No.4 Manor Farm Cottage.....

A Memory of Teversham.

i was evacuated with my mother and brother around 1940 the first time and twice again later during the war. The first time i was about 2 years old and stayed with a couple who ran a public house in cherry hinton so i was told....my mother and baby brother stayed at manor farm cottages. The following time we all stayed together with lovely Mrs. Starling at number 4. I loved that place, it is imprinted on my heart. The only light we had in the evenings was from candles and the lovely big glass funnelled oil lamp....ny brother shared a bedroom with my mother but i had my own slanted ceiling room which at night the flickering light of the candle would cast shadows upon.
My bed had a small window to the right hand side..and i would be woken early in the morning by the cockerel cock a doodle dooing and the clank of the silver metal milk urns as the farmer slurped out fresh milk into the waiting utensils...Later we would all sit round the table in the small living room and eat hot porridge. The smell and glow from the blackened open range fire adding to the cosiness and warmth of our breakfast.
We continued going back to Mrs. Starlings even after the war finished, she was a really lovely lady who was quite elderly when we were first billeted on her... when she died i cant remember the exact year, she was in her 90s..she is buried in the beautiful old churchyard at the top of the high street/church road where my brother aged 7 had been christened, his godfather being Mr Tuddenham who lived with his family near the railway crossing......last time i visited teversham (i still come back from time to time) his house, and Manor Farm cottages had all disappeared.......
The first time i remember arriving in Teversham.......was from a single decker bus lit only by a dim blue light that stopped on the corner near Marshalls aerodromet.......it was quite late and as we alighted from the bus the darkness was absolute...this time i i would have been about 4 years old i guess....my mo0ther carried my brother and a young airman that had alighted with us lifted me up and carried our suitcase down the lane to Manor Farm cottages.
I didnt realise that such a page as this existed.....and browsing through this evening i typed in "teversham" and lo and behold.....so i just had to write this down......thank you lovely Teversham and lovely Mrs. starling from someone who will always remember you....

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