My father and his siblings were evacuated to the UK from Guernsey their home island, just before the Germans invaded it in June 1940.
When my father got back home from the war, he decided to change the family farm into a vinery where he grew tomatoes and flowers, however, all our fields still required ploughing etc.
I was born in 1950, I realise this is hard to believe, but I learned to drive a small tractor at the age of 5 years old! I was told to be very careful not to burn myself on the exhaust pipe, which ran along the side of the tractor. I used to plough one of our fields nearest the house.
At the age of 8 I would drive a truck, from the greenhouses down to the packing shed where the tomatoes were packed ready to be sent to the UK. In order to reverse the truck you had to get off it and turn the steering column round, which was quite difficult. I remember once when I did this I somehow managed to knock myself over, fortunately no bones were broken. My English mother, who had been in the Land Army during the war, ran out of the house and sorted the truck out. She gave me a telling off for being so careless!
My father liked driving large cars, and I learned to drive his Vauxhall Cresta around our property when I was twelve. I was really fed up when taking my driving test at 17 the tester looked at little me and the large car I was driving, although I had done nothing wrong during the test, he told me to come back in 6 months and he would pass me, which he did. My younger sisters borrowed my aunt's Mini when they took their tests, they all passed first time.
I was reminded of this the other week. The new neighbours who live in the house across the road from us have a baby boy who is not quite a year old. He appeared to be driving a small car on the pavement that resembled an adult's car with the roof down! His parents were walking a few yards behind him. His father seemed to be on his phone, it was only when they got closer I realised that it was a device to control their son's car! He has been out and about in his car many times since then.
