April 16th - Roy Underdown Pavilion

"We never had corned beef in 1942. Well, we did but it was marked WD 1915!" The business of our third AGM was over, and Tony Sedgwick was talking about 'Working and Playing in Hamble.' He left school, and went to SAT to ask if he could be an apprentice. "Of course you can, but not until you're 16. In the meantime, you can make yourself useful!" So, he had a job. He recalled the deafening noise of riveters in 'B' Hangar, and dismantling aircraft wings for recycling. He rode his bike to work from Netley, and joined three columns of other cyclists in Hamble Lane. Not much motor traffic then! Just past the railway bridge, buses picked up passengers for the various work sites. If you were lucky, you could tuck yourself behind one and let it 'slipstream' you down the road. "I remember you! I was on the bus," said a voice from the audience. For recreation there was the Hamble Youth Club, the Army Cadet Force, and a Drama Group run by Mrs Carter. The way Tony told it, life was fun, apart from the occasional air raid!

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