I received this message from Ann Burlinson and I’ve reposted it on this page in the hope someone remembered this. I’m asking Ann for her maiden name and where they lived in Jennings Street.
Mr. Arrowsmith who owned the Arrowsmith clothing store, saved my life in about 1950. I was a 7 year old child and I lived in Jennings Street , with my parents, and grandmother. My father was a labourer in the locomotive works. Our next door neighbour had a small lawn in his back yard, and he had just sewn new grass seed on the lawn. To encourage it to grow he had placed glass frames over the lawn.
He had two daughters who were a bit younger than me. Foolishly the three of us decided to play with a skipping rope near the lawn. I was skipping and missed my footing . I put my hand out as I fell- right through a glass frame. A glass schard pierced my wrist and cut an artery. Of course the blood spurted out. My mother, who was a member of the local St.John’s Ambulance, quickly administered first aid, but because of the jagged nature of the cut could not stop all the bleeding. It was clear I needed medical help. We did not have a car, so we both ran to the bus stop on Rodbourne Road. There was no sign of a bus, but it was clear to anyone passing that I was in distress. Mr. Arrowsmith was driving towards town on Rodbourne Road and stopped. I was bundled into the car and he took us to the Health Centre in town. The doctors quickly gave me treatment, and sewed up the gash. If Mr. Arrowsmith had not stopped it is likely that my loss of blood would have been fatal. I am very thankful to Mr. Arrowsmiths for his kindness that day.
I think his son was called Lance . He was a quite few years older than me. We moved away from Swindon when I was a teenager, and lost touch with the Arrowsmiths.
Sincerely
Ann Burlison
Secretary- Rodbourne Community History Group
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