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To Susan, Julia and Spencer

Childhood after the War

The countryside belonged to me
Footloose and fancy free.
No computer or TV

The countryside belonged to us
on foot or local bus.
We were four and made our own law
Out of doors all day, up and away
We climbed the trees and watched the bees

We could get in a mess without adults being mean,
not always oppressed to be tidy and clean.
We had old clothes to play in, patched and worn.
No need to worry about clothes being torn.
We could slide in the mud and roll in the grass,
get spiderwebs in our hair, exploring the past,
we learned fast
We could make our own judgements about what was safe
Look out for each other, keep secret our mistakes.

So few cars after the war
We went everywhere without a care,
With brown bread, cheese and a pear
Shorts and shirts, sandals, no socks
Our bare brown legs scratched and stung,
Nettle stings sorted out with docks

None of us had a watch
The sun and shadows were our clock

The local priest gave me the creeps
We learnt to be wise
We were flashed at but SO WHAT
We went where we should and where we should not
We came home for tea happy tired dusty and hot
Mother trusted us and never made a fuss.

We were like the wild flowers
With tousled heads
Not blooms in weeded garden beds

Thalia ©

Spencer specialised in prototype electronic engineering, which meant he did not normally take products to production. In co-operation with his clients he often made production-like fully working models. In this way he enabled them to make a better assessment of their product ideas before they commited to production. He worked extensively with other designers and design engineers over many years in both product design and art installations.
Spencer had a varied career with many interests including photography, playing and recording music and poetry.

He created many websites over the years, also a book of poetry and photographs

A website with memories of his school days Knowles Hill School

See also the Knowles Hill School page on this website on the education section