Tithby Or Tythby

A Memory of Tithby.

I used to live in the village of TYTHBY, spelled with a Y and not an I. I did not even know that there was another village close by with a similar name. But I have checked on the computer and there it is, not too far away in the general direction of Langar. But I do not think there ever was a village in that place during my time at Tythby, perhaps someone knows different.
I remember the then vicar, Mr. Evans, telling us in Sunday School that the name came from the fact that at one time there was a barn there where taxes, or tythes, were collected and stored. Hence TYTHE BARN, or Tythby, maybe I have been under a misaprehension for all those years!
  My family was easily the largest in the village, eventually reaching a total of ten, Dad (Harry), Mum (Flo), and two sons and six daughters. In order of age John, Mary, Joan, Flo., Eileen, Brian, Maureen and Gillian, at the time of writing all eight of us kids are still alive and doing well, although scattered about the world a bit.
Memories are many, life was safe and happy, we played cricket with a wicket chalked on the churchyard wall, interuptions for cars being almost non existant. We roamed far and wide in complete safety, returning home when we got hungry. It was wartime and the years following, lots of rationing of course but we suffered nothing as far as I remember. I do remember watching the hundreds of parachutists training at Newton RAF base, we could just see them from the lane leading to Mr. Prices stackyard. I remember the Shipman family who farmed with 3 farms between several brothers, used to let me ride on the horses which were in common use then for most farm tasks, tractors needed fuel and there wasn't too much of that available.
There was a large American Army camp near Wyverton Hall with some coloured soldiers, we had never seen an actual coloured person before and at first were quite afraid, but soon were used to them, and to the chewing gum and bits of chocalate bars they gave us! One night I heard a lot of lorries going by our house and looked out of my bedroom window to see long lines of them going through the village, I told my dad next morning and he said I must have been dreaming. That day he came home from work and told us the army camp had gone! It must have been June 1944.
I had piano lessons at Mrs. Price's house but no talent I am afraid. I remember Miss Cox who had one of the very few telephones in the village and we all had to go there in any emergency, it was a big thing on the wall and a handle had to be turned to make a call. We used to go to a Mr. Harpley on a Saturday to get some boiled sweets, rationing being on for many years of course. We went to school at Cropwell Butler and walked there sun or rain summer and winter. The village did not have a daily bus service but I think there was a bus on a Saturday to Nottingham, or you could walk to Cropwell Butler and get one from there.
I remember we lived in a large house at the main crossroads in the village, but at one period we had to move out whilst it was modified to 2 houses so as to provide a place for some members of the Womens Land Army to move in, when we moved back we had only 4 bedrooms, but we did have an inside toilet now and even a bathroom with running water, hot and cold. Before that it was a tin bath in front of the fire, taking turns, smallest first. Water heated in a boiler attached to the coal fire and filled by bucket.
Before then the toilet was a wooden seat with a hole, and again a larger bucket underneath, emptying was a matter of digging a very large and deep hole in the garden, we never seemed to suffer any ailments from this.
After the war Field Marshall Montgomery came to a church service, I still have a photo of this. He stayed with a local, Sir Miles-Graham, who had been one of his close helpers during WW2. The whole village turned out.
A giant tractor, a gyrotiller I think it was called, came and tore up hedges, trees, ponds etc. to make more land for growing food, rationing still being severe. We had two pigs in our shed who was fed until a good size and eventually some of it was hung from the pantry ceiling, big hams etc. Later some wooden houses were built, a gift from Sweden I think, in the village, first houses I had ever seen built.
We had a radio and used to listen to Dick Barton Special Agent and Journey into Space. But we had to walk to Cropwell Bishop to have the accumalator recharged so it did not spend too much time on, at that time we had no electricity in the house.
I remember many other names and events but room is limited so time to wait and see if anyone ever reads this. We lived in Tythby for about ten years, it was a good place to live and grow up. I would welcome contact from anyone with any further interest in these memories, especially anyone who remembers the Williamson Family.  Brian Williamson (Murcia - Spain).

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