The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here:

Mytchett memories

Here are memories of Mytchett and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Mytchett or a Mytchett photo.

Mytchett Post Office

My family moved to the post office in Mytchett Road in 1956 when I was six. I used to catch the bus at the bus stop opposite to go to Ash Vale Primary School. Yes, on my own, clutching my penny ha'penny bus fare and reciting in my head 'half to Ash Vale please'. I came home for lunch on the bus too. As I got older my friend and I would save the fare by walking home and spend the money in Mr Hudson's fish and chip shop - he also sold cheap sweets. Next door was a hardware shop (Eades) and a bit further towards the Miners Arms and Frimley Green there was a big white building that was a cafe. We used to run along there to get ice cream sometimes. Opposite was Rorkes Drift, a gravel road where I learned to ride my first bike. A large overspill council estate for bombed out Londoners was built up here but I remember a large disused garden,... Read more

Early Days

I was born at home in Coleford Bridge Road in 1935 and grew up there, went to school in Frimley and lived in Mytchett until emigrating to Australia in 1964. In those early days life seemed very simple, only a handful of cars, making street cricket safe. Every body walked, our nearest shops were through the bridle path to the main Mytchett road, there we found Days Store, Dawes the butcher and on the other side of the road was Eades the shoemender and the Post Office, where I had a post office savings account as I grew up. Outside the shops was the bus stop for the Aldershot & District Traction Co (green) bus service between Aldershot & Woking and the yellow bus service between Guildford (I think) & Camberley. The nearest train station was Ash Vale, Southern Rail to London (Waterloo). I remember that the train arrival times coming back never tied up with the bus, so most times we had to walk home. There were two farms... Read more

My Father's Past

My father was born in 1922 at Coleford Farm Cottage, Mytchett, Frimlet, to his unmarried mother Hilda May Hockley. She married my father's dad a month after my dad's birth. My father's name was Henru Reuben Fisher. My dad's father was also Henry Fisher. They lived together with my dad's mother and father. My dad's mother was also born in Mytchett Farm, Frimley, which I believe is the in the same place as my father was born. My dad's mum's dad was John Matthew Hockley and her mother was Harriet Ellen Hockley, nee Gunner, so the family lived at Coleford Farm for some time. I would love to know more of them and where they lived as we know very little. I am not sure where my dad went to school. He moved while young to Farnborough. I know he had brothers called George, Robert, and I think there was a Ronald too, but am not sure, and two sisters, which I am sure were Dorothy and Olive.

Mytchett Road.

My aunt and uncle used to own a large old house in Mytchett Rd. It had a long driveway leading down to an orchard and fields, where my cousins and I would spend many happy hours. In one field was a large pond with a willow tree on the bank.The geese, led by the gander, would often walk down the drive and round to the pond. Occasionally they would take a short-cut through the bushes which led to the pond, the one time we were sitting in there! The gander wasn't exactly 'friendly', so there was only one way out for us, straight into the pond! The pond and the fields have long gone, but the willow tree still stands in what is now the playground of the local primary school.

Memories of Surrey

My Grandparent's Home

Old Cottage 1906
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

I received  information from my cousin Leslie about this photo. Now that I have found it I am delighted. My grandparents were Thomas Benjamin Fairminer (1881-1954) who married Louisa Florence Smith (1880 - 1944). They raised 11 children, some of them at Bedford Lane. Their birth dates range from 1900 to 1924. My mother Florence Louisa (known as Ciss) was born in 1905. I remember visiting Bedford Lane as a very young child, one of my mother's brothers, Alfred, lived a couple of houses down. A Mr D F Richardson shared information about this photo in April 2006. He says that he went to school with one of Mr Fairminer's sons, who must have been one of my uncles. I wonder which one it was? I am researching my mother's family and this is a lovely piece of information for me to include. During my research I have been able to get in touch with a number of cousins, many of them and their families still live in Frimley Green... Read more

Blast From The Past.

Old Cottage 1906
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

Wow, did that ever shake me to the core. The names Richardson and Fairminer, Long and a few others sprang to mind as fellow pupils at the local Primary School. In those days I lived in Worsley Road. I can remember fishing the Basingstoke canal at Frimley Green and seeing the last barge go by which I beleive was scuttled just before the flight of locks. I have lived and worked in the area for a number of years but now retired, live just outside Basingstoke. Any past friends and aquaintances are welcome to contact me. My email is chipieman@msn.com and I look forword to reading more.

Barrow Hill School, Frimley

I come from Battersea, SW London. My mother sent me to Barrow Hill School when I was 8 years old, I stayed there for 3 years. We lived in dormitories. The head master at that time was Mr Churchill. I had a nice time there, sports day was good. My mother used to come and visit me. There were places there where we used to venture out. The army used to leave all their ammunition lying around, it was out of bounds to us kids. It would be nice to have some pictures of the old school then if anybody has got any please email me.

Frimley Green Memories

My Dad was Charles Cheyne, the village chemist in Frimley Green - famous for his cough medicine - the report in the local Camberley News when he died in 1963 reported "It was dark brown in colour and had no name.  Word spread far and wide about Mr Cheyne's cough cure, and soon people were sending for his medicine by post from as far away as Gibraltar and Holland."  My Mum was Joan Jarman - the local District Nurse, and one can only guess how she and my dad got together - bearing in mind their professions!  I have lovely memories of living over the shop - and particularly our telephone number there - Deepcut 5!  Dad had moved to Frimley Green in 1928 and opened his own chemist shop at 261 Frimley Green Road - it is still a Pharmacy today, but owned by a large chain rather than private.  I would love to hear from anybody who remembers my Mum or Dad, and the time when Frimley Green... Read more

After The War

I lived at 257 Frimley Green Road- where Warrens' garage now stands - 1942 to 1954. There was an air-raid shelter on the Green which we watched being demolished.  Every Nov 5th there was a gigantic bonfire on the Green, fired by paraffin donated by Percy Warren; squaddies would come down from Deepcut and add to the tumult, one year detonating the Gents at the Rose & Thistle. Whenever I'm in the south I have a wander round the village, which has changed remarkably little; even The Mons is still there (or was in 2006) run by Mr Clapshaw, later by Mr Heap, who was one of the few shopkeepers who didn't object (usually with good reason) to the village boys. My  friends were Anthony Harrison, Geoffrey & Mervyn Ellis, Chris Dawes, the Warren twins, Ron ("Freckleface") Riley...any of them still alive?

Memorybank total

We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.

You've shared 26,144 memories of 5,728 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!

Browse memories button

Find Memories

Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.

Start by searching for your favourite places

Tips & Ideas

Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:

How does it feature in your personal history?

What are your best memories of this place?

How has it changed over the years?

How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?

Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?

Start now!

It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.

Your memories

To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here

I Remember When...

I Remember When

This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.

A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.

Learn more button Save 25% on I Remember When when you order now!
Home > Explore your past > Mytchett > Memories of Mytchett

© Copyright 1998-2012 Frith Content Inc. All rights reserved.