Durley memories
Here are memories of Durley and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Durley or a Durley photo.
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Memories of Wiltshire
A Respite A Sanctuary on A Long Journey.
Savernake Forest is significant to me because this was the chosen halfway point on our family's mid+ 1950's long road journey from Hereford to Portsmouth for our annual summer holidays.
Here, my stepfather, Lt.Colonel H.R.W*****, MA,RAEC, future OBE and general SOB, would pull the old Hillman off the road among the massive roots of this ancient, historic forest's huge oaks and my haughty stepmother would take out the sandwiches and lemonade we had packed for the trip and we'd wolf them down ( I was constantly hungry) followed by the inevitable tossing around the tennis ball ( or worse, cricket ball) thereby stretching our legs in the cool of the forest, before resuming our journey.
During The War 1942
During the summer of 1942 my uncle who was an American soldier lived in several place in the Savernake Forest and eventually was billeted in "the big house" (Tottenham House)and kept a wonderful journal. I will cut and paste a few short passages as space is limited.
"Yesterday we did a little moving and as a result I’m now living in the Big House in a small room, one of the two hundred odd. I suppose it was servant’s quarters, but it is quite pleasant, a fire place and best of all a wide window, set in a deep wall so there is a window seat and the view from the window is quite the most beautiful thing I could hope to feast my eyes on. Its England as it was meant to be rural, peaceful and sublime."
"
Thomas, the butler at Tottenham House, was an interesting character. His life had been spent in service. These years found him a wet-nosed,... Read more
Countryside Memories. Working on The Edge of A Forest in The 1960's
I once worked in a Cottage Hospital, situated on the edge of Savernake Forest in the West Country. The hospital doctors were also the local General Practitioners. The wards consisted of one surgical and one maternity ward and a third ward which was comprised of everything else, all mixed up together. In one bed there was an elderly lady with heart failure and next to her, a teenage girl who had just undergone an abortion. Long term post operative patients were also nursed there. Christmas arrived and Sister made what turned out to be, by the end of the morning, a very potent Punch. She made it in the ward bathroom, indeed to be more specific, she made it in the ward bath! After each addition of alcohol she would sample the ever-changing flavour and was soon quite tipsy. We sang carols around the wards on Christmas Eve and our angelic candle lit faces smiled demurely from the local rag the following week. Appearances can be so deceptive. I had... Read more
Spelling Correction
The area now known as "Stibb Green" was until the 1970s or 1980s known as "Steepe Green" although it was pronounced as Stibb by many of the locals.
When I Was A Child.
My father was born in Great Bedwyn, his name Arthur Maurice Hatter. When I was young in 1952 we were invited to stay with a member of his family in 47 High Street, I remember they had a wonderful garden, layered with full flower beds, also they had a summer house in the garden, today it may be called a conservatory, that is where we stayed.
Almost opposite number 47 was a garage that looked like a wooden barn and we had our old Humber repaired there.
In Church Street on the right hand side was a stonemason and the names of some of his family was engraved above the entance to the shop, these were from family killed in the first world war. In St Mary's Church there are headstones with the family name, I would dearly like to know more as I know very little of my father's family only that he had a brother named Raynor [not sure of the spelling] and his father was a preacher... Read more
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Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Worcester, Worcestershire
- Kempsey, Worcestershire
- Cefn Fforest, Gwent
- Bethesda, Gwynedd
- Hampton Wick, Surrey
- Tenby, Dyfed
- Barnehurst, Kent
- Langley Park, County Durham
- Southgate, Greater London
- Bath, Avon
- Amble, Northumberland
- Almondsbury, Avon
- Greasbrough, South Yorkshire
- Sedlescombe, East Sussex
- Pant, Shropshire
- Chiddingfold, Surrey
- Helsby, Cheshire
- Forest Row, East Sussex
- The Green, Cumbria
- Walsall, West Midlands
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
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I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
