These recollections have been supplied by villagers who have lived or worked in the village during the past. Some of them are are still living here. The earliest recollection is from a Mr. V.A. Dibble, who was the son of the first schoolmaster of Baddesley School and he was born in 1889.
We believe they provide a fascinating glimpse of what village life was really like in the past and I hope you will find them to be as interesting a read as I most certainly did.
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| V. A. Dibble | E. Marsh | D. Peckham | B. Myall | M. Gradidge |
| P. Farmer | J. Hibberd | E. Cosier | J. Fowler | D. Biggs |
| P. Haws | E. Gardner | J. MacKenzie | M. Watts | R. Cobern |
Pat Genge Nov. l985 We moved to Rownhams Lane, North Baddesley in 1953 and not long after that we were aware of frequent calls from gypsy women selling clothes pegs and flowers. One couple lived in a canvas shelter off the lower part of the road to Toothill. She used to call regularly in the winter with sprigs of a little spiky plant decorated with coloured crepe paper. Eventually we became aware of a “settlement” of lorries and caravans on the east side of Rownhams Lane, immediately beyond the then limit of N. Baddesley, Winstone Crescent. The men occupied their time collecting scrap metal and consequently- although the land was never a beauty spot it was not H-m improved visually.
As the settlement became more permanent, the women began to call regularly at the nearest houses to collect water. Usually they pushed a milk churn in a pram or push chair, accompanied by their smaller children. They were always polite, I can’t remember ever having cause to find them troublesome. But I can remember that those living with gardens backing on to the fields occupied by gypsies being very upset at the primitive sanitary arrangements which tended to be the bushes nearest their gardens.
The gypsies became a “problem” to many North Baddesley home owners. They visualised a “takeover” of the village, with appalling devaluation of their property, and there were some heated parish meetings to discuss what action should be taken.
The H.C.C. Social Services stepped in and decided to deal with the problem practically. Instead of the usual way of getting the police to “move them on” to another authority’s patch they installed a social worker in his own caravan on the gypsy site and provided a mains water tap. The social worker had first to gain the confidence of the gypsies. Having done that he persuaded them to tidy the site and to arrange the caravans neatly and separate them from the scrap metal dump. I can’t remember how long this took, I imagine some two years. The gypsies themselves became more well known in the village although not more welcome by everyone.
The next step was the provision of prefabricated bungalows on the site. I imagine they were those which had originally been provided immediately after the war to cater for the very difficult housing problem which existed them, and. had been replaced by permanent dwellings. Another social worker was installed on the site in a prefab of her own and the families were persuaded to move out of their caravans and in to the prefabs. I am not sure of the timescale of events, but when they were settled in the prefabs and equipped with television, the old caravans were ceremonially burned in order to make an important occasion of changing to the new life style. I can remember the social workers saying it was one of the difficult times of the operation, but it went without trouble.
The next step was for the new social worker to “teach” the gypsies how to live in a house and to persuade them to send their children to school. She used to say that many of the women disliked. cooking indoors and much preferred to work outside over an open fire. Sending the children to school was the cause of more upset to the house dwelling community. They feared. terrible diseases and other unspeakable horror; if their children sat next to gypsies. I imagine the school records wouldd show some odd stories. A few little boys joined. Cubs, but they could not be persuadedd to attend regularly. Their parents were very useful customers at jumble sales, there was one mother of a large family who would always buy all the socks, no matter what size or colour.
The final state of the rehabilitation of these folk was their removal to council houses in various villages in the district and the demolition of all the buildings on their site, which is now, as it was, a rather scrubby damp field.
North Baddesley 1955-1965 approx