Basingwerk memories
Here are memories of Basingwerk and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Basingwerk or a Basingwerk photo.
There are no Memories posted yet for Basingwerk - why not be the first!
- Add a Memory for Basingwerk
- Add a Memory to a Basingwerk photo
- Start another search
- See Basingwerk homepage
Memories of Clwyd
Notes From Our Files.
The police office is PC69 Kenneth Edwards of the old Flintshire Force who is talking to Mr Cummins, a local landowner and the year is 1959.
Father Holcroft
I was born and brought up in Widnes but we used to go for holidays in Bagillt where we stayed with an old friend of my parents, Father Holcroft. He was the local Catholic priest and we stayed in his house which had a farm adjoining with chickens and a goat which sometimes strayed into the house. The Catholic chapel was very simple as I recall, basically a big hut with a corrugated iron roof and I served mass there every day. Holcroft was a Yorkshireman and a late vocation renowned for his fiery temper and outspoken nature. He swore a lot which made us laugh as we had never met a priest quite like him. He had a heart of gold and seemed to be well liked by the parishoners. My brother, Bill and sister, Oonagh and I had a wonderful time exploring the village and the nearby coastline. We fed (and chased) the chickens and teased the goat. It was a magical place, especially for kids like us... Read more
Dancing Days
I lived in Ysceifiog and used to travel by bike to the dances at the village hall in Brynford. I used to meet my friend Betty Davies and her sister Sheila, who lived in Brynford. They had two brothers Gerald and Leonard. At these dances we had a band and an MC. It was where I learnt the Gay Gordons and Quickstep and Waltz. In those days my name was Wyn Parrington. I met my first husband Frank Hansom from Holywell at the dances. We married in 1955 and went to live in Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1957. I had a wonderful life out there with servants and a nanny. I learnt to swim and drive. I had three children and when I was expecting my fourth child Frank died in a car crash and I had to return to Wales and lived with my parents. Later I met Meirion Wynne and we married. I had to change my name to Margaret as I could not be "Wyn Wynne" It's... Read more
Joan Thomas's (nee Vaughan) Memories
My first memory was going to school from Pen-y-Ball and being tought by Mrs Daisy Jones, Eluned Jones, Mr Bellis (the headmaster) and Mr Yeomans who we all loved, and also attending Sunday School every Sunday was a must. Mrs Price had the shop in Calcoed, she was our landlady and we would go every Saturday morning to pay the rent and she would always give us a sweet. Mr and Mrs Hughes used to deliver the milk, they had two daughters, Daureen and Glenys, and a son, Neville. Then moving from Pen-y-Ball to Brynford at the age of 13 years (1950/51). Mr Tommy Edwards, coal merchant moved us on his coal wagon, we must have looked like the Clampets!!. We thought it was great moving to a brand new council house, having running water and electricity, we thought we were "posh". We were a family of 7, the Vaughan family. Mam (Marian), Dad (Hugh), David, Maureen, Beverly, Ken and myself, Joan...the eldest!! Dad worked in Courtaulds as an electrician, he used to M.C. the... Read more
Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy
The above order of psychological sadists ran St Clare's orphanage where small children suffered dreadfully (see BBC Wales website 2009). The order also owned a private boarding and day school on West Hill in Dartford where I was sent at the age of four; Our Lady's High School was run like a young offenders' institution. One teenage boarder (Josephine), and a four-year-old day girl (Ann Smith) ran away. And, like many institutions where there is repression by those in authority, bullying by the inmates was rife. But the big boarders and day students only picked on the little kids, of course.
When Sister Immaculate bought me an ice cream after a doctor's visit, I wasn't allowed to eat it until I returned to the school. So I didn't enjoy this unimaginable treat because I was forced to eat it in front of a five-year-old boarder (Frances Tucker) to make her feel jealous. Poor Frances had no father, and constantly had nose bleeds. But Immaculate ignored children who were... Read more
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 26,185 memories of 5,732 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Burnt Oak, Middlesex
- Corringham, Essex
- Hatch End, Middlesex
- Hawthorn, Wiltshire
- Bredbury, Cheshire
- Harrow On The Hill, Greater London
- Doncaster, South Yorkshire
- Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
- Mitcham, Surrey
- Grantham, Lincolnshire
- Padstow, Cornwall
- Maltby, South Yorkshire
- Ipswich, Suffolk
- Wickford, Essex
- Slough, Berkshire
- Woking, Surrey
- St Andrews, Fife
- Rochdale, Lancashire
- Frodsham, Cheshire
- Virginia Water, Surrey
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
