Albert James Speed

Albert James Speed, known as both Bert and James to different people, was the local ironmonger. Being a rural area meant that he had a mobile shop visiting various properties as far as Lulworth, in addition to a shop at Bovington camp and later another at Wool.

He had been called up in World War One and having previously trained as a mechanic was due to serve as a dispatch rider, but developed influenza during the 1918 pandemic and never reached the front. Between the wars he was friendly with T E Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, who lived at Bovington in Clouds Hill Cottage. They shared a mutual interest in motorbikes.

He also experimented with crystal wireless sets with his brother. He was issued with a set of binoculars, 7x50, made by the New York based Optical, Film & Supply Co, but marked with British naval markings. Auxiliary Units were equipped with a good deal of US sourced equipment bought in 1940 using Britain’s gold reserves; this may have been part of such a purchase. Bert had no other naval links.