Memories of Mile Oak

Mile Oak Portslade 1938 to 1950

Hello, I was one of the few children who lived in Mile Oak Road and and also played on Broomfields Farm, we lived at no 222 which was the second to last house before the road dropped down the hill to Mile Oak. The old wagon mentioned used to be the shepherd's hut that he moved around the fields with his sheep, which were kept in pens made of woven hurdles, we spent many hours with the shepherd when the sheep were moved around the field at the bottom of our garden, having mugs of tea and he often shared a piece of cake with us kids. The naughty boys school, as it was known to us, over looked our house, my mother often had some of the boys home for tea on Sundays, I think the masters used to use tea with us as a reward for good behaviour. It was a nice surprise for me to read Bonny Cother's memories, which certainly rekindled a lot of my happy memories of Mile Oak, for which I thank her, I am one of six children, I was eight yrs. old in 1947 with two sisters, five and twelve yrs, older, a sister 5 yrs younger and two brothers eight & ten years younger.

Mile Oak Revisited

My mother was a land girl, she worked daily on Farmer Broomfield's farm Some of my earliest memories are of playing with other kids around an old black caravan, more a hut on wheels, provided as a shelter from the weather. Piles of wet weather coats made a comfy sleeping bed for me, while mum worked and the older kids played. Maybe I was getting too big for my pram, cause I remember it being around, until the day my brother put his feet through the bottom drop down section, when fooling around with his friends. The end of my pram days.
The field was at the bottom of Beechers Road, opposite the "jumping field" as the horses field was known, next to Chalky Lane. This was a field which covered a lot of space, and uphill towards the two storey houses on Mile Oak Road.
Mum complained often of back problems, but no doubt all the women involved in bending and weeding the rows of vegetables had back pain.
I dont recall her stopping work, it just happened, we no longer joined the Mile Oak/Portslade kids in play.
1948 From that time it seemed Mum went to work at the "naughty boys school" as the LCC school was called. High on the hill overlooking Mile Oak, a place of mystery for the resident kids. A place of punishment for the boys from London and surrounding districts. A beautiful structure, a shame it has now been demolished. I have seen similar architecture in Duluth USA, at an old family home, now a museum. Shame the boy's school was not kept for it's historical value.