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I remember the big shire horses coming to the Blacksmiths forge opposite our house and seeing the huge fires the smithy made to heat the shoes on. Also seeing German prisoners in the meadow opposite cleaning out the river Yare that flowed through the village, my young brother Frank used to call them father Christmas's, he couldn't say prisoners.
In 1920-21 we moved to Canton Forehoe just before Christmas when my youngest brother was six weeks old. The old cottage was across the meadow by the farm. I remember the snow one winter so deep the men had to dig out a trench wide enough for me to get through to school, a mile away at the end of the village, the trench was like a tunnel with no top. Winters were real winters then, on our way to first school we could fill our drink bottles up with lovely clean spring water, from a bricked up hole in the ground with a wooden cover on it.
On reaching 11 years old we all had to leave that school and go to BARNHAM BROOM, till we were 14 years old. At hay time and harvest we would take fathers lunch into the field and if it were holiday time we had ours there to. Harvest time had the huge cutting machines (binders) with three horses to pull them around the fields, leaving the corn tied up in `sheaves' and the men followed, standing them in 'stooks' of six and eight sheaves- They in turn were left a few days and then a huge traction engine came along with a big drum behind and put them into the 'stack yard'.
Where the men had previously laid the 'stack bottom', hedge turnips from the previous winter as a base for the sheaves to lie on till it was 'thrashing' time.
In the spring when the swedes were about 4-5 inches tall, we went and did 'swede singling', my mother and others and us children when we were old enough, pulling at some and leaving strong plants to grow on. Hard work when it was bad weather.
Our bread and flour came from the bakers (Bennell of Barford) and many a time I've fetched 6-7 large quarter loaves home from there on a Saturday morning, in a kit bag with a child's pushchair. It was a good two-mile walk each way
Wymondham was 3-4 miles away and we would walk it on sale days to see the animals at the sale yard during holiday time. That was run by HALL & PALMERS auctioneers. There was a busy railway station there also at Kimberly to We used to like the cricket season in our village. There was a family of Womachs, who had enough sons for a full cricket team, and boy! did they all really enjoy it. didn't cost a penny to go and see them play.
Sunday school was held in the Rectory for the part of our stay there, later one could go to the Gospel Hall at Barnham Broom, at the latter school. We had Christmas parties and one year Chamberlains of Norwich sent all the children a silk scarf each.
Quite an exciting time was had that year, we had to make our own entertainment in those days.
I was 10 years old when I saw my first banana, must have been 14-15 when I saw and tasted the first one. We lived on what father grew in the garden, no cash for other items. Clothes were handed down when any wear was left in them, girls made garments in school and were hand sewn, no machines then. When they left school it was service for them mostly. I found a post Hethersett Old Hall, Mrs Ransome's. Her husband invented the Ransomes Plough Shears, (Ransomes, Sim and Jefferies of Ipswich). She was a good mistress and living was good too. Boys worked on the farm mostly, unless one won the 11 plus scholarship, then their train fares were paid by the Education Authority but clothes etc. had to be found by the parents. I had a second hand bicycle to get to Hethersett to work on (10 shilling, second hand) and a good one it was.
By Dorothy Tungate