October 9, 2024

Hello, too much travelling before I could tell you about this. 

I was Christened in a tiny W & D church just on the edge of the New Forest. It only held about a dozen people. I often rode my bicycle past it to visit one of my school friends. Sometimes I would meet the elderly minister in Ringwood whilst shopping; he would always ask about my Father, who then was in the RAF, Saying "How is my good friend Ronald ?" He once showed me the interior, all whitewashed inside and out. 

During the "Battle of Britain" in  Summer 1940 when I saw the German bomb falling on  "Old Stacks House" almost opposite our home, it was a W & D large 16th century building that completely disintegrated into dust, leaving much furniture standing. The only part of the house that remained was the 14th century brick chimney stack; the original wood house burned and was replaced later with W & D.  The chimney stack had many shelves attached, filled with freshly made jams, pickles and bottled tomatoes, which I saw when cycling to the horse farm a little further around the corner. The retired Naval Admiral and wife, also their maid, survived with only scratches and shock. Every usable item was packed and sent to their new home in Bournemouth. The green field opposite my bedroom window was covered in white articles with black blobs all over. That turned out to be the remains of the Admiral's first edition books and dead Rooks from the trees surrounding the house.

After the" Blast " of all our windows, that was when I was sent to the Convent boarding school in WestWood Ho, North Devon. Author Charles Kingsley wrote a book named "WestWood  Ho!" in late 1800s.

There is another story to tell about staying in a hotel there a few days before entering the Convent. Another time!!