Gillingham, Kent

Jezreels Tower

I was born within walking distance of the Jezreels Tower which dominated the skyline & was always a source of fascination for growing children. As there was little traffic in those days we were allowed to play in the streets and wander at will. Whenever possible we would make our way up Canterbury Street to the ruins of the tower and... [more]

My short life in Gillingham, Kent

I was born in a naval nursing home called "Canada House" on the 18th November 1954. I was the first child and boy - I was spoilt. I went to school at Byron Road Infants school until I was 6 then we moved to Swalecliffe in Kent. I was 5 years old and both my mother and grandmother took me to... [more]

Le Fevers and Coo-op Denson 'Winkle -Pickers'

I went to Gillingham Technical School in Green Street and at the end of the school day ran down Gardiner Street, making a left turn into Gillingham High Street. This picture shows my homeward view with the Le Fevers store on the left (later purchased by Debenhams) and the station in the distance. On the right was the Co-op where I... [more]

Embassy

I believe that this cinema was called the Odeon before the Embassy. As a boy growing up I had the choice of going to Saturday morning pictures at the Grand in Skinner Street for sixpence (2.5 pence ) or the Odeon for ninepence (4 pence). At the Odeon you got in free on your birthday. Oh, such innocent times.

Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories

A sign in the river warns of hidden dangers for swimmers and small boats, but ashore there were plenty of safe ways to enjoy a summer's day on this pleasant, green, riverside corridor at the northern end of the town. The Strand was named in 1924, extended in 1930, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, summer found the foreshore as crowded as any seaside beach.

Kent Revisited Photographic Memories

This riverside spot remains as popular today as it did in the 1950s. It sits near to Brompton Barracks, and now forms part of the Black Lion Leisure Centre. I wonder who picked up the litter on the pavement outside the café, right?

Chatham and the Medway Towns Photographic Memories

As well as the ever- popular ball games, picnics and simply watching the boats go by, the Strand at Gillingham also offered a paddling pool, a boating pool, a children's playground, miniature golf, a municipal swimming pool from the late 1930s, and after 1948, this Lilliputian miniature railway.