from Voices of Ealing & Hounslow edited by Sue McAlpine, Tempus, 2000

Horse drawn cart at Gunnersbury in the early days of the public park

In 1935 Dad was offered a job in Gunnersbury Park as a horse-keeper. There were several cylinder mowers, which the horses pulled, cutting all the fields.

He was the one that was responsible for all the horses, especially at night. We’d tell him the horses were bad, and he’d go down there at about two in the morning and that would be the last you’d see of him until breakfast time. He used to say a horse was lovely, you could even sleep with it.

He was very dedicated to his horses. The bathroom was stacked out with all the horse oils and liniments. If you hurt yourself he’d say “You want a bit of horse oil on you!”