Wonderful Times
My father moved to Cold Meece in 1960 to take up his job as a prison officer at the nearby Drake Hall open prison, and we stayed there for a couple of years before we moved to live at the prison itself.
At the time I was between 9 and 11 years old and, for a child of that age, it was a wonderful place to grow up. It was so rural that there was little risk of being knocked over by cars, and we were free to wander all over the place, only returning home for food and, occasionally, money for the ice cream van.
There were two wonderful structures that we had ready access to which are worthy of special mention :-
- There was an old abandoned stately home, which we kids used to play in. At that time it was in a stable condition so it was relatively safe to play in. I remember that the house had its own dog's graveyard outside for the family pets who had passed away. There was a metal plaque on the outside wall referring to someone famous who had flown over the house on one of the first flights. There was also a pond which contained perch and other catchable fish.
- Even better than that was the abandoned railway station that had been used by the local ordinance factory during the war. We could play throughout the entire station and its adjacent air raid shelters.
The other strange highlight for me, was that when I passed my 11 plus and had to go to St Joseph's College, a catholic grammar school at Stoke, myself and two other boys from Swynnerton needed a taxi to take us to the nearest bus stop from which we could catch a bus to school!
All in all, I look back on my spell in Cold Meece with great affection and with fond memories.
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RE: RE: Wonderful Times
I lived in Farm House that was next to Meece house in the early1970s and used to spend a lot of time in Meece house and grounds. I remember the plaque and the animal graveyard too! We did a lot of fishing in the ponds and used to monitor the water levels as it was possible to adjust the water levels using a sluise gate. I can remember going into the attic of the house and finding old woodbine cigarette packets and newspapers from the Second World War along with loads of tools that must have been used when the house was built. The house was sold by the MoD in 1970/71 for 3000 or thereabouts to the Hood family from Yarnfield. It's a real shame that the house was demolished, at least some of the outbuildings have been turned into accommodation.
Comment from Ian Nicholson on Sunday, 7th February 2010.
RE: RE: Wonderful Times
I lived at Cold Meece from 1973 until 1986 between birth and 13 years old. It was the best childhood location due to the ruralness and the freedom that came with it. I too explored Meece House and made it to the first floor until it became too dangerous to go inside. I spent many times running through Air Raid Shelters in the grounds and studying the wildlife in the three ponds there. I also discovered an old Bentley in a garage near the mill at the back of the house. It was a fantastic place to explore...I never got tired of it. It was extremely sad that Hood bought it and to my knowledge he was not allowed to demolish it as it was a listed building, but he destroyed the beautiful grounds with his JCBs and it soon lost the charm it had, but I will never forget it! A local told me that the house had been owned by a lady whose two sons died in the war so when she died there was no-one to hand it on to. I remember finding an old newspaper and little bits of history (which I never kept) and being in awe of the oldness and in wonderment about what it must have been like when it was lived in. I am intrigued to know about the railway station...I thought I knew Coldmeece like the back of my hand but never found this. Another area I frequented in Coldmeece was the tennis courts at the top end of South Road...I don't know if they were used when they were first build but they were very neglected when I lived there. Also station road where there was a little brick hut, which we called "the den".
Comment from Sally Graham on Tuesday, 4th January 2011.
RE: RE: Wonderful Times
I was born in Cold Meece in 1942 during the height of the Second World War. Dad drove a fire truck on the ROF factory. Mum was a supervisor in the making of the shells. We lived in No 1 of four semi-detached bungalows down an embankment on the south of the rail station. I lived in Cold Meece for about 14 years, going to Yarnfield Primary School and then Alleynes Grammar School in Stone. Meece House was occupied at the time...they had the occassional garden party or something. Apparently I won a race for little kids, there were only two of us though, and I kept waiting for the other one to catch up. The American soldiers used to come into the station to camp in a paddock at the far end of the bus park...they would be met by their M.Ps in a Jeep....with me sitting on the bonnet. (Mum used to reckon I looked like a monkey!). As all the other kids were at school (I was too young) I would get given heaps of chewing gum etc...Dad taught me to sing 'MacNmaras Band' which was the hit of the day...so that meant more gum! We used to play in the woods surrounding Meece House, and had a great time. One adventure we had was....there were three entrances to the factory..opposite the north and south entrances on the other side of the road were paddocks with a lot of German aeroplanes in them...I think they were used to test the amunition on...we used to sneak in to look at them and used to imagine that there were still dead pilots in them. I am now an Australian...living here since 1963. Tony Davis
Comment from Tony Davis on Monday, 21st February 2011.