This And That Concerning My Short Stay In Compton Bassett

A Memory of Compton Bassett.

My memory of Compton Bassett is not extensive - to say the least - as I spent roughly a year in married quarters before my husband was posted to Bordon in Hampshire. He was in the REME and worked at Lyneham.

My immediate memory is of greeness and drizzle! And being without friends - I don't think being a member of the khaki set helped! (Compton Bassett was largely RAF) I would take our son, who was a year old, into Calne some afternoons just for something to do. I recall the bus service was pretty non-existant and so it was the pushchair for him, and shanks' pony for me! Sometimes we did a recce closer to home instead, and I enjoyed looking at the pretty cottages (we had arrived directly from Germany where cottages were not the favoured type of abode). I recall one cottage which, although not so different from the others in the road, did have a name which has remained with me all these years: 'All That' was written on the small wooden gate. and I would seek the little cottage out whenever our walk took us in the direction and, while trying not to appear obvious about it, would linger just beyond the gate with the lovely name. 'All That' seemed a perfect name for a perfect home!

From our son's bedroom window, the White Horse of - it must have been Cherhill I think - looked just petting-distance away! I am glad our stay in Compton Basset was short as I never took the sight of these horses for granted and they have remained a source of wonder. Once, while on our walk, I found a lump of chalk that seemed to have been partly fashioned to resemble a dog; a finger or thumb print is still much in evidence. The object appears to have only one eye and so it had to become 'Cyclops.' Sorry! (I have a fondness for names you might note!)

The daily/hourly flights by Hercules and other military aircraft passed within nodding distance over our house. Our little boy would point and say "Airplane!" and watch until it was out of sight, or until another came in its wake. Apart from airplanes and resident's cars the only other mode of traffic were tractors and I swear "tractor" and "airplane" were Lloyd's first words.

Late evening and into night was, for me, something to be dreaded! I cannot remember seeing such big spiders ever before, not even when, as a child, I lived in Malaysia - what is it about Wiltshire, or is it just Compton Bassett, that breeds these monsters? Possibly, because I was unhappy for a lot of the time, I transferred my unhappiness to spiders, making them appear larger and uglier than they are. I do know, and was thankful that, they didn't follow us to Bordon!

I wish I had been able to enjoy my time in such a lovely part of England. It would be so good to return, although perhaps not! It is never a good idea to go back as this often makes for disappointment. I did once think of whisking away one special memory, to transfer to my home in Nottingham, but then decided 'All That' belongs to another life and another time, only to be visited in memory.