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I was born in October 1942 in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire and spent my formative years nearby in rural Chalfont St Giles.
I was really too young to have many personal memories of the war, though I do remember one day looking up to see gliders being towed across the sky. For some reason, at the tender age of 2, the formation reminded me of the shape of a threepenny bit! My only other recollection is of being shown the chipped window pane caused by the ‘doodle-bug’ which had over-shot London and exploded about a mile away. I have no memory of the explosion itself, or of being hidden under the stairs during air-raids as my mother tells me I was.
My association with Headley began in 1977 after a job move, but I didn’t start taking an interest in its history until 1992 when I was asked to write a community play on a local historical theme. Success in this led to another project, to record the history of the village in wartime ‘while there are still people alive to tell it’, and specifically stories surrounding the Canadians of the tank regiments who had spent time in the village and taken the villagers to their hearts – in some cases literally!
I published the book ‘All Tanked Up’ in May 1994, in time for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. It was compiled largely from tape recordings and letters of villagers and Canadians who had been here at the time – and the title was suggested by one of the Canadians as being appropriate in linking their means of transport with their love for English pubs.
These entries show you the main text. The book itself, including illustrations, maps and appendices, is still in print and available from me.
http://www.johnowensmith.co.uk