DURING the war an English plane flew over the Forest when the aircraft suddenly developed engine trouble. It had two bombs on board and the pilot made the decision to drop the bombs before the plane crashed, thinking there was only trees down below.

The first bomb dropped in a field opposite The Crown Inn at Coalway near to Prosper Lane. The second bomb came down in the same field but this time it buried itself under the corner of Mr Dowle's cottage. Luckily neither bomb exploded much to the relief of the inhabitants of the little Forest village.

Pandemonium broke out for a short while. Then the trusty Home Guard went into action, informing the powers that be. The police were there to keep law and order and the army bomb disposal squad were called.

Someone gave orders for the surrounding cottages to be evacuated. A brave bomb disposal officer made the first bomb harmless whilst soldiers dug a hole carefully around the bomb under Mr Dowle's cottage ready for the disposal squad to make this bomb safe.

Meanwhile a policeman who was standing on duty in Prosper Lane outside cottages number one, two and three, saw a man looking suspicious creeping down the lane.

"Halt, who goes there?" the policeman gave the challenge. As the man got nearer he could see he had an empty sack on his shoulder. Once again the policeman gave the challenge, "Halt who goes there?"

At that point he realised who the man was. "Whatever are you doing here, Harry?"

"It's alright owld butt, iz only me I 'ave 'vacuated tha misses and tha young 'un's up ta her mother's at Broadwell," Harry informed his friend the policeman.

"Yes buttie, I can see they are not with you, but what are you doing here, you must know this area has been cleared?" the policeman asked.

"Well thee snow I da live at number dree doos'nt," said Harry. "Of course I do," the anxious policeman confirmed as he nervously looked over his shoulder to see if his sergeant was watching.

Harry, taking the empty sack from his shoulder, informed the policeman: "Well I be going ta get me pig out 'o tha cot 'im 'ull goo in this yer sack," said Harry waving the sack towards his friend.

"That's what you think Harry, I can't let you go anywhere near that pig, it will have to take its chance. If anything happened, it would be me with the sack."

So poor Harry had to leave his little pig in the safe hands of the bomb squad and the conscientious policeman. Harry was very reluctant to go but the law was the law so he went up around Jugs Hole and followed his evacuated wife and young un's to his mother-in-law's in Barn Hill at Broadwell.

Soon after the bombs had been made safe the Dowles, Thomas's, Fletcher's and Harry's family settled back in their homes in Coalway to have a good chat about it all over a cup of tea.

But first Harry went up the garden path to check on his pig! – Marina Lambert, Myrtle Cottage, Oakwood Close, Bream.