The Church c1955, Flitwick

Hitler Gives us Another Week's Holiday

We'd had our usual five weeks school holidays when Hitler's Luffwaffe gave us another few days off. His bombers scampering back to the continent, after presumably bombing Midlands cities, jettisoned another, on Glebe land behind the school. The school was not directly hit, but the explosion shattered a few windows. 'HOORAY', another week off school. As far as we kids were concerned, the repairs could take forever, but in reality, it took just a week. Another abiding memory of Flitwick is of the old pond and the smithy next to the school. Neither exists any more, but when horse and cart moved goods around Flitwick, the smithy was kept busy shoeing those horses and I enjoyed leaning over the half door and watching him at the anvil. There was always something to linger over and watch around the pond, and when I eventually got home, Mum would give me a walloping on my backside for being so late. In those days, the school in Dunstable Road had two playgrounds, split by... Read more