Web Page 3119 13th April 2024 First Picture: Sheath Knife

Second Picture; Catapult

Third Picture: ex WW2 handgranade

Fourth Picture; Winchester Riflee Weapons We must have lived a charmed or sheltered life but as a group we never came across the weapons that seemed to be around in todays schools and youth clubs. Most boys in our year carried a pen or pocket knife as these were useful for sharpening pencils or whittling away at twigs and sticks. For most boys who were in the Boy Scouts a sheath knife was normally an essential part of the uniform and were carried on the scout belt. We had access to all these knives but there was never any thought of attacking someone with them and murder was not in our vocabulary at the time. However I do remember that the Mods and Rockers and the Teddy Boys normally carried flick knives, but I never personally came across these although there were gangs around in Portsmouth. Most of us lads had or made their own catapult, many of us would search the local trees or bushes for suitable Y shaped branches we could cut out and attach some strong elastic to. For some folks, who had more pocket money the most of us, they could go to the local tuck shop or Wynns toy shop in Drayton and purchase an aluminium catapult with the elastic fixed to the forks. I could never afford one of these so homemade catapults had to serve for both myself and my friends. One other weapon that could be homemade was the sling shot. It may have been ok for the likes of David in the Old Testament when he slayed Goliath. However, neither I or any of my friends could ever work how to make the sling work properly. There is another weapon that I think when we became over 12 years of age we could buy over the counter. This was either the air pistol or air rifle, using pellets or darts, the makes that I remember are Diana and BSA. Very few boys actually owned an air gun, I was never allowed to own one which is ironic because one day whilst rooting through one of the sheds we had in the back garden, there were two sheds, one in use and the other in a derelict state. During this rooting session with a friend in the derelict one we came across an ex-World War Two army Winchester rifle this was about 1959 so it must have been there since the war and left there by the previous occupants of the house, we moved in I946. On taking it indoors my mother was horrified and that evening she insisted that my father take it to Cosham police station. I never did work out how he got it there as at that we did not have a car so he must have wrapped it up and taken it there on the bus. The mind boggles! The story does not end here because a couple of years later another friend and I discovered half a dozen or more hand grenades and shells buried in his back garden but it was up to his father to dispose of them. I understand that this particular garden, which was part of market garden, was the wartime ammunition dump for Drayton’s Home Guard during the war under the leadership of Captain Copsey. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com