Nostalgic memories of New Milton's local history

Share your own memories of New Milton and read what others have said

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.

Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.

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Add a Memory!

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

Tips & Ideas

Not sure what to write? It's easy - just think of a place that brings back a memory for you and write about:

  • How the location features in your personal history?
  • The memories this place inspires for you?
  • Stories about the community, its history and people?
  • People who were particularly kind or influenced your time in the community.
  • Has it changed over the years?
  • How does it feel, seeing these places again, as they used to look?

This week's Places

Here are some of the places people are talking about in our Share Your Memories community this week:

...and hundreds more!

Enjoy browsing more recent contributions now.

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After we twins had learned to ride our bicycles, the family would ride north into the New Forest to a picnic area at Wooton Stream. My youngest brother may have been on the pannier seat of my Mum's bike, with the dog trying to keep up with us. The main attraction for us kids and family dog was the stream in which were nimble minnows aplenty. Some local photographer caught a picture of us all avidly pursuing our ...see more
The Waverley Cinema was located on Station Road at the junction of Barton Court Road - it was a 'flea-pit' - however, it was local and within a short walk. Every Saturday morning, they would show the children's program, which generally were a climactic serial film and cartoons, and the Pathe News films. The first film that I remember attending was about a headless stage coach driver up to nefarious ...see more
My mother was born in Eastleigh in the 1940's, my grandmother was born 1895 nearby and lived in the family home in Manor road. Great grandfather Cox built the house and was allowed to set his pigs free to roam in the forest and graze. Any cox relatives left in the area? Or Stride is another branch - I am descended from them and am Scottish from Stirlingshire..Slange. ps I have photos and paintings of the house and of the Cox family members.
My younger twin brother Roger seems to have memories of his "Uncle Tom" of which I am unaware. My "Uncle Tom" was a Hants and Dorset bus conductor/driver. After Gore Road Elementary School finished for the day and my mother to be rid of squabbling kids in her hairdressing business office, would give us three-pence each to go home on the bus, and told us to make sure "Tom" put us off the bus at our stop. I remember Roger ...see more
Being the offspring of parents otherwise engaged, and only partially supervised by a succession of Nannies, whose only concern was that we should be clean and respectably dressed when we got up to mischief, we were members of a local 'gang' called the Secret Army. Our aim was to be a Secret Underground Army, so that in time of need we could go bush, and defend King and Country against ...see more
Running down from Barton Common is a small river called Becton Bunny. This occupied the local gang of unsupervised children caled the Secret Army for many summer days, building substantial dams, which eventually burst sending a rush of yellow water and mud towards unsuspecting sun worshippers on the beach. We dug caves into the cliff, and somehow avoided being buried. One day we found a ...see more
During the early Second World War years there was considerable construction along the Barton beach and the cliff top to hinder any possible designs of the dastardly twins on our rural paradise. These constructions used to be a major playground for the Secret Army, a dozen or so local kids, growing old in Barton without parental supervision or a Disneyland. As a child allowed to survive formative years without the ...see more
My parent's business on Whitefield Road backed onto the sidings of the rail station. The coal wagons were shunted onto a track alongside the public pathway. The Coal Merchants had their office shacks on the entrance way to the station. Every day the coal lorries would back up to the coal wagons, and the coal gangs would shovel coal into jute sacks and fill up their lorries with the days deliveries. The ...see more
The Town Library was located across the road from Burgess' news agent/bookstore, the source of my Tiger and Eagle weekly comics - as a young library member I plowed my way along the Biggles Air Ace library shelves, and through the Enid Blighton's Adventure series which my brothers also shared with me - these books sparked our young imaginations and no doubt were the inspiration of many of our adventures - ...see more
I remembering exploring the back streets of New Milton, Ashley, Bashley and Barton on Sea on my bike as a 10 year old. Phelps supermarket was mum's main food shopping weekly destination. Burgess News Agency was where she would buy our weekly comic. My siblings would cherish their weekly read. I had 'Topper' while my brothers and sister had 'Beano', 'Victor' and 'Tammy'. I remember the excitement of ...see more