Raf Tern Hill And St Josephs College

A Memory of Market Drayton.

From 1946 till 1951 we lived at RAF Tern Hill and every day my brother and I travelled by bus (Butters Bus Company as I remember!). We were dropped off near the lovely ivy-covered hotel in the square, and walked down the hill past the swimming pool then uphill to St Joseph's College. We were always impressed by the thought of Clive of India climbing that church tower - we looked at it once but decided not to try it. Tern Hill airfield was a paradise for adventurous little boys, and I never forgot the rasping sound of the engines of the Harvard trainers.
The college in Pell Wall Hall was also wonderful, with the ground filled with beech trees and rhodendenrons. I remember being told that a woman had committed suicide in Buntingsdale Lake while we were living there- later I wondered if that was true? Everyone we met in Drayton was nice and friendly, and I have wonderful memories of my days spent there! I went to Market Drayton Grammar School for a year after taking the '11 Plus', before moving to Wellington - a horrible place in comparison!

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