Braunstone Memories

A Memory of Braunstone Town.

My dad, Ken, was born 13 May 1938 in the front bedroom of 5 Gallards Hill - he was the youngest son to Sidney and Gladys Taylor. My grandad spent almost all his life in the Leicestershire Regiment. During ww2 my grandad was captured and was sent to a POW camp, he was repatriated late 1944. He was only home for a short time - sadly he died 30th January 1945, in the same bed my dad was born in nearly 7 years earlier.
My grandma moved to number 1 Corfield Close near to her sister Edith Potter who lived at number 3,. There she raised her 3 children,. It was hard for her as all her children took poorly and each was admitted into different hospitals. My grandma walked to each hospital to visit each one of her children everyday.
My mother, Betty, lived in Limber Crescent. My Aunt Val was walking out with my dad. One night Val came marching in and told my mum that she had broken up with Ken. My mum asked where he was. My mother rode down to Rollys chippy on Raven Road to catch my dad. They dated, married and they had 4 children. We lived 49 Gunthorpe Road at the back of the Falcon pub - my brother was born there. My Grandma Bagley lived at number 19 next to the Furhurst family. I went to Bembow Rise Sch and Sunday school, My Sunday school teacher Gran Hartwell also lived in Gunthorpe Road and used to make beautiful boxes made from greeting cards and plastic film blanket stitched together. If we needed clothes Mum would take us to Pats in Cantral Road and pick up milk and bread from Shiltons store, the big shop was at Scattergoods on Hayford Road.
In 1970 we moved to 74 Hand Avenue. My mum's brother in law worked for the council and that's how we got that house . My mum was expecting my sister. Elizabeth was born in December 1970 but sadly she was born with spina-bifida and had to have a couple of operations but she passed away at home at 9wks old. My dad's old school mate Trev Porch moved next door to us and both families remain friends even now.
We went to Cort Crescent Junior School then onto Wycliffe School. Even when we moved away I still continued to attend Wycliffe School.
Living on the Avenue was great. My dad was a paint sprayer at AEI Marconi New Parks where we lived and I could see him coming home from work, walking down the Sandhills . I used to take my brothers on the Braunstone Park and to Braunstone adventure playground and walk over for a swim to new parks pool. We'd find pennies to buy sweets off of either Moore's or Kojaks mobile van. We had so many happy years there. Football on the green, families all going on long walks on the warm summer evenings and on Christmas Day my dad would take a tray of drinks around to the neighbors. We moved out in 1981 - there were talks about a new road being built through Hand Avenue, and would split the community in half.

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