Frogmoor, High Wycombe

A Memory of High Wycombe.

I arrived in High Wycombe in as a young girl in 1946, from Scotland. I attended St. Bernard's Convent school. It was situated in a very large old house on the London Road, across from the Rye. We wore school uniforms, green color, which changed to maroon later. The nuns were very strict. But we got a good education. We played field hockey on school property on Daws Hill, walked up Marlow Hill to get to it. After I left school I worked on Frogmoor. First at The Repertory Theatre, I was a secretary for The Director, a Mr. Gibson. Then I changed jobs and worked for an Accountant, Mr. Rowland, on Frogmoor. He was a great man to work for. We had no adding machines, we totalled all the books with a pencil and our brains. I moonlighted at The Palace Theatre also on Frogmoor as a Waitress and an Usher. I was saving money to go to USA where my brother and sister were. I liked Frogmoor! The buses all circled around it, it was full of activity. There was a Newsagent there, I used to buy cheese rolls there on my lunch hours, and Aero bars for my boss (his favourite). A shoe shop on the corner where as kids we bought our Clarks sandals. I wandered around town on my lunch hour. Cut through a lane by Frogmoor to get to Murrays store. Went through the Parish Church path to High Street. I liked to go into Lyons for tomato soup and a crusty roll, and a dish of ice cream on my way. Also the bookstore on High Street was a favourite stop. I had a friend who worked at The Bucks Free Press office might stop in there. Went to the Town Hall dances on weekends, also The Liberal Hall dances down from The Town Hall on Tuesdays I believe. We had fun in those days (mid 50's). Remember hearing Bill Haley's "Rock around the Clock" in a movie Theatre The Rex? right by Frogmoor, some people got up in the aisles and danced to it. Also heard Elvis Presley for the first time in a cafeteria across from the Train Station, can't remember its name. It was a white 2-story building and they played music through loudspeakers. When it came on it was so unusual every one paid attention and listened to "You Ain't Nothing but a Hound dog" and of course we know what a legend Elvis became. So many memories of Wycombe...coming home from work in a double decker bus with the fog so bad, the conductor got out in front of the bus with a flashlight and led the driver slow like a snail. Rolling Easter Eggs down a hill at West Wycombe near The Ball. Living on Abercrombie Ave for a while and playing with spinning tops and a whip in the street with groups of kids. Playing with "Conkers". There was a woodyard there, and when it closed we all climbed in and played hide and seek all over the piles of wood. Saturday mornings we would go to a cartoon matinee at The Grand on Desborough Rd. The buses didn't run early on Sundays, so we would walk all the way into town to Church from Booker where we moved to after Abercrombie Ave. Sometimes we would walk through woods up to Booker Common and there was a pub backed up to the woods named "Live and Let Live" with a hanging sign of a Cat staring at a mouse. The message stayed with me. Loved the old pubs, we'd get taken into a side room for Tizer and crisps as children sometimes. Wycombe was a great place to grow up. I now live in the USA, but have been back many times but not since the 80's. It had changed so much but everything does, but the memories of the good times stay.