Walking tour no. 3 - Time for an outing - leisure activities for young lads
Leaving Rafborough at the rock-walled roundabout we are heading south on gravel roads. Eelmoor farm on the right and the hollow oak on the left we cross the Marrow brook bridge. Past the 'three-cornered-wood', and Cove reservoir (the 'reser') is ahead. We skirt the northern edge past the 'boatshed' and small jetty. On the right is the pine wood and one can see the derelict wash-house/laundry building. Past the 'reser', across to the left, and on the edge of the common could be found the plaque marking the place where Cody crashed. The stone plaque was in pieces even then.
From the south-eastern corner of the 'three cornered wood' was a long straight stretch of road leading to Laffan's Plain, always known as 'the mile-straight'. Across to the right of the reser we reach Ball Hill which is not much of a climb. It has a level area and a hump at the northern end. In a north-westerly direction below and beyond the hill are the kennels where the hounds are kept. Shades of fox-hunting days!
On family outing days Ball Hill was a favourite spot for picnics, followed by a game of 'cricket'. Several incidents come to mind concerning 'reser' activities. It was a favourite spot for swimming, but one day Cyril Williams' younger brother couldn't be found. After a lot of fruitless searching the men formed a human chain and walked through the 'reser'. They found his body in the southern corner.
On another tragic occasion a Whitley bomber crashed on take-off (control locks hadn't been removed!). Not surprisingly in the days of fabric covered aeroplanes it became a fire-ball and I vividly remember smouldering bodies!
In winter the reser froze and provided a popular ice rink. Another incident I remember concerned a skater being helped to his feet as he coughed and spluttered. Poor chap had fallen backwards, hitting his head and his false teeth were caught in the back of his throat.
I've forgotten to mention our favourite leisure activity. A short plank with a box mounted at one end and a cross bar swivelled at the front end. Add a set of large pram wheels at the back and small ones at the front with ropes for steering control and you have a hand propelled cart. Apart from providing endless amusement it was also an effective transport system for ropes and pulleys when we went off to set up our 'flying fox' and such. Who needs computer games to occupy the time?
Walking tour no. 4 - We go to the 'flicks' on Saturday morning
This time at the Marrow brook bridge we turned immediately left which took us along the 'black path'. It was made from compacted cinders supplied by the RAE train. On the left we passed the 'six-wells'. Six (3x2) timber lined compartments (probably 8 feet square) full of water. I've no idea why they were there or the reason for their construction. I've no idea how deep they were and we never tried to find out. What we did know was that they provided a rich source of tadpoles.
At the end of the path was the railway embankment and on the other side the Tank Corps dump. Very interesting if you had a use for wrecked and discarded bits of tanks. To add to the interest it was in a depression where water had collected. So it was a dump in a swamp. Skirting the dump we headed for Jersey Brow and 'A' shed. On the right was the compass base. A circular area of concrete marked out with points of the compass for 'swinging' aircraft to check their compass accuracy. When in due time we graduated to roller skating it was a very attractive practice area. At the corner of 'A' shed we were met by Constable Spriggs (with a hook for a hand). If there was an aircraft lumbering down the grass common in the act of taking off he would wave his hook vigorously to stop us. If there was no aircraft movement taking place we were allowed to cross the grass common and head for the gorse bushes on the opposite side.
Working our way through the bushes brought us to the Farnborough Road. On the other side, through a side street, we reached Alexandra Road. We turned left into Queen's Road then right into Camp Road. We passed Marshall's music shop where, at times, we purchased 78 rpm records, served by a very attractive Joan. Further on we reached the Scala cinema - our destination for the Saturday morning 'flicks'. We saw plenty of cartoons and Tarzan features. It was where I'm sure we saw the original release of 'King Kong'. If it was your birthday you were given a balcony seat.
Information and image courtesy of James Dodds.
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