When he was 81 years old, Jim wrote a short history of his life for the website. In a separate article, he talks about the new passion in his life - the restoration of an ancient castle site in Presteigne, known as The Warden.

---

Jim's Story

"My name is Jim Bell and I am 81 years old. I was born in the heart of the Herefordshire countryside, one of a family of 4. In those days poverty and ignorance was rife, people of the working class had great difficulty in surviving at all.

I suppose we had the edge on some, since my father was a very good provider, food warmth and shelter being the most basic requirements. Our home was a humble cottage with an open fire for all purposes, water from the well, firewood from where ever we could find it, gorse and even cow dung at times.

We had a large garden that provided us with a good supply of vegetables, fruit, also a couple of pigs and poultry. One pig went to the general butcher, helping to pay bills.

If we had to go anywhere, of course we had to walk, we all had to take to that at an early age, since everything was miles away. Hereford for example was 12 miles away and we walked there quite frequently for major food supplies. I know every inch of the narrow roads to and from Hereford to Woonton - something never to be forgotten, (as are some experiences of my vulnerable years!).

We were the victims of eviction, where we were all booted out of our humble dwelling lock, stock and barrel, to the roadside just on dusk in the evening. That of course had a tremendous effect on all of us, and as I said, caught us all at a very vulnerable time, but I prefer to put on the back burner so to speak.

I will continue from the time we all came together again and arrived at Presteigne, simply by walking from Leominster, with all our worldly goods on a handcart, and ended up working on the Hill Farm up the Warden Road (my first glimpse of the Warden site). After settling in the town of Presteigne, attending school and the usual simple existence of those pre-war years, when things were very hard for all, the chief influence was to prepare ourselves for a job of some sort, anything that came along.

Long before I left school at 14 I did several part time jobs, one being delivering coal from the station yard, in one of those old wooden wheelbarrows, to local people who were unable to collect their own. Some pitiful sights met my eyes I can tell you. However I used to get a couple of shillings pocket money, of which some was saved for May Fair and other basic essentials.

When I left school it put a different aspect on things, some sort of job was essential and that wasn't easy bearing in mind that there were very few jobs going of any kind. I eventually got a job with the local timber haulier, Mr Bill Layton, (Greenend) who had a team of horses working in the clearance of Nash Woods, as we know them today.

Hauling out pit-props, charcoal and other produce, 6 days a week then, long days considering that the horses had to be attended to, early mornings and late at night, had to be in the wood for 8am to 5 or 6 (flexible). For this I received about 3 shillings a week. No fortune by any means, but something to call my own, and afforded one a much more confident feeling.

This is when I developed a deep feeling for our wonderful woodlands and all it had to offer - the wonderful sense of peace and beauty with the multitude of changes that occur over the years' cycle. This is something that grows on you over a period of time; as a result I have developed a tremendous relationship with trees of all kinds and am therefore appalled at some of the wholesale destruction that is going on these days. Together with the very same actions taking place with our entire countryside surely we should show some respect and even compassion for God's Creation, which is bestowed upon us.

I spent most of my working life as a timber feller trying to earn a living within the various estates surrounding our area, and at the same time having the pleasure of experiencing the wonderful pleasures of the unique layouts within their boundaries, something I often refer to a far cry from the depressing regimental layouts of the Forestry Commission areas, terrible places to work. No wonder they are now attempting to change some of them and at what cost.

After this brief glimpse of my life up to retirement at 65, and suffering several years of illness and other problems, I have now found a further interest in life, this being in the form of attempting to revitalize a unique gem in the crown of my hometown of Presteigne."

Written by Jim Bell from Presteigne after visiting the BBC Wales Bus in Knighton in December 2003.

Read more about Jim's unique gem - "The Warden".

Visit our Presteigne Guide