World War II

A Memory of Milton Lilbourne.

This picture looks as if it is looking down the street with the church on the right hand side. The Post Office in 1940 was opposite the entrance to the churchyard.
Every Saturday morning I would run to the Post Office through the churchyard to receive my weekly packet of sweets and comics that my mother would send to me from London. I would then run back to the Severals and lie in the field opposite the houses to read and enjoy the sweets. I lived with the Tuckers, Louise the mother, a daughter Ivy, and sorry to say I'm not sure about Mr Tucker's name, but perhaps Bill. I think he had a brother called Dan. For a boy of twelve village life was much different from that of Walworth in London but I have carried the sweet memories of those days over the years with much nostalgia. The last time I saw Milton was in the early 70's and it was a delight to see my boyhood village little changed. Long may it remain so! During those war years Mr Haynes was the prominent farmer with his farm lying at the southern end of the village, his carter, Mr Burden and farmworker Mr Wheeler lived opposite the school where the Misses Pickens sisters taught in the two-room schoolhouse. My sister Edna was fostered by the Wheelers and they became great family friends. During the summer we schoolboys would help with the haymaking and getting in the harvest. Particularly I remember during a lunchbreak lying on our backs and seeing the vapour trails and hearing the gunfire of a day in the Battle of Britain. Later in 1940, or early 1941, I was moved to Melksham to attend West Kensington Central School which had been moved itself from London. In the following years I would cycle from Melksham to Milton to see my sister and my old friends there. I hope that I may visit again before it gets too late. I live in Vermont in a small village that is surrounded by farms and reminds me very much of Wiltshire, including the scent of cattle! Thank you for the opportunity to express my pleasure in memories of Milton Lilbourne.