A Boy's Work on the Farm-Podcast

A boy's tale of misbehaving cows and the madcap driving american airmen during WWII in Buckinghamshire UK.

Thurleigh School photo 1940. Bill Clark is fourth from the right, middle row. Courtesy Thurleigh Through the Years.

The main reason why I missed joining in with most of Bob’s deeds was the fact that I always seemed to have a job to do. Looking back, much of it was my own fault, for I often volunteered my services, and if I was asked to help, usually dropped whatever I was doing, whereas Bob would make a song and dance. From about nine years onwards, I regularly helped after school and weekends, such as taking the cows half a mile to the fields after milking for our neighbouring farmer, Mr Tew – although this could be quite eventful and even dangerous at times. 

Our little road was the main thoroughfare for the American Airmen travelling to Bedford, and their jeeps and lorries travelled through at breakneck speed. The wretched cows seemed to resent this, and despite most of the time walking sedately in single file on the wide grass verge; upon hearing the sound of an engine, would resist all my attempts to keep them there and at least 19 half of them would walk into the road. 

On one occasion, an open lorry, full of airmen standing in the back, careered round a bend: as the road was perfectly clear, the driver took no notice of my frantic signals for him to slow down, until half a dozen cows simultaneously walked into the road. The driver slammed on his brakes, and the lorry slewed across the opposite – fortunately empty verge – sliding sideways into the ditch. Not one of the cursing airmen fell out; having all locked arms together, they were just pressed rather tightly against the lorry’s cab. 

Other regular, but uninteresting jobs, entailed …

Podcast directly available here https://archive.org/download/a-boys-work-on-the-farm-podcast/A%20boys%20work%20on%20the%20farm.mp3