Sunnyhill Camp

Pastures Hospital c1955
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

In 1959 I moved with my mother and father from Portsmouth to Sunnyhill in Derby, an adventure at my age of only 10 years. My father was in the Ministry of Defence Police, and we settled into an address called Sunnyhill Camp, an address that ran parallel to Sunnyhill Avenue. The camp was completely derelict, and consisted of row after row of old army huts over a very large area. The houses were all Police married quarters and housed officers that were based in the depot at Sinfin Lane. They accessed the depot from Colleridge Street along a small cul-de-sac and over the four track railway line. At the age of ten, the camp was what every boy dreamed of. We all had access to the whole area, and it was a world of adventure. In and out of the buildings, along the roof spaces and under the floors, there was no healyh and safety then, we played all day and had the bruises to prove it. Some fifty years later I still have some of the scars to remind me of the scrapes. A Wall's ice cream man peddled his cart along most days, his name was simply Georgie, and we all looked forward to his coming each day, and it was at that time that we were first treated to raspberry ripple ice-cream, none has ever tasted so good since then. I often think back to those happy days, and often wonder what happened to the boys and girls that played there until I sadly moved back to Portsmouth in 1961. I have never been able to find any history or photos of the camp or found anybody who lived there at that time. The camp is now part of a large housing area and has been fully developed, but on two subsequent visits I was pleased to see that the married quarters remained, now part of Staunton Avenue I believe. I would love to hear from anybody with pictures or memories of that era or in the years just prior or after 1960 until the development started.