Forest, Big Bellied Oak c1955, Savernake
Forest, Big Bellied Oak c1955, Savernake Ref: S66082
Memories of Forest, Big Bellied Oak c1955, Savernake
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Savernake & local memories
Read and share memories of Savernake and Wiltshire inspired by Frith photos.
During The War 1942
During the summer of 1942 my uncle who was an American soldier lived in several place in the Savernake Forest and eventually was billeted in "the big house" (Tottenham House)and kept a wonderful journal. I will cut and paste a few short passages as space is limited.
"Yesterday we did a little moving and as a result I’m now living in the Big House in a small room, one of the two hundred odd. I suppose it was servant’s quarters, but it is quite pleasant, a fire place and best of all a wide window, set in a deep wall so there is a window seat and the view from the window is quite the most beautiful thing I could hope to feast my eyes on. Its England as it was meant to be rural, peaceful and sublime."
"
Thomas, the butler at Tottenham House, was an interesting character. His life had been spent in service. These years found him a wet-nosed,... Read more
A Respite A Sanctuary on A Long Journey.
Savernake Forest is significant to me because this was the chosen halfway point on our family's mid+ 1950's long road journey from Hereford to Portsmouth for our annual summer holidays.
Here, my stepfather, Lt.Colonel H.R.W*****, MA,RAEC, future OBE and general SOB, would pull the old Hillman off the road among the massive roots of this ancient, historic forest's huge oaks and my haughty stepmother would take out the sandwiches and lemonade we had packed for the trip and we'd wolf them down ( I was constantly hungry) followed by the inevitable tossing around the tennis ball ( or worse, cricket ball) thereby stretching our legs in the cool of the forest, before resuming our journey.
Countryside Memories. Working on The Edge of A Forest in The 1960's
I once worked in a Cottage Hospital, situated on the edge of Savernake Forest in the West Country. The hospital doctors were also the local General Practitioners. The wards consisted of one surgical and one maternity ward and a third ward which was comprised of everything else, all mixed up together. In one bed there was an elderly lady with heart failure and next to her, a teenage girl who had just undergone an abortion. Long term post operative patients were also nursed there. Christmas arrived and Sister made what turned out to be, by the end of the morning, a very potent Punch. She made it in the ward bathroom, indeed to be more specific, she made it in the ward bath! After each addition of alcohol she would sample the ever-changing flavour and was soon quite tipsy. We sang carols around the wards on Christmas Eve and our angelic candle lit faces smiled demurely from the local rag the following week. Appearances can be so deceptive. I had... Read more
