Roud, Isle Of Wight

Family Holidays in the 1950s

I was born in 1942 and brought up in Walthamstow in NE London. We were a working class family and Dad always managed to provide us with 2 weeks' holiday somewhere. How we came to holiday in Wroxall is still a bit of a mystery. Neither Mum nor Dad had ever been to the Isle of Wight before. In August 1952... [more]

Grandmother's abode

At the bottom of the hill on the right I believe that tall building belonged to the local bakers. The low building next to it - this side of the bakers - is a thatched cottage where my grandmother lived. My mother grew up here. The cottage housed around 3/4 families but it has now been made into... [more]

Ventnor

I was born in Ventnor and although I have lived in Kent for many years Ventnor will always be "My home".

Grandad's war days and our family hols

My grandfather was stationed on the island "During the War"and was very friendly with a family from Arreton called Hendy. The mother's name was Lil and the father was affectionally called"Tit" (because he was quite small). After the war, my gramps and all the family visited Aunt Lil and Uncle Tit quite frequently. Tit grew his own veg in a back... [more]

An Arreton childhood

I lived in Arreton from birth until my marriage.  My family consisted of Dad and Mum, my sister Gill, my paternal grandparents and a retired infant teacher Miss Muskett. She taught me at home before I began school at the village CE school where I remained from 1936-1942.  Headmaster was Mr White known to us all as Skipper White. At school... [more]

The Londoner rickt@pdq.net

I wonder if any one remembers the cockney kid Fred, who moved into "The Elms" back in 55 at the wonderful age of 15, went to school in Sandown for almost a year until graduation, ended up with the Royal Mail until I eventually returned to London went on to Manchester and then the rest of the world in the oil... [more]

Our Cottage in Carisbrooke

Lived there for just one year.

Fletchers Pond

I first used to cycle to this school - which was split between Newport Priory Boys' Secondary Modern School and Carisbrooke Grammar School - in 1961. The long, low building to the left of the picture was the Priory Boys' School, the taller building to the right was the Grammar.
Every day I cycled from my home in Clatterford Road, round... [more]