Swaffham, Norfolk. This is the story I was told about why he was born in the workhouse. His mother was a kitchen maid to the gentry of the day, and if the wife of the gent was not acceptable for the night the poor kitchen maid had to do! History of the day, its well known. She became pregnant so it’s to the workhouse for her for disgracing the family; all she did was to obey orders from the boss of the house. No doubt she was frightened of loosing her job, and she did. In the workhouse the girls who were having babies out of wedlock were given washing to do in the workhouse laundry, they washed cloths for the local squire and all the gentry cronies, including the local parsons dirty washing. Oh yes they were paid for it, a pittance, food a bed and a few pence for them to buy cloths. This is where school comes in, granddad being born in the workhouse had to pay two pence to go, but the children that had married parents only paid one penny per week to go to school. So the children of the workhouses never went to school. Why did they have to pay double? I don’t know, perhaps it was a way of saying we will keep you in your place, (grovelling for hand outs) the old days of barons and serfs. Now a lot of the women died in the workhouse, as granddads mother did, but the graves are all unnamed just a metal cross stuck in the ground. But Granddad, for not being
PAGE 10. able to read or write done well in the world, but I think it was Grandma that taught him to write his name that’s about all. He took jobs as a shepherd, if the Vet was called he got the Vet to write the mixture down, he did this so if a sheep was poorly he doctored it, that saved Vet fees, he did this all through life, the crafty old man so when it got to dairy herds, he did his own doctoring to the cattle. Me at times got a little sick or off colour as they would say, so in comes Granddad with a Calves Cocktail, get this down you boy, either kill or cure, well I am still here. He also gave a lot of Lodman, to the cattle, as he said a sick animal needs rest, well they were stoned out of their minds. He also had a saying get up with the lark, that’s about four in the morning in summer, and go home with the crows that’s about four thirty in the summertime a nice twelve-hour day, enough for anyone. Granddad never had a watch, if anyone said how do you now what time to leave off, he said there’s a train that comes by at about ten past four, I knock off ten minutes before it comes, good old Norfolk humour. I suppose he watched the crows winding up the clock as we say, you see, crows before they fly home to roost they go round in circles.
The railway lines could to be seen from anywhere on the farm, as the embankment and cuttings were close at hand. Also in the summertime Mum, and I would go off to the railway line to pick, wild marguerites tall white flowers, and wild strawberries, and plus a wave from the train driver or a whistle. The most famous trains that came through were the City Of London, and the East Anglian, both very fast, streamlined and bright green in colour. Now my Grandson at school is studying workhouses so I gave him all I knew about Granddad, so off we go to Swaffham to find this workhouse which is now a school masters house, and in the grounds are iron crosses in one corner all unnamed but its most likely, one is Granddads Mother. One of the rooms was a maternity room, which is now a bedroom so he said, and the outhouses were the laundry still there, l bet it was slave labour. Moving on back to my era in time, often when walking around the Roman Walls, and the field in side very often a coin would turn up, or pottery, and if there was about six of us boys we all had sticks for swords, we then conquered the Country. I can remember Mortemer Wheeler coming to do a dig on this site, he did it like noughts and crosses with trenches l was over there every day wanting to know the where’s and whyfores they were all very helpful. It was sometime after that he became SIR, l could still take you to the spot where he did the excavations. I mentioned the river Tas, well at certain times the river got choked with weed, so along comes Mr Jordan from Lakenham Mill, another area of Norwich, just up the road from us, he ran the Water Mill there on the river Yare which our little river joined, then they both joined the River Wensum. This Mr Jordan came along the river with Scythes all bolted together to reach across the river, then ropes are attached to either end, and two men either side of the river pulling backwards and then back to the other side just like tug-of-war. Then two more men down stream who had to put a timber pontoon across the river to stop the weeds floating down stream too far, once the weeds were stopped they got crombs to pull the weeds to the banks, and l can tell you the cattle loved this as a certain amount of salt was in the weeds. You say why cut the weeds, well if they did not.
I think l must tell you about the depression, first there’s no work Country at a stand still, the big Wall Street crash in America has coursed all this to happen, remember no government handouts in those days you might get a little unemployment money, and that was means tested. So there was hunger marches, and big rallies in London most took to the road picking up odd jobs here, and there, especially trades men with there tools on there backs walking down from the Northern Counties. My Mum had a heart, as big as a Bullock if someone needed something, and she had it they got it so when these men knocked on the door, can l do some work lady for something to eat, there was always something to do around the buildings, and being on a farm never short of food as Granddad always killed a Pig or Bullock, and also some Chickens so meat was plentiful. I can also say my Granddad was also a bit of a poacher, l will come to that later, as a young lad not knowing really what was going on in the world l used to say why do you give those old tramps all that food, Mum said not tramps but good men who have fell on hard times, and she made sure that l understood, you see in those days if you didn’t work, you didn’t eat, no hand outs, like today, and the Boss was always right, no back chat, other wise Barrens and Serfs. So from an early age l was taught not to judge a person by how he looked, but in today’s circumstances things are a little different as a lot of people now make themselves homeless just to get hand outs, and do not intend to find work, l must say this do not apply to every person as there are some with problems that need medical treatment. As l said this is a true story with warts and all.
So I better start with myself you will notice that l will be mentioning my Mum, my Grandmother, Granddad, and my Uncles, and Aunts with the rest of the family. But l will not be mentioning my Dad, as he was not around, he in good old English terms had beggared off to Australia on a ten pound emigrant passage through the Salvation Army, it was known at a young age he died out there. So now it left my Mum a single parent, and had to work to keep me that’s why we went to live with Gran and Granddad, now l am well cared for, and Gran gave me lots of love, but in a the Victorian way of respecting other people. My Gran was an up right woman with long dresses that nearly touched the ground as in the thirties that’s how they all dressed. I think l was lucky really as children with one parent usually ended up in a home for children, such as Dr Barnardo’s or even the Workhouse. Now going to the local Post Office come Grocery store if we met the local Vicar my Gran would curtsy to him, and l would
PAGE 4. have to touch my cap, and at my age then l thought a bit odd but that’s what you did in those days. Some of the time it was to make sure you had a roof over your head as houses and farms were mostly tied properties to the church so keep in with the vicar, and then you did not have to move at Mickalmas that’s the time when people moved around, or had too. My Mum worked in Norwich at the Pantry Tea Rooms as a cook for a Miss Long, who owned it. Quite an up market place for those days; l used to get lots of leftover cream cakes and buns. My Mum made me go to Church every Sunday either morning or evening even at this age l was not that interested in church, l would rather be playing football or helping Granddad feed the cattle. The only thing l liked about church if they had a lantern slide show l mean the old magic lanterns which were on a tripod and burners in the back like the modern projector but more smelly. I can remember one set of slides that was all about the Prodigal son now these slides are made of glass about four inches square. As l have said earlier l liked history, and reading books of history and reading the bible in lots of case's history out ways what’s in the bible. You see when the romans arrived here in about fifty odd A.D. there was no Churches but life went on. Till someone in Rome thought there is money to be had out of this, so now what have we got a Roman Catholic Empire with a Pope in Rome, that no one dare question, (things are changing). Why should one man have all that power over millions by ruling them with fear, people are getting educated and the power of these hierarchy is being eroded from them, for me sooner the better. Christianity came to England in around three hundred AD with the Monks who built monasteries, and the Romans were turning as well. Enough about this at the moment l will come back to this subject later.
Helping Granddad around the farm was great fun, also with one of my uncles who milked all the Cows, by hand no milking machines yet you see milking was done twice a day, five in the morning start, and in the afternoons three o’clock. After milking all the milk put through a cooler with continual running water going through it, and the milk was put in a large container above it. Then allowed to run over and down to the churn then put out for the lorry to collect we on this farm did not sell milk to the door, this Farm is at Caistor the other Farm did that was Markshall they supplied most of the villages. I n all cases the milk had to be tested so once a week a sample was taken, and the top sealed with sealing wax, and dated, and then an inspector would turn up take them away for testing for TB. One of my jobs was to watch the Pigs, you say that’s an easy job well yes, and no, Granddad would turn a Boar pig in the compound with about twenty sows, who were ready for service of the Boar, otherwise sex. My job was to jump over the gate, and mark each with a red kind of crayon every time he serviced one. You say today what age should sex be taught well at the age of about eight for me, never thought much about it, it was part of Farming life another job to be done. When you went to school on Monday your mates would say what did you do at the weekend, and you say watching the old Boar with sows, answer how boring, we made a tree house that was more important, so you see sex was of no interest to us at that age. Well Electric is coming to the countryside to Farms, large Houses, and Garages. The electric arrived at the Farm only to the Cow shed at first for the men
PAGE 5. to see the cows in early morning, and dark nights, this did away with the old storm lantern paraffin burner, they were dangerous if a cow knocked one over it could cause a fire, and in one corner was the place for the Mangolds, Swedes, and Kale, all had to be hand cut up for the cows that meant turning a big wheel and putting the beet in the top hopper and away you went turning this wheel it was hard work. First thing was lights for early morn, and winter nights next was a electric motor this was bolted to the floor, so was the beet chopper, and the chaff cutter, belt on and away you go, we all thought it great then as time went on all the other buildings got it, l think the next was the horse stables, as they started early in the mornings, it was early morning feed then a rub down to make their coats shine, and orders for the day, would be given out, some to plough, beet cart, and straw cart for the animals in the stables . Then some horses had to go to the Blacksmiths for new shoes, and that was very interesting to watch a horse being shod as they say, and the Blacksmith knew all the sizes to every horse. I will stay with the horses as Granddad loved his animals the man that looked after the horses was called a Teamman a man that looked after a team of horses, and l can here Granddad saying l want them brasses shinning like a sixpence on a sweeps arse on Monday morning he told the teammen. He never allowed any of the men to use a whip or stick to make the horses to work hard, his theory was if a horse will not work, sell it, and get one that will work. Another job l did was collecting chickens eggs, this was fun as the chickens roamed all over the farm free range l think you call it now but this was the norm in those days, the yokes then were lovely deep yellow not like today’s eggs a paler shade of yellow. Going to school at times we got a lift on a tumbrel, or a wagon if it was going that way, better than walking, and at other times the old traction engine with drum, and pitcher behind it, we used to jump on the back of the pitcher for a ride, all children did it part of country life, and of cause my other Uncle drove the engine.
That’s my uncle Harry a chain smoker, as one was down to the last puff, the other cigarette was in his mouth to light with the dog end as they called them. I have seen him when he was threshing with a full head of steam, him on the engine fag in mouth, arms crossed, resting his arms just behind the steam lever, as you now the engine when working rocked slightly so he often fell asleep with fag in mouth, some workers would say Harry is off again. If anyone said anything, he would say just resting my eyes, he was a man of no engineering skills but he could turn his hand to anything a self-taught man. Now my other Uncle the cowman or cowherds man, his is Billy short for William well he also was a bit of a wheeler dealer, he also bred rabbits for the table when people came round to buy one, they picked one out, he killed it straight away, then said do you want me to skin it, usually yes, so that was another sixpence for that, and he kept the skin to sell as well, once he was paid he would say that’s scwitts, always that word so he became Billy Scwitts, the word scwitts is also used for other things ,if you said ,that’s a load of scwitts , that meaning its a load of rubbish talk , also if you were going to the toilet a few times that day , you would say ,l have got the scwitts today ,.Granddad nick name was toady as he was as far round as he was high like a little toad. Well, when you are in the country you do country things, me especially l love nature so l never hurt anything deliberately.
PAGE 6. So what I am going to say most properly gave a pet of mine an extra good life. I got a pet Jackdaw a fledgling out of the nest, feed it well on worms l had to dig up, and sow beetles he loved them, it grows into a nice bird it follows me every where, yes even to school it even came in the class room, now my school Teacher is not a happy person as my jackdaw is getting all the attention, l am politely told to keep it out of school. I am now in deep trouble, in other words keep that bird out of school, so we cage him up till l am at school, then Grin lets him out, most of the time he fly’s around the garden, he can fly off he wishes too. But most of the time he spends his time with the chickens in the chicken run. Then when he hears me coming up the lane next stop my shoulder, and pecking my ear. I keep trying to make him talk, in the end he does as plain as punch, my Mums name Maude, and he don’t not stop its Maude, Maude, Maude. Lots of times she comes out of the house, and nobody there only old jack, ill kill that bird getting me out here she would say, but l think she was really fond of him. But after a year or so he just flew off l suppose nature called to breed l had fond memories of that bird. Now if Grin was shelling peas he was there like a flash, his beady eyes watching them fall in the bowl, and as quick as snapping your eyes he had pinched one then he would give a little squawk as much to say you did not see me that time.
Early on l said Granddad was a bit of a poacher well he was, and at times' l went with him on moonlight nights a pheasant here, and there, or rabbits snared of course, he had a shot gun that took apart, the barrel in one side of his coat, and the butt in the other side of his coat, these were proper made pockets in the lining, l think Grin made them in the coat. Now what ever we got, some went to the local Bobby, and no questions asked as a good rapport with poachers on his patch, he was his eyes, and ears, of crimes being committed, a kind of neighbour hood watch. But woe be tided if a poacher came in from another village that’s a different story. The same with most farmers in the area the Bobby was well looked after with spuds, eggs, and greens, you see a lot of people could not read or write, and as for filling in forms, they just didn’t now how. Most of these people were born in the 1800,s you had to pay to go to school with very little money so no schooling. Now in 1930,s the local Bobby sorted the farmers forms out, and gun licenses for a job well done a little remuneration, not a bribe, it helped the community to live easier this is what’s lacking now. I wonder how many crimes were stopped just his presents in the village, that’s what’s lacking now no village Bobby. Well in the year 2000 no village Bobby crime out of control does that not tell the politicians something. When the time was right Grin would give me a basket to go, and pick the wild mushrooms, the buttons l had to leave, as the most sort after were size of a teacup, and over. Now can you smell breakfast, mushrooms, bacon, either egg or fried spuds, all home grown, bacon our own pig, and the spuds out of the garden. Fry ups like that are frowned on today’s living style, all we hear about is cholesterol, too much fat is not good for you, well l was brought up on this, and milk straight from the cow, none of this skimmed milk, it taste like coloured water, no goodness in it.
PAGE 7. Also the mushrooms came from the fields, also, the eggs did not always come from the chickens as in our area there were lots of marsh land, and Granddad, myself with Grandma’s linen prop with a desert spoon tied to the end of it that gave us extra reach to the middle of a pond or dyke. This idea of Granddads was to find water hen's nests, and get the eggs for a fry up, well some of you will say you should not do that, yes maybe you are right in today’s terms. But look at this in another way, there are hundreds of wild foul here in the thirties so a few eggs taken was not a miss. This is what we done we took one egg from the nest broke it to test it, then if the egg was OK, we then only take them, except for two or three, so she would lay more and hatch them off, you see we were not destroyers of wild life, as we only had just for our needs. Sadly to say all this wet land is now gone, not by what Granddad did but your generation in draining the wet lands, put in the plough no habitat for the water birds also the river that flows there is polluted, by all the villages sewerage works that pour hundred of gallons in to it. The river Tas as l new it was lovely and clear only about three feet deep, you could see the fish all swimming, now its a murky grey with no weeds and no fish, you call that progress? Well lets get back to the story we only raided three or four nests, these eggs are very rich so really over a nesting season about twenty nests would be raided by us out of then hundreds. I can say in those days' farmers nurtured the land, and looked after wild life. No birds flying over the land now, not a swallow, a swift, a housemartin or a sky lark to give us a song, and also no birds following the plough as there’s no worms, our so called modern farmer spray with pesticides killed them all. How sad farming has got through greed, and how wonderful in my days as a lad catching butterfly’s frogs newts, and fishing for sticklebacks, then going home, and walking indoors with all these creatures in my pockets, and mum going spare, and saying get them out of here, or words to that effect. Also of course we went birds nesting to collect birds eggs well it was not as bad as it sounds, as l was the only one who collected them out of maybe half the school so no big deal. It was frowned upon to collect them but not illegal, I only took one egg from each nest and once you had that birds egg you did not get anymore of that type of bird, l have not got them now as when war came, and I was away, mum gave them to Norwich museum. We also in those days at school had each year a competition to write an essay on a wild bird and tree, known as the bird and tree essay, and if you won you got a medal and a certificate this was very popular with both boys and girls, this was for the over eleven’s year olds it wasn’t compulsory to do it, I did it one year, but never came anywhere. Living in the country it was almost a ritual to go out looking for birds nest and plotting where they were, the best fun was looking for Goldcrest nests they would build them in Larch trees under the branches, tiny little nests, just seem to stick there. Talking of local Bobby’s, well about five or six of us were out Birds nesting one Saturday morning, on the way home to dinner we were walking home just past Caistor Church on the path, and who should creep up behind us our local Bobby on his bike, it went something like this, hello my boys, you have not been birds nesting have you, oh no Sir said us, that’s good, on saying that, he promptly put his hand on my head, now under my cap was the eggs, so doing it eggs broke, yokes run down my face, now I
PAGE 8. high tail it with the others over the Roman walls, but l bet he had a good laugh on us back at the station.
We have talked about the thunder boxes at the bottom of the garden, now what about bath nights, what a palaver, first in to the wash house if you had one, its a square building about ten feet square with a window in, and in one corner a copper, and one side wash board. This copper was about four feet square, a round copper bowl which held about five gallons of water or more, some had a tap at the bottom to take off the hot water or other wise you ladled it out, a little fire place underneath to boil the water. Right the water hot, bath now a large tin one placed in front of the fire in the kitchen or where ever, children first then to bed, Mum next with other family to follow or what ever. The water for this palaver of a bath, either came out of the water butts around the house if empty walk across a field about fifty yards to the river if not that down the lane to village pump, l would say about fifty yards. When we first arrived in the village the pump was a horse or cow tail pump why the name, because you lifted it up, and down. After a while we got a new one this was a chain pump on the side was a cranking handle that you turned round and round, the water came out the same but easier. But in the summer time we all used to bath in the river, nearly every night, as we had a place that we called the bathing pool it was just a part of the river that had a sandy bottom and clear of weeds, I suppose at its deepest three foot, we had no costumes, so it was skinny dipping, great days. I shall call this Mum getting her own back. Well I am a little bit of a prankster I take after Mum and the family all loved a bit of fun so if I had been having a go at Mum she got her own back. This particular day Mum got Grandma to call me to the kitchen door, she shouted a fresh cooked bun so off l go now Mum up stairs there’s a window over the door Gran hand me the bun but too late a jug of water drowns me that will teach you my lad though the laughter, l could not win two against me.
Tractors are now coming to farms to do the ploughing under contract they called it, but it was the thin end of the wedge for the working horse. So off I go to find out what’s it all about, that’s were the name fiddlesticks come in, wanting to now. The tractors that first came out only pulled a two furrow plough, but you see three horses also pulled a two furrow plough, now for every tractor, at least half the horses are now redundant, carts also have to be changed, horse shaves gone, in with a tow bars, and pneumatic wheels. I had been standing at the end of the field as the tractor came to the end a voice shouted out want a ride, before the last word was out I was on that tractor like a flash. These are the first I had seen, the old Fordsons came in two sorts, some with pneumatic tyres the others had steel wheels with spikes on.
They ran on petrol to start, and then switched to paraffin, the people who were ploughing these fields were the Emerson Bro’s from around the Mulbarton area, after about three or four days I was aloud to sit in the seat, and steer the tractor and keep it straight in the furrow, while he jumped off from time to time to the grass from the plough shears, this allowed him to keep going other wise he would have to stop, he also showed me how to stop. That was a bit of a laugh as he did it with one foot, now I have to stand on it to make it go down, it works, now l am the driver, boy wait till I get back to school something to tell them. The field we are ploughing is the one
PAGE 9. inside the roman walls, we used to put beet and corn on it and then rest it for hay and grazing. Also at this time another thing comes along called a Gyrotiler with caterpillar tracks, the people who worked these, worked day and night. This monster had like two wheels at the back with long iron fingers facing down, these were about two feet long and had six finger spikes to each wheel. To steer this thing was two levers, either side to make it turn, at either end of the field to keep it straight was a lever in the middle you pushed it forward or pulled it back it kept it in check. I am ridding on this thing now, can not steer this one, levers too tough to pull but riding was something there’s a big tool box at the back with sacks on, that’s OK, now Mum wants me for something, in the mean time l fell asleep on the seat so the driver said to Mum leave him he is OK I will see he gets home, that was then, today Mums would not dare leave a child with a strange man, people cared for each other in those days. I used to go home filthy dirty, oil and grease everywhere but l was happy. Sometimes the Norwich stag hounds would come to hunt and bring a stag with them, they turned it loose about a half an hour before they gave chase. Grandma was all against this, she always said La De Da people with more money than sense. Once there was a Stag being chased and it found refugee in Grans washhouse and she would not let the people get it. Gran said no its mine now, possession is nine points of the law; I’ll let it out after you have gone and she did.
You see Gran was educated, her side of the family were Blacksmiths think horses need shoeing, and carts need iron tyres so she was sent to school In the 1800’s, granddad was not, now that’s another story. Now in the 1800s gran said it was a penny a week to go to school and if the family could not afford the penny you got no schooling. Remember families in those days were large, anything up to ten children in a family so that was ten pence a week, a lot of money in those days. Getting back to granddad, the story is typical of those days, Barons and Serfs. In the end granddad did make it, must have been a hard struggle .
Granddad, now he was born in 1871on the 25th May in the workhouse at Swaffham, Norfolk. This is the story I was told about why he was born in the workhouse. His mother was a kitchen maid to the gentry of the day, and if the wife of the gent was not acceptable for the night the poor kitchen maid had to do! History of the day, its well known. She became pregnant so it’s to the workhouse for her for disgracing the family; all she did was to obey orders from the boss of the house. No doubt she was frightened of loosing her job, and she did. In the workhouse the girls who were having babies out of wedlock were given washing to do in the workhouse laundry, they washed cloths for the local squire and all the gentry cronies, including the local parsons dirty washing. Oh yes they were paid for it, a pittance, food a bed and a few pence for them to buy cloths. This is where school comes in, granddad being born in the workhouse had to pay two pence to go, but the children that had married parents only paid one penny per week to go to school. So the children of the workhouses never went to school. Why did they have to pay double? I don’t know, perhaps it was a way of saying we will keep you in your place, (grovelling for hand outs) the old days of barons and serfs. Now a lot of the women died in the workhouse, as granddads mother did, but the graves are all unnamed just a metal cross stuck in the ground. But Granddad, for not being
PAGE 10. able to read or write done well in the world, but I think it was Grandma that taught him to write his name that’s about all. He took jobs as a shepherd, if the Vet was called he got the Vet to write the mixture down, he did this so if a sheep was poorly he doctored it, that saved Vet fees, he did this all through life, the crafty old man so when it got to dairy herds, he did his own doctoring to the cattle. Me at times got a little sick or off colour as they would say, so in comes Granddad with a Calves Cocktail, get this down you boy, either kill or cure, well I am still here. He also gave a lot of Lodman, to the cattle, as he said a sick animal needs rest, well they were stoned out of their minds. He also had a saying get up with the lark, that’s about four in the morning in summer, and go home with the crows that’s about four thirty in the summertime a nice twelve-hour day, enough for anyone. Granddad never had a watch, if anyone said how do you now what time to leave off, he said there’s a train that comes by at about ten past four, I knock off ten minutes before it comes, good old Norfolk humour. I suppose he watched the crows winding up the clock as we say, you see, crows before they fly home to roost they go round in circles.
The railway lines could to be seen from anywhere on the farm, as the embankment and cuttings were close at hand. Also in the summertime Mum, and I would go off to the railway line to pick, wild marguerites tall white flowers, and wild strawberries, and plus a wave from the train driver or a whistle. The most famous trains that came through were the City Of London, and the East Anglian, both very fast, streamlined and bright green in colour. Now my Grandson at school is studying workhouses so I gave him all I knew about Granddad, so off we go to Swaffham to find this workhouse which is now a school masters house, and in the grounds are iron crosses in one corner all unnamed but its most likely, one is Granddads Mother. One of the rooms was a maternity room, which is now a bedroom so he said, and the outhouses were the laundry still there, l bet it was slave labour. Moving on back to my era in time, often when walking around the Roman Walls, and the field in side very often a coin would turn up, or pottery, and if there was about six of us boys we all had sticks for swords, we then conquered the Country. I can remember Mortemer Wheeler coming to do a dig on this site, he did it like noughts and crosses with trenches l was over there every day wanting to know the where’s and whyfores they were all very helpful. It was sometime after that he became SIR, l could still take you to the spot where he did the excavations. I mentioned the river Tas, well at certain times the river got choked with weed, so along comes Mr Jordan from Lakenham Mill, another area of Norwich, just up the road from us, he ran the Water Mill there on the river Yare which our little river joined, then they both joined the River Wensum. This Mr Jordan came along the river with Scythes all bolted together to reach across the river, then ropes are attached to either end, and two men either side of the river pulling backwards and then back to the other side just like tug-of-war. Then two more men down stream who had to put a timber pontoon across the river to stop the weeds floating down stream too far, once the weeds were stopped they got crombs to pull the weeds to the banks, and l can tell you the cattle loved this as a certain amount of salt was in the weeds. You say why cut the weeds, well if they did not.
PAGE 11. The weeds held back the water, and it would soon over flow the banks in a heavy rain just good house keeping, as the Farmers in those days paid out of their own pockets not like today, the river authority do it now. When all this was going on this disturbed the Eels, at the bottom so they would come to the surface, and if quick enough you could net them, you could catch about a dozen nice ones that way, home and cook them another meal for nothing, the worst job was skinning them, then chop them up into three inch long pieces and fried with mushrooms and onions, and boiled potatoes mashed in butter or fried scallops cor! Can’t you just smell it now, another meal in the country, boy did we live well we also had plenty of milk, and cream. I loved cream making l always tried to do that job on my own, why you ask, well lets explain first of all the milk was got from the cows then put through a cooling machine, then aloud to settle for a while in big churns, then the top of the milk was ladled off, as this had the most cream in it, so now the little jars for the cream are ready and the press on cardboard discs ready, and now the cream separator is ready to make cream its all systems go. Now to make cream that was great it took several gallons of milk to make a pint of cream, turning the handle of the separator the shimmed milk came out and went in to a churn for the pigs, the cream was caught in large jugs, then the job washing up, well the bowl gets, a good lick out first, then all the leaves in the separator licked clean, now to wash up, but not quite done the skimmed milk now goes to the Pigs, mixed with ground corn, it made a sort of porridge they loved it, and put on a few pounds as well, and so did young Ted Holden. Sometimes my cousins would come out from Norwich, a load of wimps did not like the smell of animals or the muck around about you see if you keep animals on a farm its seven days a week looking after them city folk have no idea of country life, that’s why When they come to live in the country there will always be that term, them and us. One Sunday morning a lot of Army people came, to the pasture just past house it had a little copse in it. This troop of soldiers were Artillery men, there were three Field Guns, that meant four horses, a limber and the gun with an out rider and soldiers sitting on the limber, there was three like that, boy what a sight. Then later after a lot of shouting, and moving the guns around, all of a sudden one man shouts fire, well l nearly shit myself, never heard anything like that, Mum laughs, she would wouldn’t she, with her sense of humour. But l must say, l was little bit impressed, the first time, l had seen Soldiers for real, in books, and read about them. I also must mention my other uncle, well he got killed in the first world war, Gran had a picture of him hanging in the front room, so l had never met him, he was her first born, but l have the picture now, handed down. Milking machines, are the in thing now labour saving, so the Alpha Laver man is called, that’s the firm that supplies this equipment, well pipes everywhere another electric motor to run the vacuum pump, now its getting the cows used to the noise, and the suction of the tubes but all goes well for a time, then comes the big crunch, the dairy herd gets Foot and Mouth. The Vet arrives destroy the lot, now a big trench is dug in the field, all the cattle that’s got it first, the police arrive with rifles, herd the cattle in the trench shoot every one, now my Granddad, and my Uncle, are on their
PAGE 12. Knees crying yes grown men crying, you see a herd breed by them and then slaughtered in front of their eyes, the men covered them with quicklime, then filled in the trench. The blame was laid to the men who put the milking machines in, but no proof, as they travelled from one farm to another, but worst of all no farm subsidiaries in those days, you were on your own, they did start again, as farmers always muck in when ones in trouble, cows came in all on loon till things got better. But l don’t think granddads heart was in it, he looked at it, and said all that work that went in to the heard, gone in a day, it took years to get the right cow for the best milk, and when l hear farmers whining now, and they know they will get a government hand out to help them through, what would they have done in Granddads time commit suicide, the old saying of to day is (did ever see a farmer on a bike) not now you don’t maybe a Mercy, or 4x4 Range Rover. Granddad talking about moving, Grandma said he has got itchy feet again think it’s the field with the cattle buried in he has to pass it everyday. Time is coming now to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the King George V and Queen Mary 1935. People are asked to give what they can to help to make a party, well the day arrived, tea at the vicarage, in a big room, to see all this food for the children, there was cream cakes, sandwiches, jellies, and ice cream and crackers with funny hats inside. There was also a cup and saucer or a mug, and l has still got mine. After that there was races and games in a big field then after that music and dancing at night in the barn, what a day to remember. Well Granddad got his way, off we go to another village, by road l would say about six miles, but as the crow fly’s one and a half miles. We are off to the Village of Dunston Common a very picturesque village, and a big common with a road through the middle, houses either end of the village, and two farms about a mile a part, we go to the dairy farm we would wouldn’t we, near to the River again same river farther up that’s all. We are back to hand milking here, much bigger house better out buildings, l must tell you we moved by horse, and wagon great fun two big wagon loads, carpets, and beds on one and all the furniture on the other. This house has a scullery attached to the kitchen, no going out side to boil the clothes, a copper in the scullery, and an oven in the wall plus a sink, and also just outside the back door a pump two yards away luxury says Gran. I am off to make new friends, l do know a lot of them, we all go to the same school we have plenty of room for playing on the common, cricket, football, and all sorts of games. It is also a well known place for courting couples, they come out on their bikes, but they don’t get much peace, as we play hell with them, but we usually get told to sod off, or words to that effect. Settling nicely, lots of different things to do such as going around Dunston hall scrumping apples and walnuts and figs off the wall, well some one tells the Bobby so we are chased, we got wise to this, one would be look out, and if he got off his bike, and left it a distance away we would move it so he could not catch us, he never done anything to us only chased us what a lovely life, and at times if he was passing when we were playing football on the common he would join in, it do not happen today no Bobbies on the beat. Going to school was about the same distance, we also pass a mill this way to school, a Mr Brooke owned it he ground flour, and cattle feed, the farms brought the corn to him, and he ground it for a fee, this mill was
PAGE 13. A water mill well it still is, but now converted to a restaurant. He used to dam the river with a steel siding gate, but when the river rose to a given point it overflowed the sluice gate, then he would open the large sluice gate for water to go under the mill wheel and the force would turn the wheel for grinding by turning the large grinding stones around. We were invited to look around the mill, and see all the workings everything looked big, some cogwheels were lined with wood, to make less noise. After going over this mill with the owner showing us around and pointing out the danger spots as the big Cogwheels went round and made a hellofa noise you had to shout to make your self heard. Well after that l can see how a man with the name of Miller was called dusty. There’s a man being talked about a lot, his name is Hitler who rules Germany, everybody is saying he wants war, l am talking around about 1935 to 1936 time, and there’s a man called Mr Churchill saying watch this man but l do not think anybody believes Churchill. A lot of people at the time said he is scare mongering, but later they had to eat their words. Now in these winter days we got a fare amount of snow, so sledging was on the menu well off to our favourite hill in the grass field. The sledge took the shape of a front wing of a car which it was, l think off a Morris 1924 this wing had a bulbous shape that went over the front wheel and along past the door making a running board so off we go with this. To the top of the hill, one in the front of the bulbous bit one behind him and two more sitting on the running board, the one at the front looked though the hole for the headlight. Now imagine this, top of the hill to the bottom of the hill, then a hedge, then on the other side of the hedge a sloping field. The sledge is supposedly to stop us at bottom of the hill, but we do not account for the speed it will do, now off we go down the hill four of us, hedge coming up at a great speed of knots, through that, and half way in the next field we all get off no one hurt back up again, hole in hedge getting bigger, lovely days. What l am going to say, could not happen today, spring has come, and the birds are about to nest, some are already nesting, now at my age l have done a bit of shooting with Granddad so one of the local farmers asked him if l could do a bit of shooting On his farm, he said only if he is on his own, yes that’s OK says he. On this farm he has a few woods as we called them or copse of trees, with loads of crows nests in, so l am transported of with gun, and loads of ammo. The gun is a .22 rifle 15 load chamber semi automatic Winchester no bigger than an air gun, l am now going to shoot at the nests to destroy the eggs, less birds to destroy the crops. To do this l have to stand with my back to the tree, then aim, and fire at the nests, but l also have a man checking on me from time to time, and who do you think that was, the farmer had told the local Bobby, just see that old boys OK now and then. You see a .22 when fired dose not make much of a bang, not enough to scare the crows away, they make more noise than me. Well the local Bobby came by now and then and said ok boy, me yes Sir, OK then be back in a hour, thank you sir, now this could not happen today, for one no village bobby, two the police would prosecute the farmer for allowing a youngster using a gun, in the year 2000 most types of guns are now all been with drawn from public use, l mean all the guns that were on license to users. But now there are more illegal guns on the streets than there ever was, they are for killing people, ours were for killing vermin
PAGE 13. A water mill well it still is, but now converted to a restaurant. He used to dam the river with a steel siding gate, but when the river rose to a given point it overflowed the sluice gate, then he would open the large sluice gate for water to go under the mill wheel and the force would turn the wheel for grinding by turning the large grinding stones around. We were invited to look around the mill, and see all the workings everything looked big, some cogwheels were lined with wood, to make less noise. After going over this mill with the owner showing us around and pointing out the danger spots as the big Cogwheels went round and made a hellofa noise you had to shout to make your self heard. Well after that l can see how a man with the name of Miller was called dusty. There’s a man being talked about a lot, his name is Hitler who rules Germany, everybody is saying he wants war, l am talking around about 1935 to 1936 time, and there’s a man called Mr Churchill saying watch this man but l do not think anybody believes Churchill. A lot of people at the time said he is scare mongering, but later they had to eat their words. Now in these winter days we got a fare amount of snow, so sledging was on the menu well off to our favourite hill in the grass field. The sledge took the shape of a front wing of a car which it was, l think off a Morris 1924 this wing had a bulbous shape that went over the front wheel and along past the door making a running board so off we go with this. To the top of the hill, one in the front of the bulbous bit one behind him and two more sitting on the running board, the one at the front looked though the hole for the headlight. Now imagine this, top of the hill to the bottom of the hill, then a hedge, then on the other side of the hedge a sloping field. The sledge is supposedly to stop us at bottom of the hill, but we do not account for the speed it will do, now off we go down the hill four of us, hedge coming up at a great speed of knots, through that, and half way in the next field we all get off no one hurt back up again, hole in hedge getting bigger, lovely days. What l am going to say, could not happen today, spring has come, and the birds are about to nest, some are already nesting, now at my age l have done a bit of shooting with Granddad so one of the local farmers asked him if l could do a bit of shooting On his farm, he said only if he is on his own, yes that’s OK says he. On this farm he has a few woods as we called them or copse of trees, with loads of crows nests in, so l am transported of with gun, and loads of ammo. The gun is a .22 rifle 15 load chamber semi automatic Winchester no bigger than an air gun, l am now going to shoot at the nests to destroy the eggs, less birds to destroy the crops. To do this l have to stand with my back to the tree, then aim, and fire at the nests, but l also have a man checking on me from time to time, and who do you think that was, the farmer had told the local Bobby, just see that old boys OK now and then. You see a .22 when fired dose not make much of a bang, not enough to scare the crows away, they make more noise than me. Well the local Bobby came by now and then and said ok boy, me yes Sir, OK then be back in a hour, thank you sir, now this could not happen today, for one no village bobby, two the police would prosecute the farmer for allowing a youngster using a gun, in the year 2000 most types of guns are now all been with drawn from public use, l mean all the guns that were on license to users. But now there are more illegal guns on the streets than there ever was, they are for killing people, ours were for killing vermin
PAGE 14. This is what l call looking after the community, to see a policeman in the year 2001, would be lucky thing and if you see one they haven’t a clue how country folk live, you see the law is now if a farmer leaves mud on the road from a tractor, it’s right mate a fine, not go and tell the farmer you left mud on the road can you go and clean it up, no community spirit these days. OK we did things that were not strictly correct, but we had tremendous respect for one and other, and being in the country we were all brought up with Guns so we all new the dangers, and how to handle a Gun properly, as most Saturday afternoons everyone went shooting rabbits on the Farms. What l was doing was against the law, but no one got hurt, and the local Bobby new l was safe, as l have said before, we in the country lived a different life style. Harry is still with his traction engine, he has just finished threshing, it is now on hire to The Tree Fellows (Timber Merchants) in the woods, trees all cut down, and cleared of all branches ready for pulling out of the woods, for loading on long trailer like things, they were four wheeled things with posts to stop the trees rolling off. On one wheel of the engine was a drum of wire rope, this was pulled out to the trees fixed around them, one by one, and pulled to loading point this sounds easy, well when you start to pull a felled tree, the standing trees are in the way, so you have to fix pulleys to another tree to guide it past the tree all a bit technical it worked, Harry made it work, most of this wood went to a firm called H.E.Taylor and Sons, later on you will see that name comes up again, Summer comes, and out come the Scouts from Norwich to camp on our common , boy us locals are not going to stand for that, with out a fight so when these Scouts are out for a walk through the woods ,attack as we lay wait , well a few bloody noses on either side then back with them to the camp fire all forgotten till next time , that’s part of growing up . In the summer holidays, l went as holdgee boy collecting the sheaves of corn out the field, well it went like this, report to the stacker he would show me were to bring the wagon full of leaves, so off l go to three men waiting for the wagon, this is a ride on job, you ride the horse to the shaves one man jumps on the wagon, and one either side, l drive the wagon between two stokes of corn they load sheaves alternately till its full meaning the load is about twelve feet high, but as l move from stoke to stoke l shout holdgee that’s for the man on top to stick his fork in to steady himself as l move off . Now wagon full off l go the next boy brings his wagon this how it go all day, from about seven in the morning to about nine at night, hard work but loved it, you got swore at if you did something wrong, also you had to feed, and water the horse part of the job. The best thing was, when the women came, they brought lemonade, beer, and cake, and sandwiches, the men all-light up their pipes, fags and little gossip. The women talking about other women, and who’s having a baby, also who’s getting married, and the girls who are fast and loose as they say. At this time of year, farm work is most hectic corn cutting this has to be planned, as at times in the morning you cannot start till about ten am, as the heavy dew, the canvasses on the rollers will slip and no turn as you see we are cutting with horse binder, not these up to date combines of today, the binders are horse drawn three horses side by side, and large sails or frails go round and round to push the corn on to the platform then up through the rollers bunched together, and tied with what is called
PAGE 15. Binder string. Us boys are also in the field, we surround corn field it with sticks in hand, farmers welcome us for it means sport for us, catching the rabbits, once a rabbit has come out of the corn, its like a mad house, as us boys chase for the kill, and all caught shared out with the workers, that means good old rabbit pie, and if you have never had one, you don't now what you have missed. I can smell it now Grandma just cutting the crust of the pie, in the middle of the table, and all that lovely smell coming out, my mouths watering now, you see the rabbit is cut up into small portions and onions with a lovely stock gravy two egg cups upside down in the middle of the pie dish to keep the crust off the gravy. Then some stupid man introduced Myxomatosis, wiped out most of the rabbits, country folk lost there rabbit pie dinners, all that was needed for men to be allowed to contract to kill the rabbits and sell the surplus to butchers shops for profit and also government backing, rabbits then would be clean to eat, when will we learn, going back to the Romans they built rabbit warrens, and gave men the job of looking after them, the only one l know of now is in Thetford warren, that was built by the romans. As Granddad used to say what the rabbits eat a round the headland of corn we got back in pies. Back at school things are looking up doing well at history, stars, planets, and the solar system, also woodwork, and metal work. I do not think l will be going to work on the land when l leave school, something inside me says there’s more to the out side, in the world, Granddad wants me to be a Blacksmith, but l can see that horses are on the way-out, time yet for more thought about this. I can tell you l was no angel at school got a few canes, like the rest, our head teacher was a Mrs O,Merra Irish her blue eyes would flash, and boy here it comes. She had a son who was pilot in the war l think he got D.S.O. in the battle Britain. Getting to the age when young girls look quiet nice, and a new game keeper is at the Dunston Hall working for Mr Long the owner he has a son that’s back wards, in those days you said he is stupid, that’s then, and not now. But the gamekeeper has a nice daughter her name is Queenly a bit of all right but all boys are after her. Also in the village another girl moves in her name is Edna White she is OK too, l thought she was anyway. Talking of not being an angel at school, well my old school is now a private house, so l go to see the owner, invite me in, there’s the old fire place, but l said there was a big table in front of that, and l have laid across it many a time, she said you must have deserved it, yes l supposed l did. Edna now she goes to a school in Norwich, that did not mean she was snobbish, because she was not, and lots of times we would talk, and swap interests we got on quite well. In the summer time the ice-cream people came on to the common, on a Sunday, it was packed with people having picnics, and playing games which we all joined in, and if the local Bobby came passes he had a game as well, you see the local Bobby got to know everyone, and we new we could go to him at anytime for advice. The icecream vendors as l recall were, Mannceini Bros they had a motor bike and sidecar, that was painted in bright reds and yellows, and twisted brass rails around it all purpose made for the job, and very good icecream, then there was Eldarado, and Walls with slogans as (stop me and buy one) they had three wheeled bikes, two wheels at the front and one at the rear, on the two wheels at the front was a large box with all the icecream in with dry
PAGE 16. Ice but as soon as he arrived he would take out, a piece of dry ice, and put it on his bike bell, boy did that ring. Once there was a lady in a posh car, stopped near the Eldora bike, she called him over, and gave him sixpence old money, as we say now, now there are four of us boys around the area of the bike, he gave us one each, these were called wafer’s as they were oblong, and in three colours green, pink, or white, we never did now who she was but she was thanked, perhaps we looked down, and outs, or a lady with a kind heart. Christmas coming up, and its Xmas eve, well the post man is on his rounds, stops at most doors, and when he gets to the door there is a glass of sherry or a we tot, now this is the thirties, and this post man has to Finnish his rounds, he will never make it, as he can not ride his bike now. The post men in those days were dressed in blue trousers with a red strip down the leg, and the jacket with red piping round it, now the hat was called a pillbox, it was round, and a peak at the front, and one at the back. Now at Xmas this hat has got twisted, it is now side ways on, the postman a few drinks too many, well its Xmas in the country if you didn’t get your mail at Xmas you got it after Xmas who cared. Its also time for the fisher girls to be down at Yarmouth gutting fish, Mum used to take me down to see them, they had travelled down from Scotland following the mackerel shoals. This also meant that all the fish guts, was transported to the Farms for fertiliser on the land, and didn’t that honk as we say in Norfolk good old organic, and the fields were white with seagulls. Great Britain is getting on its feet again now, the depression is on the win, work is more easy to come by, the men that walked the roads with there tools on there backs have all gone. But the talk of war is still there, this fellow called Adolph Hitler, the people are sitting up and taking notice now, as this fellow wants all Germanys rights put back to where it was before the 1914 -18 War if he doesn’t get it, he is going to take it back by force, l can hear Gram saying we don’t want another War as she lost her son in WW1 his name was Robert Chilvers Holden, l have all the papers relating to this and the papers to the cemetery in Belgium, a rearmament program for Britain is being talked about, but that’s all. The family is saying there’s plenty of work around now people are spending more, it’s a Conservative Government Mr Nevil Chamberlain, Prime Minister he is a tall thin man, at this age politics mean nothing, no interest, as there are far more things to do, and worry about politics. Its time to muck the bullocks out, the manure to be put on the land hard work, and smelly job, but as the saying goes, good old hoses muck, and bullocks muck never killed anyone. This is loaded on to tumbrels with one horse in the shaves, and one horse as tracehorse, this meant the trace was hooked to the shaves with chains at the front so now you have two horses in line, when tumbrel is loaded off they go then the next tumbrel is backed in to fill, and as the other one gets unloaded in the field this one is filled up, on the return the trace is unhooked, and rehooked to the full tumbrel, and so off they go again to tip this lot of manure in heaps on the field, then later this manure is spread all over the field , ready for ploughing in for either sugar beet , or root crops, maybe corn . Its time to take up sugar beet this is done by a type of plough with two shears one either side to form a sort of vee shape, now two horses pull this, as this plough lifts the sugar beet, then along come the men and pick every beet up one by one and top them
PAGE 17. They put them in heaps to be picked up later on to wagons, then taken to the nearest siding loaded on to rail trucks, then on to the sugar factory, same with the tops, now us boys are given the job of picking up the tops, one held the horse the other loaded, then change over, then we throw the beet tops on the field for the cattle to eat. Now the sugar beet tops are strong that effects the milk, soon the women are saying, (you’ve been feeding those cows on beet tops haven’t you) nothing has changed women still mooning, dose not hurt you or the milk. It's now spreading time two men to a heap of manure they throw this around the field then in goes the plough, and the cycle starts all over again. This chap called Hitler is being talked about a lot, he is reclaiming Germanys old bits of land, and marching in on small little countries we have said you are to stop, a visit from different politicians try to make him see sense. There is a lull for a time and Chamberlain has come back with a piece of paper saying Hitler signed the agreement, this gave us one year to rearm the forces but not quite long enough we were still under strength, work in all the factories were going full out, gas masks were given out shelters built in the cities, cold fear had taken over but we still had a good laugh. Gran hopes there will not be a war as she lost a son in the First World War. All my other uncles would be too old now the territorial have had standby papers to be called at anytime, and report straight to barracks. Even at school we talk about it, and to get under the desks in case of raids windows are to have paper strips on them, they will look like lead church windows, if Chamberlain came back with a piece of paper saying peace in our time, why get ready for war, We soon find out. Hitler has sent his troops into Sadaton land and the little Countries of no real Army power and he talking of marching into Poland, we have warned him not too but he did it just the same. So now everyone is on edge to what will happen next, there seem to be a lot of Aeroplanes flying around these days never seen so many. Everyone has got to have a ID card with information on so a Policeman can stop you at anytime and ask to see this, and ask where you are going or come from, this has to be carried at all times, other wise you could end up in a police cell. There’s a lot of farmland being taken over for the building of Airfields with concrete runways. The Pylons at Porlingland are guarded with armed guards now, Gas masks are given out to everyone, and babies, air raid shelters are being built in the streets of Norwich. There is lots of talk about people being interned who are not British nationals, such as Germans that made their home here after the first world war, and there’s talk of Jews coming to England to get away from German permissions and its in the papers that the Prince of Wales and Mrs Simpson have been to see Hitler, people are saying it’s a good job he wasn’t King, as he would have sold us down the river, people are saying he is a Traitor to our country, the order to him, that he has never to set foot in this country again . Talk of him being sent to Bermuda out of the way, l am not sure if did go there but it’s the last we heard of him all through the war. All military barracks are full of reservists and a lot of young lads are joining up for military service, the three services Army, Navy, and Air force have large posters wanting recruits, me L am not old enough to join yet. What l cant fathom out is our Pimiento came back from seeing Hitler with a peace of paper; saying peace in our time, why get ready for war.
PAGE 18. Well getting ready for war was to the foremost at the moment, Civil Defence people were signing up to do their bit, and training, Wardens, Rescue workers, Ambulance Drivers, and Firemen, all who were too old to go to war, and the Ex-police were Recruited back to service, and war hasn’t started yet. Air raid shelters being built everywhere, and Sirens were but up everywhere and tested, and what a noise they made, they sent shivers down your spine. Large posters are being put up everywhere with careless talk cost lives, and posters for the Army, Navy, and Air force asking people to join up. All small manufacturing factories are called to make armaments of all sorts, some ammunition, some bombs, and others aircraft spares. Remember war hasn’t started yet, and all types of small lorries, and large cars were commandeered to pull fire pumps and carry ladders, this was so that every village had fire protection. The Coventry factory that made racing car engines were now building engines for trailer pumps, known as the Coventry Climax and water pump made to suit the engine, the exorts had a lever on it to divert the blowing out of air from the suction hose to cause a vacuum so the water can be pumped, the reeves on these engines was very high as they had a short stoke piston arm. Everyone is saying if there is a war, it will be over in a year, me I wouldn’t know never been in a war, but the other one lasted four years, maybe they are just saying it to keep the moral up, there is talk about the Pylons at upper Stoke Lane, some are wooden and some are steel, people are saying that they can send electric beams out to stop engines running, so if Hitler sent planes over here they could just stop the engines, well they were proved wrong when the time came, and the rumours that were flying around . To me at the moment its all existing stuff with loads of army and all three forces, men in uniform walking around Norwich, at this time Norwich is lit up with gas street lights, some parts had electric lights, the gas works is up as we now it gas hill near the Britannia Barracks, the power Station is near Trouser and Willingham junction. The trouble is governments will never tell the public the full truth of what’s happening in the world, mostly we have to find out for ourselves and sometimes that’s dangerous, as little bits get added and distorted, perhaps the truth would do more harm than good. Firms are crying out for workers just to do meanul jobs as there are so many young men joining up, so more women are doing men’s jobs. My mum who is a cook at the Pantry tea rooms on the walk in Norwich, she is saying that they have never been so busy, with the Barracks full of soldiers, and airbases full, there are rumours going around that new Airbases are to be built, but no one seems to know where at the moment, are they just more rumours. It’s a bit late in this chapter but after sixty odd years me and a few friends have just meet up in all that time, but while we were reminiscent of the old days, one thing came up, it was swimming in the river Tas well if girls were around you put a cosy on, but this day one had no cosy so my mum leant him a pair of bloomers to swim in, yes his name is Mike Rayner, and till this day I never new of this, well the mind boggles as lactic in the legs “well”
PAGE 18. Well getting ready for war was to the foremost at the moment, Civil Defence people were signing up to do their bit, and training, Wardens, Rescue workers, Ambulance Drivers, and Firemen, all who were too old to go to war, and the Ex-police were Recruited back to service, and war hasn’t started yet. Air raid shelters being built everywhere, and Sirens were but up everywhere and tested, and what a noise they made, they sent shivers down your spine. Large posters are being put up everywhere with careless talk cost lives, and posters for the Army, Navy, and Air force asking people to join up. All small manufacturing factories are called to make armaments of all sorts, some ammunition, some bombs, and others aircraft spares. Remember war hasn’t started yet, and all types of small lorries, and large cars were commandeered to pull fire pumps and carry ladders, this was so that every village had fire protection. The Coventry factory that made racing car engines were now building engines for trailer pumps, known as the Coventry Climax and water pump made to suit the engine, the exorts had a lever on it to divert the blowing out of air from the suction hose to cause a vacuum so the water can be pumped, the reeves on these engines was very high as they had a short stoke piston arm. Everyone is saying if there is a war, it will be over in a year, me I wouldn’t know never been in a war, but the other one lasted four years, maybe they are just saying it to keep the moral up, there is talk about the Pylons at upper Stoke Lane, some are wooden and some are steel, people are saying that they can send electric beams out to stop engines running, so if Hitler sent planes over here they could just stop the engines, well they were proved wrong when the time came, and the rumours that were flying around . To me at the moment its all existing stuff with loads of army and all three forces, men in uniform walking around Norwich, at this time Norwich is lit up with gas street lights, some parts had electric lights, the gas works is up as we now it gas hill near the Britannia Barracks, the power Station is near Trouser and Willingham junction. The trouble is governments will never tell the public the full truth of what’s happening in the world, mostly we have to find out for ourselves and sometimes that’s dangerous, as little bits get added and distorted, perhaps the truth would do more harm than good. Firms are crying out for workers just to do meanul jobs as there are so many young men joining up, so more women are doing men’s jobs. My mum who is a cook at the Pantry tea rooms on the walk in Norwich, she is saying that they have never been so busy, with the Barracks full of soldiers, and airbases full, there are rumours going around that new Airbases are to be built, but no one seems to know where at the moment, are they just more rumours. It’s a bit late in this chapter but after sixty odd years me and a few friends have just meet up in all that time, but while we were reminiscent of the old days, one thing came up, it was swimming in the river Tas well if girls were around you put a cosy on, but this day one had no cosy so my mum leant him a pair of bloomers to swim in, yes his name is Mike Rayner, and till this day I never new of this, well the mind boggles as lactic in the legs “well”
PAGE 19. Well wonders never cease Mike in bloomers, now the heat is on with Hitler and Chamberlain our Prime Minister, Hitler has walked into Sedation land, and is squaring up to Poland, German troops are in control of all the small countries, he wants Poland as it has sea ports and ship building yards, all this going on, and we cant stop him, France, Holland, and Belgium have all put their protests to Hitler to no avail. We are still getting ready for war, sign posts are having their arms taken off, so that only local people know where to go and which road to take, all lorries and cars are having light masks fitted to project the beam to the ground only, people are having to paint their mudguards white, and white lines painted in the middle of the road. Hitler is also rounding up the Jews and burning everything they have, and made to work in camps for Germany, I do not know what he has against them, but there are large numbers getting to England one way or another, words are coming like the (final solution) what ever that means. All windows in buildings are being tapped up with paper strips, some in squares and some in diamond like church windows, this is to stop glass flying and cutting people if a bomb drops, all this is way over my head. Why are we preparing for war when the Prime Minister said I have a piece of paper signed by Hitler and him to the words peace in our time, some where down the line some one is telling porkers. There’s sand bags going up everywhere in front of Council offices, historic buildings, Railway stations, and any building of importance, people are told to either make shutters to windows to black them out at nights or black heavy curtains. Theirs a Fellow called Winston Churchill, he keep having a good say on things, in terms as much to say I told you so five years ago, well at the moment the politicians are saying Hitler, has only taken back what really belongs to Germany, we have no fear of war, well if there’s no fear of war what the hell are we doing all this to our country. All our trains are still powered by steam, and heated by coal at nights when the fireman open the firebox it lights up the night sky as out in the country there is no street lights and it looks great travelling along at about between 60 and 90 miles an hour. At this time troop trains are on the move to different parts of the country, and flat top trucks with lorries and tanks on them all on the move, to me this is something out of a boys own book troops getting ready for war. Well most people are trying to carry on as normal as possible, the government is creating a girls for the land, its going to be called The Womens Land Army, these girls are going to take over from the men that have joined up, there’s a lot of talk saying they are not strong enough to do that work, well they proved them wrong, and women buss drivers they will never push the brakes on or turn the steering wheel, and they proved them wrong again. Hitler has now massed his troops on the boarders of Poland, the Polish Army is still into horses and gun carriages, with very few aircraft or tanks, as most people are peasant farmers struggling to make a living, but a proud nation, everyone is on edge over this, its will he or wont he invade, well I am sorry to say the altament did come, we wait to the out come.