Langley memories
Here are memories of Langley and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Langley or a Langley photo.
Langley Schoolboy Memories
I wasn't a resident in Minster Way, but as a small boy I used to visit my St Ethelberts School friend Adrian Kenny there every weekend. About 1960 it would have been. This road and its housing was really a relic of the Second World War - emergency housing made from prefabricated materials (the buildings were known as 'prefabs') As usual, they lasted for much longer than was envisaged and would have eventually been cleared some years later. Lovely and warm they were!
Mrs Rhymes
I remember buying cottage loaves at Mrs Rhymes' bakery and being given a tiny one to eat on my way home. I also remember the paper cones of chips my brother bought me for 3d! I used to have three pence to spend in the sweet shop and the choice was so huge - I loved the little sweets that looked like sausages, peas and potatoes - great for doll's teas.
Days Gone by
This particular photo holds a lot of memories. Tthe bakery on the right hand side was owned by an old lady Mrs Rymes. My friend Di and I thought she was at least 100 years old back then! She used to sit in a chair in the corner of the shop, her son was the baker and the baking was done in a small building to the right of the shop just out of the picture. They used to sell the most beautiful (and warm!!) current buns at a 1p each and ohh they tasted so good. Over the road I remember was the Crown, just in the foreground, a funny little pub with an old Bottle and Jug where we as children were allowed in to buy Ginger Beer and we would take the bottles up the road to the rec (Park) just past the pub, and up the alley by the large square building (flats) in the background on the left.
Prefabs
I lived in Maryside in the prefabs until 1960 when we moved to the new Parlaunt Estate. Such great memories of the prefabs and its terrific close-knit community. Has anybody got any photos of Maryside from those times?
Where I Was Born
The photo of Minster Way is of the prefab where I was born.
Memories of Berkshire
Datchet Under Water 1947
1947 was the year that my parents, my sister and I moved to Datchet and the shops in this photo, taken 2 years before, are so familiar, even now. Not long after having moved here, the snow which had lain thickly on the ground for many weeks, began to thaw. The Thames eventually broke its banks, due to the volume of water now finding its way from further up river and the whole of the village green was under water. Our house, very fortunately, was not flooded but I can remember my parents taking up carpets and moving furniture upstairs (just in case) Also coming down to the water's edge by the International Stores and waiting for punts bringing food etc. across the water and the people trading from their boats. As no buses could get through to take us to school we had to be picked up by lorry and taken to the main road in Langley to pick up a bus for the rest... Read more
1947 Floods.
Born in 1944 at no 2, Waterworks Cottages (later 123, Slough Road) on the corner of Castle Avenue. I have vivid memories of the floods, though only three at the time: Mother, Father, Sister and Self were confined to the (very small) upstairs for many weeks, as when the water subsided, downstairs was of course thick with mud and assorted unsavoury objects! (no main drainage in those days). Mother had only a single gas ring upon which to cook, washing facilities were rudimentary, and toilet facilities consisted of one Elsan bucket! Supplies were delivered mainly by ex-army DUKW amphibious vehicles, with Village Bobby P.C. Burr in charge, and well I remember him shouting at me to stand away from the window, and, having failed to do so, being struck between the eyes by a then very substantial Mars bar which he had launched with Constabulary zeal! The R.A.F. came around with huge hangar heaters in an attempt to dry out downstairs, but of course everything had to be thrown out,... Read more
Move to Horton
I think it was about 1986 when I moved to Horton, I was around 7 years old. We only moved from Wraysbury Road near Staines but it may as well have been 500 miles, leaving all my friends that lived all along the road to moving to Horton. There wasn't that many kids in Horton back then. We moved into the house next door to the Five Bells pub, a large detatched 4 bed house, it felt like a mansion house. Darlaron was the name of the house because the owner of the house, Stan Errett's granddaughter, couldnt pronounce the real name...my mum and dad changed it to Forge Cottage. Horton has changed a lot in the years since I left. The pubs have had many different owners! A lot of new houses and apartments have been built. When I moved to Horton the close where my sister lived until 2011, Champney Close, was a paper mill. Me, my brother and our friends would jump the wall on the weekends... Read more
Slough Safety Town & The Teds
I remember going to Slough on a Saturday night in 1958. I was fifteen years old. My hair was well greased and combed back at the sides and ending in a D.A. at the back together a quiff at the front. I was dressed in my best jacket, which was far too big for me, but that was the style then, and with very tight drainpipe trousers. This had been done by a woman who charged me a mere five shillings for her work. I not only felt good, I looked sharp too. The effect was brought to perfection thanks to the almost new pair of crepe shoes my uncle gave me in a rare moment of generosity. I took the 81 bus to Slough and was flattered when the bus conductor told me I looked like Terry Dene, who was enjoying success at the time. I met a mate at Crown Corner who was similarly dressed, but without the... Read more
Taking A Tumble in 1960
Seeing this photo bought back painful memories! The year before this photo was taken I was in my usual rush to get from Slough Technical School to my home in Langley. This meant changing buses in Slough and if you were very lucky you could get off one bus and straight onto another. This day however, I saw a number 81 bus picking up riders at the Crown corner in the centre of town. I leapt off my bus and made a mad dash across the road, no doubt giving some drivers a bit of a scare in the process, and made a wild grab for the handle at the back of the bus as it pulled away. Unfortunately I just didn't have the strength to make that last jump onto the platform and had to let go. That was when my foot caught in a paving stone and I must have made a spectaular sight as I rolled over and over down the pavement. What hurt the most was... Read more
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