Have you been to the latest in the Communities and Villages series at Radstock Museum yet? The fifth in the series of exhibitions, pulled together by the communities which they represent, sees Westfield depicted through the ages; from ancient beginnings on the route of the Roman Fosse Way through the dominance of coal mining and seamlessly into the melting pot of enterprise, industry and education that shapes the Parish today.

Throughout the exhibition, individual stories are picked out as the ordinary folk of this rural Parish display some extraordinary talents. Did you know, for example, that World Quoits Heavyweight champion, Choggy Brimble, was a Westfield resident?

Westfield also boasts the inventor of the airless tyre, as well as two Parish priests and The Elm Tree pub landlord’s son, all three of whom won the Military Cross.

However, in this article, I would like to give you a little insight into the extraordinary wartime experiences of the Greenman brothers, of Westhill Gardens. I spent a wonderful morning with Pip Greenman, hearing all about the experiences of his brother, Ted (Edward Greenman RN).

The Greenman family came to Radstock from Wiltshire as Mr Greenman Sr, a steamroller driver, was employed in the building of ‘the new road’ (now Somervale Road). Pip remembers vividly sitting with his mother at the wireless on 3rd September 1939 when the outbreak of war was announced. Older brother, Ted, had joined the Royal Navy just two days earlier.

Having left school at fourteen, Ted had done a number of jobs before deciding to join the Royal Navy as a ‘boy entry’. He began training immediately, but would not see active service until he was eighteen, neither was he allowed rum or tobacco!

Once on active duty, Ted was sent all over the world: on the Far East run to Australia, and across the Atlantic to Canada. Among his many exploits, Ted was part of the Duke of York fleet which sank the infamous German battleship, the Scharnhorst, in 1942 and was present in Tokyo Bay at the signing of the Japanese surrender in September 1945.

Moreover, and perhaps most extraordinarily, Edward Greenman was aboard HMS Zeebrugge during the 1952 Operation Hurricane: the British testing of the Atom Bomb near Christmas Island. The complete lack of protection for those that witnessed the explosion is well documented, and Mr Greenman reported that they were advised only to wear sunglasses! Beyond this, he never spoke of these experiences, nor did he suffer any physical ill health as a result.

Meanwhile, back in Westfield, younger brother, Pip, remembers dog fights over Radstock and sheltering under the kitchen table during an early bombing raid (no Anderson shelters for them). His Headmaster was Head of the Observer Corps, and had an observatory tower at the top of the school grounds, where he spent a great deal of his time.

Once, a German plane was shot down on Jubilee Hill and they all went up to collect bits of metal and bullet cases as souvenirs. Another time, a German pilot crash-landed in Westhill Gardens. Immediately apprehended, the pilot was paraded along Cedar Terrace by the Home Guard and police, to the taunts and jeers of onlookers.

These are just a few of the memories unearthed during the process of putting together this exhibition. A huge debt of thanks is due to the small, but dedicated and skilled group of volunteers who put the exhibition together; namely Joan Pack, Eleanor Jackson, Ron Hopkins and Anne Miall.

If you don’t live in Westfield, then perhaps it is just a place that you pass through; but look a little closer, and there is an age-old community at its heart with a rich tapestry of stories and experiences.

Westfield Parish Council, established in 2011, is working hard to foster that community spirit and enhance the beautiful surroundings that make the Parish a great place to live and work. Mr Greenman’s story and many other extraordinary tales are on display at ‘The Way We Lived Then: History of Westfield’ exhibition which continues at Radstock Museum until 29th November.

Emily Merko