Biggleswade memories
Here are memories of Biggleswade and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Biggleswade or a Biggleswade photo.
Children's Home on London Road.
I was in a children's home on London Road from about 1964 for about 3 years. I forget the name of the home, but I went to Shortmead Street School for a while, then Rose Lane, before ending up at Holmead. I used to go to the Catholic church near the Regal cinema, on a Sunday morning, and the Regal on a Saturday morning. I would love to know the name of the children's home, I think it was Holmways or something similar, and if anyone remembers me. My memories of Biggleswade are lovely ones, and the people were always friendly.
Biggleswade
From the age of 1 year to presently 62 years I have lived in the town. I remember the thriving market, the Regal and Empire cinemas, sadly now gone (see article in the Biggleswade Chronicle Jan 6th 2009 pages 22 & 23). This town has changed from a small market town where employment was as my late father working on the land for Mr Capon of Southill and other landowners to large engineering companies like Cincinatti, now gone also. Back doors left open for neighbours to call, bikes left on kerbs whilst shopping. Steam trains to admire and church schools to attend, yes very fond memories.
Woolies
Does anyone remember or did you work with Madge Chessum, at Woolies, in the 50's / 60's ?
Henry Tingey - Ancester
My great grandfather Henry Tingey, was born November 18, 1819, in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire. He was the son of James Tingey and Elizabeth Boniss. James and Elizabeth, and family later moved from Bigglewade, Bedfordshire, and moved Lower Caldecut near the 46th milestone from London in the perish of Northhill. The family of father and mother and two boys and four sisters were in the business of raising wholesale vegatable and garden seeds and were very successful.
In 1849 the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, (Mormons) told their gospel message to Henry and his wife Ann Young, (daughter of James and Lucy Young). Henry and Ann joined the Latter-Day-Saint church and migrated to America in 1849. They spent three years in St Louis, Missouri and then traveled by oxen and wagon train to Salt Lake City, Utah arriving in September 1853. Henry became a very devote follower of the Mormon Church. He settled in Sessions Settlement (now Bountiful, Utah), and later moved to Brigham City Utah,... Read more
Memories of Bedfordshire
Land Resettlement
My parents moved to Pottonin 1937 on the Land Resettlement Scheme from Sunderland. As I was only 18 months old at the time and we were not there long, my memories consist of photographs only and these are of members of my family working the land. Shortly before the Second World War broke out we moved to Bygrave in Hertfordshire. During our time there we had avacuees staying with us and Canadian forces were billeted in the village. My father was sent to work at Cammel Lairds in Birkenhead and we moved to Wallasey in 1942. I now live in north Wales.
Lord Astor
I grew up in Wrestlingworth between 1966 and 1978. In the late sixties and early seventies we often used to see a rather distinguished gent driving a stately car, a Riley I think. He had silver hair and always waved in a benign manner to us youngsters. I got it into my mind that he was Lord Astor who lived at Hatley St George. We were even more impressed at this.
We also used to see the Co-op van in the village. In those days not everybody had cars and the older residents couldn't always get to Biggleswade or wherever. So its arrival was always noticeable if only because of the people who would gather around.
One day I wandered over to the van to see what was on offer. It came as something of a shock to see the aforementioned Lord Astor serving from behind the hatch. What a generous chap I thought. And how socially enlightened to provide such a valuable service to the old folks in the... Read more
THE LAKE
THE LAKE as we called it was the other side of the bunny hills, brings back memories of our childhood. The house nearby was once occupied by the Manager of the brick company, that dug out the clay that created the lake, he was our great Grand dad Aaron Gibbs, he died long before I was born but our Granny Hay was his daughter, she lived at 40 Stotfold Road and we used to listen intently as she told us of her rather strict but privileged childhood. We would spend hours at the lake and surrounding area during our school holidays, when we stayed with my Gran we always made our way to the lake every day, there always seem to be some relatives visiting at the same time and we all loved playing over there.
WONDERFUL CHILDHOOD IN ARLESEY HOUSE 19401946
I was born in Arlesey in 1940 in the large house next to St Peter's church, it was a lovely old place. My mother took my brother Ted and sister Marion to Arlesey when things started to get bad in Islington, London. I was born November 14th 1940, the night the Germans bombed Coventry. They said the bombers were flying over Arlesey all night, my dad said some were so low you could almost throw a stone at them. My gran lived in no 40 Stofold Road. After the war we spent many a happy summer holiday with her and my grandad and cousin Terry, it was lovely. My first memory was fighting with my sister Marion who was to ring the bell to let my Aunt Mary and her children know it was dinner time. We had rooms on the ground floor in Arlesey House, she and her three children lived upstairs. The summers seemed to always be sunny, none more so when my brother Frank was born on... Read more
Arlesey Bedfordshire
When my dad was demobbed after the war in 1946, we had to move back to London because of his job. We had all our funiture put on a lorry, and the local publican, a Ted Bland, delivered us to a requestioned place over a shop in Hornsey Road, Holloway, Islington, London. This became the second phase in my wonderful childhood, but it took some time to get used to the locals, at the finish they turned out to be the best people you could ever meet, but while we tried to settle in we were pining for Arlesey, and could not wait to go for a visit to my gran, grandad and cousin Terry, we idolised him. My eldest brother Ted was always his biggest fan. We would go to Kings Cross and pick up the Birch Brothers coach, and sit back and enjoy the wonderful scenic route through the countryside, eventually arriving at the Henlow crossroads two hours later. We stayed with them at 40 Stofold Road. Next... Read more
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