Postscript: During the war years, 1939 to 1945, my father was away, firstly building airfields and then in the army. My mother and I lived with her mother (Grannie Branson) at 11 Spinners Cottages. In 1945 I was seven years old and attending Sulgrave School with friends amongst the many children evacuated from London during the “blitz”. In the safety of the countryside, well fed on allotment and garden vegetables supplemented by rabbits and pigeons, we led an idyllic rural lifestyle. With no traffic through the village other than the occasional convoy of army trucks we could play safely in the village streets. V.E. Day celebrations were held in the courtyard of the large house now known as “The Old Farmhouse” at that time the residence of J.P. Brown. I remember the day vividly because my mum fixed strings of flags to my tricycle so tightly that I was unable to steer it safely down the Spinners Cottages path to the party! On the day that Germany’s surrender was announced on the “wireless” my mum came excitedly to the door calling “We’ve won, we’ve won”! I was with an older boy who told me later that I had said “Who were we playing?” So much for the war in Sulgrave, as far as a youngster was concerned!
Colin Wootton