There was a stillborn baby before David was born, and then came Anthony and Malcolm. Although ten years separated David and Malcolm, they were apparently known as "the twins" as they were so alike.

Dave attended Splott Secondary School, which was an old Victorian building, and the boys were kept separate from the girls. From those early days, Dave remembers being given concentrated orange juice and cod liver oil during break, as well as school milk. He can still remember his disappointment at not being able to play drums in music lessons, but had to play the triangle. He did enjoy sports and still has his first cricket set of bat and wickets which was given to him by his uncle, a cook on board ship. He obviously inherited his love of football from his father and they played football wherever they could, usually in the road. The goal posts were the man hole cover and the gutter. Dave recalls the harsh winter of 1947 when snow was piled up around the house and they used to make igloos. Milk had to be collected as it could not get through.

Dave passed his 11+ exam and went to Fitzallan Technical High School, where he took part in a wide range of sports, including football and rugby. He played in goal in the Cardiff Boys Under 13 team, and then in the Under 15 team for two years (when he was 14 and 15). He also represented the school at swimming, tennis and athletics. Of the other subjects taught at school, Dave liked maths and science, but his favourite was Geography. The geography teacher, Mr Herbert (known as "Pop" Herbert), had taught him at Primary School and moved on to the Technical School, and Dave had a great deal of respect for him even though he was fairly strict and gave him "six of the best" many times (justifiably, Dave says!)

Apart from playing football in his spare time, Dave was a cub and later a scout. The 31st Cardiff Scout Group was run by a Priest, Father Adams. They needed a senior scout leader and Dave's father was persuaded to take this on. Dave and his friends helped out with the younger boys, and they used to go on regular trips to Camp or on holidays.

When Dave was about 13 or 14 he caught Tetanus (Lock Jaw). Dave says the field where he used to play football had been occupied by cattle and sheep and, as he was prone to the odd accident, he can only assume one of his cuts became infected. He was in hospital for over a month, unable to get out of bed in all that time. He says he did not feel that ill at the time but his mother later told him that they did not think he would pull through. Dave says there was nothing to do but lie in bed and eat and he started to pile on the pounds.

Once he was better he still continued to play football and rugby and was delighted to be selected for trials for the Welsh Under 16 Rugby Team. However, three weeks before the trials were due to take place he dislocated his elbow and could not take part. His mother by now had got used to all his sports injuries and she always said that if he wasn't home by 12 on Saturdays she would go straight to the hospital!

When Dave was in the 6th form, there was no career advice given as there is now. He was not sure what to do, but he knew he liked sport and liked being with children. He also loved cooking and thought about being a Chef but says that if he had gone down that road he would probably be 42 stone by now!! It was his mother who suggested that he should think about teaching. He talked to "Pop" Herbert about it and, at the age of 18, he went to the City of Cardiff Training College for a two year course. In those days you had to do one main subject and three subsidiary, so David did Physical Education as his main subject, with Maths, History and Geography.

Because of Dave's age, he just missed being called up for National Service, and he was one of only three students at the College who had not done National Service. He said they stuck out like a sore thumb. They were school boys compared to the rest, who were grown men after the experiences they had had. It brought Dave to the conclusion that students should have a year out to see what the real world is like.

Dave lived in at the College, and represented the College at Hockey, Rugby, Swimming and Gymnastics. In the holidays he used to work at the local steel works, doing 12 hour shifts at night to supplement his grant. At the end of two years he received his teaching certificate, but stayed on an extra year to specialise in P.E. which gave him an extra diploma. He left in 1961 and took up a teaching post at Rudheath Secondary School in Northwick, Cheshire. He had no car in those days, and to get to the interview from Cardiff he had to travel overnight by train and then walk to the school, a distance of some two miles. The attraction for Dave was that they wanted someone who was interested in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, which Dave had got into when he was a Queens Scout.

Dave was P.E. teacher at Rudwick between September 1961 and Easter 1967. One Christmas he went to the staff party at a restaurant, where all the staff and their families were invited. His colleague, David Smith was at the party and he had brought along his family, including his daughter, Margaret. It has to be said that possibly the first attraction was that Dave noticed that Margaret had not eaten all her chicken, and his first approach to her was: "If you are not going to eat that chicken do you mind if I do?"

Dave and Margaret were married at ................. Their daughter Margaret Ann (known as Ann) was born in 1963 and their daughter Christine Deborah Jane (known as Debbie) was born in l966.

After spending six years at the school in Cheshire, Dave was looking for advancement and he was lured by an advertisement promising a salary of œ1,000 at Buntingford Secondary Modern School. Dave came along for an interview and was told that the school was going comprehensive within the next couple of years, when a new school was going to be built. Dave thought this sounded like a good career move for him, and he said a number of other people came along after him with similar aspirations to get something new off the ground.

Dave and Margaret liked the rural environment of Buntingford and were offered a house along with the job, so the family moved here in l967. Their son, David Mark Clinton, was born in 1968 (Clinton being a family name and nothing to do with the President!)

When Dave came here, the Head of Buntingford Secondary Modern was Walter Baldwin, who was a Quaker. When the changeover to the new School was completed in 1970 (Ward Freman), the first Head was Mr C P Nobes, and he did a good P.R. job by visiting the local primary schools trying to sell the concept of comprehensive education in the area. Before Ward Freman was built, some students stayed at the Secondary Modern in Buntingford to take O levels, but the majority went to Richard Hale School or Presdales. Mr Nobes did a good job in setting down the foundations and persuading people that Buntingford was the place to have their children educated, and Ward Freman got off to a good start thanks to him and the rest of the staff, who paved the way for the good establishment which we have today.

When Ward Freman opened it took children aged from 11 - 16 but over a number of years they started losing the children at the bottom end of the age range and took children from 13 - 18 years. Therefore, at one point for two years there was no new intake and at this point the Secondary Modern School became known as Edwinstree. At about the same time Millfield School was being built, and in the interim the Millfield pupils were housed in some huts in the grounds of Edwinstree school. Dave cam remember the interviews taking place for the new head of the new Millfield School and, understandably, the staff had their own opinions of the candidates for the post as all the interviewees came into the staffroom. Dave says that Ted Reed was not the "Staff Room Choice" but he now admits that Mr Reed was the best man who did an exceptionally good job.

During the two year period at Ward Freman when there was no intake due to the changeover, Dave was offered the opportunity, along with other teachers, to obtain more qualifications so he did a year's training at Murray House and obtained a diploma in outdoor education, including orienteering. At the same time he was persuaded by Elsie Smith (of Smiths Coaches) to get a P.S.V. Licence. She even volunteered to train him. At the time, the school was not able to get many Saturday football fixtures because of the lack of transport and Mr Nobes was keen on extra curricular activities. Once he could drive, Dave used to borrow the Youth Club's mini bus, which meant he could take students to fixtures or on trips to the Lake District or North Wales. After a while the school bought their own mini bus and each Whitsun for thirty years Dave took a party of school children on a trip to North Wales. They formed the "Summit Club" and recorded in a book each time they reached a height of 3,000ft.

When the voluntary organisation B.A.S.H. was started, the Ward Freman students took an active part. They had a rota for helping out the elderly, with shopping or gardening. The girls helped to run a crèche. Mr Nobes was of the view that the school should work in with the community and, during the run up to Christmas, they organised a Christmas Dinner for the elderly.

Margaret worked at Edwinstree as a Dinner Lady and then at Ward Freman, later working in the Kitchen, until the l980s. Her parents moved to Buntingford in 1987 because her mother was ill. When her mother died her father, David Smith, was allocated a bungalow at Ashfords. He joined in the community activities, helped at St Mary's Church in Aspenden and was a keen bell ringer. He also joined the Bowls Club. He died in 1992.

Dave also used to help out with the "school run" for Smiths, collecting children from the villages and taking them to school. After a while the school bought their own coach as well as a mini bus, which meant more children could be taken on trips for rural studies or, when Mr Harcourt took over, to Stratford-on-Avon. A particular high point of Dave's career was when two of his students were awarded a Duke of Edinburgh Award and they invited Dave along to Buckingham Palace with them.

Dave was a member of the Rugby Club at for Royston for over 35 years, either playing or refereeing. When he turned 50 they made him Captain to mark the occasion!

If you have been in Buntingford for about 20 years you will recall our Summer Playschemes, which ran for four weeks in the summer holidays. The driving force behind our Playscheme was Glyn Ward, who organised badminton classes in Buntingford and who lived in Snells Mead. He was ably assisted by Dave Lewis, and the Buntingford Playscheme was tremendously successful for many years. There were subsidised double decker bus or coach trips (usually with Dave at the wheel) twice a week, to such places as Wickstead Park, Woburn, Walton etc.; swimming trips to Stevenage (before the days of the Ward Freman pool); cinema trips; half day trips to Duxford or Old Warden; plus various field activities held in Buntingford each morning between 10 and 12.30 and each afternoon between 2 - 4.30, including archery, cricket, athletics. All the field activities were free of charge. Only the trips had to be paid for but these were subsidised.

After many years, Glyn Ward moved on. The Council tried to get others to take on the Playscheme but without its "driving force" it collapsed and was sorely missed. Buntingford Playscheme was a god-send for local mums and was really missed. The children enjoyed it and their mums knew where they were.

Dave took early retirement in the Summer of 1997 although he still does some driving for Richmonds Coaches. He has more time to concentrate on his hobbies and is one of those people who cannot sit still for long. He became interested in wood turning when he gave up rugby and started off at school in the lunch break or after school. He bought his own lathe which he installed in his shed at home and, when he retired, the family bought him a bigger one. The things he makes now are really quite professional; beautifully smooth bowls, and various ornaments.

Dave has worked with children and students virtually all his life and he misses this most of all. However, he runs a Gym Club at Ward Freeman on Fridays, for ages 0-15. For many years he has run a Keep Fit Class for men, which was initially known as a Keep Fit Class, then progressed to Keep Fit for the over 30s, and is currently known as a Geriatric Keep Fit Class! Dave takes on any male between 18 and 90. He still goes orienteering at weekends, and swimming regularly.

Another hobby of Dave's some might find surprising: cross stitch embroidery. This is something he started on a wet holiday in the 80s but it has progressed, and Dave can now produce quite intricate work. When he was at Ward Freman, if a member of staff left he would give them a hand made memento. The ladies would get the school badge with their name embroidered over it and the length of time they spent at the school. The men would receive something suitable to their particular interest; on one occasion it was a paddle steamer, another time a reptile, and even a spider, all hand-embroidered by Dave. He obviously enjoyed making things because while he was at school he fabricated a trophy from part of a crank shaft taken from the school mini bus which had conked out on one trip. It became known as the "Wreckers Trophy", and was awarded each year to the person who had had an accident in any school vehicle. One person in particular had the dubious honour of winning this trophy more times than anyone else, and he knows who he is!!

Margaret and Dave have seven grandchildren at the moment. Ann is married to Gerald Wall, and they have four girls, Janelle, Jade, Gemma and Lynsey. They live in Letchworth. Debbie is married to Paul Pettifer and they have Samantha Natasha and Luke. They live in Sandy. Mark lives in Royston with his girlfriend, Sharon.