Source page 1
Stanton Parish History Recording Project
Personal Reminiscence File:- PR009a
Memories from Edward Brown, submitted by his son, George
Dad (Edward Brown) was born in Middletown and in childhood lived at Pool Quay near Welshpool, he joined the Royal Engineers in 1936. His unit the 2 Railway Construc-nd tion Company was initially sent to France but was withdrawn and sent to Harstad Norway. It was daylight for 24 hours a day in Norway, which meant his unit was bombed 24 hours a day.
He was on HMS Devonshire, when the navy were transporting the Norwegian Royal Family to England. The Devonshire followed the coastline to Britain rather than cross the open North Sea. Due to the Royal Family being onboard, the ship ignored a rescue mission to the HMS Glorious when it was torpedoed, and 1200 Seaman were lost at sea. The Norwegian Royal Family still send a Norwegian Fir Tree to Trafalgar Square at Christmas in gratitude for the safe passage to their Royal Family. On return he was sent to Northern Ireland and on D Day plus he found himself once more in France and fought through the low country all the way to Germany.
After the war, Edward worked at Stanton Mill, where animal feed was produced. (L Y. Danells). There’s a photograph of Edward fixing the mill wheel. A lot of the local mills at that time produced animal feed and there were mills all down the river including Harcourt, Stanton, Morton Corbett. They couldn’t compete with big companies and eventually the mills closed and fell into disrepair. We moved into the Old Blacksmiths on Booley Road around 1955. Edward and Eileen Brown and 5 kids (David, George, John, Eileen and Alan).
We had two petrol pumps at the Old Smithy. The petrol was in a below ground tank to the right by the wall at the back. There was no electricity in the village at this time, so the petrol was hand pumped. We also sold other things like paraffin, crisps and gifts.
My mother contributed and is pictured in the 1959 article from the Woman’s Mirror (The village where time stands still) with Alan, Eileen and John.
The toilet was at the bottom of the garden with the pig styes. The pigs got out and we chased them around the village to get them back. When George was 8 or 9, he ran out into Booley Road and knocked the Priest who was on his way home to Glebe House, off his bike. He was in trouble for it when his dad got home.
After the war, planes flew into RAF Shawbury to be decommissioned and dismantled. When they flew over the Old Smithy the windows would rattle. We didn’t need electric lights because the lights on the planes would light up the cottage at night.
When they flew over the Old Smithy the windows would rattle. We didn’t need electric lights because the lights on the planes would light up the cottage at night.