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  • Thanks Wendy, I do not remember a climbing frame at the Chilton estate so I have not included it. I do remember the Burgess family.

  • Stuart ? put a photo up of the old climbing frame. I put photo of myself and friends on the climbing frame on the `Old AERE Facebook site.
    It was on a three page newspaper report titled ‘The Atom lives next door’ published in 1949. Can send copy if you would like to see it.
    Also Diane De Maria said one of her friends Yoland Burgess. I think I went to school with Yoland- I certainly knew her, and think my mum & dad went to her wedding.

  • Yup.Thought so. Always Interesting that a relatively small ‘gang killing’ has remained so widely known over so many decades when most of the mass murders committed by governments is equally widely ignored, forgotten, or doesn’t even reach the attention of most people.

  • Thanks for the comment Wendy, I am so glad I was able to bring back some happy memories for you.

  • Ohh such nostalgic reading! I was18 months old (1946) when my dad moved to Harwell. We lived at 4 Vale Road which was the prefab estate within the perimeter gates. Dad was in the drawing office, but as an ex Police Officer he was friendly with a lot of the Police there. He was very popular and I can remember one occasion when there had been some sort of event at the Police station and dad had a bit too much to drink he was pushed home, by the police, in a wheelbarrow!
    So many memories in the write up. Bonfires, JOBS. dairy, Horse & Jockey, Corn fields (used to build a ‘house’ out of the hayricks. (No H&S in those days!) Also one of the comments referred to Mr & Mrs Denzie being teachers at Chilton School. I have previously photos on the Old AERE site of Mr Denzir’s class. Also remember, as I got older, the Social Club which the teenagers were allowed to go in. Can remember standing around the piano when one of our friends (Barry Kidd) was able to play by ear so any new song that came out we would have a good sing along. One I can remember very clearly was A Pub With No Beer by Slim Dusty! Thanks for taking me back to our very happy days at Harwell. Now live in Weymouth which luckily I love as well!

  • Hi Pamela,

    I am pleased that my blog was able to spur you into writing down some of your memories,thank you.

  • I began working at AERE in 1957. My husband had started there a year before me.We lived in a flat in The Grange at Drayton. We were several times offered Harwell houses but loved where we were. Eventually we bought a house in Drayton. My husband worked in Chemical Engineering and I, a non scientist, worked in the Main Building. Later I was promoted and moved to Research Reactor Division. We worked in three linked terrapin huts and the water vapour from Lido across the road could soak you.The next move was to some superior huts and then finally to a new building between Dido and Pluto.
    Our social life revolved around Harwell Rugby Club and there were some very lively parties. In those days there were also rather wild office parties which took great planning and would never be allowed now.
    Being stuck out in a corner, should we wish to go to the main site we either had to borrow the Division bike, a male model, and difficult for ladies in short skirts, or catch the site bus.
    Going home meant catching the blue and grey bus. Sometimes we hitched a lift on the Oxford bus, went to the Welsh Pony for excellent pub food and then to the Playhouse where, on a Monday, all seats were 2/6 .
    Carter’s stores was quite modern at that time. It was there that I used to see the wives of the several German scientists who had been brought over after the war. They looked, and were considered to be, highly eccentric.I think that some lived in the prefabs.
    I remember the endless snow of 1963. Ladies were allowed to wear trousers to help keep warm.
    I look back on my time at Harwell with great affection. It was like living on a University campus. There was every kind of society and club to suit anyone, from religion to croquet.
    My son lives in Sutton Courtenay and often walks on the Downs. The other day he took a photo of Dido and Pluto. The old “pressure cookers” looked rather sad and neglected. I need not feel nostalgic because in my area (South Bucks) the landscape is being ravaged by the HS2 and quite near me are two large and mysterious edifices . They look just like Dido and Pluto.

  • Thanks for your comments, I only wrote the blog to keep some memories alive now the buildings for the most part have been torn down. I have no personal photos so I cannot help.

  • Just spent the day wandering around AERE site. We lived in West Drive from 1976 to 1986. I worked at AERE and hubby worked at Culham labs. First home as a newly married 18 year old and I loved it deeply. Only moved out because of the impending demolition. If only they had kept one or two……… So many happy memories of a hard but enjoyable time. Please keep the memories coming. Anyone have any more older photos?

  • Hi Tony,
    I remember your family, you did indeed live up round the corner from us. I have many more memories of the Chilton estate but I thought that a quick overview of my time there was quite enough for the viewing public. Hope all is well with you and thank you so much for your kind comments.

  • You have a phenomenal memory! I too lived in Kennet Road Harwell for ten years, although I cannot remember the number. I think it was the opposite end from you. From what you have written, I believe you must be about five years younger than me. I too went to Abingdon and left in 1958. I now live in Australia where I have been for nearly fifty years.
    Well done! Interesting reading.

  • Hi Richard,
    Thanks for your memories of a magic place in which to grow up.
    I lived in East Devon for thirty years before I came to France, I remember Budleigh Salterton well.
    As for the much later photo I went to the estate in 2015 and decided that I wanted to recall it as it was.

  • Hi again,

    I have some photographs of Hillside taken in 2014 if you are interested.

  • Hi Him,

    Really enjoyable read in these trying times. I have so many good memories of those times. I lived in ‘B’ Mess from 1969 and remember the Bowles family. Percy was in a senior position, (chief engineer?) at the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory as it was called then. I worked on the IBM computer at the RHEL having moved from Derby where I grew up. I was 20 years old and had driven from Derby in my Hillman Imp car, with all my worldly belongings, including my Dansette record player. I was staggered by the beauty of the area which I had fallen in love with from the moment I had first seen it on my first interview. That was before the countryside in Berkshire as it was decimated by the Dutch Elm disease. I eventually ended up at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, via a stint at Reading Technical College. I lived in the area until 2016 when I moved with my lovey wife Helen to Budleigh Salterton in Devon.

  • Hi Stuart, I do not remember the climbing frame but others will no doubt. The lorry belonging to Mr Hiles evokes ration books and gallon tins of egg powder and of syrup.

  • Hello again him and happy Christmas
    I’ve been sorting stuff left by my parents yet again (never seem to get rid of anything) and have just yesterday come across the contract my father signed to rent 10, Downside on the estate. 17/6d per week ! Sounds cheap now but was probably a good slice of his wages.
    Best wishes for the New Year
    Roger Burnett

  • Hi Diane, A very interesting comment, I am sure there are others that will have their memories jogged as,well as I. Names especially. Thanks for the compliments.

  • Hi Him: I lived at A.E.R.E. Harwell growing up and remember you and your family very well. We lived on Avon Road and later moved to Severn Road in the brick houses right next to the garages and the playground. My Mother Edith Hampshire was good friends with your Mother. My sister, Adrienne, who is 5 years younger than me, was I think more your age. Two of my best friends Lilian Pyrah and Yolande Burgess lived on Kennet Road. It was amazing reading your post and brought back so many good memories of happy days growing up with plenty of freedom and places to explore. Thank you.

  • Hi John. I lived on Avon Rd and then we moved to the brick houses in Severn Road next door to your family. Your father was my Father, Eric’s, boss. My Mother was Edith and my sister is Adrienne. I remember your Mother and Father well. This is amazing so many happy memories of growing up at Harrell

  • I well remember Percy and Florence, brings back more memories. Thank you so much.

  • Hi, I do remember you, although you are probably about five years my senior. My mum and dad were Percy and Florence and I have a sister Sharon. We lived at 1 Wayland Crescent but moved to South Drive around 1954. I also attended Abingdon School.

  • Hi John,

    I seem to remember a Mr. and Mrs. Bowles across the road from us, perhaps your Mother and Father.
    I am glad that the article brought back memories of a now non existent site and an unknown era to many.
    Having said all that, it is just in my memory,

  • Hello Him,

    Stumbled across this site totally unexpectedly and it was wonderful to read your interesting and detailed reminiscences. I lived at Wayland Crescent as a baby from 1951. We moved briefly to Abingdon (Fitzharries Road) but returned to AERE in 1954 to live at South Drive. I am now retired and living in Somerset but have hugely fond and happy memories of a childhood at “The Atomic”.

  • Hi Roger,

    Glad to have been of some help in jogging the memory, especially since it has all disappeared in actuality. I had been working on a map of the site but it has vanished, albeit temporarily, I live on a “fermette” deep in the middle of France with sheep, turkeys and chickens, soon to be joined by ducks. Life in my hamlet of eleven people is similar to England in the fifties with regard to the natural independence from the state. 

  • Good morning Him
    I was pointed to your writings this morning by an old friend Margaret Hanks nee Loveday who as I did lived at Harwell from 1948 -. I lived at 10 Downside and she in Weyland Crescent. I’m getting a bit soft in old age and reading your words brought back things I had forgotten – Roger in his caravan, Carter’s store and that fenced off pond where we were not allowed to go but none the less navigated in wooden crates. Margaret and I both went to a nursery school on site (I have photos so where) before going to School down the road – Mr and Mrs Denzie (spelling ?) being the teachers.
    All such a long time ago
    I too live in France (Burgundy – near Vezelay)
    Visited the “site” pilgrimage? about 10 years ago but all that was left of 10 Downside was brambles and weed trees – so sad.

  • Hi Gina,

    Thanks for your kind comments. The houses in Severn Road were not built before I left, there was just grass and corn fields. I can remember the garages being built and playing on the scaffolding as they were going up.

    Cheers,

    Phil

  • Brilliant! This was a very enjoyable read. You have an amazing memory.
    In 1954 When I was three I moved with my parents to No.6 Severn Road. I am actually typing this at No.8 Severn Road where my friend used to live and where her daughter now lives!
    Do you remember the “playground” behind the south side of Avon Road? There were garages there and an old wartime shelter. There were swings and a roundabout thing and then this enormous long swing that could hold half a dozen kids. We would work it up really high and try to hit “the bumps”. I have looked for a photo of something similar but
    with no success.
    I was also looking for a photo of the radiation gauges our dads wore. I wonder what happened to them all?
    I did go to Chilton School and remember playing in the pillbox on the playing fields.
    Looking forward to more memories!

    I

  • Hi Susan,
    Thank you for the email comment, I’m glad you can still see some parts of the estate. I do have a small map which eventually I shall put up on the site,it will only encompass the estate itself and the immediate surrounding area. Come back later in the month.
    Cheers,

    Phil

  • Thank you for a most interesting blog, my friend and I have recently been walking our dogs around the old prefab site and we are intrigued by it’s history. We have noticed some of the signs that still remain of the bustling little community that once lived there. Concrete posts that surrounded the homes and gardens, trees and bushes that have grown so huge that they have become woodlands and the brambles have grown over so much of the area. Now it is a wildlife haven… So many of the pathways and kerbs are moss and grass covered, reappearing every now and then, even an old dustbin with the bottom missing and a concrete flower pot almost buried. I love the feeling of nostalgia this place gives me, I wish I knew what the road plan looked like and what was there before nature reclaimed it. My grandmother lived in Chilton village and her lodger worked at AERE so was familiar with the area as a child. We used to walk up a track called “the lane”, to the railway bridge and sit on the embankment to watch the steam trains coming to and from Didcot. Do you have or would you be able to draw me a layout map of the prefab estate north drive etc so I would know where I am walking around there, and where the homes were? Thank you

  • Thank you Trevor, I am glad I brought back some memories. Very interesting that you discovered the history of the lane to Harwell! Cheers, Phil

  • Hello Him
    Thank you for your interesting blog, it certainly brought back a lot of memories.
    I lived at 16 West Drive from 1970 to mid 70’s and still think (with all the faults) how great the Prefabs were. I was an apprentice at the time and the AERE housing officer had found for me rented accommodation in Childrey for 6 guineas a week (over half of my wages).
    In 1970 I was offered the prefab at 30 shillings a week, this transformed life for my wife, daughter and me allowing us to afford a little more than before.
    The prefab was very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter with ice on the inside of the windows and on the window sills, you could see your breath in the bedrooms first thing in the morning. The prefab was fitted with an old rayburn type fire and hot air was taken and vented into the hall way – this never worked. On one occassion I came home and found my wife in tears she had spent the whole morning trying to light the anthracite on the fire, it was bit of a sod to get going!.
    The storage space provided by the built in cupboards was great, the one in the front room was ideal for storing my fermenting wine until a bottle exploded and I was of course banned from using it anymore.
    There was a really good atmosphere with all the neighbours, we were young and all in the same boat!, many of our neighbours came from faraway places these are the ones I remember:-
    Ghana
    America
    Egypt
    Japan
    etc.
    This made for some interesting conversations (and parties).
    My daughter went to the nursery by the currie avenue shopping centre and I also frequented the Motor club and of course the social club.
    This is a paragraph from an article on the web:-
    “the aerodrome which became AERE to the south and finally the new A34 road. The Winnaway to the aerodrome was christened the Burma Road by the airmen”
    I have been told it was commonly used to walk from AERE to the pubs in Harwell by the airmen.
    I am going to look through my old photo’s to see what pictures I have of the Prefabs.
    I look forward to reading any further updates to your blog
    kind regards

  • Hello Patrick, Thanks for taking an interest in the site, I shall have some little A.E.R.E updates in the New Year I expect. Our location is about an hour and a half north of Limoges. Some history about the flock will emerge in the next Megabollix update. Cheers, Phil

  • Hi, Thanks Angie, glad I could trigger some memories. I did check the name of the track down to Harwell with the writer of North Drive blog and he concurs with me. That is not to say that the name was not changed later.Cheers, Phil

  • I started work at AERE in 1970,aged,17. It was a fantastic place. I used to get a strip of luncheon vouchers which I could put towards a meal at the s
    Social Club or the works canteen. I sometimes used to walk over to the row of shops outside of the site and spend the vouchers on myself and my boyfriend. There was always something going on over in the Social Club, and a pint of starlight used to cost about 1/6 ( I think thats about 7p)
    I remember the dentist and you were right it was quite a trauma going there.
    I used to walk up the track from Harwell Village to the Hostel on Sundays but I always thought the track it was called the Winnoway.

    My mum still lives in Didcot and the changes to that town are immense since we first moved there in 1956.

  • Hellooo Him,
    Thanks for all those memories of Harwell.
    I used to live in Portway Hostel when I was an apprentice then B mess for a while before adventuring across the world seeking other avenues of technical happininess such as a hot soldering iron and electric string.
    My brother lived in West drive in one of the Asbestos prefabs, many happy days we had there and at the car club.
    We used to live in Chilton village so went to school at Chilton primary and later the dreaded St. Birinus, but lucky for us we loved all things mechanical and electrical so ended up at Harwell crafting a skill. I also did a spell at Abingdon Polytechnic.
    Spent a 10 years in Taiwan designing things….
    but remember happy days of Carter’s store, and of course delivering newspapers around all the roads you mentioned when I was a lad. I also remember out the back of carter’s the dentist with their gas anesthetic for doing the simplest of fillings, and always feeling very sick after coming around.

    I also live in France just north of Narbonne, so where are you with your flock descended from Megabollix?

  • Forgot how to switch comments on for this one………..remembered how to eventually. Just wanted to say, I really can’t believe that vid is 10 years old. Truly great outfit. Thanks for posting now………and then…….X