Lessons in tree climbing - Tony Cunnane's Afterthoughts

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Lessons in tree climbing

Written on 13 August 2011

A report in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph says that a tree surgeon called Steve Butler from Newbury wants to give lessons to children about safe tree climbing. Good for him! Of course the Health and Safety brigade will probably deplore the idea because they no doubt consider the whole idea of young people climbing trees is dangerous.

During the War, climbing trees in Wakefield’s very extensive and wonderful park was a year-round pleasure for young boys like me. The only danger as far as we were concerned was if the Park Keepers (Parkies) caught us! (The image right, which I took in April 2008, shows what was our very favourite tree in the park.) As far as I can tell, the tree has survived almost unchanged. Sometimes there would be up to half a dozen of us at a time sitting along the lowest, almost horizontal, branch of that particular tree while on other occasions there were competitions to see who dared to climb highest up the trunk.

Favourite tree for climbing in Wakefield Park

Of course, since we were only 7 or 8 years old and not very heavy (wartime rations, you understand, meant that, unlike these days, there were never any overweight boys) we didn't give a thought to what would happen if one of the branches gave way under our combined weight. I don't recall any of us getting anything worse than grazed knees, or gaping holes in our wartime utility-quality short trousers.

What we boys in the 1940s called simply 'the park' was in fact three parks, Clarence, Holmfield and Thornes, all joined together and which together covered an extensive area. If you wish to know more about the park as it is now, try this website - there are many images and an aerial view which even shows the house where I lived from 1939 to 1947.

Parkies used to lurk in shelters known, ungrammatically, as Old Man's Shelters (see image) hoping to catch lads unaware. I photographed this former Old Man's Shelter in Wakefield Park in 2008.They were probably more concerned about damage to the trees than damage to us but, since I was never caught by one, I don't know that for certain.

Old Men's Shelter in Wakefield Park (c) Tony Cunnane

The Parkies were usually elderly (most of the young able-bodied males were away on war service) and sometimes disabled. They wore a sort of uniform and carried a large walking stick. Our parents always told us to keep well away from Parkies - or any male adult walking on his own. I wonder what our parents had in mind?

There were lots of trees suitable for climbing, including some where long branches overhung the, fortunately, shallow duck pond. I used to wish that I got 5 shillings for every time I arrived home wet through from the waist down. During the apple season we were more interested in climbing the many apple trees - apples plucked from the tree always seemed tastier than the windfalls. We always called that activity scrumping but I gather that word has an entirely different meaning these days that has absolutely nothing to do with apples.