Bracknell, Berkshire

St Michaels School

I used to go to the school here - St Michaels.  Every week we walked up to the church, two by two, past the farm where Wild Ridings is now. I remember when there were cows grazing there and harvest festival service was relevant to the farmers.
Later I worked at Church Hill House on Ward 4 (1973).  The Hospital has... [more]

White Cottage (Blacksmith's Cottage)

My family and I lived in the White Cottage (known to us as the Blacksmith's Cottage) from about 1962 to 1964, whereafter we emigrated to Canada. I have fond memories of the cottage and its low ceilings, the Aga in the kitchen, the huge garden which bordered a school (St. Michael's?), and of course the church up the road where we... [more]

Harmans Water?

Dunno if this is the same place, we called it Harmans Water, on the Ascot/Bracknell road. My Uncle Albert had a little demolition firm, my brother was the driver, they were the only regulars, I as a kid worked at weekends and holidays as did other relatives. First job was to pull down the Victorian Post Office for the Bracknell Dev... [more]

Living in Binfield 1946-1971

I moved to Binfield with my parents Rose and Cyril Richardson and my brother Brian in 1946. We lived in Rose Hill at a house called “Athlone”.  It isn’t there any more, it was demolished and six houses built on the site.

At the age of 30 I finally left Binfield but the memories of growing up there have... [more]

Cricketing memories at Broadmoor.

A fine cricket ground was included within the walls where Bracknell CC played each year. There was a concert party formed from among the inmates that used to give performances in the villages around Crowthorne: the party travelled with a strong force of warders. Just after WWII there was an occasion when a notorious murderer managed to escape and... [more]

Ascot 1966

I was born just outside Ascot in Cheapside in 1954. In 1966 we were living in Buxton, Derbyshire and this picture brings back memories of those days when we used to visit my grandparents in south Ascot for Christmas and holidays. It used to take most of the day with 5 kids and my parents in a Ford Zephyr to travel... [more]

early memories of an Ascotonian.

My earliest memories of Ascot were of the wonderful people who lived in and around the Fernbank Road area. These people were and still are the true people of Ascot. Although we were all "Working-class" we had the most wonderful childhoods any children have ever had. This was a true community. Everybody had their place and were proud of it. We... [more]