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Eton memories

Here are memories of Eton and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Eton or a Eton photo.

Herbert's Supply Stores Eton High Street

Eton Schoolboys in The High Street 1906
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My Great-Great-Grandfather William John Herbert established the Herbert's Supply Stores seen to the right of this photograph. The stores were made of twenty four departments and held the Royal Warrant for Queen Victoria, the Empresses of Russia and Germany, and many minor royals from across Europe. Following a fire in 1896 the building was rebuilt as seen here. The business became Cullum's Garages during the mid 1920's.

Memories of Berkshire

Back to Windsor

Norman Tower c1890
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I've been here - to this very spot, with the precious women of my life - my Mom when I was a child, and with my children when they were women.  How can it be that it looks exactly the same in 1890, 1971 and 2001?  I can feel the cool brick under my hand, and see the flowers over the edge.  I wanted to jump down and walk there when I was a child and later with my girls.  How can it be that the air and the sky is the same.  When I want to remember, to feel, to grieve, to rejoice - I go back - back to where memories and feelings are connected - Back to Windsor.

Fishing on The Thames at Romney Island.

As a teenager living in the Old Kent Road back in the early 1960s, Windsor was surprisingly accessible to me. I spent most summer Saturdays fishing the lock cut at Romney Island. A number 53 bus would take me to Lower Marsh, which was the rear entrance to Waterloo Station. A short walk up the slope past Dewar's bottling plant and I was on the station concourse. It was about forty minutes by train to Windsor & Eton Riverside if I remember rightly. The first thing to greet me at Windsor would be the delightful smell of freshly baked bread coming from Denny's the bakery. I would stroll past the Donkey House pub and along Romney Walk, eventually reaching Tom Jones's boatyard and the lock. The lock in those days was a delightful old wooden structure with long beams by which the lockkeeper would manually operate it. The weir too was of wooden construction back then, with a pitched roof over the walkway. The lock keeper kept an old punt... Read more

To Kelly With Love

Castle Hill 1895
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Windsor Castle, such precious memories come to mind when I think of this place. It connects me to the people I love, and even though they're gone now - the feelings, the thoughts, their presence is real and tangible when I'm there. What a great gift England has given me.

Warning, it Should't Rain Inside The Bus

The Bridge c1955
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I have two early memories of Windsor. One, not far from here and having my photo taken with a huge parrot. The second is a bit funnier. We lived in Chalfont St Peter and when I was about 9 in 1964 my elder brother and his mate took me for a day out to Windsor. We bought Rover tickets and bottles of Tizer and waited for the bus. We all finished our drinks and then the double decker Green Line bus arrived. We went upstairs, of course, and sat in the back. The only other person was a grown up women half way down. By now my bladder was fit to burst but my brother was adamant that we weren't getting off before Windsor. So, I lifted up the back bench seat and behold, there was a long shallow metal tray. Quietly and quickly I pee'd in this tray until it was brimming. My brother and his mate thought this was a real laugh. We all sat down and a... Read more

Winter Sundays

Great Park, Long Walk 1914
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1964-1967 There was a time when nearly every Winter Sunday was spent walking from the Egham side, through the Beechwoods then up the Long Walk to Windsor for an early cream tea, then back through all the leaves and cob nuts to the small pub somewhere on the Egham gate side.
You had to hurry at times as there were sunset closing times on some gates. Not the Pub one though!

There truly were beech copses which had cobnuts, Oak, Elm and Plane leaves shin deep, with swirling smoke from Park keeper's cottage chimneys.
We walked miles and miles for fun and because it meant being together but 'behaving' :-)
A visit in 1985 showed it to be largely unchanged and I hope that is still so. Someone else posted about the timeless quality of great monuments, whether stone or landscape. So be It.
Olivia

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