My Childhood At Twyning Farm

A Memory of Shuthonger.

I lived at Twyning Farm at Shuthonger from my birth in October 1926 until 1944, as my father (James L. Brooksbank) owned and lived at this farm (1922-1953), although 1936 - 1944 I was away at boarding-school for much of the time and only at home in the holidays - lengthy as they were. Although now aged 87 (!), I have many and varied memories: here are a few. I can also provide some interesting photographs I took at and around Twyning Farm, many of which I have already uploaded on the Geograph website [[http://geograph.org.uk/]] under the Creative Commons License system; see your Photo Gallery.
Life on the Farm in those days, 70-80 years ago, was no doubt very different from today. Moreover, my father in his own way was somewhat 'old-fashioned' for his times. Thus, he refused to have mains water or sewerage, electricity or a telephone, installed until after World War Two: he also used horses for the farm-work - hunters, believe it not - which he rode frequently with the local Hunts; he only acquired a tractor in 1947. He also only acquired a car in 1938. Life for me, my family and our servants was therefore relatively 'primitive'. (This was good enough for me, but reinforces the conception held by many people that 21st century life - and behaviour, are radically altered: 'people today don't really appreciate how much they live in an entirely different world'!)
I had a thoroughly good time as a small child, and even as a teenager was pressed upon no more than having to work hard on the farm in my school holidays, with driving cattle and sheep, the harvest, plum-picking, etc., etc. This was so even during the War, when living in the country, we were at least exposed to almost no danger - and I went to school in the country as well. We also had plenty to eat, home-grown, also rabbits (shot, or caught by hand). Everyone had to work very hard - and my father had to plough up his precious meadows for cereals. We saw the War pass by us, especially in the shape of the American Military in the second half of the conflict. For me, it was all very exciting. A great oil pipeline was dug across the farm, on its way from the Mersey to the south.
The branch railway from Ashchurch via Tewkesbury to Great Malvern ran along the bottom of Twyning Farm and was the origin of a particular passion for me - 'Train-Watching'. Much of this I indulged in - when old enough, at Ashchurch, to which I tore down on my bike. (I bicycled all over the district, latterly with my first ever girl-friend, the first of many).
Although my father got a car shortly before the War and was able to use it in wartime with the meagre allowance of petrol for farmers, we all got around mainly by bus, or by bike. Several bus routes ran along the main A38 road, just up our lane, where we stopped a bus just by a wave (no Bus Stops in those days): to Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester or Malvern. For a year before I was sent off to boarding-school, I WALKED - on my own, imagine that! - the two miles to school in Tewkesbury, and back: no 'School Runs' - or paedophiles - in those days. Everyone had a bike and before he got a car my father had managed well-enough to get around by horse or horse-and-trap. Coal and other merchandise was delivered and collected by lorry, also shopkeepers cycled up from Tewkesbury to the house to take grocery orders etc. As we had no phone, we had to walk across the field to the Post Office to make a call or send a 'wire', or else the post-mistress (Alice Price) walked across to us with a telegram - even to say someone wanted us on the phone.
Without electricity (or gas) we managed perfectly well with open fires, using mainly wood from the farm. The kitchen was kept warm by the large stove, with boiler from which hot water was taken upstairs by hand. For light we used oil pressure-lamps downstairs and candles upstairs. We did have an indoor loo, the input being pumped by hand up to a tank and the output sent by a drain to a sump 100 yards away down the field. So some people did have to do a lot of hard and dirty work - I was generally too young!.
In my time, Radio had only recently come in and we all enjoyed it - and it was almost entirely just the BBC and very harmless and respectable: no Television of course - thank God!
Twyning Farm itself was totally different in those days. In my father's day, there were trees everywhere: great elms and oaks in the many thick hedge-rows, numerous old apple and pear trees in most of the 10-12 fields, also proper, productive orchards of young trees. I am amazed at how open and bare the area has become in the past 50 years or so. Moreover, several new cottages have been built down the rough lane, which just went, across the railway, to the pastures and 'Mrs Smith's' and now serves a Caravan Park etc. Redpool Farm is also new, I think.

---

---