195 Ditton Fields

History of 195 Ditton Fields

1939

Reginald Darley, b 1906, labourer railway maintenance

Gwendoline, b 1914

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1962

Reginald Darley

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c.1980 Reginald told ‘Memories of Abbey and East Barnwell’:

Living in Ditton Fields during the war was quite a tough time for us. There was mum, mu two sisters and me. Dad was in the forces, as were most dads. Seeing my father go off to war, the three of us (my younger sister was not born then) stood on Cambridge station crying our eyes out, as the train went out an old man came over to me and said ‘You mustn’t cry son, you are the man of the house now, you’ve to look after your mother and sister.’ It brought me round; I’ve never forgotten it. I was about eight at the time. Like all young boys I was hungry; even today I can’t throw food in the dustbin. Anything left over is cut up for the birds.We used to have milk and malt regualrly at school but the occasional food parcels from Canada were the best! Then the Yanks came over. ‘Got any gun chum.’ Every schoolboy was on the scrounge.