Bonfire Night In Silverton.

When I was young, the the buildup to November 5th began almost as soon as the school summer holidays ended. The local children would begin to accumulate flammable material in the big rec and much of it would be stored in the old wooden shelter which was located somewhere about where the bungalow owned by Dave and Shirley Wright now stands. By early october the older youths were touring the village with a borrowed horse and cart collecting larger items for the fire, old beds and suites, and often large numbers of old tyres. Large quantities of waste paper and cardboard boxes were also collected from what was then Perratts. One of the prime movers in this activity during my time was Stuart Chudley, who's daughter Colleen was so brutally murdered in Park close a few years ago.

Having collected the material the next step was to secure it against raids by members of the travelling community who had an interest in the tyres, and against maurauding gangs from Ellerhayes who were intent on burning our fire before the due date. Guards were mounted, but sadly they were not always sucessful in preventing attacks. Sadly, but honestly, I have to say that the pre november 5th period was not without a good deal of misbehaviour with fireworks with letter boxes coming under attack on occasion.

So, by november 5th a mighty bomfire would have been built in the rec with the wooden shelter getting some fire damage on occasions due to some premature enthusiasm by those inclined to a spot of arson. On the night itselt the fire would be lit, sometimes with a guy but often without, and what would now be regarded as noxious clouds of smoke would roll over the village. Fireworks would be set off often in a thouroughly unsafe manner, but I dont recall any serious injuries. If we wee honest I think that most of us found collecting the material for the fire more fun than burning the fire itself although often the fire would be kept going for days afterwards by the real enthusiasts.

Writing the above reminds me that we are again talking about a very different world. Bonfires and firework displays are now highly controlled and anyone attempting to build the sort of fires we did would soon have it dismantled by the authorities on grounds of public safety. Sadly, bonfire night is yet another area of life where young people are no longer allowed the freedom that we once took for granted.