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Promotion entailed moving and, although I hoped to get a local posting somewhere around Oxford it was not to be. So it was that promotion meant not only changing my department but also my residence. A bitter blow for both of us. We were particularly attached to the Roundhouse and to Oxford. When my posting came through it was to the National Assistance Board at Hove in Sussex.
I spent several months finding suitable accommodation in the Brighton district last lodging in Brighton during the week and returning to Oxford at the weekends.
Iin a leafy lane on the outskirts of Brighton has a lot going for it. Traffic is restricted to residents; the road
is narrow and in only a few places wide enough for two vehicles to pass. There are no pavements. When I first came to
Brighton and was looking for somewhere to live what attracted me was how the very like it was to where I had come from in
Oxford. And then when I entered the house; again I was pleased to see how similar to the house in Oxford.
So after the first view I returned again and again in my lunch breaks and also in the evenings to make absolutely sure
that my wife and I would be happy there. I was happy with the aspect – due South. There were of course things that would
be done. For instance there was only a small gate and pathway and no drive but the prospects were there. The plot was
wide enough enable a carriage drive. There was no downstairs toilet or garage. With my previous knowledge gained from
building my own house I realized that with a lot of hard work I could rectify these things. Central heating consisting of
a coke boiler in the kitchen feeding a small radiant in the lounge and a towel rail in the bathroom upstairs. I wish to
havefull central heating as I had in Oxford. I had not install the heating there but I was confident than I could
install it myself.
I had been transferred from Oxford to Hove to join th Asistance Board and with a certain amount of stress I found the
physical activity required to carry out this work at the weekend a useful relaxation.
The work of the District Officer in the National Assistance Board could be a very stressful one depending on the type of area you were allotted to. My area of Hove was next to the border of Brighton. An area of large houses almost all converted to a large number of very small flats. Brighton and Hove then seemed to me to be a very poorly paid area. There were also a great number of retired people. My stress increased when I took on the role of officer in charge of the caller section. My staff had the unhappy job of interviewing people who were claiming to be destitute and in immediate need of money. My job was to decide whether to give or not to give that help. At various times during this period Eileen would decide that she wished to return closer to Oxford. I moved both to Oxford and Crawley to meet her wishes, only for her to change her mind . However our home remained in Brighton. It was time for a change and I obtained a post with the Land Commission at Reading. Again this entailed a living away from home. I moved to another branch of the Land Commission at Croydon, commuting by train each day. This was a department set up by the Labour government with the purpose of taxing the capital gain in respect of land sales. My area of activity was at South Kent and I made it my business to visit planning offices and building inspectors in that area at least one day each week. I got to know South Kent very well.
At the end of two years with the Land Commission it became obvious to me that there would be a change of Government and, with it, the disbandment of the Land Commission. I therefore sought and obtained a new post with the South Eastern regional office of British Telecom. This was still a Government Department and organisation and staff training was much the same as I found it in the previous departments. Training consisted of spending one week with the person whose job I was taking over. I found myself with the title of the Regional Billing liaison officer.
Evolution of Deanfield Garden
When I came to the garden in 1960 t was a great deal different to how it was then. There were four very large and tall trees in the front garden amongst the front hedgerow and a hedgerow along each side. I cut down the height of the trees to six feet (The stumps are still there) and pulled up the two side hedges.There were only one large tree in the back garden which I also cut down ; the stump of which is also there. There were no trees on either side or end of the garden with the exception of one large …… tree.
The neiboring land to North had not been developed. Now, trees have been planted close together on neighbouring land on which have grown very large and close together and to the border, cutting out the light to my garden. The properties on either side have been extended to the detriment of my views.
For my part; I have wished to provide, for my retirement, a small Cottage lower down the garden. This has been thwarted by my neighbours at planning application stage despite doing something similar themselves. My single storey Cottage would have been far less obtrusive being at a much lower level. I was being said by them that it would enable me to gain access to a plot of land
. This was not the case the land was adjacent to the neighbours and acessable from mine.
August 2012
May and Fred were so very grateful that these members of the family found time to visit us at Deanfield. Family that we had never met before! We both felt we had all formed an everlasting bond. Our door is always open to you all. If given an opportunity please come and stay. Jon and Donna have also visited. There are other members whom we would also like to extend a welcome.
Fred's Memories 