Post-war
When the Second World War came to an end, John Knock was eight years old. Like most children of that generation, he had known nothing but wartime, so the years that followed were spent discovering a landscape that must have seemed boundless. He continued to play around the village until he reached fourteen, and in that time he and his friends came to know every corner of Leigh and the land beyond it.
The heart of childhood life was The Green. Cricket and football were played there whenever the weather and the mood allowed, and it was the natural meeting point before any expedition further afield. Another favourite haunt was the old brickyard, known to every child simply as 'the bricky'. It lay between Lower Green and Kiln Lane, and the ground stretched down as far as the railway. Of that whole site, only the Well pond survives today – the pond the children called 'the Welly', which still sits below the railway line.
The games themselves were simple and needed little equipment. Hopscotch was chalked out opposite the Old Bakery, and hoops were beaten along Green View Avenue. At school, the playground favourites were conkers, marbles, tag and a game the children knew as 'kingy'. In winter, snow brought its own pleasures: home-made sledges were dragged up Pauls Hill for tobogganing, and when the ponds froze over, skating was a serious business. The pond by the Sewerage offered safe skating for ordinary winters, but the Well Pond and the lake at Hall Place were saved for what everyone called the 'great freezes' – those rare winters when the ice could be trusted.
The children's territory was astonishingly wide. It ran beyond Tapners all the way to Ashour Wood, and took in Killicks Bank, Well Place, Cooks pits and Martins Drive. On the other side, it reached across Charcott aerodrome to Leigh Park Farm. Camps were built in East Wood beyond Lealands Avenue, where a boy could imagine himself far from adult supervision. Tadpoles were caught at the pond at Tips Cross, and the journey home might be made by Birdcage Walk or past the kennels at Home Farm.
Summer and autumn brought the harvest of the countryside. Blackberries were picked at the Round Toll in Penshurst Park, and sweet chestnuts were gathered in the Chestnut Toll on Cinder Hill. Small fish were caught in the London Pond, and firewood was collected from the railway bank to help the household fires. Holly trees supplied the greenery for the family Christmas decorations. There was even work to be done: gleaning was carried out in a field behind The Forstall, and the gleaned corn was carried home for the chickens that were kept to supply eggs.
Water played a large part in these memories. Walks went through the arch at Kiln Bank and out into the water meadows, and swimming spots included Ensfield Bridge and the Shallows at Hayesden. The old Weir Pool, where many a splash must have taken place, has since been replaced by the Leigh Sluice and its flood barrier, so that stretch of the river is much changed today.
Organised activities filled the time too. Thirteen boys once made a recording in the church, and members of the church choir competed at the British Legion Sports, an event that also featured 'tilt the bucket' and a talent contest. The Scouts were run by Dick Wood, and their activities included boat building as well as the annual camp, which was surely a highlight of the year.
Many of the boys who shared this childhood remained in the area. Russell and Bernard Thompsett still lived in the village, as did Dennis Stolton and John Holden. Ray Chadwick, Mike Cheseman, Alan Holden and Claude Taylor lived nearby, keeping the old friendships alive within easy reach.
For those who wish to trace this childhood landscape for themselves, the places mentioned here are shown on a map kept in the Pump House in the High Street. It is a useful reminder of how much ground a village child could once call their own.