My father was a jeweller with Shackmans factory in Golden Square, London, and about 1943 the factory moved to Chesham to make gun sights and other war implements.  Mum couldn’t stay in Tooting, London, because of the bombing, and we were sent away as evacuees in Devon. However, we were brought back to travel down to Chesham with Mum and Dad as Dad managed to get a cottage on Waterside which was right near Shackmans factory.

Myself and 2 brothers John and Ken went to the Baptist School on Waterside Rd., if I remember rightly. Brian was only small, around 3/4yrs.

Well I remember the park just down Waterside, we used to go and catch tiddlers and keep them in a jam jar and behind the cottages we lived in were watercress beds in the stream. Just a few doors up from us was a dairy and brother John used to go and help the milkman deliver milk on his little dairy horse and cart!

Also, I remember we used to go and play in someone's wood mill. In fact, I was running along the top of some downed trees and fell between them, knocking out my 2 front teeth! However, I was taken straight to the school dentist with the teeth and he stuck them straight back in and I had them for a good while!

And talking of Chesham a friend here in Beerwah (Steve Irwin's area) Queensland I have a friend who actually comes from Chesham, although she has been in Australia for about 30yrs.

Myself, I joined the WRAF at 19 and ended up at RAF Changi in 1952 and met and married an Australian, came straight to Queensland in 1953 and my parents emigrated here in 1955.