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Young Jack Hill, brought up on The Gables Farm at Desford, recalls some interesting pre-war sights as regards road maintenance:
In the period 1930 to 40, in a corner of the field adjoining a parcel of land listed as No 217 on the Ordnance maps just by the gateway leading to Lockey Farm a strange structure merged with the bushes.
This was the single storey dwelling constructed from flattened 40 gallon steel drums, originally used for transporting coal tar. It was occupied by a disabled man named Gurney, who walked with a limp and had to twist his body at each step.
I was never able to get a close glimpse of the conditions or any idea of rooms or facilities but the red rust of the steel and the patches of black tar gave the place an interesting appearance. I have recollections of a lady sometimes in the garden but I have no idea of her status.
Mr Gurney was employed by the County Council and his patch comprised all the parish of Desford with reference to roads and footpaths that had been surfaced with what was then called metalling. His job was to keep all the ways swept clean and attend to potholes and depressions, and keep them in good condition until a major
re-surfacing was deemed necessary.
Equipment comprised a set of shovels, forks, pickaxes rakes and scoops for clearing gullies. These were transported around the village either on a twin wheelbarrow or on the top and sides of the tar boiler, which had a steel frame on cast iron wheels or the fire grate to melt the cold tar previously broken out of the barrels. A long handled scoop was used to transfer wet tar to the roadway where holes were gradually filled
with layers of stones and the tar.
When cold, the repair was as good as the surrounding roadway. Progress along the road to the chosen work spot was very slow with Mr Gurney pulling the tar boiler or pushing the barrow.
Preparation for the major resurfacing involved brushing up all the loose fine grit, which was frequently deposited in our farm gateway, to fill gaps between stones.
Equipment for the major works was a contractor's motor propelled tar tanker, which had a hand pump feeding hot tar to a hand held spray boom. Later versions were provided with a motor driven pump.
The man who operated this spray boom must have been handsomely paid since at the end of the day's work, his clothing and exposed parts of face would be covered in tar thrown up by the edges of the nozzles. He always had paper leggings that could be stripped off and discarded. I assume that he was provided with spirits to soften the tar and reduce the burning sensation.
Granite chippings from Bardon were spread by hand from piles tipped as the work progressed, and this layer was then rolled in with a steam driven road roller. The equipment was parked near to Gurney's hut in a wide gateway leading eventually to the overspill cemetery. The tar boiler was oil fired but the roller had to be banked with coal before the chimney plate was placed on to keep the draught to a minimum.
Green smoke would coil up through a small hole in the plate and I always assumed that it had a chlorine base to produce the green colour. Loose chippings with tar attached were extremely annoying for weeks after the work was done and stuck to shoes and socks as well as legs.
Around 1935, when Dofi and Ted moved into their new home in Manor Road the flat became empty and so at some stage Jim and Vera Durham came to stay. Jim worked for the LMS as a shunter and was transferred from the Wigston area to help run the yard at Desford station.
Jim was a very thin man with a huge Adams apple and usually wore his railway uniform that comprised black trousers, a shirt and a waistcoat with pockets and a shining watch chain. For time was very important to him. He worked three shifts in rotation, namely 6am to 4pm. 4pm.to 10 pm. and 10pm. to 6am. Thus for one week he would be sleeping during the day and this was quite irksome for me who was required to remain silent if at home on holiday.
Vera was extremely tubby, almost obese, but inherited the condition from her mother so had an excuse. She was very house proud and kept busy but could never burn off the fat.
They were childless so decided to adopt a boy. Thus one morning they came back to the farm with a small boy in tow. This poor kid was decked out in Lord FaunLeroy type clothing such as black velvet.
Johnny Richardson and big John were always scathing in their remarks. He came from an orphanage or children's home so took some time to become accustomed to new ways.
(He eventually became a Guardsman, was involved in the evacuation at Dunkirk and later entered the Police force in Leicester)
Before Norman came on the scene, I was allowed on one or two occasions to walk down to the station and visit Jim at the shunters' hut, I was also allowed to ride on the shunting engine provided I kept well
out of the way of the fireman and hid when a holiday excursion train went through in case I should be seen by an inspector. The shunting engine was a 0-6-0 with tender.
It was fascinating for me to be able to walk through a corridor train and see newspapers and other debris scattered around. Our local train to Leicester or Coalville just had separate carriages with slam doors.
An inspection of the signalman's hut was a revelation, listening to the bells and then watching him move the levers and wind the gates to the closed position. He always had a piece of cloth in one hand to help grip the steel handles. I believe the system was counterweighted but even so some strength was required to start the movement of wires to the semaphore signals half a mile away.
The Durhams were recruited into the Chapel congregation and they became stalwarts, with Jim keeping the coke furnace lit for services and Vera doing the cleaning.
I have no recollection as to when they left the flat or even if they were still in occupation when we vacated the Gables in 1940.
Once or twice I was taken by the Durhams to Wigston to visit a relative who had a toy and cycle shop. That was the first time I met someone who owned an electric train set, and not only that but an American one with an engine with a cowcatcher at the front. Talk about being green with envy.
We obviously travelled by train as Jim was entitled to free travel.
At some stage Jim purchased a pianola and took great delight in 'playing' the instrument. The sound was very impressive and only needed pedal power to get it going.
He also had an air gun and sometimes would bring it out for the lads to have a go but Vera thought that it was a dangerous toy. Lead pellets could be nasty things but steel darts with fabric feathers were much more lethal. Fortunately the novelty soon wore off and the gun was forgotten
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