Standford Ford

Thank you for the picture of Standford Ford, the centre of the universe for myself and all the other Standford kids in the summers of the 30s and 40s. The footbridge then was wooden and not the steel and concrete structure of today. On a fine summers day there were always 20 or more of us there catching tiddlers with a jamjar on a string, or wading up to the "coldstream", a small rivulet that joined the river from somewhere at the rear of Hatch Farm. The upstream section seemed to be more popular than downstream towards the roadbridge carrying the B3004. Maybe because that section was deeper, weed filled and less kind to bare feet.
If we were lucky enough to have some pocket money we would go to the village shop, long since closed but in those days run by the Manuels, the Redfords, the Denyers (what a pair of characters they were!) and finally Mr and Mrs Pester and her sister. There to buy Smiths Crisps with the little blue bag of salt, (2 old pence) or sweets (rationed for a time,or ice cream, though unobtainable during the war years.)

The Canadian Forces stationed locally were frequent visitors to the ford during WW2 and with their trucks, tanks and motor cycles provided entertainment of a different kind. On recent summer visits to Standford not a single child was to be seen. (Has the Pied Piper been through?) Are there now no young families in the village any more, or in today's over protective society are they afraid to let their children out of their sight? It makes me thankful that I grew up in an age when we were free to roam without fear of harm. What a privileged generation we were.