Bilston, St Leonard's Parish Church 1968

Photo ref: B353002

I used to visit two ladies in Bradley during the war years,Arvind and Bessie Walker. Bessie taught me at Stonefield junior school and always rode a bicycle to school.When I visited her home she used to take me on the back of her bike.As a treat in the days of rationing she used to feed me mock crab sandwiches which were actually a mixture of dried egg and chopped tomato! They were quite a treat in those frugal ...see more

We were married at St Leonard`s church on a cold day, Saturday February 28th. We both had flu that week but managed to get to the church on time, that was 56 years ago now living in Melbourne Australia where it is a little warmer.

I lived at my grandmother's house in Wolverhampton Street in Bilston. My gran's name was Mary Ann Tucker and she had a son called Ralph, my uncle who was only 2 or 3 years older than me (don't ask me). He had a neighbour called Jones and I believe their daughter was called Beryl, she was a few years older than me and as I am 75 now I guess Beryl (if she is still alive) would be about 80 to 83 now. Ralph's best friend, ...see more

I owned the Ford Anglia 105E parked on the road outside the church in the bottom left hand corner of the photograph. I rang the bells at the church and usually parked in that place. The car, Harry Potter blue, registration ADH 532B, was sold to pay the solicitors fees on our first home in Wellington. I have many happy memories of that church and remember the people there with great affection. Richard Dorrington