Hednesford Boyhood

A Memory of Hednesford.

I was born in Hednesford in 1948; the house behind the Valeting Service shop, (63 Market Street), close to the Lucas Lighting factory, (now the Lightworks business premises). Coincidentally I later worked for Lucas Lighting for 21 years from 1974, based in Cannock.
I also well remember Tribalis cafe / ice-cream parlor, and if I close my eyes I can still recall the smell of Melias grocery.
The first, (and only for many years), restaurant I went to was 'The Civic' with my mother, before or after visiting the Tivoli, where I was also a Saturday Club member. The photograph was very welcome, including as it does the Anglesey Hotel, where I celebrated the 1953 Coronation.
My Great-Aunt Hannah ran the 'junk-shop' in Market St. (it would be called an 'Antique Emporium' today), and I can also remember accompanying her to various house clearance sales / auctions
ALL 'spare-time' was spent playing on Hednesford Hills, around the War Memorial and Bomb Shelters, or in the Park returning home only for meals or refilling my Tizer bottle with water.
I attended West Hill school, and will post a photograph, and would love to relearn the names of fellow pupils. I lost personal contacts as I passed 11plus, attended Rugeley Grammar and my parents moved to Stafford for work in 1959 (as an adult I moved back to Cannock, about 3 miles from my birthplace).
Other memories from my time in Hednesford are:-
Attending 1st. Hednesford Cubs, camping in Beaudesert
Being taken to first meeting (I think), at Hednesford Hills raceway, (cinder track and speedway bikes on that occasion).
Being taken from my bed at a very early age, in the middle of the night, to watch a huge fire destroy Gee & Oakley garage.
Being taken to Cannock to hear Jenny Lee speak

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