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Childhood memories of home:
I still have distinct memories of playing with the un-used gasmasks and still remember the "rubbery" musty smell of the materials and the bellow tubing that they were made from, the google eye piecs misted up too. Buff coloured ration books formed part of my own "Shop activity", the powdered egg in the oval shaped tin tasted good to me and I fondly remember this 'taste' as I would dip my finger in the tin to taste the egg.

Menfolk of the area still wore the military style uniform as work wear. A family friend of my fathers, connected to his brass band, would call to see us , also give us lifts in his ex-army style personell carrier that had enormous tyres! this was a fantastic trip for a 6 year old boy of the time. I dread to think of the fuel consumption?

RAF Cardington:
My home (a fairly new council housing estate -of 1937/8-on the Cardington Road)was located enroute and very near to RAF Cardington and it was usual and very common for us lads to stand in the street waving to several very large canvas back lorries that were often full of military / RAF personnel being transported to and from RAF Cardington.This was the case well into the early 1950's

Other Grey/Blue lorries transported extremely large "Gas Bottles" that the local kids always believed were 'bombs'. RAF Cardington was a local base where enormous barrage balloons were made and repaired / tested. The gas bottles were used to fill these barrage balloons.

This base was also a major local civilian employer, many men and women from my area were employed at "The Drome" (Aerodrome)as RAF Cardington was known locally.
I cannot remember anyone owning a car and all people that I knew would cycle to and from work, many came home to lunch too, as most workers did of the era! Most homes had various items of precision engineering from fire grates / pokers/fenders to other items of home hardwear.
Silvery Covered Fabric made and covered kids canoes or made superb weather proof cycle covers. Items were truly "Made in Britain" -in fact- "Made in Cardington/Bedford" Any thing you needed at home was made there -(unofficially)!

Cardington 'Hangars'- Planes and Parachutes:
Formations of several planes still flew overhead, sometimes 'bombers' from East Anglia as well as other planes, as often seen in old films these days. Spitfire style prop planes also flew to and from RAF Cardington and the local boys watched in awe. We would sometimes walk, olr cycle to the boundary fence of Cardington to watch the ballons being winched or planes taking off etc.
My schools( Kingsbrook School for 7-11 year olds) also the Silver Jubilee infants also secondary schools were suitably located just a mile, as the crow flies, from RAF Cardington and we would sit in classes and spot parachute drops from teathered balloons, also prop planes flying to and from the grass runways at Cardington several times a day, every day.

I believe that Cardington was also an enrolment / demob base for the RAF of the time and later became a weather balloon/ meteorlogical base. To this day there are still balloons flying at times and AIR SHIPS are once again developed and made here in the steps of the infamous R101 that started life at Cardington.(Europa Airship was developed at Cardington Hangars during then mid 1970's also)

Dads Army -Bandsman:
My Father was a well known local musician and bandmaster as well as a brilliant cornet player. Major Hobkirk, a local foundry/factory owner was said to have asked my father to become the bandmaster of a new band and to form up this band for the Home Guard. He did just this, but, after a very short time the local army bosses declared that only 'officers' could be bandmasters; my father apparently achieved the fastest promotion ever, he was made up to some rank or other and continued as Bandmaster, a position he carried on,later conducting the local Bedford Town Silver Prize Band for several years, until his untimely death during 1973 aged just 66. Many bandsmen were the same members from the war years plus many of their offspring who joined the band later in life, some play to this day!

Fields and Meadows:
The fields and meadows of Cardington Road were not only the safe play ground for local kids where we all learnt about birds nests-birds eggs were expertly identified for just about every known local species, frogs-toads and newts became "pets", the local river was the summertime playground also picnic area every fine Sunday afternoon for many families and the cows provided cowpats that were the ultimate lesson to local kids and often became part of the "Gang Initiation" tool kit!

During the war these same meadows formed the exercise areas for the local 'Home Guard' where the local kids, during the war, (I am told) used to hide in hedgerows and point out the 'enemy' to the very frustrated homeguard members attempted to 'rehearse' such scenarios and who attempted to hide themselves in the same hedgerows. These same meadows also provided good cover for other 'adult activities' frequently witnessed by local kids who they learnt quite a bit about 'life' too!

Bombs in the area:
Only a few stray bombs found their way to Cardington Road, possibly misplaced target bombs intended for RAF Cardington or even jettisoned.
The area hit was then an undeveloped area that later became known as " the Dumps" also the "Willows" as this became an area of dumping many things from wartime goods, grenades and o;d ammo to pram wheels and old bikes that soon became reformed into go caryts and dirt track bikes by us local kids. We soon became mechanically proficient, often with the help of the adul.ts working at the "Drome".
Bedford Town had a stray hit from a bomb that was perhaps intended either for the nearby 'WHA Allens' engineering works (The home of the turbines for the Titanic) or the local railway station. The bomb hit the canopy of Bedford's "Royal County Theatre" with limited damage considering!

Cllr Colin Crane
Bedford.
6/5/04

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