WßD Part 2 Chapter Four ~ Post War by Desmond B Webb

Windsor Street Days

Part 2

Chapter Four

Post War

by

Desmond Budd Webb

LIFE IN 1947 held for us all the hopes, desires and prospects secretly confined within the heart and soul of one’s innermost feelings following the aftermath of such worldwide confrontation.

Slowly, but surely, there revealed the reintroduction of all men's peaceful pursuits and pleasure in striving to achieve the acquisition of "wheels" to aid his mode of transport, whether it be in the form of a motor car or motorcycle.

This, in my case, had already been established back in 1943, with the aid of my first motorcycle, a 1936 150cc Royal Enfield, which had been bought cheaply by my brother Arthur from a young man who had been called up into military service at the beginning of the war.

1936 150cc Royal Enfield 3 speed 2 stroke - image courtesy of supreme and to whom all rights are reserved

Arthur loved to rebuild vehicles as a hobby. I was fortunate that due to my employment on the railway and the fact that it was a reserved occupation requiring me to travel 10 miles to and from work, meant that I was granted a supplementary fuel allowance throughout the war, whereas others were forced to lay up their vehicles until the termination when, hopefully, the privilege of buying fuel would be returned. It was obviously severely rationed, and fuel remained severely rationed until 1950, a year after Nancy and I were married. Rationing was by means of petrol coupons.

Arthur Horace James Webb at Delepena, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham and from where he moved to Tewkesbury to found his company - Tewkesbury Inducto Heating Limited - a new process at that time, with his business partner, John Hawkes.

I loved motor cycling and I was determined to match my brother Arthur, albeit, Arthur's greatest desire was with the motor car, for which he had many early experiences in his association with the motor trade, and in consequence, competitive motor trials of their day. One of the most famous was the Prescott Hill Climb between Tewkesbury and Winchcombe. It is a beautiful part of the Cotswolds, and the hill climb is, truly, a climb!

These were truly exciting events, especially for the competitor; I vividly recall Arthur’s stories following such events which often took place during the night.

These were the highly memorable days of motoring since the advent of the motorcar, and will be cherished forever in the minds of those experiencing such days. Roads were very different and the motor vehicles very sparse.

A typical poster - this one from 2006 - reflects the vintage nature of that golden era of these trials and reproduced here by courtesy of the Bugatti Owners Club to whom all rights are reserved. Note the Imperial Measurements, still very much in use for this part of what is now the vintage and classic era of motor car manufactoring.

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When I left the railway I was fortunate in having accumulated sufficient savings in order to satisfy my leisure for a few weeks, joining my friends who had left the services, and taking holidays, before seeking re-employment. And after about three months Arthur, 13 years older, ‘advised the family’ that “it was about time Desmond did something”.

To this end, Arthur used his influence with the management of the firm where he was employed, resulting in my reluctant return to the "working classes”.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my eldest brother, for Arthur never wavered, and became my lifelong friend. It is because of his actions the family I have around me today, exist at all.

For it was there - in the factory where I was employed - that I met and married Nancy Marshall, on the 2nd of April 1949. Arthur was best man at our marriage and, once again, took on the role familiar to the elder brother, ensuring at the last minute that I had sufficient funds in which to support our honeymoon in Brighton.

I considered myself fairly well off with £7 in my pocket [equivalent to £248.99 in 2020], after the coach fair had been paid. So off we went to enjoy the Sun and the rapture of this exciting and newly acquired existence.

My Bride Nancy arrives and pauses for the camera with my future and rightly, very proud, Father-in Law, Frank Ewart Marshall, before giving his daughter’s hand in marriage; something I had the privilege also to do twice, two young lifetimes on.

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But I cannot emphasise enough our regret that Nancy and I felt the necessity to sell our motorcycle in order to aid the cost of marriage and we both recall that this dominated much of the conversation during our Honeymoon.

Upon our return to Cheltenham, we lived with Nancy’s parents at 36 Elmfield Road (which is introduced in Chapter Four) - sharing the home, and indeed, having the best front room of the house for three years.

Housing for couples during the immediate post-war years was very difficult to come by, and the government attempted to overcome the problem by producing prefabricated buildings (quickly dubbed ‘prefabs’) which were designed to last for a period of 10 years. But such was their construction, facilitating many ‘modern’ ideas of the immediate post-war era, that many are still standing and occupied to this day.

We acquired, very soon after returning from our honeymoon, another motorcycle which we “coached” – to use the phrase of that time - in the shed adapted to take it at the bottom of the garden.

After buying the motorcycle I thought it would be best to seek a more remunerative employment, and thus began our venture of 63-67 years starting with two local well-known factories, Delepena on the Tewkesbury Road in Cheltenham, and moving on to Smiths Industries out at Bishops Cleeve, before moving into the sphere of a completely new, exciting and challenging requirement, something that I know brought indescribable joy to our respective parents!

And thus, on a windswept day in 1950, I was formally sworn in, to the ancient office of Constable, giving my Oath of Allegiance to the Crown before the Justices of the Peace, and warranted as Police Constable No. 546 in the Gloucestershire Constabulary. Little did I then know that our as yet, unborn, son would do the self-same thing just 22 years later, as a warranted Police Constable No. 1104 also in the Gloucestershire Constabulary.

***

Our Family Name – Webb - lives on, even though it gives way to the Family Names of my daughters. They are my pride and joy. We are all part of the same tree. This tree flourishes and I am quite sure that when all of us fall into that category called ‘ancestry’, the family tree will, through our descendants, be as strong as ever. Nevertheless, it is a three-way process … siblings working together in harmony, in love and in peace.

Nancy and I speak from a time when millions had this cruelly and brutally snatched from them in the most shocking and indescribable circumstances, something that is not understood today.

It would be remiss of me, I think, to not give just a hint of the love, joy and happiness that those 63-67 years of marriage brought both me and my wife Nancy, and indeed the lifeline Nancy always has been.

by

Desmond B Webb

At the time of revisiting this chapter, our family has indeed increased, encompassing five Household Family Names ~ Martin, Fraser, Opacic, Terry, and Young, our elder sister Carol Ann being the Head of the Family. And Vanessa is now a grandmother to Th and D and a third approaching touchdown in August.

Kenneth Thomas Webb ~ 15 June 2025

Our Matchless 1949 - Nancy Webb

Census Record amended 21 April 1949 amending Nancy’s maiden Name Marshall to our married Name Webb - Image courtesy of Ancestry.com

What a find! This record confirms that which I’ve always known because our mother was so proud of this;
that our grandfather ran a small lending library from his car, and Mum would assist him on the library rounds, the dining room having bookshelves of paperbacks,
and often remarked how the task most enjoyed was selecting the next title for a customer “and always earning much praise Ken from our customers.”
At the time, Nancy would have been, I think, primary school age ~ roughly Key Stage Two touching on Key Stage Three.

15 June 2025

I’m on top of the world! C A 1951 on Cleeve Common

… and in 1973 … I’m not sure whether CJ is saying ‘come on Grandad put the revs on, or Daddy! You’re in the way!!

Our younger daughter V J, nursing at, I believe, Delancey … the name badge now treasured and on display in the family presentation cabinet at Ken’s home DBW

… and here, Nancy and I are visiting at her new post, as a Nurse in Winchester, Hampshire, again, 1970s DBW

My father was the youngest. Arthur was 13 years older than him, 8 years older than Ken. Each in their own way, showed an interest in Des that was only really truly appreciated later.

In 1943 when Ken departed and in 2006 when Arthur, too, departed … three brothers, very close … It fell into perspective.

It is extraordinary that Ken’s Harvard 114 (here flying soloing Alabama in 1942) became the police warrant number of me his nephew, also Ken, as a constable in 1972 - 1104. I’m sometimes asked why my website logo shows a clock. Well, it’s the clock face of The Royal Liver Building Liverpool, the hands being set to four minutes past the eleventh hour.

It is important that we never lose sight of our ancestors.

I think this says it all … I’ve always adored this photograph. It captures the very essence of our family right across the branches. I’ve often wondered what S is saying to Grandad, and of course, why C is beaming with such delight and glee at the camera … but only just now have I noticed! There is indeed mischief! Grandad’s hair is going north-south-east and west! And I think the look on Dad’s face says it all … “well I’m sure you’re right S! It’s looking a lot better now … if you say so!!!!” KTW

Main Road Police Motor Cycle Patrol and soon to become the top police riding instructor in the England and Wales - such a claim I would dismiss if it came from my father, or from me … rather, it was thus put to me by former police colleagues at a function in 2019. I guess if one takes the riding schools existing at that time, and that my father was the principal instructor for the instructors from those schools that had gathered for a course in Preston, Lancashire, then I think I understand the reasoning. For my father’s part, we knew he was a good motor cyclist but even now I hear of exploits from his colleagues that surprise me … because my father never spoke of them … and he certainly never spoke about being the top one. I do know this though. I knew I had a natural ability in the saddle of a horse, like breathing air. But a motor bike? No. I simply did not have that natural ability with a machine, and my father knew that. KTW 2020

Des and Nancy Webb and C A outside Lloyds Bank, 130 High Street, Cheltenham in 1950. C was born 30 March, so judging by the overcoat this would be April or May, or possibly September. In either case, one sees a different deportment that I came to know so well - love, commitment and responsibility, and as a warranted Police Constable. It is sometimes difficult for today’s generation to fully grasp the prestige and honour one felt at that time to be a police constable. I too, experienced this 22 years later, and it underpins my entire life.

Street photography became very popular as the country settled back into post war daily life. It was the equivalent of today’s selfie. There is a dignity though, the hint of a different age, a different era, a different international awareness. Lloyds Bank is still there. The pillars and brickwork remain unchanged. Only lives arrive, stay awhile, and depart.

© KTW family archive 2025.

… and so it is time to close. Where my father has left gaps, I occasionally repoint to the brickwork of Windsor Street Days, but refuse to rewrite in my style. My father has his very own distinctive way of writing, firmly based in the method of service-writing used by both the police force and the armed forces of the day; a skill that I, too, learned in both the police and RAF Volunteer reserve, but in my case, then fashioned and honed anew on the anvil of formal legal writing in 30 years of legal practice. KTW 2025.

15 June 2025
All Rights Reserved

© 2025 Kenneth Thomas Webb

First written 2 June 2020