Those Were The Days

A Memory of Weston.

I was born in the home of my grandparents John and May (nee Hulse) Yeomans in Mere Road, my mother being the former Kathleen Yeomans. My immediate neighbours on either side were Jack and May Platt and family and Horace and Kath Gibson and family. Following my father's demobilisation from the army after WWII, I went to live with him and mum in Crewe, but before the 1950's appeared, we had moved back to Weston, living at 24 East Avenue where I remained until I joined the army in 1959. Whenever I went on leave from the army, I always returned to Weston where my parents still lived before they emigrated to Australia in 1963 with my three younger brothers, Graham, Alan and Malcolm. My grandparents also still lived in Weston, later moving from Mere Road to a new bungalow at 19 East Avenue. Sadly my grandmother died late in 1964, but after leaving the army in 1965 and living in Crewe, I still visited my grandad at least once every week and I was totally devastated when he died in 1971. I still miss him dearly to this day. In 1963, I married my sweetheart Jennifer Mulliner of Crewe and we now have three adult children, Andrew, Angela and David, all resident in the state of Victoria, Australia since 1977. In my early years, everyone knew everyone and we were all so friendly. The young members of the community often took long walks over the fields and a very special memory for me was working for free for Mr Arthur Parton at Weston Hall farm during the school summer holidays and most weekends. We all were so busy working with the hay from morning until night and often arriving home after dark. Other farm duties were also carried out with great gusto and no-one ever complained. Another favourite pastime was playing in the Bluebell wood. I have revisited England three times since coming to Australia and each time the village had changed and to me it was never the same. I still have friends in Weston with whom I am in contact via email, so I am regularly kept up to date with events, including the recent 90th birthday of Jack Steele to whom I sent a congratulatory card. Whenever I meet with my brother Alan who lives nearby, Weston is often the topic of conversation and I am now in possession of a recently released photographic DVD put together by a resident of the village. Oh! Those were the days and I would give anything to be able to turn back the clock.

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