THE COW THAT JUMPED OVER THE FENCE Growing up in the fifties as a 10 year old child was very different to today's child, we had no electricity in our house just gas light,so no TV and no gadgets. My Mother and father were quite poor. Father was a labourer in a factory that made bronze bearings for engines called the Anti Attrition,he had to clean out the ashes after a day's work from under the furnaces,and when he came home his skin was green from the bronze residue. Mum worked in service for a large Manor House in White Waltham owned by the Oppenheimers the diamond entrepreneurs.Each Christmas they would supply us with a food parcel for the family. We always ate well , but in the winter the bungalow was extremely cold, just one coal fire in the living room where most of the heat went straight up the chimney,and in the bedrooms we had paraffin heaters, how safe and healthy was that. The kitchen was the warmest place, by turning on the gas stove burners, very cosy. There was plenty to do in the small village of Woodland's Park where we lived we had an airfield just at the back of our village, White Waltham. This was a. very busy airfield during the war. Nearly every British war plane you can think of would have visited at some time, the RAF Transport Command aircraft were based here , The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was an organisation formed during the war where by women pilots were trained to ferry aircraft all around the country, either new aircraft or repaired aircraft, the ATA was formed because all the men were away performing there duties. Fairey Aviation also had facilities here assembling there aircraft and flight testing them. Us kids loved sitting and watching the coming and going 's of various airplane's. Prince Philip learnt to fly here in a North American Harvard, the West German fleet Air Arm trained on the Fairey Gannet,these were in their own livery displaying the Iron Cross. Usually aircraft landing would just skim over the top of our bungalow,quite noisy at times. The noisiest of all was the experimental Fairey Rotodyne a small airliner capable of carrying 40 passengers,This plane could take off conventionaly or vertically ,the problem was the noise it created, each of it's rotor blades were powered by a small jet engine, there was only 1 built and first flew on the 6th November 1957. Orders were not forthcoming due to its operating costs and noise issues, it was said to stop conversion when about two and a half miles away from landing. production was stopped in 1962 and the prototype scrapped. One other thing that happened that didn't reach the press, is that on one overhead pass over the bungalow when it was landing it brought my bedroom ceiling crashing down. Another thing we did as most young children did was to join The Boyn Hill cub scouts, progressing from there to the 1st Maidenhead Sea Scouts, one thing that always puzzled me was we never actually saw a ship,well we were about 80 odd miles from the sea, I think we did actually go on a boat on the river Thames. But to us kid's it was fun! Hence the question when does a boat become a ship? Answer: When the displacement of the boat is over 500 tons.So there! As well as Cubs and scouts we mates decided to join the choir at St Mary's church White Waltham, we went to church 3 time's on a Sunday and on Friday evening was choir practice, it barely left time for our favourite hobby. At the other end of the street was the Great WesternRailway, this was what we were attracted to, every spare minute after school and during school holidays us lads were up on the over bridge at Breadcroft Lane with our Ian Allen loco spotting books, the best thing about this over bridge was the fact that although at some point when it was built it could accommodate vehicles,concrete blocks were placed each side of the bridge during the war to stop vehicles going over it,and they were never removed,so they made a wonderful viewing point to sit on and watch the trains, not only that,on the other side of the tracks was a magnificent view of the aerodrome. What a sight "Kings and Castles" on one side and Spitfires and Hurricanes on the other. Sometime though we would pretend to be trains with our push along carts that we made out of wooden boxes and old Pram wheels. One day we were there as usual on the bridge when I noticed a cow wandering near the Down Main Line, sensing this was a dangerous situation to me even at the age of about 12 I raced through the fields to the Signal box to alert the signalman , he thanked me for my actions and asked me if I would like to come up and see the signal box. This was an amazing place crashing leavers, bells ringing everywhere ,every time a train passed the box shook and trembled, it is a very busy box four tracks and up relief storage sidings,siding between the down relief and up main, and siding into a coal yard accessible from the down main. This was White Waltham Sidings Signal Box. Situated on the GWR main line 28 miles from Paddington trains passing by to and from South Wales, Penzance, Bristol and Cheltenham etc. Freight from The coal mines carrying coal for London and other major towns. And all sorts of other freight. I was inthralled by all of this and spent 2 years visiting this box regularly, I was at White Waltham school from the age of 6 until I left at 11 years of age and then went to Wargrave Piggot school ,The best thing about this school was that the playing field was right next to the Henley Branch, a double track branch that ran from Twyford to Henley on Thames. I new what I wanted to do when I left school at Christmas 1954 at the age of 14 so I applied for a post at Slough East Box as a booking lad, as advised by my signalman friend at Waltham and I was accepted and started on the 5th January 1955. This in reality was a 3 year apprenticeship to become a signalman. And in a busy box takes the pressure off of the signalman by recording the movement of trains in the train register book, (a legal document )and answering telephones, and learning from very experienced men. Train reporting was very different to what it is now, they were known by where they had commenced there journey,for instance the signalman would call or inquire the whereabouts of the Plymouth or is it in front of the Swansea, each train had to be recorded in the train register so its identity had to be correct. At around 1957 I think it was,a simple train ID was introduced each class 1 train (Express Passenger) was given a 3 number code, this made #life so much simpler but my old hand signalmen just couldn't get there heads round this new fangled idea, and one chap Ted Williams would get very annoyed when say he asked me "Has the Bristol left Reading yet ?"and I would reply do you mean train 154. No one want's change do they? After a while of course it was not to long before you learned the frame and train movements, of which there were many usually involving stock and parcel van shunting. Slough station was very involved with parcel traffic and most of it was brought in from the Slough trading estate ,a vast estate with dozens of factories one of which was "Mars". So train movement knowledge was very useful to pass onto the relief signalman such as Jim Pendry and Eric Voller who would be rostered to the box covering for sickness or annual leave, they could usually rely on the lad to put them right about frame movements and train movements etc, Slough East Box was very unusual by the fact that it stood in between the Down Relief an Up Main Lines on the London end of the platform but the box was facing London and not parallel with the track. Getting to work for early shift was a challenge, leaving my house on my bike at about 05:15 to cycle the 3 miles to Maidenhead to catch the 068 departure from platform 5. to Slough ,The train was usually was hauled by a Class 61xx engine and 5 suburban compartment coaches. The 6 mile journey Took 13 minutes. I was allowed to catch this train as it was the earliest I could catch although it meant I would be 20 minutes late for work. We also worked alternative Sunday's on late shift 2.00pm till 10. 00pm Bicycles were of course the main mode of transport in the fifties, some of the relief signalmen had motorcycles this made #life a lot easier as some boxes were quite a long distance to travel. When I finished my 3 year apprenticeship in 1958 my District Inspector "Bill Blay " informed me of a vacancy as a relief signalman's job based in Bourne End , which was on a single line branch worked by electric token which ran from Maidenhead to High Wycombe through the Wye Valley, Bourne End was also the junction for the 2 and a half mile branch to Marlow which was worked by "one engine in steam". Leaving Maidenhead on the train it would call at Furze Platt Halt, Cookham, Bourne End, Wooburn Green and Loudwater terminating usually at High Wycombe. This journey would take 30 minutes to cover the 13 miles. The first job I had to learn was Cores End Crossing a manned of level crossing, which crosses the A4155 about a quarter of a mile from the station, although there was a resident keeper "Bill Titcombe" who lived in the adjacent crossing keepers house, but due to his ill health he was about to retire. As the line was always open 24 hours we normally covered it with two men on 12 hour shifts, actually I was taking home £20 a week, I was rich when you consider as a booking lad at 18 years of age my take home pay was £4 quite an increase,but Long hours. The little cabin at Cores End was very small, about 12ft square, it had 3 levers, a wooden floor locker with a long cushion on it this was the seat. It had a small coal stove and an electric hot plate, all very cosy. This crossing had large heavy gates which had to be opened and closed by hand, then locked by a lever then that gave the box at Bourne End the slot to clear the signals,there were also 2 wicket gates for pedestrians that were locked from the cabin. Of course in 1958 the traffic was nowhere near as busy then, so it was not to difficult to swing the gates across the road. My next very important task was to save up and buy myself a scooter, as cycling to work could be as far as14 miles each way not much fun when on the early shift. My first signal box to learn in my new post was "Wooburn Green" a nice little box built on the platform so no steps to climb, this station had a small goods yard,and there was a level crossing down the far end of the platform, again these were worked by hand.Wooburn was a non crossing station, it had a Station Master and goods porter and the booking office had a booking clerk. Most of these stations on the branch had goods yards, at Wooburn ,Loudwater ,and Bourne End the main goods were wood pulp for all the local paper mills along the valley, The freight was brought in by the local goods from Slough and Taplow once a day. If you ever see the film "A Square Peg" starring Norman Wisdom there are some nice scenes of the station and goods yard. Filmed in 1958. Thursday evenings the local newsagent from the village "Doug Young" would come and meet the 17:33 from Paddington to collect the local newspaper "The Maidenhead Advertiser "which was loaded on the train at Maidenhead. Late summer 1958 I now have enough money to put down a deposit to buy my Motor Scooter, it would of course be bought on Hire Purchase. I went along to my local Lambretta dealer "Len White" in York Road. I ordered the L1 150cc model in Coffee and Cream,nearest I could find to GWR Chocolate and Cream. I had to wait about 3 weeks until it was delivered, L plates on and away we go.I eventually passed my test 1st time and when I got home ripped the L plates off and in my haste the sellotape holding them on also tore as strip of paint off of my new scooter. When I went to learn Loudwater box I travelled by train from Bourne End and when I got off at Loudwater and the train left for High Wycombe the signalman who was leaning out of the window looked across at me and said "What do you want" in a very gruff voice, I've come to learn the box I' m the new relief signalman from Bourne End! " you"ll never learn this box boy "he scowled " The thing is ,these signalman have only ever worked one box, they learn it when they're young and stay there all their #life sometimes 45 years or more, living locally it suits them perfectly. Of course I did manage to pass out as fit to work it! There is a large goods yard again used to manage wood pulp for the local mills, and coal traffic. And a level crossing worked from the box by a wheel. This is a crossing station with up and down platforms. I decided in 1960 to upgrade my scooter which was now 2 years old, so I purchased another Lambretta a TV175 in cream colour. I was now an official "Mod" The final box to learn was "Cookham" a station 3 miles from Maidenhead, this is a crossing point and has a level crossing with the gates operated from the box by turning a large iron wheel, also as is practice on most level crossings 2 wicket gates. The goods yard here is mainly used for coal delivery. After about 2 years in the Bourne End job I noticed on the job vacancy notice's which were published and distributed to all boxes and depot's that there was a vacancy at White Waltham Box, so I applied for this and was.given an interview and a rules examination by the Chief Operating District inspector at Paddington, "Well" he said "you have a good track record " (pardon the pun) And your rule"s knowledge is good, but you are quite young for a very busy Main Line box. I was 20years of age. "However you've had excellent training and experience so I' going to give you the job" I was so happy. I couldn't say of course"Well actually I could work that box when I was 13" So back where it all started Having spent a few weeks training I duly took charge. 3 shifts round the clock as is usual and one long weekend every three weeks, the other Sunday's alternate 12 hours day 06.00am till 06.00pm and 06.00pm till 06.00am. I could now walk to work in 5 minutes, and when I was on a 12 hour day shift mother would make Sunday roast and dad would bring it to the box for me! We had recently had an offer at home from a company in Birmingham to install electricity in our bungalow, the various meters and minimal wiring, just one power point in living room and light fixtures in all rooms, the cost would be £13 but my parents couldn't afford this, the average wage was about £10 a week, I was earning a decent wage so agreed to have the work done, beside's I wanted a decent record player, it's the best music decade ever! Waltham Sidings was a very busy box, in those day's you had to juggle dozen's of freight trains in with the passenger service's as well as shunt train's from siding to Down Main yard trying not to delay maybe the 10.30 Paddington "The Cornish Riviera " or head's would roll. Dusk was interesting as it approached, there was no electricity in the box so we had to light 3 paraffin Tilley lamps, first you had to lower them down from the ceiling by means of pulleys then pump each one up with a bicycle pump to pressurise them then apply a match and whoosh hope they lit, and then raise all three back up to the ceiling,by the way it's getting dark and wer'e trying to run a 4 track signal box here,but we usually managed. 1961 the year that was about to change my #life! I was in the village barber shop one day when a long term friend of mine Bob Pharo walked in, we hadn't seen each other for some while so we decided to have a drink one evening and catch up, this we duly did, so I picked him up on my Lambretta from where he lived ,and it wasn't to far from where I lived. Now when I said have a drink as was all the rage we went to a coffee bar in Maidenhead, we became quite friendly again and I would visit him at his house regularly,All his family used to live 3 doors away from my house,so I knew well, his sisters Wendy, June ,and brother Alan who were often there all much younger than Bob. After a while I became very fond of Wendy and one evening I asked her out, so we went to the pictures. Bob was gradually fading from the scene a bit now, Wendy and I were very much an item now and would go out regularly on the scooter. One Sunday whilst riding near Taplow we got caught in a tremendous rain storm so I pulled over into a garage to shelter under the canopy till the rain passed. Looking in the window of the show room was the brand new Mini. A pre owned one, badged as an Austin 7 in light grey. Don't forget, this car was only introduced in 1959 now here in 1961 was a chance to buy one. I couldn't resist it we took a ride in it with the salesman I didn't have a license to drive car, and returning to the show room I decided to buy it. It was a Sunday and I needed my Dad's signature on the hire purchase agreement, so we drove home the 4 miles to get this done, when we arrived home dad was in bed having his Sunday nap, and mum was looking at me as if I was completely mad. "Don't talk so silly David," she said in her strong Welsh accent."you can"t drive" well I got the signature and the car was mine all I had to do now was learn to drive it and over the next 3 years pay for it.The scooter was taken in part exchange, so now a problem I hadn't thought through, I have further distances to travel to work now and no transport. This was a great job which I really enjoyed,but it would soon all end, outside for months now new signal gantries were being installed, cables being laid, yes this was the very start of the new multi aspect signal scheme MAS the two boxes to close was mine and the next one toward Reading Shottesbrooke. And in 1962 it duly happened I closed the box one Sunday for the last time. The first section of MAS was now between Maidenhead West and Ruscombe This is the start, 2 boxes gone more to follow better make the most of them. I was very lucky regarding my job though, as on the following Monday I transferred to Maidehead as Relief Signalman Class 2. More boxes to learn now, Maidenhead West, Maidenhead Middle, Burnham, Slough Bath Road, and Windsor. The transfer from the closure of Waltham to my next job was very quick, in fact on the Monday morning I went to Burnham Box to familiarise with the workings, it was quite a straight forward layout, just a Home Signal and Distant Signal on all 4 roads, the bell work was different to Waltham in that the block was held on Main lines and approach codes were used these were to stop the Is line clear getting to far ahead of itself up or down the line. So on that Monday I took over on the night shift. next to the Down Main Line