14th February 1945 - E.J. Rudsdale's Birthday

Wednesday

Beautiful fine spring morning, then blue sky, sea gulls wheeling over the river, horses plodding over the bridge towards the Old Market.  My birthday, 35 years old, now definitely middle-aged, with youth far behind.  Looked in the old Journals – 1935, thinking about Halstead Show; 1925, at school, but spending every minute I could with A.G. Wright at Colchester Castle and Capt. H.E. Laver on excavations.  How little there is to show for all that 20 years.

Had one letter only, from Aunt Het, but had one from Father yesterday.  Wrote to Daphne and the Biggams today.

Took the afternoon off, called for Charlotte Osborne, and went with her to the brick-pits in Walsoken parish, on the S. side of Broaden Road, in Tinpitts Field.  According to the 6” map, a bronze socketed axe was found there in 1868.  There is one of those now in the Museum.  The site is a little clay hillock, and would certainly support a tiny settlement of some nomad.  Charlotte Osborne enquired about clay for modelling, while I asked if there had been any finds in recent years, but was assured there were none.  The brickworks is now mostly engaged in turning out land-drains.

A few hundred yards W. at the corner of Burnettgate, is a modern house called Manor House, and a couple of hundred yards S. of that is an oblong earthwork, still faintly visible, in the middle of “Hall Field”, which is obviously the site of one of the ancient manors in Walsoken, but which I am not quite sure.

We rode round by Paradise Road, and along Bigg’s Road, back to the main Lynn Road, and so back to her home to tea.  She has a very nice little boy called Trevor, about 8 years old, and very intelligent.

While we were having tea, there was suddenly a tremendous flash across the sky to the N. but no sound of explosion.

Today marks 105 years since E.J. Rudsdale's birth on 14th February 1910.