How to find out about a local site, please remember this was 1974, no internet, no immediate access to millions of other people, the first place to start was the local library. What books existed on Bottle digging/collecting? The very helpful librarian, found a book written by Edward Fletcher, believe it or not it was first published 1973 and then reprinted in 1974. It was 96 pages of just what I needed, and at the time for a cost of £1.25, after consuming every single page, I felt that I needed a copy of my own and duly ordered one. Chapter 1 was entitled Finding bottle sites, it included searching libraries, newspapers and magazines, Town Hall Records, talking to elderly people, rivers and streams, canals and ponds etc.
Dog walking with the family took on an entirely different aspect, yes we were out with the dog, but we were on the hunt.
I came home from work one evening and the wife said that she had, had a pair of visitors, the lovely lady and gent that collected bottles. They had been very polite about our collection, but they did say we could do better, (reminds me of school days). He had left a message asking if I would like to go on a dig?
I gave him a ring and duly arranged to pick him up the following week and we went to a site on the other side of Aldershot, some waste ground that was covered in stingers and elder berry bushes (well done Mr Fletcher), I have to admit I was a little uneasy, but we didn’t climb any fences or cross any barriers and as far as I could see no signage existed, regarding trespassing. My mentor had a probe rod, he walked over the site looking for areas that had not been dug, simply by probing this rod into the ground. For me the site certainly was an eye opener with all the broken debris strewn about all over the place. I picked up a good 20 or so broken Codds bottles, I intended to clean them and make note of the companies, even at this early stage I must have been thinking about, storing information. My first dig was most enjoyable never knowing what was coming out with every fork full. I found a lot of things other diggers had left behind, especially blacking pots. Every time I scraped away the soil from around the base of a pot, that looked like a ginger beer it wasn`t. After six hours, we returned home, I had enjoyed it. The duplicates of the broken cods were all put into one of the glass recycling containers in the local library car park.
Whenever I was at work, (during tea and lunch breaks I hasten to add) I would take the opportunity to talk to anglers, especially those I knew fished the local canals or as they called them “Cuts”, it was during one of these chats that one of them said he knew of a site just outside Slough, he drew me a directional map.
In the meantime the old boy (my mentor) had shown me several other sites in my home area, many of which had been well and truly dug out, they were all in different locations, by that I mean they were in woods, in fields, on trading estates and alongside roads, it made me all the more determined to find a virgin site and get permission to dig. Meanwhile I had teamed up with a family friend, Mick and we started sharing cars and digging together. He was of the same opinion as me we should find a site and get permission.
Using the directional map from the chap at work, Mick and I travelled the M4 early one Sunday morning and found the site alongside the canal near Slough. The site was huge, we estimated seven acres or more, again well and truly dug, but we had a go. Both of us ended up with some codds, inks and poisons, the drawback was that near the base ground approx eight feet down we kept hitting water. I decided I would find some kind of fork that would allow me to scrape the spoil at the bottom of the hole so as not to miss anything small. Some many months later I did find something special, more on that later.
My wife and I started to go to the Antiques and collectors fair held at the Farnham Maltings once a month, it was on our first visit that I found a chap selling all his excess finds, his name was “Bill Fry” he was kind enough to start keeping any finds from the local area with the option of buying or not. (Provided I turned up early in the day, so that anything I did not want could be put up for sale, I thought a good deal) He also told me of the existence of the Alton Bottler collectors Club and he was able to give me the date of the next meeting and he gave me a flyer for a club bottle show coming up in November. I also asked him If he knew of any local digs and he told me “to take a funny run”! In a friendly way. Each time we went to The Maltings, I asked the same question, and got the same response. I still gave him my home number just in case he became sympathetic!
Back at my job I saw some work being done by a local contractor in the car park, they were spreading Tarmac or as they called it Black Top, and I noticed that they were using a fork that was approx 15 inches wide with teeth about 1 inch apart, I asked Michael one of the contractors where he had got it from? He guardedly asked why and I explained my need to collect the small items in the base of my hole in the water. He produced a fork that was covered in tarmac, and with a broken shaft, to which he said I could have it. When I got it home I scraped off the majority of the tar and then burnt off the rest, I fitted a new handle and then I used galvanised wire to cover the rake with fine chicken wire. I had previously purchased an ex army kit bag to carry my fork, shovel, tarmac fork and my probe rod, this was to allow me to carry any other finds home on bags. (By the way I bought Michael a drink when I next saw at our sports club).
We visited the tip at Slough many times, finding lots of sections of undug areas between holes, My straining fork did produce quite a few nice finds including dolls heads, pipes, and on one occasion a lovely mint Bears Grease.
An opportunity arose locally when permission was granted to clear out a dump that had been attacked over the years but not completely dug out. It was in a nature reserve, just outside Aldershot, popular with dog walkers and concern was raised by them regarding the broken glass and the dogs paws. We asked the reserve committee if they could arrange through the local council to have a skip supplied to site, and they kindly made arrangements. It became a family affair me and my wife and two sons and Mick with his wife and two sons, four adults and four sons all systematically digging along a line and to the bottom, which was a maximum depth, of four feet. Every broken article, every piece of junk, whether glass or pottery was collected and dumped in the skip. It took us weekends only, nearly four months. I was still keeping broken items that I had not seen before. My favourite finds were a Army Service Corps two tone blob top ginger beer (the only one I ever dug) and a 6oz Charles Gatcum Codd. Lots of lids were dug mainly Burgess and Woods, quite a few other Codds and Gingers all local, (Allen & Lloyd) but most importantly a very enjoyable relaxing time was had by us all (with no pressure regarding trespassing).
Entirely out of the blue, Bill from Farnham Maltings rang and asked If I would like to go on a dig before an area was dug and redeveloped. I had a very big motor at the time and that was one of the reasons for his call, his van was off the road for a short period and this opportunity arose. Very early on Sunday morning 04.30 in fact I picked up Bill and his mate and all the tools (They both had very thick heavy steel bars about 5 feet long!) and off we went heading to Southampton. The site was a mass of concrete 5 to 8 inches thick, the plan was to dig a out a circle about 2 foot 6 inches wide to allow access under the concrete (hence the iron bars), and then undercut in a circle all the way around. We teamed up to help each other to dig out the circular entrance ways. Luckily I had previously acquired a short handled ex army trenching tool which helped. The digging was compacted soil and then levels of ash and debris, Bill and his mate are both landscape gardeners and by heck could they dig, my life was spent behind a desk and I took my time to make sure I could make a day of it.
My first good find was a Rock Blue, (my first ever) which was carefully wiped off and inserted into my tucker bag, this was followed by lots of broken Codds all Southampton based. My fork scratched a glass object and I very carefully scraped away around it and I slid the trenching tool under it and gently dragged it back, it was another first my first ever Warner’s, brown and a little sick but complete. That was followed by another Rock Blue, Two in one day! ( never to be repeated). Could this day produce anything better? Yes it could because after digging out lots of broken stuff, I prised out a light blue slightly sick Prices Patent Candle Mix. Then on the last knockings I found a pint pot with Victoria’s slab seal on the front , with impressed C & A Painter Turtle Meat Purveyors to HRH The Prince Of Wales, Ship and Turtle, 130, Leadenhall St on the front. It didn’t matter how long a drive it was to get home, it was my best dig ever. I never did find out what Bill and his mate got!
Searching for local sites never stopped, we found something like 15 digable areas, but all of them were on military ground, permission for these was out of the question, especially when one digger had recently left a rusty live hand grenade sitting on the surface, which was later found by a dog walker.
We had a brilliant postman, firstly he was a local man, with the knowledge and secondly he was out and about chatting with lots of folk, and thirdly he was also a dog walker. One day he left a message with my wife for me to give him a ring, which I did as soon as I could. It would appear that one of his ladies kept saying to him about finding broken glass in her garden. I gained her telephone number and arranged for a visit.
In those days at work we finished at 1 o`clock on a Friday, and it took about an hour to get home, (depending on the M25 and M3) I called in on the lady and she showed me an area of about 10 feet by 25 feet at the bottom of her garden, arrangements were made to start the dig on the following Sunday morning. Fortunately the weather was kind and I made a start at 8 o`clock, to reduce the damage I spread a tarpaulin alongside the proposed digging area. I started finding items almost immediately, mainly Keiller marmalade jars, sauce bottles with sheared lips, a few Blacking pots, and lots of inks, stone and glass these I placed in rows on the edge of the tarp. People started appearing, my hosts neighbours, and she started offering the pots to the visitors, I didn’t mind it was nothing that I wanted for my collection or very rare. Anything broken I placed in a plastic tub, for disposal. The next find was the broken remains of a Zara, this got my blood pumping and I suddenly thought, what happens if I found a complete rare item and she wanted to keep it or give it away. I realized I hadn’t agreed anything with the owner, I think she realized that I was a little embarrassed and she asked if something was wrong. I explained to her my predicament, regarding any further finds, and she agreed to cease the hand outs until we had agreed a share agreement, over the final find tally. I had a calming cup of coffee, and continued to dig, it was no deeper than 2 to 3 feet and relatively easy going.
The next find was a full size Zara, excellent my first ever, more blacking pots, inks and Keillers and then another Zara the same size as the first, carefully placed next to my sweat removal towel. I had forewarned my wife that I might make a full day of it, and that she should feed herself and the boys, and I would grab something in the high street on the way home. The only Codds so far had been a couple of Allen & Lloyd of Aldershot, both broken and common, into the tub. I uncovered another Codd and it was a bulb neck from W Tilbury from Farnborough, only a couple of miles down the road from the dig site, I had never seen one before and to say I was pleased, that was a gross understatement. I finished at Seven a clock (11 continuous hours I was cream crackered) and the lady and her children helped me fill in, which was very good of them. She was very pleased with what I had done. I said to her about the rarity of the Zara’s, and I said that I would like to have one of the Zara’s and the Tilbury bulb necked Codd, she agreed and I went home pleased. Two new bottles for the collection, I hoped that I might get a few more digs as a result of this one, but alas nothing came to fruition.
Mick and I and sometimes Julian, did go back to Langley on a few more occasions, and in fact we went to the Oxford Club on two organised digs, but my obsession with collecting Aldershot and Farnborough still continued.
Yes I still had ambitions to find somewhere locally to dig, but it never came to fruition. I continued to visit the Maltings at Farnham once a month and Bill kept his promise to save anything that he felt was different for me, I also visited the Alton Club sale twice a year in fact I had a stall on two occasions. I kept in contact with some of the local diggers especially Julian, he had an uncanny knack of finding some really good rare local items.
In the meantime I had joined the Aldershot Historical Society, and helped the members put on a two day display of local History, this made me even more determined to research all the local Pubs, Hotels, Wine and Spirit merchants, and of course the Mineral Water Manufacturers.
I never did find time to do any further research, before we moved.
When my wife and I decided to retire in 2013, we moved away and made a new start in Somerset, and ten years into retirement I dug!! (sorry) out all of the information and bottles etc, I was staggered with all of the stuff I had accumulated resulting in my attempt at (I hope) an informative website, please enjoy.
Foot note :- Whilst considering the format of the proposed web site, I found myself remembering many hours of brilliant companionship with diggers from the Aldershot area and members of the Alton Club, our hobby is all about “Digging up the past”, it is a pity that we have to have things like the hand grenade episode, which spoilt it for me.
I travelled to the Alton Bottle Fayre in the Spring of 2025, my first real contact with the “DIGGERS” for nearly 20 years, and whilst chatting to Mick Wells he said that this show would be his last. I would just like to add my own personal thanks to Mick for all his hard work and incredible dedication over years, in fact from I believe 1979 to 2025 46 cracking years, well done and thank you Mick. If I have missed anyone, please forgive me, “Keep Digging” ( see thanks section ).