A magical evening in the village hall
A full house gathered to share cherished memories from long-time residents Mary Owens, Margaret Davis, Tony Carter and Mike Attrill in April. Their stories brought the past to life, painting a vibrant picture of daily life in the village during and after the Second World War.
Laughter rippled through the room as they recalled the weekly visit from the “Lavendermen,” who teetered through homes collecting full buckets from the outdoor lavatories, filling the air with their unforgettable scent. There were fond, memories of family bath night – everyone taking their turn in the same steaming tin tub, often in front of the range. Keeping pigs and chickens and growing veg was essential so no-one went hungry even if you could only keep a quarter of the pig during wartime.
Listeners were hushed as they heard about the eerie night-time rumble of lorries, bringing evacuees from bombed-out Portsmouth, clutching all they owned after devastating air raids. The school grew too as children evacuees joined and tried to adapt to life in the country – many scared of the dark and cows!
Saturdays meant a trip into Petersfield – not for shopping, but to recharge the heavy radio accumulator batteries, a lifeline to the outside world before many homes had electricity. Christmas, however, brought joy: grand parties at the Manor and Buriton House, where children of estate and farm workers were treated to rare magic and merriment.
Back then, few in Buriton owned their homes. Most lived in tied cottages, dwellings granted to those who toiled in the fields, worked on the railway, cut timber in the woods, or laboured in the lime works. These were not just stories – they were windows into how our tight-knit, resilient community thrived through hardship and found joy in the simplest of things.
Thanks are passed to Mary, Margaret, Tony and Mike who kindly agreed to talk with Doug Jones and make the evening possible.
The Buriton Village Association made an audio recording of the evening which it’s hoped can be made available in due course.
