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Home > Cambridgeshire > Barnack > The Fox

The Fox

 


The Fox was situated on The Square. This pub closed in the 1990s and is now used as a private residence.
Source: Neal McKenna
On the site of what is now "Bishop's Walk" there used to be about 14 Nissan huts which were used late in the War as a P.O.W. Camp for Italian prisoners. Evidently there was a certain amount of freedom for them as they worked on local farms, were driven into Stamford and also some frequented the local pubs. One particular Italian used to play the accordion in the Pub and in so doing managed to captivate the heart of some of the local girls. This fellow used to work for Mr. Bratley's farm at Bainton where he joined others potato picking. He formed a relationship with one young girl working with him on the farm and in 1945 she gave birth to a daughter named Val. Sadly Val never found out about her father's name or origin in Italy which has troubled her all her life. Her mother, only about 18 at the time of her pregnancy, was thrown out of home and made to go and live with her grandmother in Bainton. Her name was Nona Gayle. At the time it was looked at as a disgrace in the community so nothing was ever mentioned about it again, especially since Val's mother married a local farmer who was rather embarrassed about the whole sordid affair so wouldn't speak if it to his now stepdaughter. He and Val's mother died years ago and the secret of the Italian's identity went with them.
Nick Black (February 2019)

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Name Dates Comments
Graham Dunbar 1968 Drinking hole for lads from RAF Wittering, the nukes that kept the reds away. 100 & 139 Sqdn's. We had some good time there, mostly innocent!