Bill Nourish was born in Langham in April 1920 and wrote down many stories of his early life in the village. This is just one of the many stories, which he dictated to his sister Freda Smithson in 2015:



In the mornings, at around seven o’clock, the American troops stationed at the Camp on Burley Road would go for a training run. A group of about fifty men took a route through Ashwell, went on to Langham, and completed the circle via the Burley Road. At intervals they all had to yap as some sort of breathing exercise, and consequently sounded like a pack of dogs. Bill says you could hear them coming from Loudall Hill and through the village until they disappeared up the Burley Road. They were followed half an hour later by a second group.



Our Uncle Bill Nourish was most upset by the American presence in Langham. Not because of the yapping but because they had a taste for cider, it was a drink he enjoyed and he usually had a quart bottle handy when he was at work. Because it was not the most fashionable drink in Langham he had no difficulty in obtaining it before the Americans came, they severely compromised his quality of life by buying it all.