ADRIAN FULL

that had landed there.   I picked them up and washed them off in the stream and then took a bite from one.  I had never had an orange before and did not realise that you had to peel them before you ate them. My first bite resulted in a mouthful of peel, pith, seeds and flesh. I promptly spat out what I felt was disgusting mess in my mouth. Disappointed, I wondered what all the fuss had been  about oranges!

Visits to the seaside at Teignmouth and Dawlish found the beaches cut off by masses of barbed wire, but if there was a guard on duty they could let you through a gate. However, your time was strictly limited, not just by the tide, but by the guard, as he would lock the gates when he went off duty.

Many children spent their spare time fishing and playing at the now filled in Rub-a Dub pond which was situated near Newcross.

I remember how The Lecture Hall, which stood on the site of the URC Hall, had a multitude of uses by, amongst others, the Junior School, the ARP, and the Special Constables.

With a shortage of labour due to so many men being away in the forces I remember how Italian prisoners of war were put to work on local farms and in the clay pits.

As well as the lack of what were considered luxury items, in some houses there was also a distinct lack of basic facilities such as electricity, an inside water supply or a toilet. I grew up in Arch Cottages, or as Kingsteignton people were wont to say, “Under the Arch”.  The cottage had no electricity, the water supply was an outside tap and the toilet was located at the end of the garden. But even this was better than some houses such as my aunt’s at Ashcombe that still had earth closets.  

As children my mother used to dose us up with syrup of figs. This often resulted in a mad dash to the facility at the end of the garden. I think the dashes to the end of the garden explains why I used to do well in the sprint races at the school sports. 

Living near Kerslake’s Nurseries in Gestridge Road my mother used to send me around for bags of “frying tomatoes”. These were the ones where the skin had started to wrinkle and would not be going to the shops. We seemed to eat a lot of tomatoes during the war!                                                                                                                                       

Nevertheless things improved after when the war ended. My family moved to Crossley Moor Road where the houses had inside running water and electricity. Soon we were “on the phone” i.e. when the GPO erected a telephone box a mere 50 yards along the road!”

By kind permission of Sandra Full

GRAHAME GILPIN     1939-2023

visiting us once when the siren went and we all had to squeeze in, Peggy included, like sardines. Quite a few people had them and there were several around after the war. Some people used them as chicken coops

By kind permission of Suzette Gilpin