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Brighton, from the West Pier 1902
Brighton, from the West Pier 1902 Ref: 48497
Memories of Brighton, from the West Pier
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Year: 1977
Day Out Shopping.
As a child during the 1970s I used to live in Burgess Hill (10 miles away) with my parents and younger brother David. I remember being very small and my mother taking us to Brighton on the stagecoach bus with our next door neighbours. Both women loved to shop and us four children had to go along for the ride. As we passed Preston Park we always counted the 'pudding trees' (because they were shaped like christmas puddings!) which ran along the side of the road. Also I remember that the rock gardens on the right always looked like a magical place to me as a child and I imagined fairies and such like, but we never got off the bus there. We got off the bus at the old Churchill Square and that is where we stayed all day being dragged around a variety of shops.. I did use to like the big old Gamleys in the arcade though (great for Sindy stuff!). We went to the same place everytime for a snack, I think it was Forfars at the side of the square. I remember once tearing around the square of benches that were by Western Road with my neighbour, and tripping. I very nearly broke my nose on the paving slabs and there was blood everywhere! Never seen my Mum panic so much but it all calmed down evenually after the bleeding abated. After our day we all piled back onto the bus so that the women would be home in time to make tea for our Dads when they got in from work. I absolutely love shopping now, must have inherited that from my mother. Last edited: 11/03/2008 10:12 by Angela Green |
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Year: 1930s
Growing Up In World War Ii
I was born to Jewish parents whom had a ladies clothes shop in Kensington Gardens (The Lanes) my Father died in 1941, My Mother now a very young widow decided she wanted us all to live above the shop because of bombs etc, it had 2 rooms upstairs which we used as bedrooms, a small room we used as a dining/living room, with gas fire which she told us if the Germans invaded we would sit in front of it and turn it on, she was terrified as we were all girls and Jewish, NO bathroom, we went once a week to the public baths How Awful UGH!, toilet out side in the yard next to the coal cellar, kitchen downstairs, real spooky, I remember running to the air raid shelter during the night, which was around the corner in another street, everyone took something down there to eat, it was like a picnic, we eventually got tired of that stayed in bed and hoped for the best, I remember the Butcher,Grocer, Fish and Chip shop, and a few other shops, OH of course the sweet shop, and the rationing books coupons for everything, I use to dream of when the war was over I would go and buy such a lot of sweets and just eat and eat, HA HA I haven't done that yet, Going to the pictures, the serials we all looked forward to, when an air raid warning was shown on the screen a lot of people left but my Mother always told us never leave go under the seats, people panic and we may be trampled on Of course the beaches had barbed wire all across them , so we couldn't go to the beach, we didn't go swimming at all, school wasn't too bad, I never did like it, , the Hippodrome Theatre was opposite the school where we took shelter during Air raids, we all had to stay in lines walk across quietly. at first was fun missed lessons, teachers got clever took work down with them. After the war we use to go tea dancing at Sherry's, dancing at the Regent , although I was still very young, I loved Jitter bugging. After a few years living above the shop we moved to a house in Hove, we had a Anderson shelter (I think it was called that) in our lounge an Iron shaped contraption with a gate in front, where we use to sleep, because of the air raids, it wasn't big enough for 5 of us so my Mother and I slept on top, which wouldn't have been much help if a bomb would have hot our house, when I grew up I asked her why she had me sleep on top with her she said she had no idea why, we use to laugh at this. August 1947 my Mother Emigrated to South Africa of course with her 4 daughter's, she actually regretted emigrating and wished we had stayed in UK, she unfortunately didn't have enough money to return so we stayed, I married had children whom Emigrated to America, so that is where I am living now. I would love to correspond with anyone brought up during the War Days, I love to reminisce, anyone interested to write to me please do. I still feel very British and always will be. Ann Posted: 22/09/2007 19:14 by Anita Lewis |
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 Brighton, Eastern Terrace c1955 (ref: b208069) |
Year: 1930s
Teacher Training College
The building in the corner was Brighton Teacher Training College. The building at right angles in the distance was a hotel. My mother Florence Starkey was studying in the Teacher Training College top floor and looked out of the window across the angle into the side window of the curved bay hotel window to see a woman hovering strangely in the shadow of the back of the room. Their eyes met. She looked away and as she did so the woman threw herself from the window and was impaled on the area railings below, directly next to the College's entrance. All the students were confined to the College for hours whilst the 6 foot section of railing was sawn out. One can still see only the top rail was crudely welded back. This may also explain why the windows are blocked. One small anonymous tragedy. Last edited: 27/10/2008 12:34 by Wolstan Dixie |
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Crescent Road
We moved to Brighton in 1959 and my parents Pat and Jim Webb bought a house here after spending their honeymoon here (lived in Dulwich). I remember when there were very few cars parked in the road and we could always play safely out on the street. Nowadays cars are parked top to tail in both directions! We lived at no 3 and there used to be a big field behind our house and my brother and I would go scrumping for apples! Sorry if they were your apples! We also hid in the long grass in that field and made camps with other kids from the area. Back in the 60's we were not allowed to play out on the street on a Sunday - and there were NO shops open anywhere. The Salvation Army band used to come round twice a day and play hymns on the corner of the road. We lived pretty close to the abbatoir in Hollingdean Lane (soon to be a waste dump - great) and often could hear the animals cries, see the lorries taking them in to be slaughtered - and the smells. Not nice. One day a bull escaped and I remember looking out of the lounge window and seeing it running around the corner - with half a dozen blokes chasing after it with sticks! They shot it in the coal yard at the bottom of Princes Road, I was quite upset about this. Snow, we used to get snowdrifts right up and over our front door and Dad would have to dig us out! The Corona man used to come around once a week with bottles of colourful fizzy pop, my favourite was Cherryade! In those days the local pubs, Victoria and the Roundhill used to have little areas called Off Sales, and my brother and I spent many hours sitting in there with a bag of crisps and a lemonade! In Ditchling Road I remember the old fashioned chemist shop, it had big glass bottles in the window full of coloured water and inside there were many, many little wooden drawers filled with all kinds of potions and lotions, the shop had a strange smell to it. The Days had an upholstery shop, choc-a-bloc with material and wool and stuff, the Daltons had the local papershop (my Father married Nancy Dalton after Mum died). I loved growing up in the area. The Downs school was our school, and Mum was a lollypop lady for a while. I had many happy memories of these times - do you? Some of the friends I made are Lesley and Sally Rowland, Julie Weston (brother Paul and Sean) Patricia who lived in the garage! Her Dad was a taxi driver! Penny Crumpler who lived further down the road. Karen London who lived next door for a time.........and of course I had my first kiss in the doorway of Crescent Road - not saying who with though!! Last edited: 31/07/2007 11:04 by Anne Webb |
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Family Tree Information
My grandfather's family lived in Brighton/Hove near Seven Dials and attended Belgrave Road Congregational Church. Their surname was WOOD and his forenames were WALTER EDWARD. He had a brother PERCY and sisters ADA, POLLY and AGNES. His father (my great grandfather) was reputed to have been very tall and also to have held the position of Head Postmaster in Brighton/Hove. This would have been around 1890 onwards approx. Last edited: 20/06/2006 16:08 by Frances Curwood (nee Wood) |
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