Tilgate Forest

A Memory of Crawley.

I was lucky enough to be looked after by the warden of Tilgate Forest and his wife whom I referred to as Aunty and Uncle Bill. Bill Wratten was employed by Crawley Council as warden and lived in a Nissen hut with his wife Emily; known as 'Warden's Bungalow' which was situated on the opposite side of the lane where the groups of huts were and are still used today by various clubs. I was taken there by my father early in the morning and collected after tea at night as my mother had returned to work. From the age of 2 until 5 years I was there all day and then in school holidays. At this time Tilgate Forest was very natural and not the manicured area it is today. Tilgate lakes were not accessible to the public at that time. There was an elderly lady called Mrs Cross who lived in a cottage near the stables who kept Chihuahua's and could often be seen shopping locally with one of her many small dogs in her holdall. I continued to spend all my time in the forest until Uncle retired and was moved into a bungalow near Tilgate shops. This would have been about 1967/8. Two other Nissen huts were occupied as dwellings. A Polish man by the name of Stan lived in one (I was told that he fought for us during the war and couldn't go home) and another man who was called Mr Wheeler, but referred to, rather cruelly by the local children, as 'one-eye popeye' as he had lost an eye, but never wore a patch. It was the best possible childhood as I had the run of the forest and 'Wardens Bungalow'.. it was magical!