SPORTSMEN OF THE 

 RUBBISH-HEAPS 



AN old, faded notice board, bearing the 

 legend that trespassers will be prosecuted, 

 leans at a low angle in the hedge; newer 

 and larger boards announce that the land 

 is " admirable for building purposes " and 

 for sale. A gate guards a gap in the hedge, 

 over which bold boys swarm on Saturdays 

 and Sundays when no policeman is in sight. 



This preserve, as the crow flies, is about 

 eight miles from London Bridge in a south- 

 easterly direction. It is known to dustmen, 

 who dump their loads upon its once-green 

 fields, and it is also known to certain 

 cockney sportsmen. 



Trams and omnibuses pass near its vio- 

 lated woodlands (soon to fall), and yet its 

 possibilities are immense. One Sunday after 



the war I walked there. Four shooting 

 60 



