Page 29 - Life in Langham 1914-1919

Life on a Small Farm

A third cow, purchased

at a cheaper price,

turned out to be (in

country dialect)

“a wrong’un”, and after

a lengthy treatment by

the local veterinary

surgeon (at considerable

cost) she was sold to be

destroyed for dog meat.

A later picture of the Walker farm

Ernest and his siblings attended Langham village school:

Dinner time interlude from school was always taken up with cleaning the cow shed or

the calf shed out, or preparing food (chaff and root cuttings) for the evening feed.

After school, one departed the mile plus, to the fields to round the cows up, and drive

them home for milking and night feed and shelter.

There was a chance that Ernest’s father might be called up:

At regular periods the age limit for active service would be raised and as my father was

still under forty years of age, and his contribution to the National effort in farming

terms was not considered to be sufficient justification for exemption, it became obvious

that the ominous “calling up” letter from the War Office might be received any day.

It was thought necessary that I should learn to milk, so that in the event of my father

being “called up” it would be possible to keep the cows and other animals. Milking at

the age of eight made my small wrists ache, but I was usually allocated a quiet and

easy milker and so I got used to the job and henceforth continued to take my share and

occasionally did all of the milking.

The weather didn’t help:

During March 1916 the heaviest snow fall that I personally had witnessed in my

lifetime fell over the East Midlands. Snow lay four feet deep in the paddock at the rear

of our home, and in many places thereabouts there were drifts of six feet.

All transport was at a standstill. Telephone wires were brought down and many poles

broken, everyone had first to dig themselves out. I remember we spent all morning

digging our way with shovels and spades round to the cow shed, and also later to the

calves and pig.