Growing up in Denham
I was born in 1938 but came to live in Denham in 1948. My dad was then the local Police Sergeant, Sid Smith and my mum, Hilda, was a member of the Mothers' Union and Women's Institute. I remember going to school on Cheapside Lane - Headmaster Entwhistle after Captain Thompson, Jack Rudman, Miss Martin, Miss Richardson - students Neville Johnson, Ann Seymour, Maureen Dyson, David Campling - so long ago. Being in the choir at St Mary's Church, doing the paper route from Valerie Evans' newsagents in the village, delivering the meat on Saturday mornings from the village butcher, working summers at Denham Garage on the A40. When Neville, David and I went off to Slough Technical School we still lived in Denham. I left for the RAF in 1957, then moved on to Bermuda and since 1966 have lived in Canada but have very fond memories of Denham - my formative years. Travelled back last in 1996 to visit the graves of my mum and dad at St Mary's and found that little had changed in the village in all that time away. Being Air Force, I visited with the Air Training Corps fellows at Denham Airfield and relived some of my memories from there. In the 1950s our lives centred greatly around St Mary's in Denham and I think back on the Christmases when the church choir visited with Lord Vansittart, and we sang carols through the village. I encouraged my own sons to visit Denham and the eldest, Henrik, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Canadian Air Force, one day did visit with some of his buddies when he had some free time while he was on a NATO tour, and he stopped in at the Green Man for a brew and brought back some great photographs of the village as it was then (2003). Are any of my old compadres still around, I wonder? They were good times. They can reach me at w.m.smith@sympatico.ca if they care to. Denham village will always have a very fond place in my heart and one day, I hope, I'll visit you again. Thanks for the memories. My name, William (Bill) Michael Smith, Lt.Col - Air, Canadian Forces - now long since retired but continuing to travel the world. Write to me at w.m.smith@sympatico.ca
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