An Abundance of Uncles - Growing Up in the Shadows of the Mendip Hills (Paperback, New edition)

Roy Gallop's memoir looks back to growing up in the Chew Valley during the Second World War. The 1940s and early 1950s were like an extension of the 1930s, very few rural families had more than basic coal-fired cooking and heating. Many did not have mains water or electricity and toilet arrangements were often medieval. Washing machines, vacuum cleaners and television sets were still a long way off. Farms still used horses although tractors were now more common. There were still quite a large number of farm workers and trades allied to the farming industry. Young people had few amenities provided for them, but there was a lot of freedom and opportunity for adventure. Although this is a personal history of growing up in this era, it is also a record of those times and a way of life which has changed out of all recognition.