Age Concern Dorchester - Dorset's Living Memories

My brother knew Lawrence of Arabia

Gwen Spicer writes...

My brother Reggie used to go to the pictures with Lawrence (of Arabia) at Bovington camp.

 They all used to cycle up there together Saturday evenings – up ‘the track’.  Lawrence used to steal coal from anywhere he could find it for the soldiers at Cloud’s Hill – to keep them warm.  Reggie was about 14 or 15 at the time, but nobody knew who Lawrence was – he wasn’t really known then.  He mixed with all the lads. It was only after his story came out that the boys knew who he was.

We lived in one the small cottages on Station Road, just down from the pub, the Frampton Arms.  I remember we had an outside toilet there and when ever I’d go to use it I’d sit on the seat and have to kick my legs against the door to keep all the spiders away! And while I was doing that Reggie would be outside singing as loud as he could to try to scare them away! They all used to live underneath the wall paper in there.

Richard, the landlord’s son used to have a donkey and cart – I was about 7yrs old – and we used to sit in the cart while my brother Reggie would run down the road in front of the donkey with a carrot trying to make it move.

Where the skittle alley is now at the pub – that’s where they used to keep all the horses. chickens and traps. It was a small holding as well as a pub – with cows, sheep, ducks.

Reggie used to run dad’s small holding, and I used to have to scrub the pigs with a bucket of soapy water – more or less every single day – their backs, sides and legs. I think they quite liked it!