Item provided by Philip Moleman :- I thought readers may be interested in my
memories, as an evacuee in Baydon, escaping the
My recollection is of a lane leading to Baydon House
which terminated in a field, in which there was a pond, that there was a large
back garden in which there were laurel bushes Also that there were trees at the
rear of the garden, behind which was a field. I recall an occasion when rooks
in those trees were shot to supplement our wartime diet (I remember the shotgun
pellets at mealtime) and also of harvest time in the field when Italian
prisoners-of-war assisted with the harvest. We children (presumably with other
village children) also played a part, standing at the perimeter of the field
with hazel sticks to try and hit rats and mice as they escaped the gradually
harvested corn. I remember tanks on manoeuvres passing Baydon House and that we
children collected spent shell cartridges from aerial combat in the vicinity
and the consternation when I returned with an unexploded shell - which was
rapidly removed. On walks we collected stinging nettles for our meals and I
have a pleasant memory of a wood carpeted with bluebells.
On my recent visit it was clear that much has changed
in Baydon over the past decades. If any reader can recall Baydon in the 1940’s
and can comment on the accuracy (or otherwise) of my memories, I’d be very
interested.
Philip Moleman