Emotional reunion for wartime pals Raymond Barber and Tom Lodge
Aug 16 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Emotional reunion for wartime pals Raymond Barber and Tom Lodge
IT WAS an emotional reunion for two evacuation buddies.
Raymond Barber first met Tom Lodge at the gate of Tom’s farm in 1942.
Mr Barber had been evacuated after his town in Kent became part of the Nazi Thames bombing run.
Raymond was billeted to stay with the Kenyon family, who owned Kenyon’s textile mill in Denby Dale.
As a 10-year-old city boy his fascination with the countryside led Raymond to the gate of Toby Wood Farm, Denby Dale, where Tom and his family had worked for generations.
Tom, 88, now of Salendine Nook, said: “I see a lot of good in young people and knew he was interested and I thought I would ask him into the field. He didn’t run in and upset the horses.”
A naive comment from Raymond about Tom’s horse – too rude to be printed here – caused Tom to keel over with laughter.
The friendship was then cemented and for two years Raymond would spend almost all his spare time working at the farm.
