Tales from Halton

Stories and anecdotes from the 69th's time at RAF Halton, between 1951 and 1954. Dates shown refer to when the story appeared in the 69th Association's newsletter.

Those Born in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s, by Goz Gosling, Armourer

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and drank while they carried us. They took asprin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and rode our bikes with no helmets, not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or airbags. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared our soft drink with four friends from one bottle and NO ONE died. We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long. as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go karts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find we forgot the brakes! After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms We had friends and we went outside and found them.

We fell off frees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house, knocked on the door, rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Football teams had trials and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been a explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility and we learnt to deal with it all.

You might want to share this with others who didn't have the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.