There is a field now far from the Westbury White Horse<\/p>\n
That used to be a wartime airfield<\/p>\n
Angela and I would climb a tree next to the railway line<\/p>\n
And watch the bombers as they took off heavy with their payloads<\/p>\n
The field is still there but it is no longer an airfield<\/p>\n
But the scars of the returning bombers still scar its grassy soil<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Angela Tree I am in Buenos Aires visiting Angela Tree<\/p>\n She lives in Argentina now<\/p>\n After the war she married her doctor<\/p>\n And left Westbury for good<\/p>\n The air is good for her scarred lungs<\/p>\n I told her time and time again<\/p>\n Not to watch the bombers without me<\/p>\n But she was wilful and sat in the Angela Tree when I was away<\/p>\n When the bombers collided she inhaled the noxious fumes<\/p>\n And coughed up blood for many weeks<\/p>\n I did not think that she would live<\/p>\n But the Argentinian doctor and his staff saved her<\/p>\n Later they married and for the sake of her health<\/p>\n Moved to the country of his birth<\/p>\n She is strong but her health is fragile<\/p>\n And because of this she cannot fly<\/p>\n I have brought many photographs of the town with me<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Angela Field Why have you never moved from Westbury<\/em><\/p>\n I have never had occasion to You have travelled far Were you never tempted?<\/em><\/p>\n Often but Westbury is my home I am sad that my health does not allow me to fly Often I look at the sea and think that this sea runs into other seas and those seas run into rivers and rivers run into the English counties I often travel and look at the sea and think of you here in Argentina I miss our tree is it still there? No it was damaged after the collision and stood for a few more years before a storm finally blew it down What a lovely tree it was<\/em><\/p>\n I often walk my dog through the Angela Field and think of our childhood years watching the bombers<\/em><\/p>\n And climbing up to the White Horse Is it well? Very<\/em><\/p>\n It is much loved As with many things it was neglected for a while and then restored Mr Paul spread his daughter\u2019s ashes up there a few years ago Do you remember Gladys Paul?<\/em><\/p>\n Yes she was a small fat girl who found it difficult climbing up to the horse She died quite suddenly in a grocers shop in the town It was a hot day and she told Mrs Greaves that she felt a little dizzy They offered a her a chair to recover in the back parlour and when they returned poor Gladys had passed on<\/em><\/p>\n It was typical of Gladys she did not want to burden anyone Poor Gladys Do you see many of our childhood pals?<\/em><\/p>\n A few but most have moved on I should have done so But the view of the horse and the plains seduces me each time I return to Westbury I wish I could return with you and walk the fields of our home town The Old Town Hall is now a run-down Pizza shop<\/em><\/p>\n Is the town dying?<\/em><\/p>\n Yes and no Parts of it are decrepit but there is so much life elsewhere Do you often go to the library?<\/em><\/p>\n Frequently And is the railway station still as far from the town as it always was? Yes nobody has thought to bring it nearer Is the early May light still as luxurious on the hills as it was when we were children?<\/em><\/p>\n Probably better And the field With the exception of the tree it is very much the same If you look carefully you can still see the scars of the accident Occasionally where I am there I meet Canadians who lost fathers and sons on that dreadful day They speak to me and take great interest when I tell them of our tree I tell them that you witnessed the accident and for some reason this brings a sense of peace to them I cannot really explain the emotion but because you were there and survived it brings closure It is a pity that I will never see Westbury again But my lungs would not tolerate air travel Last one to the tree is a pudding<\/em><\/p>\n Be careful Angela<\/em><\/p>\n Do not fall<\/em><\/p>\n Do not be a Gladys<\/em><\/p>\n Roger show some spirit<\/em><\/p>\n Where do you think the bombers are going?<\/em><\/p>\n To Germany<\/em><\/p>\n I hope they all return<\/em><\/p>\n They will as they will want to see you again<\/em><\/p>\n Waving to them<\/em><\/p>\n From the Angela Tree \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is a field now far from the Westbury White Horse That used to be a wartime airfield Angela and I would climb a tree next to the railway line And watch the bombers as they took off heavy with their payloads The field is still there but it is no longer an airfield But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuartmillerosborne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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