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Tockenham Wick
Tockenham Wick maps
Historic maps of Tockenham Wick and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Tockenham Wick maps
Tockenham Wick photos
We have no photos of Tockenham Wick, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Wootton Bassett| Clyffe Pypard| Great Somerford| Broad Hinton| Compton Bassett| Purton| Bremhill| Calne
Tockenham Wick area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Tockenham Wick and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Tockenham Wick
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Wiltshire memories
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.
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
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.
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
The View From A Volunteer Pub Garden Bench. 16TH JUNE
The most important bench I have had the privelage of sitting on one lunchtime on June 16th 2008 and the view of the Cross Roads. Over a diet coke and an Orange juice I met the best friend I have ever known. The Volunteer Pub, The pub garden bench and the slight view of the Cross Roads will linger with me for ever. That day at 12.15pm was the first time I had been in that village but it is now like a city in my heart. Had many a great meal there since.
Had to go Back.
The building to the right of the picture was one of only two shops in the village. From there, whilst waiting outside for my mother who was shopping in there I shot an arrow from my home-made bow straight up. It came down and hit the roof of a car parked outside the pub. All I got by way of reprimand was an "OI!" from the owner. There were so few cars about during the war and I had to dent the only one in the village!
My mother Jessica Morgan and my Dad, Bill Morgan, were regulars in the pub, and in 1959, when I was in the RAF, she made me wear my uniform to show off to the regulars, who bought me a few pints. I went back with my daughter on Father's Day 2007 and I mentioned to the staff that I had last been there when I was 18 years old. They were not impressed. I noticed on the wall a photo of local... Read more
Not Always Good to be Taller.
I attended this school, on and off during the war years as my father Bill Morgan, was frequently posted around the country, and I would end up with my grandparents, the Eldridges who lived at West House. My teacher was a Mrs Greenaway, who lived a bit further along in the picture, and always put me at the front of the line for our exercise period as I was the tallest ("E's gonna be 6 foot y'know"). This meant that whenever I was at the front I couldn't see what everyone else was doing and always got it wrong. Someone was always bleating out, "Please Miss, Keith Morgans not doing it right!" Nonetheless I loved that school. Just opposite was a cottage that housed the Brind family, and Julie Brind was always telling on me, but told everyone she was going to marry me one day ... I was only six.
