The Reynolds' Family

A Memory of Tongham.

My family moved from Woking to Tongham in 1942 into Springpond Cottage in Grange Road - a farm worker’s cottage belonging to Ben Ceasar. Dad was a lorry driver delivering the farm’s vegetables. There was only cold running water and I remember Mum boiling kettles to fill the tin bath where we had to take turns in the same water! The toilet was a bucket in the outhouse and my job was to cut up squares of newspaper to hang on the hook. The house down the lane opposite near the railway line had their water delivered by horse and cart every two weeks. There were seven in the family, Mum (Dorothy), Dad (Ronald), children - Ray, Jim, Maureen, John and Michael. We kids all went to Tongham School (next to the Church) and then Ray went to Badshot Lea school before spending one term in the temporary huts at Yeomans Bridge. New school was in the process of being built. Jim also spent some time in the huts but the rest of us went to the newly built school (now Ash Manor). Dad left the farm and we moved into The Institute in Poyle Road. Dad became the caretaker for school room (side of the house). Once again, there was only a cold water tap in the house, no bath and the toilet was outside; at least this one flushed but the downside was that it froze up in winter and I remember Dad trying to thaw it out with a paraffin heater. In the late sixties I became Tongham’s Postman (five years) taking over from Les Vince/Mrs Pond – best job I ever had. In fact it is my post bike parked outside the Post Office in this picture. Mr Worsfold is sitting on the window sill of the shop.