Back to the War.
At the start of the War like all other Villages, and Towns, a Local Defence Volunteers Unit was formed, later to become the Home Guard. Most of the original volunteers were older, and had fought in the First World War; they took to it like a duck takes to water.
Later would come the compulsory "Recruits", mostly the younger men awaiting their "Call Up", into the regular Services, they didn't have the dedication of the older ones. Contrary to the many derogatory stories told about this force in general, I believe they would have given a good account of themselves if they had been called on to do so. Apart from their previous active Service, they knew the area intimately, and couldn't wait for the call to come. In no way would they compete with a Regular Unit for smartness, and discipline, but their weapons training, and practical work was treated as a necessary part of life.
The Rifles were originally First War, Short Lee Enfields, which were later changed to Canadian Ross, they also had some Grenade throwing Rifles; the name "Boys", springs to mind. Picking up two Rifles tested the proof of how strong anyone might be, this was accomplished by grasping the end of the barrel, one in each hand, and raising them to shoulder height, a bit beyond us I have to admit.
One of their problems was of course to get enough men on Parade to be "Workable", as everyone had to go to work, and could only attend during non working hours. A "Spigot", Mortar, which I believe was originally designed, and built in "Churchill's Toyshop", at Whitchurch, was their only heavyweight Weapon, and they had a few Two-Two, Rifles for firing on the Rifle Range, which had previously been known as the Reservoir Bank. As Children we might get a couple of shots at the end of the day so it was sometimes worth a visit when you heard Rifle Fire.
Much of our spare time would be spent watching for the Regular Army to put in an appearance, on manoeuvres, which they did quite often. They would leave behind all sorts of treasures, depending much on the kind of Unit involved, although only very occasionally the coveted Army Knife. If there had been armoured Vehicles then the chances of finding some of their two inch Smoke Mortar Shells that had been fired but hadn't ignited was good. These we would deal with by cutting them in half and lighting with a Match, and a taper this meant you could lay down two private smoke screens when desired.
The most serious problem here was that you needed to borrow a Hacksaw, not so easy when the owner discovered what you intended to do with it, despite this small setback many were dispatched in this fashion. The "Smokepots", could just be lit with a long taper, after suitable treatment on the Casing. ,
Thunderflashes, we might find in mint condition, which would be lit in the proper way by striking them on the "Brassard", also left behind, but if misfires then we would simply draw out the Fuse, reverse it, and force it back into the top of the Thunderflash. This left them with a shorter Fuse, than previous, so again we would use a taper, and might just drop them into an empty four Gallon Petrol Tin of which there were always plenty left behind. This had the effect of opening the Tin like Flower Petals, very satisfying! The Fuse might just blow out with a "Whoosh", and no bang, if not pushed back in far enough.
Very Cartridges didn't do much only burn with a bright light, these were lit after breaking open the Cardboard Casing, taking great care with the Propulsive Charge, which could explode with some violence, once out of the Case that was also no problem.
Many Bul1ets were found, both 1ive Ball or 1ive Blank, the B1anks would have the end gent1y forced open unti1 we could pul1 out one of the Cordite "Straws", this would be lit with a match, and a taper you then had a little Rocket which would travel over any flat surface.
Live Ball would have the end snapped off, and may be treated in the same way, or you could fire them complete by holding them firmly in some way or other, and striking the "Cap", with a nail set in a long stick, it may take several attempts before you struck the cap, and bits of the case could fly all over the place.
There was a device to imitate the sound of Bullets being fired these comprised of a number of large "Bangers", similar but larger than those found inside Christmas Crackers, which would be tied to the end of the Rifle, and ignited by pulling the cord attached, these of course didn't present any problems at all. Dummy Hand Grenades, (made of Clay), and anything not considered too difficult, would be quickly disposed of by us.
We never held on to anything that might be dangerous, (I can't remember what that could possibly be), but would hand it back to whoever came looking for lost Ammunition.
There was ever only one very small accident, this was when one Lad held on to something he should have thrown away quickly, and he ended up with a slightly burnt hand this was soon dealt with by the Military Medical Officer, and later came the mandatory lecture by an Officer who visited the School to warn of the dangers. Wot dangers!!. This reminds me that Mr Chad, and V for victory signs appeared everywhere at some time. This was also the time for all of us to ask possible German spies to say "Wendle Wilkie", (a member of the American Government I seem to recall). Anyway whatever, a true German would reply with "Vendle Vilkie", however I can't be sure that it worked.
We certainly had more luck with this British made "Stuff", than we had, had with those German incendiaries some two years or so earlier, when we had been unable to reach a high enough temperature to .set the casings off, the powder core having already burned. Older and Wiser? Perhaps!.
One Lad "Acquired" some two inch RAF Very Cartridges complete with the Pistol, but we mostly decided not to have anything to do with this, as it was possible that the colour of the fired Cartridge could well be of importance to either an Aircraft or someone on the Airfield. We also understood that a Red Flare fired from an Aircraft about to land meant injured on board, so, he was very much on his own with this one. Later the Police found out, and they were collected, surprisingly no further action was taken. We did see one such Very fired in earnest, this was from a visibly very badly damaged American Flying Fortress on its way in to a landing on the local RAF, Airfield at Westcott.
The American Forces (Army) only came on a couple of occasions, and their "Jeeps" were soon loaded up to the "Gunwales" with Children various, they would take us up and down some of the many pits found in the fields. It was all great fun to us, though not considered particularly so by parents, who could always see danger in anything we did. You just couldn't convince them that "Jeeps" don't turn over. I think the pits must have been dug to find stone, there were certainly many of them, and just right for a "Jeep", with us on board to contend with.
The British Army sometimes brought Tanks, but although they might let us go inside, there was never any chance of riding on or in them. For many days after a battle there would be some (Broken Down ones) left behind, their Covenanters not being too reliable.
The Battles were good for us to watch though, particularly as on one occasion when the defenders had just managed to get their first meal cooked for several days, when an attacking Covenanter deliberately ran over the fire completely destroying the cooking pots, and all of the hot steaming food. This brought a quick and very violent reprisal from the aggrieved in the form of an all out attack on this one vehicle. First they prised open the hatches that had quickly been firmly closed, and then tossed in a smoke canister for good measure they then proceeded to drag the crew out, with the result that there was a "Coming together" of several vehicles, no-one being able to see what was what. I think my lasting love of such ungainly vehicles started about this time.
One thing that appeared to be quite tasty, that is until you had to eat it for real, was "Hard tack"; we would usually acquire some during their stay. ,
One good thing that the Army did leave behind were the smooth tracks made by the various Vehicles in the fields, we could now Cycle for literally miles through the gaps in the Hedges, the Ditches now being smoothed at the same place to just a wide depression.
This state of affairs would continue until the repair gang (Claims commission), arrived on the scene to spoil our fun, by filling in the gaps with wooden fencing, or we had a heavy rainstorm which turned them into rivers of mud, neither was very popular with us. One spin off from the claims commission was the short lengths of fence rail they left, this was normally Deal, and therefore soft, and easy to carve. This would most likely start us off on a spree of making wooden Tanks there would then follow many Tank Battles much superior to those that had just ended.
The Local Airfield (Westcott), had previously opened, (September Nineteen-forty-two), and soon afterwards (I think December), a Wellington crashed close to Watbridge farm the Aircraft being totally destroyed.
Sometime after came a crash on the outskirts of the Village, this took place on a very stormy November night, (I think Nineteen-forty-three), and despite the fact that the Plane (A Wellington), ended up only a hundred yards or so from two occupied Houses, it wasn't found for some hours. It had previously struck a row of Elm Trees, at Upper Pollicot, just taking the top branches off, before turning some ninety degrees, and finally striking an ash tree at lower Pollicot head on, most probably somersaulting, and being almost totally destroyed, though unusually there didn't seem to be any evidence of a fire. I believe the most likely reason f or this was the fact that the Aircraft completely broke up, and was scattered that basically there was nothing left to burn. The awful part of this crash was that had the Aircraft been some forty-feet to the right it would have had a clear run to the bottom of the hill with only a few small bushes, and a low hedge to contend with in the next half a mile or so. It was always thought that the only survivor may have been the Rear Gunner. This was to happen several times more, but never quite so close. We would later visit the sites, and pick up long belts of .303 Bullets; these would be handed over to the person in charge. I clearly remember one Wing being almost intact to the point that the Petrol Tanks were still full, this was proved when the recovery Crew tried to "Narrow" it with a Sledge Hammer to enable it to be towed through a gateway. Someone suddenly had the bright idea that it was not good practice to hit it so hard, while still possibly containing Petrol, and so a "Filler Cap", was removed to check.
I believe the fact that the Crews of these Aircraft were mostly killed tended to wash over us to a great extent, although I think we were fully conscious that this was the case.
Later in the War a Wellington crashed just outside Wotton Station, this was on a Sunday afternoon, and I would think that it must have been in January nineteen-forty-five. It first hit a row of elm trees, taking out the tops before diving very steeply into the ground, apparently under power.
One light Aircraft hit Power lines head on; the Pilot, a Foreigner, walked away uninjured, after putting some of our "Lights out".
Also a plane, probably an Airspeed Oxford, flew under power cables in the same area leaving part of its tail behind, this was later collected by Motor cyc1e and Sidecar.
We might go down to "Westcott turn", the intersection between the A41 and the Ashendon road, to watch the planes taking off or landing depending on the direction of the wind, but would more likely end up on their playing field to watch the athletics or football that always seemed to be taking place.
A good place to see the Aircraft close up was when the wind blew from the north, and as a result they would fly low over the top of Cuckoo Pen hill, this was only on very few occasions, as was the reverse when they would take off going south.
One day we were allowed to go on board a Wellington at the Airfield but I can' t actually remember why, but it must have been a Royal Airforce celebration day of some kind, it could have been "Wings for Victory", or some such.
One Day a Hotspur Glider paid us a visit, it being unable to get back to its base at Haddenham, it made a normal landing in a cornfield. We were allowed to go on board, and inspect it, it was later dismantled,
and taken away on a trailer.
Watching the "Antics" of the Gliders, and in particular the towing Aircraft, which would drop away very steeply after breaking the tow took up some of the time. One of our Teachers was engaged to, and later married the Pilot of a tug, he would come over on occasions to give her a private Flying display.
The Telegrams received by some Families in the Village cast a feeling of gloom over everyone, in some cases the young man would return, possibly after a spell as a Prisoner of War; others were not so lucky.
Let me try and lift that Gloom a bit, in two ways.
In 1945 Westcott Airfield would be the first British soil touched by over fifty thousand British and Allied returning Prisoners of War since being taken Prisoner. I think if you know of the name of any type of large Aircraft then that would have come in loaded with Troops. The lowly Anson bringing eight, through the Dakota with it's thirty or so, to the Curtis Commando with it's hundred plus, even Lancasters arrived. A Hangar was emptied, and large stoves fitted to provide accommodation for these men, who had to have Medical examinations, be kitted out with clothing, and generally made welcome before being shipped off to Slough, to be sent home. Many of them, particularly those from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry would literally pass their homes on the journey through Aylesbury, or this at least is the way it was told to me by some of those involved. Many people gathered to watch, and cheer them on their way. This activity carried on until the perimeter track could no longer support that number of Planes, and so the satellite Airfield at Oakley was used. Fortunately, and perhaps unbelievably, there were no accidents during this busy time. A Massive Firework display using Flares, and Signal Rockets, with a huge Bonfire took place on the sports ground at the Airfield to celebrate VE day. The above Hangar was cleared, decorated with Flags and Bunting with a Band playing for dancing. Ashendon as did all the Villages round the area laid on a Bonfire, but Fireworks, apart from any Thunderflashes that we had managed to keep were in very short supply. A second massive display was held in Aylesbury cattle market and the recreation ground, this time by the Army. They too used very pistols, end signal rockets, I do remember that they had to wait until dark, which meant some of us having to rush off to catch the last bus, Nine-fifteen or nine-thirty, seems to ring a bell for this.
The other Bright Spot was:-
The practise of pig keeping started up again as a result as of the war, as now you were allowed to Kill two pigs per year without upsetting the "Dreaded" Food Rationing System.
The way it worked for the average Family went something like this:-
Most people would keep at least two, and some even three or four, the spares being sent to Market to subsidise the one to be killed. The buying of the Piglets could be done two ways. You could form a syndicate to keep the cost of transport down and of course to buy in bulk.
This meant sending someone off to Thame or Aylesbury Market to do the buying, which only gave you the choice of what was available on that particular day, at that Market, and you were very much in the hands of the buyers expertise. You also still had to get them transported.
The other way, and favourite with my Father was to get the local Catt1e Transporter to obtain them for you, he had a much wider radius of action, as he covered most of the local Markets. He would have a much wider choice, and would only buy the best, this was slightly more expensive, but enabled people to "Do their own thing", and of course they were delivered to your door, and as it was all done "Cash in hand", there would be a small discount for cash.
All over the Village strange new buildings sprang up to house these Animals and the talk in the Pub, I am sure (But much too young to Know), would at sometime get round to Pigs. Many new "Coppers", and other devices for boiling the Swill, also appeared.
The one to be killed would be an easy decision, provided you didn't do the "Deed", on the same day as anyone else in the Village. The reason, for this was that much of the Meat had to eaten quickly as there was no way of keeping it for any long period, and so you would dispose of much of this to other Pig Keepers, they in their turn would do the same for you.
This was a very busy day for those involved, a suitable place cleaned up, Straw obtained for the singeing of the carcass, containers got read to hold the various bits, as it is said that everything except the squeal of a pig can be either eaten or used. Borrow the “Barrow", a kind of Stretcher to carry said carcass, and you are on the way to being ready. A couple of volunteers were handy as the carcass was usually quite heavy and by night f all everyone had had just about enough.
The actual killing would be done by a Licensed Slaughterer who would travel round the Villages by Bicycle, probably after closing his Butchers Shop which by now would have most likely sold out, he would also do the cutting up to the Customers requirements, the horrible part was that you would now be eating nothing but Pork and Lard for days to come.
The news of the killing would spread round the area like "Wildfire", even the Postman was known to bring a bucket in his Van in the often vain hope that the "Chitterlings", (Intestines) hadn't been spoken for.
The next big job would .be the salting of the sides and hams. This was done in large Lead Trays, (called Leads), the meat laid in them and the salt solution being poured over for as long as was decided to be necessary. This would normally mean that the Trays would be left near where you had to pass frequently, a cup being left conveniently to hand so that anyone passing could scoop up a measure, and pour it over the top.
Every Family had their own ideas as to what made up the solution, Beer, and Stout being added to many, Saltpetre being a necessity. After the salting was considered to be complete the meat would be dried and possibly hung behind a Curtain beside the Fireplace so that lumps could be, cut off as required.
None of this would deter our experts, as at each stop the Wine would be brought out, some of which would make Vinegar appear palatable, and some so thick that it might have been easier to eat with a Knife. and fork than to actually drink but nothing not even the weather was allowed to spoil the evening. At most Houses there would be several different varieties to taste ranging from Cowslip to potato, and every species of plant in between. Parsnip being particularly revolting, though they would almost certainly agree that the wine was first class, the resulting opinions regarding the pigs would be as many and varied as the glasses of Wine tasted. The final summing up of their findings would most likely take place in the pub, assuming of course that there was any beer left, pubs had a habit of running out in those days.
The difficult decision would be when to send the Spare Pigs to market. The reason for this difficulty being that pigs attracted varying prices per score, according to which category they fell into. A “Baconer”, which I seem to remember was under eight score, would fetch more per Score than if placed in a category higher (in weight) so you will see it was very important to have a very good idea of the weight before sending it off to market.
On a Sunday morning, possibly after Home Guard Parade, the owners would gather to make the fateful decision. This was of course an occasion not to be missed. The theory was simple but what about the practice, as scales were in short supply in those days. There were Formula, based on the length times girth for some breeds if the exact breed were known but without me wishing to cast aspersion regarding the parentage of the animals involved there might well be some doubts cast and so other methods were used.
The day would soon dawn when the Animals were sent off, the loading operation being closely watched, as any hitting or other force being used by the Transporter (Of which there were several in the Area), would be deeply frowned on by the owner. Later the Cheque would arrive, bringing its tale of happiness or sorrow depending on the success with the bonus and the cycle would start all over again. Contrary to all the stories told about "Filthy Pigs", I would seriously doubt that there are such creatures, more probably filthy owners. A Pig is probably the easiest of all Animals to "House Train"/“Sty Train”, you merely have to sweep it's droppings into a convenient spot for a Few days, and the Fig would use that same spot without further trouble. Of course it has to be remembered that a large Herd of Figs cannot be dealt with as easily as just one or two, and as a result do make a considerable mess. During the course of the War we children had a very important job. This was to collect salvage. Each Saturday morning we would get together, and with a Horse and cart go round the Village collecting any metal items that we could get. It was often the case that the Horse was on even more important "War work", and we would be left to Pull the cart round on our own, this of course added to the fun, but left us less eager to crush the tins flat as was the practise before storage, and collection for use. The road down to "Lower End" known as "Church-Hill" and back up for that matter was very steep but we were keen and very little would stop us.
I think the Army arriving for manoeuvres might well have been sufficient to have divided our loyalties though. This crushing was very "Technical" work as anything heavy enough would be used to drop on the tins. I seem to recall trying to run a lawn roller over them was not entirely successful as the tins had a habit of "Squirting" away and not stopping to be run over. I think this was where our "Cannon Ball" went, after being used for crushing it was taken to fight a second battle. One person I had nearly forgotten was the Eggler; he came from a nearby Village and would call on those people that kept a few Hens, and might have Eggs to spare. Many of the Houses had a chicken Run probably as much a hobby as a business, just for the odd Eggs and the Christmas Dinner. Eggs for keeping would be stored in an earthenware Pot submerged in Isinglass and would be fished out of this very cold substance as and when required for use.
There were other Traders who called from time to time, among them two men wearing Turbans, they would carry large Suitcases, and probably would aim for the School at lunchtime or later afternoon when School had finished, many warnings were given out regarding these Traders, but in reality they were only out to earn a Living. One other trader with a suitcase would want to buy virtually anything, he would only barter so no money ever changed hands but he would trade you an "Exotic Piece" of Jewellery or small Toy for whatever you had to swap, a bundle of rags would do.
A further caller to the School, or rather to the Gate was a Piper. He would be dressed in full Highland Dress and would play a variety of tunes. He was reckoned to have been in the First World War; and would be there as we emerged from School. I have no idea where he came from. I have seen photographs of a man with a Monkey but although there are stirrings in my mind I can’t quite place him in the scheme of things. There was a further influx of Foreigners or newcomers as the War progressed. Early on came a group of Conscientious Objectors to work on the Farms. At least it could be said that they had the courage of their Convictions, as it must have taken some courage to have stood up and be counted on such an issue.
They stayed during the period of the heaviest work, Haymaking/Harvest if I remember correctly.
The Non Combatant Corps then arrived. They were based in nearby Wotton Camp and also worked on the Farms.
Next came the first Axis Prisoners, captured in the Western Desert mostly Italian, they also were based locally, and appeared to have more freedom than our Soldiers. They would work on the Farms, being brought daily by lorry; their uniforms had patches sewn into them so they were easily identified. They would often return at night, on foot, and were eager to be integrated into the local scene. Some stayed on after the War, got married, and still live in the area.
Their "Party Piece", was to make things, Baskets, items of Jewellery, and in particular, Rings made of Perspex, with names inside, their talents appeared to be endless.
They would buy a small file from Woolworth’s, and patiently manufacture the Ring to size from a piece of Perspex. Their task being made much easier if they could get someone to drill a hole through the middle first. The person for whom the Ring was being made would write their name on a small slip of paper; this would then be fitted into a slot end covered with a thin piece of Perspex, the whole now being filed to a fine finish.
They were always very pleasant, if difficult to talk to, but most were keen to learn the language, they seemed to have a high proportion of potential Barbers.
Later on came German Prisoners, mostly thinking they were much superior to the locals, and seemed rather resentful of the fact that they had been caught. Former members of the Luftwaffe did not want to mix with former members of the German Arm even though they were probably the only other people they could talk to, and the fact that some were not shown, much sympathy, certainly in the first instance, by the local population. Later again they too would become integrated, and some got married and stayed on after the War.
There seems to have been a period of time where farm workers had ceased to have had well defined jobs, such as Carter or Cowman, probably as a result of many leaving the farms, between the Wars, there was a time when the local Brickworks, Akeman Street in particular got into it's stride just before the outbreak of the War, and the Factories in Aylesbury took on new Staff.
The large Aluminium Factory in Aylesbury was being built which provided work for many. This situation I believe ended with the coming of the “War Agg", now workers were employed as Tractor drivers, Lorry Drivers, or whatever, instead of the old system where you were employed as a General Farm Labourer and therefore likely to be called on to carry out any job on the Farm. This was probably the start of being transported to, and from work as many of them drove lorries, which they would bring home at night, most of the others would be brought home by a Van, and some of those who worked solo used Motorcycles.
Many Land Girls were employed and a further revolution took place they turned up driving large Tractors, and other Machines, never would Life "Down on the Farm", or indeed in the Village, be the same again. A few of the girls lived with families in the Village others would travel from a Hostel some five miles or so away.
The "War Agg" introduced very large Machines such as six Furrow ploughs sometimes pulled by "Crawler" Tractors, these had little respect for the Oxfordshire Clay that must have caused endless problems for the Horses and some of the smaller Tractors used in the past. This in turn caused many new problems, those "Ridges and Furrows" of old rearing their ugly Heads. Once again, as with the single column Horses I have read that Bucks has more than it's fair share of Ridges and Furrows, our Ancestors must have had strange ideas regarding Farming methods, or perhaps I have a strange taste in reading.
The trouble now was that these new Machines rode on top of the ridges when travelling at right angles so completely missing the Furrows underneath, new techniques had to be introduced to overcome this. This was a time of great change in Farming.
First they would plough along the ridge (Parallel to it), throwing the Soil into the furrow, this produced a more or less level surface, then they would turn and plough at right angles, covering the ground a second time. This did have the desired effect of levelling the Field, but the clay soil of the former ridge was now brought to the surface, and would be seen for many Years to come. One Field that was so ploughed showed the original road, and so straight was it that you wonder why, or how it got re-routed.
There now was a spate of plant life that hadn't been seen in anyone’s lifetime. For instance I am told that Charlock, very often called "Curlic" locally, will lie dormant for a hundred years. It was also sometimes possible to tell when the ploughman had lowered his plough part way across the field, probably to get a better or more complete furrow, the plant life would often change accordingly, with Charlock much in evidence.
The practice of arable Farming had largely died out locally, so with the War and the need to grow more Food some of the old Machines were brought out of retirement with a vengeance. It is certainly a tribute to the makers when I say they stood the conversion to the Tractor age remarkably well. Imagine a thirty plus years old machine now being dragged behind a Tractor possibly at twice it’s normal speed, without slackening pace as the Horses were wont to do.
The local Blacksmith would be called on to manufacture these new drawbars, and other bits, and pieces, so soon would come the time when they had to learn new skills, jobs such as welding coming to the fore.
Now the emphasis was on speed and more speed, those old Binders had never been called on to throw the sheaves out at such a rate before, and this after they had spent twenty years laid in some shed, making good roosting places for Hens, the Canvases being nesting places, and food for Rats, the Woodwork doing much the same for Woodworm.
The Combine Harvester, although available through the "War Agg", was a non-starter in this area at this time because of the lack of Corn Dryers. They are essential, as the Corn is not naturally dry enough to store when first cut and so requires some method of artificial Drying to be used. In those days too the Corn had to be standing upright and the Fields would need to be reasonably flat. Development of the modern Machines means that now many of these problems can largely be overcome. The Ridge and Furrow will now mostly have disappeared in Fields that have regularly been cultivated and some of the fields will have been much enlarged by the removal of hedges.