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Lyneham
Lyneham maps
Historic maps of Lyneham and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Lyneham maps
Lyneham photos
We have no photos of Lyneham, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Clyffe Pypard| Wootton Bassett| Compton Bassett| Bremhill| Great Somerford| Calne| Broad Hinton| Cherhill| Quemerford| Derry Hill| Purton| Avebury| Malmesbury
Lyneham area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Lyneham and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Lyneham
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Lyneham.
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RAF Lyneham, 1947-48
My first job, after leaving Chippenham Secondary School in 1947, was in the Met. Office at RAF Lyneham. I sometimes cycled there from my parents' home at Box, between Chippenham and Bath. Airfield security seemed almost non-existent in those days, and one could go straight onto the station from the main road without even going through the main gate. As we were doing shift work at the office, the staff had to live on or near the airfield except on our days off. The senior civilian staff lived in the Officers' Mess, but junior staff members like myself were in the Sergeants' Mess, where I think we were regarded with slight disapproval by a few of the older NCOs.
At that time, RAF Transport Command was operating Avro York aircraft, replaced by the Handley-Page Hastings a year or so later. There were frequent flights from Lyneham to Malta and North Africa, and of course there was the Berlin airlift in 1948.
Wiltshire memories
Renovating The Old School House
This was the year my wife and I took a big gamble. Looking for a DIY challenge and a move into the countryside from Basingstoke we decided to buy the Old School House in Clyffe Pypard. The Victorinan house, dating back to 1854, needed total renovation, inside and out, but what potential! It had a magnificent hall with beatutiful beams, attached to the headmaster's living accommodation - a two up and two down layout (bathroom and toilet outside, of course). We did not realise at the time what a mammoth task we had taken on and five years later when the 'ruin' had been turned into a great house we were, well, putting it mildly, exhausted, but had a great feeling of satisfaction.
We hired an architect and local builder to work through the main structural work while I struggled with the plumbing and electrics. It was a real adventure into the unknown, pulling down false ceilings, rebuilding the fireplace in the hall, cleaning the massive old oak doors, installing... Read more
Tree in Brinkworth Church Graveyard.
I cannot remember what year it was. I climbed the tree that was in the graveyard while watching my mum who was in the school playground supervising the children in the playground at dinnertime. The only problem was the branch I stood on was not as strong as I thought it was. It snapped and I fell down on to the round-topped wall that was below. The man that worked at the post office came out and saw me laying there and called my mum who came and found me and took me home.
Grandmother's House
I have so many fond memories of my grandmother's house. The house is on the left of the picture and has two bay windows and is painted white. As a child I would play with the turkeys which were kept in the stables at the rear. They were surprisingly companionable! My grandmother had a raised pansy garden and to me they all looked like velvet! I remember enjoying the smell of the old lilac tree in one corner of the garden.
I can remember from 1956ish, when I was 6, we had huge Christmas parties and all the family would come from far and wide. The table would groan under the weight of food. We would have a new outfit and everyone would "do a turn"! Grandmother was a lovely pianist and we had some good singers!
The back servants stairs, which led from the small back room down to the kitchen (as servants then, did not use the main stairs) were a source of fear and... Read more
A Lucky Find Chestermans Farm.
Having started to work with a company in Fleet I needed to find somewhere to live that was commutable both to work and our home in Devon. Having spent a whole weekend looking at various properties in the surrounding area without any luck we had one more left on the list to look at before heading home again. To our delight it was just what we needed, plenty of space, peace and quiet and the dogs were well pleased. We stayed for two years before moving on again but we loved the farm and it still crops up in conversation.
The Village
I was born in the village in 1934, my grandfather Edgar Edwin Budge had Bremhill Grove Farm, we lived in the cottage attached to the farmhouse. I and my sister Janet went to the local school, where Miss Tavener was my teacher, Miss Simper was the head. We used to go to the local Sunday School and events in the village hall. In about 1942/43 my grandfather had foot and mouth on his farm when all his animals had to be killed, it was the last farm in the country to have foot and mouth at that time. During the Second World War my father was in the village Home Guard. We lived in the village until 1943 when we moved to Chippenham.
Tales From my Father
My father grew up on Compton Bassett, his name was Reginald Hooper and he lived with his parents and brothers and sisters at No 36. I remember well the stories he told me as a child about his childhood growing up in the village, his friends, how they played in the street and roamed all over the fields, sang in the church choir and went to school in the village. It all seemed so idyllic but I suppose life was quite hard for most village people in those days. When I read 'Cider with Rosie' it all seemed so familiar, as if I had already been there. They are all gone now but the memories live on.
