Doncaster memories
Here are memories of Doncaster and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Doncaster or a Doncaster photo.
Sunday at The Dell
During the long summer Sundays of 1947, the pleasures that were afforded by many Doncastrians were few and far between.Sunday, being a non-work day for the man of the house (if not the woman, Sunday dinner to make, pots to wash, beds to make, etc.). He just might decide to take his family for a walk, this of course was after a pleasurable lunchtime drink, his Sunday dinner and an afternoon nap. The kids were sent to Sunday School at the local church in order to make this afternoon nap possible and if he woke up in a good mood and the sun was shining, the decision was taken, "Let's all go for a walk". Of course, it was themother's job to wash and dress the kids, change the babies nappy, make up a bottle of baby food in case she got hungry (sister in our case), prepare a few sandwiches, put an extra nappy and powder in the pram and all this had to be done before she could... Read more
Bakers Boy Bread
I can remember my mum delivering bread in a van shaped as a loaf of bread for Bakers Boy Bread and Sunshine Bread in what I think was an Austin JU. I was wondering if there was any photos left of it as I now live in the Isle of Man. If anybody has any please contact me: crazyone124@hotmail.com
The Trackless Buses
As a child in the late 1950s, I remember catching the trackless trolley bus in St. Sepulchre Gate, we lived on Beckett Road at the time, and caught the bus for home outside Hodgeson and Hepworths (Grocers), which was later demolished to make room for the 'Arndale Centre', now the Frenchgate Centre. I remember one occasion when one of the poles connecting the bus to the overhead cable came off. The conductor had to get the long pole, attached to the outside of the bus, and re-connect to the cable before we could move.
Illuminations
Does anyone remember the illuminations in the Dell at Hexthorpe Flatts? I can remember seeing them in the 1950s. I lived on Urban Road and Beaconsfield Road, both of which are in Hexthorpe. I now reside in Canada.
The Regent Hotel
My memory is from a far newer place in Doncaster, that being the Regent Hotel. I was invited to a wedding which was there and found it most enjoyable. http://hotelroomsdoncaster.co.uk/
Wedding Reception at The Dell Cafe
My wife and I were married on the 31/12/60, our wedding took place at St. John's Church, Balby, which is approximately half a mile from the Dell Cafe.The Dell Cafe was the chosen venue for the wedding reception. We decided to visit the location on the day we celebrated our Golden Wedding. Although the Dell Cafe is no longer there, its original location in the grounds of Hexthorpe Flatts can be found by the concrete foundation on which it stood, along with the steps leading up to it. As for as we know it was owned by the then Doncaster Borough Council but we have no idea when it was closed and done away with. At the time of our marriage we lived in Balby in Alexandra Road. We moved to Bessacarr in 1977 where we are still residing. Our daughter gave us a copy of the associated print as a memento which we have on dislpay along with other golden wedding memorobilia, it now serves as a constant reminder... Read more
My Father at Doncaster Grammar School
My father John Granville Turner attended Doncaster Grammar School in the 1910s. He was born in 1904 so would have started in the early 1910s, I assume. He was for a time a boy soprano at the school. He also spent at least one Christmas at Shibden Hall but there is no record of him there so I wonder if he visited to sing, as I believe the owner at that time invited a choir to sing carols. If anybody has any knowledge which could confirm he attended the school or visited Shibden - or refute both - I and the rest of the family would be very interested. He died in 1964 and all his immediate family which lived in the Halifax/Tickhill area are now deceased. Incidently, he took my brother and myself to Shibden Hall around 1955 but my only memories are of being scared that the floor didn't look very safe, and of a bus which had crashed off whatever hill we climbing and was at lying... Read more
Memories of South Yorkshire
Intake Playgrounds
I have mentioned in passing that Intake did not have the same panache as say Balby, Hexthorpe or Armthorpe in places of entertainment but it did provide some wide open spaces to play in. Over the Armthorpe Road opposite Flint House, there was the disused sand quarry of the Brick Marketing Company which was being used by the local authourity for dumping the Borough's rubbish and this was a goldmine for destitute youngsters. Old bikes or prams were much sought after items and many a trolley or bike was constructed from these treasures, and many happy hours spent playing on them. Another bar of gold were car tyres [or bowlers] and with the aid of a short stick would be bowled all over Intake. If your mother sent you on an errand to the shops or wherever, the first thing anyone did was pick up his bowler. Another place to visit was the Boating Lake [Sandal Park]. There was no road from Armthorpe Water Tower to Sandal Park in those... Read more
After The War
I do not know the exact year that Doncaster had its first Royal visit after the Second World War had ended but all the school children in the parish were required to put on their best bibs and tuckers for school and we were then walked to the Grandstand Road next to the Fire Station where we were given little Union Jacks, so that when the King came by we could give him a cheering Doncaster reception. In due course the Royal carriage appeared and we were told to cheer and wave our flags. In the carriage was King George the Sixth, Queen Elizabeth [the currant Queen's mother] and Queen Mary [the King's mother]. When the carriage reached our group, the Queen turned in our direction, she seemed to be looking straight at me and she gave me the most beautiful smile. I fell in love with her there and then and although she did not get the best press reports as she got a little older, I remained... Read more
To Wheatley And Back
After the Second World War and during the austere period of rationing, among the items that were in short supply was coal. People would burn anything in order to keep warm, and many were the trips that I made to Flint Woods for wood. My dad had a big saw and it was my job to cut these tree trunks into small logs. Also, in addition, we would burn coke. This was obtained from the Gas Works on Wheatley Hall Road and it was also down to me to fetch it. Why this was is because I had a trolley and that was essential for the task. Every Saturday morning during winter-time, I would be given sixpence and a large sack, take up the ropes of my trolley and pull it to Wheatley where I would then wait in line for my coke ticket [sixpence or two and a half pence], and when I say waiting in line, is because hundreds of kids like me would also be there, with... Read more
The Intake Social Club Outings
After the Second World War had finished, and the people were already used to rationing, the Committee members of the Intake Club decided to relieve the hardships on the residents of Intake a little by organising outings for their members. These took the form of trips to the seaside and Chirstmas pantomines and was paid for by asking its members to save a few shillings a week with the Club. On the appointed day, we all congregated in Manor Drive where a fleet of buses waited to ferry us to the Doncaster Railway Station, and waiting for us there, was a train, a complete train, 12 or13 coaches, that would take us all to CLEETHORPES. This was a place that we had heard of but not one of us had seen, a mystical magical land of sea, sand, donkeys, fun fairs and roundabouts and we were going there. During the journey, members of the Committee came round and gave us a quarter pound of sweets [the weekly ration was two... Read more
Training to be A Bricklayer
During my chidhood I was to perform lots of different tasks that would make life for my mother a little easier. I did not know it at the time but she was actually training me for my working life. Not only did I run errands, help turn the handle of the mangle on wash day, chop sticks for the fire, fill the coal bucket and fetch and carry whatever was required, I also bred rabbits for the pot and these needed feeding and cleaning out. [I have never eaten rabbit in my life, possibly because I saw them as pets]. In October 1951, I became eligible for a paper round. In those days, a lad or girl had to be 12 years old to qualify. I duly attained a job with Shaws Newsagent on Cantley Bridge and was paid the princely sum of twelve shillings and sixpence a week [62 new pence]. My round consisted of all the streets on the Doncaster side of Cantley Bridge, Avenue Road, St. Augustines,... Read more
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