America Woods

A Memory of Shanklin.

I lived in the house called Abbotsford in about 1934 which to this day, stands by the side of the America Woods.
Once a year, the scouts would camp in the field at the back of the house.
I spent many happy times playing in those woods, especially with my two brothers before they joined the army.
They knocked nails into the trunk of the tree to enable us to climb up and we also carved out names into the trunk.( I wonder if that tree is still standing) It was near the entrance of the woods.
There was a cottage in the middle of the woods that sold teas.
There were two trees with swings attached for children to play on.
Have many happy memories of dashing through the woods with my brothers slashing at the undergrowth with home made wooden swords and sitting in dens that they made out of dried ferns and sticks.
I used to pick blue bells and primroses which grew there in abundance.
I came across many an adder, but luckily never got bitten.
We were very fortunate to have the freedom of playing outside using our imagination for fun.
Nearby at Cliff bridge lived friends of my brother's called the Ringers (if my memory served me correctly) I am now 92 years of Age.
Charlie was the name of one the boys and also maybe Jimmy and I think that he joined up to the army in the same regiment as my brother Archie Arnold.
They used to spend a lot of time together with my brothers Archie and Reg up at our house in Abbotsford and in the winter, we would sit around the fire singing and playing on our mouth organs.
One of the boys acquired an old motorbike which they were not allowed to ride on the road as they were not old enough!
The field at the back of our house belonged to a local farmer who kindly allowed the boys to ride it in there.
He kept pigs in a sty close to the field and they were allowed to roam free to forage in the woods.
My mother warned my brothers not to let me ride on the back of the bike. Jim, one of the brothers was very kind and knew just how much I desperately wanted to! So he asked my mother himself if I could. Eventually she gave in and he took me slowly past the pig Sty and up the incline of a slope past the rubbish dump and safely back home again.
One day, my brother Reg took me on it again (without my mother's permission) lost control of the motorbike as we're headed towards the pig Sty, we both fell off and landed in a clump of stinging nettles.
My brother swore me to secrecy, but unfortunately for him it was my bath night and so mother saw the stings and that was the last time I rode on the bike!
My father, Ted, had a go though, but while he was on it the engine overheated and flames shot out and that was the end of the motorbike.
I have many more memories to share about my life on the island before and during WW2 and will endeavour to find time to add them in the future.
Joy x

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