1952

It was the year Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne (the coronation was the following year). The year the Big Bang theory was first proposed. It was not long after the transistor was invented, the precursor to all modern electronics. The first roll-on deoderant. And it was the year I was born.

Our family's coronation display

Our old van kitted up for the procession

How I loved that old van. It was purchased for building work, but every summer my parents would clean it out and my father would build beds and fold up tables and it would take us to our holiday destination and house us whilst there. There was a shiny round button on the floor, about an inch in diameter, that operated the starter motor. It had a removable skylight and we children would stand on a chair with our heads out of the skylight whilst my father drove. Such activity would be classed as horribly dangerous now-a-days. But we did not die. Rather, we enjoyed it oh, so much. I remember a standard meal of tinned ham, tinned peas and tinned potatoes. And tea with evaporated milk in. At night whilst my father was still driving, I remember lying in bed watching, out of the rear windows, the lights of passing cars. And sitting on the tailgate whilst my mother would tell Isobelle and Dizzibelle stories. They lived with their father Lord Longnose in a castle in the centre of a dark forest. Doubtless they had a mother too but I cannot remember her name.

They say that's me beside my sister

So what, you say?  For me I don't remember much before 1952 but everything from that time on seems to me to be "recent". In one sense I do not feel any different to how I was back then. Although tonight we had some outside games for the youngsters - I run several times a week so I figured I would try my luck running a 100 metres with the others. I found it slightly distressing that I came in last and huffing and puffing to boot.

Why am I saying all this? Because I am a siderodromomaniac and thus noticed evidence of the two branch railways haling from Willand where I was staying for a few days. The second map below probably postdates my birth and the third pre-dates it. But even the second map is so different to how Willand is today. There are of course traces of the branch lines but precious little is left.

Willand today, course of disused railways highlighted in green

Tiverton Junction, Ordnance Survey 1:63,360 series

Tiverton Junction 6" to the mile

The railway to the west was the GWR broad-gauge branch to Tiverton that I mentioned recently. At the Tiverton end it joined the Exe valley railway, but today the A396 inner bypass follows and thus obliterates the course of the railway.  You have to look very hard to see any evidence "on the ground".  And yet Beeching closed the branch line to passenger traffic only in 1964 and goods traffic continued until 1967. I was the grand old age of 15 then - hardly any time ago - and yet physical evidence suggests it was eons ago.

Tiverton today, path of railways highlighted in green

Tiverton soon after I was born

Historic Tiverton

The line to the west of Willand was the Culm Valley Light Railway terminating at Hemyock. It was a financial disaster from the start and its only saving grace was the United Dairies factory at Hemyock. The last passenger service was in 1963 but the dairy continued using it until October 1975. We were married in October 1975 and it seems but yesterday. We may have aged a bit and yet virtually nothing remains of the railway - a short "railway footpath" in Uffculme is perhaps the most tangible.

Uffculme today, course of railway highlighted in green

Uffculme sometime after I was born

Uffculme probably before I was born

and on through Culmstock...

...to the end of the line at Hemyock