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Community spirit thrived in Corsham prefabs

9:30am Wednesday 5th December 2012

Corsham Civic Society member Patricia Whalley delves deep into the history of the town in her new book, Corsham Memories 2: The Prefab Years 1930/40. The book, which features interviews with people who moved to Corsham in the 1930s and 40s, is the follow-up to her previous work with the CCS, Corsham Memories From 1910-50. After the release of the first book, lifelong resident Mrs Whalley was approached by several people who had lived in the ‘prefabs’, special prefabricated housing built for war evacuees and MoD employees. She spent 18 months interviewing and collecting stories from individuals who had grown up in the Corsham prefab estates, using her own resources and funds to put the book together. Mrs Whalley said: “It really was an interesting time in Corsham’s history, with the people who were living in the prefabs building small, close-knit communities. “What really struck me while I was talking to some of those who feature in the book is just how much freedom the children had back then compared to today. “They would simply go outside and play together while the mums were at home and the dads were out working. They had total freedom and that is something that you wouldn’t say of today’s children. “It says a lot about the spirit of the communities that many of them are still in touch with each other today and I believe that spirit still lives on in Corsham now.” One of the stories Mrs Whalley tells is that of David Barry, who recalls how he played happily and safely in the town as a child. Many of the people living in the prefabs worked for the MoD, at the Corsham Ammunition Depot, or at Spring Quarry, while others had been evacuated from Bristol, Bath, and London. Mrs Whalley, of Elm Hayes, was born in 1941 in Corsham’s maternity home, now Alexander House on the High Street. The book is now on sale at Corsham Bookshop, the tourist office, Barnett Brothers newsagents and Hawthorn Post Office, price £9.99.

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Neston School is heart of village community

8:40am Friday 1st July 2011

Memories came flooding back when former pupils and staff joined in the 150th anniversary celebrations at Neston Primary School.

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Then and Now - Chapmanslade Congregational Chapel

2:52pm Friday 17th June 2011

Today we look at the village’s former Congregational Chapel.

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Golden girls plan a school reunion

2:47pm Friday 17th June 2011

A reunion is being held for pupils who started their school life at Trowbridge Girls High School in September 1962.

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Trowbridge celebrates links with Navy

1:37pm Friday 15th April 2011

The Trowbridge and District White Ensign Association was founded in April 1936 in The Old Crown pub in Hilperton, at a meeting of ex-Royal Navy ratings and Royal Marines.

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Then and Now - Dilton Marsh station

1:31pm Friday 15th April 2011

One of Dilton Marsh’s claims to fame is that it is the home of a station immortalised in verse, in Dilton Marsh Halt by the late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman.

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Manor’s history is traced around the globe

9:18am Friday 1st April 2011

An article in the Wiltshire Times last year asking for information on the history of Rood Ashton Manor led to a meeting thousands of miles away between a historian working on a book which features the house and its present owner.

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Then and Now - Holy Trinity Church, Dilton Marsh

9:14am Friday 1st April 2011

This week we move to another village for our Then and Now series, and in keeping with the tradition over the last decade we start with the village churches.

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Hunt is on to find local rugby stars

2:09pm Friday 25th March 2011

Corsham town councillor Chris Stewart is hunting for former team-mates from his days as a pupil at the former Chippenham Boys High School.

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Then and Now - Main Street, Imber

2:06pm Friday 25th March 2011

Only a few original buildings are left intact in the village of Imber, so our series ends this week.

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