Memories From my Childhood

I moved to Matching Green in 1944. My mother, Gladys Hoxley (nee Curry), ran the village store, called "the Stores" which had previously been run by my grandfather and grandmother, Ernest and Edith Curry. It was lovely with a large orchard full of fruit trees and a stream running through. My paternal grandfather (Henry Hoxley) helped my mother with the shop and I remember the farm workers coming in for their "baccy". The fair came once a year in October which we all looked forward to and my father Leslie Hoxley played for the local cricket team when he came out of the Army in 1945. I attended Matching Church of England Primary School until 1952 where Major and Mrs Elders were the teachers. In November the Essex Hunt left from the Green lead by Mr. Dudley Ward who was then Master of the Essex Hunt. In May all of the children went onto the Green to celebrate May Day and we danced round the maypole. In 1945 Larry Adler came to celebrate VE Day and played his harmonica in a barn. We children roamed the countryside picking wild flowers and looking for bird nests. We often went onto the old aerodrome where there were Nissan huts full of silver paper. I believe the US Airforce was once based there. I remember Horace Saville (he was my second cousin) and his forge in the corner of the Green where he shoed the horses which worked on the local farms before he went into statue making! I am looking for a photograph of "The Stores" in those days so if anyone has a copy please email me: henry.cockrill@ntlworld.com