The journey of a childhood memory retraced by Eric Riddle

 

Jennifer Jeffcoate, Johnathan Jeffcoate, and Eric Riddle over the pits. Late 1950s.

 

Jennifer and Eric Riddle over the pits. Late 1950s

 

 

 

Eric Riddle Morgans Walk 1957

Since only in the last year or year and a half I have had the great pleasure to get back in contact with a number of friends from back when we were all kids together, mainly from Cecil Road on the Horns Mill estate, and it is Eric Riddle who has sent me a reminiscence of his personal journies and walks concerning the places we all used to frequent and enjoy. And the wonderful thing is, that when any one of us kids closes our eyes we can do the walk exactly how Eric Riddle has professionally described it. I would personally class this as a “Treasure from childhood”, so much so that it is extremely worthy of being hailed as a look back at living history.

I hope every reader enjoys the walk experience and also leave many comments and memories in the comments section of the post.

Hi Philip, Harold, Pete, Pete, and Phil.
Firstly Happy New Year to you all and your families.
Every New Year I take a walk down memory lane and relive some of our wonderful childhood experiences, which I thought I would share with you.
This walk always starts outside Morgan’s Walk School and goes wherever my legs take me. This is yesterday’s walk.
Past Dunkirk Farm, where we used to go scrumping, then halfway down the Avenue, before turning right and heading straight across the field to Granny Walkers. Down the big hill, then a walk around the Wall of Death, and all-round the wood. Down to the road crossing the ditch which was about 1 foot deep, getting up on to the road by the start of the tunnel. Right along the road until the left turn into the field by the Police Houses in Purkiss Road. Up the field to the BLACK BRIDGE.
At this point, I climbed left, over and through the barbed wire fence into what I believe we called the Cuckoo Wood. After about 150 yards I came to about a 30-yard square pond which had in the region of 80 Mallard Ducks swimming on it. I then carried on across the fields until I eventually came to the now private houses in the old Clementsbury Farmyard.
I climbed over about 3 fences before I reached the Road, and turned right towards Brickendon. Just past the Farmers Boy I turned right and walked through a Private Road which led almost to Bayford Station. Up the hill then at the top right along the track to Bayford and Hertford Cricket Club, where we used to play football. Across the fields almost to the railway line then along the path to the wood with the Big Memorial in. Through the wood to the BLACK BRIDGE, crossing over then walking along the stream to the top of Cecil Road. Along the Road walking in the middle to go through what would have been the grass roundabout. Then left into what was the pits, then right coming back to Cecil Road between the Council Houses number 48 and what were the prefabs number 50. Along Cecil Road to Danny’s and Pete Connolly’s, across the Road to Harold and Phillips, past Pete Norton’s house, Down Purkiss Road, across the green where the Munts and Reeds lived. Bottled out of crossing the ditch by the narrow poles! Up Mandeville Road, then right between Morgan’s School and the fields, back to where I started. 2 hours of real fun reliving my own personal memories. Sure you would have had many different memories to mine.
Best wishes, Eric.

Brilliant stuff Eric and so glad we are now back in touch. I hope we get together sometime soon along with the others for a ruddy good chin-wag about our yesteryears and possibly a game of, “Totopoly”.
Ahh yes, happy memories indeed…!