Oxton memories
Here are memories of Oxton and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Oxton or a Oxton photo.
School Place Birkenhead
Does anyone remember School Place, Birkenhead? It was in Watson Street. Also does anyone remember the prefabs at the top of Garnet Street opposite Oak and Eldon Gardens?
Our Local Church
This photo was taken from against the wall of our property at 3 Bidston Road, where I grew up (1945-65). You can just see the shadow of the sycamore tree that stood at the top of the garden. This is the Bidston Road / Gerald Road / Townfield Lane junstion. The church and the cottage (2 Bidston Road) still reamin, all that is left of No3 is the sandstone wall. Note the gas light - this is about as far as street lighting had reached - it was quite safe to walk around at night in those days !! We were regular attenders at St Saviour's
My Local
The pub had only recently been rebuilt, the original haveing been flattened by an aerial mine in 1941, which also damaged St Saviour's, parts of which were still awiting repair. Until the rebuild it was an bomb site and used to play there. The property behind the photographer was also hit and had been demolished. New properties were built in the 1950s (5, 7, 9 Bidston Road). Even in the early 1960s there was still extensive bomb damage visible in Birkenhead, serving to remind one of the terrible bombing the area had received during the Second World War. I suspect that is Colonel Perry's Bentley! He used to drive it 200 or 300 yards down Bidston Road to go to the pub!
Our Local Play Area
The Arno used to be our local play area. We used to take water and jam butties. We would be there most of the day.
Rosemount
I used to work in a greengrocer's shop on Rosemount in Oxton. The shop was owned by Mr Samuel Wharton. He had a sister (I can't remember her name) and her husband owned the butcher's shop which was also in Oxton, although I can't remember which road it was on. It may have been Christchurch. When I first started working there, I was very nervous of the customers because they all seemed so posh to me, a Tranmere girl, but they were all very friendly and made me feel very welcome. Although Mr Wharton was the owner, the shop was managed by a lady called Barbara May, who later became Mrs Adams when she married her fiancee Fred Adams. I worked there for about 3 years then went to work in another greengrocer's shop on Borough Road.
Our Home
We moved to live in Oxton Birch Close. Happy memories of this house. Both my daughters spent their teenage years here. I also had my son here to bringing him home from Arrowe Park Hospital.
Memories of Merseyside
1960's Tunnel Memories
I clearly remember these Land Rover "Tunnel Patrol" vehicles although I was only 7 in 1965. I thought that they were real Police vehicles (were they labelled "Tunnel Police" I wonder?) and I remember being puzzled by the cream colour as ordinary Police vehicles were either all white or sky-blue with white doors. My family used to visit my grandmother (who lived in Tranmere) virtually every week and my Dad used to play a game on the way home with me and my mother when it was dark. It was called "How Many Cars in the Tunnel Without Lights?". Each of us had to guess a number for how many cars would be seen in the tunnel without any lights on, and the closest to the actual total, won. You were supposed to leave your lights on (sidelights I recall) but many people turned their lights off as the interior of the tunnel was quite brightly lit. In those days the branch tunnels used to be "open" more often than... Read more
Tunnel Road Memories
I lived in number 9 Tunnel Road which is still there today. It's the road running from the side of the flyover at the bottom of Chester Street to access the tunnel. Me and my brother and sisters played every day on the top (as we called it), this is where the gardens were situated right at the mouth of the tunnel. We would use white pavement chalk to draw a house on the ground and pick sods from the grass and sell them as cabbage to play shop. We would play whip and top and the lads would play kick the can (football only with an old can they had found) to amuse themselves, as they couldn't afford footballs in them days. We would play allio and we would play on the old coaches that used to get dumped on the bottom field at the bottom of Tunnel Road. The kids from Tunnel Road, Egerton Street and Getley Street would have stone (Jokker ) fights in November so we... Read more
Days of my Childhood
As young children my nanna would frequently walk my sister and I up to the Arno to play in the rough ground behind the rose garden. That was way back in the 1950's. She would sit and spend quiet time in the gardens whilst we ran and played like banshees. Later on we would go there with friends to play in the hills and bushes away from the watchful eyes of adults. My last visit as teenager was on the day we finished our A levels, when a group of us quite spontaneously headed up there. Perhaps it was a subconscious goodbye to a childhood that was so peaceful and idyllic and safe.
In 2003 I returned from Australia for my mother's funeral and was amazed and overjoyed to see it more or less unchanged. I can now appreciate the Rose Gardens and I sat in silence, enjoying the solitude and sanctuary, catching glimpses of so many happy childhood days. We were indeed blessed.
Halfway House ...
After two ''BIG C'' scares and an operation I finally managed to get back to the HALFWAY HOUSE (Sept 09)....seemed just like yesterday Steve and Kim were so friendly...How the area had changed oxton school had gone also Birkenhead Instit
I used to live next door at 295 (now demolished) to Halfway House on Woodchurch Road. I still have vivid memories of being taken into pub cellars from the age of about 3 to 4 during frequent air raids around 1941, surrounded by many neighbours, drinking lots of tea, and the landlord (the Murches). I left the area before being old enough to enjoy a drink, although I was often sent to the 'offee' for a half bottle of port. I have happy memories of the ARNO and junior school alongside. I would love to return one day before it's all too late.
Farewell to Birkenhead
This was where my 'farewell' party was held before I emigrated to Canada. Many old schoolfriends, co-workers and family came to wish me luck!! and I'm still here in Canada 42 years later!!
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