Background
I was born in Portsmouth in 1925. My father was a dockyard apprentice. After time at Naval Wireless and Telegraphy he got a job at the RAE in the Radio department. We lived for a time with a Mrs Pusy at Rose Cottage, Fleet. My father travelled to work on his bicycle and I can barely imagine what that would have been like. Presumably we were allotted a house at Rafborough, so we moved to 11 Fowler Road. I attended Tower Hill Primary, which was just across the road. Cove Elementary was next and of course we walked there and back. After that it was to Farnborough Grammar, by which time we seem to have acquired bicycles. My apprenticeship at RAE was from 1940-1947 after which I got a job with Fairey Aviation at Heston.
During my time with Fairey's I spent two tours of duty in South Australia which involved trials at the Woomera range. After the second tour of duty I decided to make a permanent swap of the cold English weather for sunny South Australia which is where I've been since. Initially with Phillips Electrical Industries, I then got a job in very familiar territory at the Weapons Research Establishment with regular visits to Woomera until I retired.
Cove in the 1930s
Now, the map below seems like a good starting point. What look like empty spaces were just that - fields, meadows or woods. Getting from Rafborough to Cove 'centre' was just a walk across the fields along the path I've marked. The exit point was between the Tradesman's Arms and the driveway to the Vicarage. Across the road was the Alma and to the left the Anchor Inn [now the Old Courthose]. On the opposite side of Tower Hill (the corner) to St Christopher's was the well-known Instone's garage.
My goodness me it's all so familiar - seems like yesterday!
Information and image courtesy of James Dodds.
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