Thursday
Winter. Hard white frost this morning. Very dark and cold, hardly any light at all at half past eight. Fog, and heavy low clouds. Soon after 7, I heard planes coming in from the sea. I suppose British coming back from Germany
Went up to Barn Hall at 11 o’clock, to buy tumbrels from Ken Young. The farm buildings there are now in a dreadful state. I can well remember when this was a prosperous farm, only a mile from High Street. I can even just remember the old Cockwatch Farm, about 300 yards to the south, the last of which was gone in 1916.
Young said he had too many stock, and could not spare me any more straw for Bob, so I shall have to buy some.
Bought three tumbrels at £20 each, fed Bob, and went home to lunch.
No alarms today, but I hear there was one at Hadleigh.
2 comments:
Catherine
To put this in perspective the cost of the tumbrels today - £793 each!
For those that don't know tumbrels are two wheeled horse drawn carts (always depicted in accounts of the French revolution taking prisoners to the guillotine), in Rudsdale's time they were used to transport hay, straw and faggots (not the meat kind, but bundles of sticks from trees - usually what was left from pollarding.)
Mike Dennis
Thanks for providing this additional information, Mike. The cost of the tumbrels is quite staggering!
I should clarify that Rudsdale would have been buying them on behalf of the War Agricultural Committee and not for himself! CP
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