I was born in Hillingdon in Middlesex but in anticipation of the war starting my parents moved to Devon where they considered it would be much safer to bring up a young family. Previously to this however both my brother and I were in a London Nursing Hospital having mastoid operations which in 1937 was an extremely serious and intricate operation. Fortunately we both survived with very little scarring. However when my brother, who was two years older than me, was eight years old he contracted meningitis which unfortunately in those days was fatal. My mother never recovered from his sad death.

Due to this sad loss she became over protective towards me but I still managed to get into plenty of mischief. How times and attitudes have changed towards discipline. In those days the village policeman would give me a clip around the ear and tell me not to do it again. But I can assure you I took notice of him and did not do it again.

Living in a small village in Devon I can honestly say we were not affected to any great extent by the war and certainly we never went hungry. There were plenty of vegetables, eggs and chickens to eat. Also my Granddad worked on a farm and he brought home various supplies and I can remember him bringing home rabbits and Grandma making stew and dumplings which was scrumptious.

I can remember it was difficult to get housing and my parents could not afford to buy the few houses that were available. We ended up living in a rented bungalow with my Grandparents.

My father was in the army and was away in Egypt and my mother was the canteen manageress at the local munitions factory.

When I was not at school and not playing football I spent much of my time down by the river Avon in South Brent catching minnows and small fish. Further upstream there was always plenty of trout swimming around but I never managed to catch one. Constantly there were brilliant flashes of colour as the kingfishers patrolled their territories. Occasionally I would see a Heron standing motionless until a swift movement of its long beak would catch an unsuspecting fish for its next meal. Another interesting bird which could often be seen was the green woodpecker, who would spend forever pecking away at the branches of the overhanging trees. If I was extremely lucky I would also see a tawny owl looking for its next meal.

When I was eleven years old I managed to pass my 11+ entrance to King Edward VI Grammar School at Totnes which is seven miles away. Totnes is situated on the River Dart and on the edge of Dartmoor. It is one of the oldest boroughs in the country and the school was founded in 1553. The journey to arrive at Totnes from South Brent was by train and involved traveling through Marley Tunnel which is 0ne and a half miles long and with the lights in the carriage switched off all sorts of things used to happen on the way to school especially as the girls were traveling to the High School at the same time!!!

After leaving school I took up a five year apprenticeship in electrical engineering with Chelston Electrical Works in Torquay which is reputed to be “The Queen of the English Riviera.”

Having completed my apprenticeship it was time to do my National Service and I managed to gain entry into the R.A.F. After my initial Training I was posted to R.A.F. Harpur Hill near Buxton in Derbyshire in 1957 where I became the maintenance electrician for the “married quarters” Then in June 1958 I was posted to Cyprus and was stationed at Ayius Nickolius which is situated on the South East tip of the island. While I was there I helped to install three generators to supply electricity for the extended campsite.

During this time General Grivas surrendered and gave up his terrorist activities. So I was then free to apply to come back to England to complete my studies at Stockport College and this request was duly granted and I returned in September 1958. I remained at R.A.F. Harpur Hill until I finished my National Service in 1959.

I returned to work in Torquay but it was not long before I moved to Rugby to take up a position with B.T.H. I met my wife there and we have been married for forty years. We have one daughter and three daughters from her previous marriage and we see them all on a regular basis. They are all married with children of their own so we now have seven grandchildren. So, that is my story so far!!!