My Second Home

A Memory of Lower Heyford.

In 1943 I worked on the Great Western Railway and sent by them to Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire as a locomotive fireman.  It was here that I met a young lady whose home was Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire.  She also worked in Leamington on the GWR as a Passenger Guard. This lady was later to become my wife.  After a short period of going out together she invited me to her home.

Her home 112 Freehold Street, Lower Heyford is shown in the picture, seen on the right with a Porch at the front door and a bush adjacent.  The Family were Mr. & Mrs. George Cuss. They had three children, 1. Alice, (Now Mrs. A. Stockley living at Swanage,  Dorset. 89 years of age)  2. Mary, Later Mrs. A. Davies  (deceased) who also lived in the village.  3. Ronald George who was in the Army at the time  4. Edith Eleanor Ruth, (Always called Ruth) and the girl I met in Leamington.

Warmly welcomed Ruth and I visited there whenever we could.  My memories include, the walks around the village and a few adjacent villages, like Caulcot, Upper Heyford and Steeple Aston. The banks of the River Cherwell that ran past the village together with the adjacent Oxford Canal also provided great walks.  In the Square then known as Bell Square (Now Market Square) was the village shop that was owned and run by Ruth’s Aunt Edith, a Miss Reason, the Pub, obviously called ‘The Bell’ and the small infants or lower school that Ruth attended.  A short walk along the lane was the village C of E Church a nice where we often attended and where her Father was Vicars Warden and a Bell Ringer. In 1946 Ruth & I were married at this Church. The Reception held at the Village Hall, now replaced with a better building. In those days it was called the ‘Sweat Box’ and most Saturdays Dances were held there, very often a Whist Drive first.  It was well sponsored by the Military who were stationed all around.  There was even an Anti Aircraft Gun and crew in the field at the back of Ruth’s home. One enemy plane dropped incendiary bombs in that field.
The village Hall had a committee and Ruth’s Father was the Secretary, he was also Secretary of the Parish Council.

Before Ruth was sent to Leamington she worked at the local Railway Station, part of which was dismantled and taken to Didcot Railway Museum for preservation. Her sister Alice and her husband also worked at the Station as they had lost their home in a bombing raid where they were living. Swanage, Dorset.  So they returned to Heyford and lived with her Mother and father, later renting a house in nearby Steeple Aston.  The Station had a Signal Box and Ruth’s father was one of the three signalmen that manned it.  In 1947 my daughter Annette was born, Ruth returned from Leamington to have the baby in her parent’s home. She was later christened in the village Church.  In 1950 I returned to South Wales where we set up home and were blessed with two more children, another daughter, Alison and a Son Jonathan.  But we often and I still do return to visit Heyford and the relations there the children still talk about the village, especially the house they played in, an unused Pigsty in the family garden. A long time ago and life so different , water having to be brought in buckets from a well and no modern toilets.  One big hub of the community was the RAF station at Upper Heyford, a pre war Station going back to the 1930.s.  Later in the war to become an American ‘Base’ carrying out WW.2 operations carried out from there.  In the early 1920/30.s the RAF flew a Bomber that was called ‘The Heyford’.

So many memories of my second home, sadly I lost my good wife on 14-02-2005, but her home is still a magnet to me and all being OK will be visiting later this year.