Mytchett Post Office

A Memory of Mytchett.

My family moved to the post office in Mytchett Road in 1956 when I was six. I used to catch the bus at the bus stop opposite to go to Ash Vale Primary School. Yes, on my own, clutching my penny ha'penny bus fare and reciting in my head 'half to Ash Vale please'. I came home for lunch on the bus too. As I got older my friend and I would save the fare by walking home and spend the money in Mr Hudson's fish and chip shop - he also sold cheap sweets. Next door was a hardware shop (Eades) and a bit further towards the Miners Arms and Frimley Green there was a big white building that was a cafe. We used to run along there to get ice cream sometimes. Opposite was Rorkes Drift, a gravel road where I learned to ride my first bike. A large overspill council estate for bombed out Londoners was built up here but I remember a large disused garden, with lovely fruit bushes and trees and pigstys where we used to play out of sight of adults. Opposite the post office there was Mansells the newsagent and some other shops. On the other side of the post office garden was a little lane called, I think, the Potteries, or something to do with potteries, and it was a short-cut through to Coleford Bridge Road. My parents sold the bit of garden next to the lane as a building plot and retired from the post office in 1959 and we moved to 33 Coleford Bridge Road.
I played a lot in the woods around the canal and lake and we used to paddle in the canal in the hot weather but it was dangerous as it was full of rubbish. When we first moved there you could hire a rowing boat or punt in Ash Vale to take on the canal. Great fun! The recreation ground was in Hamesmoor (?) Road and when a prisoner escaped from Broadmoor Prison they would sound an old all-clear siren from there to let residents know. There were great facilities at the Rec. Toilets, a bowling green, putting green and children's play equipment. Once I was at a Sunday School party in the village hall and they wouldn't let us go home until someone from home collected us because there was a Broadmoor prisoner on the run. Other entertainment was on the ranges. The red flag flew when firing was taking place but we sometimes crawled to the spot behind the big targets even when the soldiers were practising and kept our heads down. We also collected mortar bombs. I remember telling other children that I knew which ones were exploded and which were not, but goodness knows whether I did! A regular sight was all the troop lorries coming through the village, with young soldiers shouting suggestive remarks at us girls.
Farnborough Air Show, which was annual then, affected us quite badly. I was terrified of the loud jets - Fairey Deltas - and they had coloured exhaust in red and blue which used to stain the washing if it was left on the line. I think my mum got some compensation for ruined laundry once and I know my dad got compensated for broken glass in his greenhouse as they broke more than the sound barrier.
Lots of the children at Ash Vale school had army fathers and my friend lived in Keogh Close, married officers' quarters. I found it fascinating to go with her to the NAAFI shop and round their base. Her mother was German and had a miserable time in England in that decade after the war. One of the boys in my class was Danny Schultz. He lived in a council house next to the school. We were told to be nice to Danny because he had had to leave his home, his father was a refugee. I know he missed school once because he had no trousers to wear that day, and he only had the poorest of worn-out plimsolls at the best of times. His family were probably the poorest.
I had some lovely teachers at the school, but for one year, when I was about 8, I had a teacher called Mrs Munday. She was very fierce and used to give us a spelling test every Friday. Every word spelt wrongly would mean one rap across the knuckles with a ruler. I was a good speller but sometimes got the rulerr. I felt very sorry for the children who could not spell and might get half a dozen whacks. Really bad behaviour got the cane. I had the cane a few times for talking in class. My happiest year was with Mr Hill in 'top class'. The head at that time was Mr Watkins.
At Mytchett Cross roads was a red phone box where I spent much of my early teen years ringing my friends. You put three pence (later four) in the slot, dialled the number and pushed button A. If you didn't get through you pushed button B and got your money back. I don't remember the box ever being out of order. Sometimes one or two people would come and wait outside, then you had to finish your call and let them have their turn.
Slightly round the corner was a large Mobil garage and behind it a farm. I was briefly friends with a girl Ginette who lived there, and she had a Shetland pony.
I loved my time in Coleford Bridge Road and was very sorry when my parents moved me away from there in 1965.

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