Ten Happy Years

A Memory of Watchfield.

I moved to Watchfield in 1940 and left in 1950. My dad, Mr Woolman, worked for the army and had his office in Homelees Farm in the camp. What a change has taken place at Watchfield. Gone are the places we could play in safety. The brook is now overgrown and no where to paddle. The cottage at Tuck Mill has gone and the stepping stones are nearly covered in weeds. We used the pathway to Shrivenham and used the stepping stones when the brook overflowed its banks. This was our path to school until the army came and took us in an army lorry. My house on Watchfield Road used to look out over the barn which was burnt down in 1944. There is a housing estate there now. At the back of us was a field, but now a school, and above that a hill where a bomb was dropped and left a huge crater that when the snow was on the ground, we slid down on bits of plastic. There was another crater on the opposite side of the road to the airfield, My dad ran the football team called the Lily Whhites. The Buckland boys played for the team. They lived on Star Lane at the top end of the village. A photo used to hang in the Oak public house with all the team and my dad on it, but as the pub has now gone, or so I understand, I guess the photo has gone too. I did ask some years ago if I could buy the photo, but I was refused...so sad. I attended the Sunday School at St Thomas's and went to Shrivenham school until we went to the Farringdon Modern School where I had two years till we left the area. Mr Friend, was the headmaster at Shrivenham and there were two wonderful sisters as teachers - the Parker sisters. They were lovely to us children. The headmaster at Farringdon Modern School was Mr Wills. My friend was Pam Partridge from Shrivenham, who I still write to, bless her. The Americans were very good to us children when they took over the Beckett Estate Camp. They treated us to a party at Christmas or took the older children to Oxford to the Pantomime. There must be hundreds of photos of us English kids in America, the times they took us on their cameras...happy times. We used to go to the Belford Drome in the camp on a Saturday morning to see a film show. Each Saturday they showed an episode of Nioka, Queen of the Jungle...how we loved it. It was a lovely English village, was Watchfield, with a Military Camp and housing attached to it. Now it's anything but..I was 3 years old when I moved there and 13 when I left. I am now 75, in fact 76 tomorrow, and still love the place and am so sad that the cottage at Tuck Mill has gone. I would love a photo of that place. We had such happy times playing in the water there by the bridge. The lady in the cottage, Miss Joyce, used to give us a drink and a cake - she was so sweet. I can remember most of the people who lived in the village and most of the army children as well. If anyone would like to contact me they would be welcome to do so. Fond, fond memories.