Mr Kenneth Spiers, who was born in 1921, has recently contacted the Heritage Bank to share some of his memories.
His family moved to Buriton in 1921 when his father, George Arthur Spiers (known as Arthur), was employed by the Bonham Carter family. They lived at the Coach & Horses in on the A3.
Mr Spiers recalls the variety of jobs that his father undertook for the Bonham Carters and for the Forestry Commission – and has described some of the work that he did when he also joined the Commission for a short time after leaving school.
One of his father’s jobs had been to plough the ‘rides’ (between the trees) close to the main road so that no vegetation grew. This was because there was a risk of fire from traffic on the main road as there were many steam engines travelling along the road, transporting goods. Mr Spiers recalls that there needed to be ponds about every two miles along the road so that the steam engines could re-fill. There was one across the road from the Coach & Horses and another (brick built pond) about half-way to Butser cutting (on the west side of the road).
There were also some recollections about the 1st Buriton Scout Group (where Leaders included Mr Bowyer (a Nurseryman from Liss) and Bob Caplen (a Fire Brigade Officer) and about other village families including Harry Legg and Basil Treagus.
Mr Spiers can also remember archaeologists working at Holt Down: he found a shiny coin and was given one shilling for it by one of the men.
If you know of anybody who may also have memories of life in and around Buriton in years gone by please get in touch via heritage@buriton.org.uk
