George Spenceley recalls his memories of training to be a farmer in Yorkshire in the 1940's.

One Sunday I went with some of the village lads, near the farm I worked on, for a walk along the banks of the River Ure, the weather was very hot and the water looked inviting.

'Lets swim to the other side' said one of the lads. 'Supposing someone sees us' another lad said. 'Go on, who will see us' shouted the first lad excitedly and he stripped off his trousers and shirt, 'the last one in is a coward' he called as he swam towards the other side.

Now very few of us lads wore underpants and if you did you were deemed a sissy but in we went laughing like naughty boys, leaving our clothes on the grassy bank.

Even though our ages ranged from sixteen to twenty we made quite a noise splashing one another and fooling about. Suddenly someone shouted, 'Here comes the Colonel' he was the owner of the land that we were on.

We scrambled to the bank side but having nothing to dry ourselves on had difficulty in getting into our clothes. The Colonel with his black retrievers was by our side long before we could get away.

To our surprise he smiled and said, 'Good afternoon lads, what a pleasant way to spend a hot afternoon' then he carried on walking his dogs.

It was that afternoon when we were chatting about nothing in particular that the subject of motorcycles came up. 'I wouldn't mind having one to get me home at weekends' I said.

One lad said he owned a 1934 BSA 250 cc. but didn't use it. I thought 1934, it's the same age as me. 'Its old but in very good condition' he went on, 'If you like I'll bring it over to the farm to show you'.

The following afternoon he brought the bike over to Bedale for me to see. I was very pleased with it and Fred had a run on it.

I didn't always collect my wages every week and it had slowly mounted up so I turned to Fred and asked, 'How much are you holding for me?' He said '£15, it would be handy for you and it would save me fetching and carrying you from the bus station every fortnight'.

Turning to my friend I shrugged my shoulders and said 'Sorry but I haven't enough I can't afford it yet'. He said '£15, Oh go on then it's just stood in the shed, it's yours and I'll teach you how to ride it'

The B.S.A

Betty Me & B.S.A

Over the following weeks I learned how to handle the bike, I applied for my test and passed it on the second attempt after having an argument with the chap who was testing me.

Some weekends when I was at home I would try to teach our Ronnie to drive but it was hopeless, he would let out the clutch too quickly and stall the engine, he must have stalled it a hundred times.

One Sunday evening I was returning to the farm when the engine seized and I was unable to get back to the farm. There were no garages open so I knocked on the door of the Bluebell Hotel and asked if I could spend the night there, I was charged ten shillings (50p).

George Spenceley, 2002