All this talk yesterday about Milber and the Centrax playing field brought back so many childhood memories. While my childhood home was in Oakland Road, it was only 75 yards away from the Shaldon Road and three quarters of the way up it and about one hundred yards or so up past the garage that is on that road.
So Milber Woods, the Centrax field and other places like Coombe Cellars were natural choices for me and my friends to explore and play at. Driving around in my van today, so many memories came flooding back and so much so I decided to do a detour on the way home and go and check out the Centrax field.
I mentioned in a post yesterday the houses that are now built on land that was a part of the factory and ran along side the Shaldon Road to Haytor Drive. I was shocked to see lots of houses now built in front of the main factory building from the factory gates all the way down to the end of the site.
Carols dad retired from work about ten years ago after working for Centrax for forty years and as he only lives three doors away from us, I went down and picked his brains.
I could not remember myself what it looked like before those houses were built at the front of the factory but thanks to Merv, I do now. Just inside the gates was the security building and then the office block that had a lawn in front of it. All the other land was the car park and yes I now have a picture in my head walking up Haccombe Path and seeing all the cars parked in the car park and the security man on the gate.
I asked him about the strike as he was working there when it happened. He told me it went on for nearly six months and Centrax just about managed to keep the factory working. Apprentices such as Stefano and non union workers along with some workers who were union members kept the factory ticking over.
He also said that Centrax had a building they used during the strike at Decoy. It was there that deliveries were made as drivers would not cross the picket lines. Centrax used their own vehicles to bring the materials from the building in Decoy to the factory. It was not without problems as the Centrax drivers still had to cross the picket lines, but Merv said there were never any real bad incidents that happened that he can remember.
I do remember reading in the Herald Express a number of years ago, that Centrax wanted to build industrial units and houses on the playing field. I may be wrong but I have it in my head their plans were turned down, but as I say it was a good few years ago.
So I was unsure what I would find when I drove to the Centrax field this afternoon, would it still be there? Or would it all be under concrete? Well its still there only every entrance is fenced off with security fences and along the hedgerows that border the field is barbwire. They sure don’t want anyone using the field or having any access to it.
At the top of the lane I turned onto the very long dirt track that does in the end come out on the Old St Marychurch Road. I drove slowly firstly trying to avoid all the potholes and secondly looking for any gap I could get through to get onto the field.
There was none, but just past the end of the field was a gap that went into the next field Dazgull mentioned. I got through it and was able to take a few pictures of the centrax field from the second field. It’s clear all the structures are long since gone and you would never know now, football was once played in the field.
My pictures are from the far end of the field and the pitches were up the other end and I’m sure the pitches went down the field, I’m sure if I have got that wrong others will know for sure.
The second field has three or four pitches on it and four very large containers that you see used for storage, I wonder if they are being used as changing rooms? As there are no other buildings in the field.
Back through the gap and in my car I carried on driving up the dirt track and came upon the main gate into the field. The writing on the board says its Buckland & Milber Football Club ground.
After this field is another very large one that looks like it’s being used as farmland. When I looked at just how much area all the three fields in total cover, I started thinking what a great site it would be for a new football stadium.
We have talked on here before about if it would be a good move for the club one day to relocate to Newton Abbot. Not sure if others would agree this site would be a perfect location or not, but I think it would.
Two pictures taken from the second field of the Centrax field, the end of the second pitch I guess would be about in the middle of the field. Its a good job that ref who was at Plainmoor on Friday was not at the centrax field today as he would have called the games off due to the frost ;D
Pitches of field number two
This picture was taken at the start of field number two, looking back to the start of the dirt track, it gives you some idea of the length of the Centrax field
The last picture was taken from the same spot as the last one looking the other way toward the Old St Marychurch Road.
