International Stores

A previous shared memory recalling International Stores reminds me that my father worked there, as a roundsman. He would cycle every day from Leiston,  then do the equivalent all over again in Saxmundham, several times a day as he delivered groceries.

He had his own band - he played piano - and met my mother, Joan Spatchet, at a dance in the Market Hall.  They married in 1937, my sister Ann was born a year later and I arrived on February 23rd 1944 - just a few weeks after my father was killed on a bombing raid over Germany on January 1/2nd, when his plane was attacked by a night fighter. Two years ago we travelled to Germany from our home on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border, and with the help of a local journalist, the Mayor of Weyhausen, and the townsfolk, we found the crash site of his plane. It was in a forest and has been left undisturbed, with the Mayor pledging to place flowers on the site every year.

I've always considered Saxmundham my home and visit at least once a year for my "dose of Sax".

Some other events I recall - the Queen Mother arriving for the Suffolk Show (then held in Saxmundham), catching newts in the pond near the recreation ground, and Saxmundham Primary School (still only just standing on my last visit, awaiting a use). Teacher Mr Foster had a violin and thought he could play music. Aargh!  We were also one of the first schools to have a new climbing frame - known as "the apparatus".  Elf and safety would condemn it today.

One of the teachers used to tie our thumbs together and make us stand by the fire if we were naughty. I was always there.  I remember Headmaster Mr Bettenson, who was still alive and kicking just a few years ago and is probably still.

I was also a keen train spotter and I remember those glorious occasions when Britannia steamed into Sax station. What an engine, still going strong today, though mostly retired.

Then there was Backhouses - the grocery shop where service was the key word. It had a lovely smell of tea and coffee, which I can still recall today.

I'd be pleased to hear from anyone from the town on john.g.fisher@btinternet.com