The Benthills c1955, Sizewell
The Benthills c1955, Sizewell Ref: S582004
Memories of The Benthills c1955, Sizewell
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Sizewell & local memories
Read and share memories of Sizewell and Suffolk inspired by Frith photos.
Uncle Jack's
My family are the Frees from Leiston. There are too many to mention but my dad is Harry and my Uncle Sperry is mentioned in a few people's memories. We were so fortunate to be able to spend all our summers at Uncle Jack Fryer's cottage. We stayed there from the 1960s until he sadly passed away. Jack was always smiling and nothing was ever a bother. Living at the cottage was basic but oh so comfortable, the log fire in the front room blaring through the summer and the winter. Then dashing outside with your torch to the loo(which occasionally you shared with some furry friends!). I loved that place. Uncle Jack, Noel and Willie are just a few names I remember from all my time there. I also remember the rabbits in the field behind the cottage, the rope swing in the woods. Everything about Sizewell was magical. The memories are all good ones. By the time I was 8 I could easily skin and gut a fish, a... Read more
Camping on The Benthills
I too, as others, have many fond memories of holidays in Sizewell. During summer school holidays I travelled from Scotland to London to be with my grandparents. They were well connected with Sizewell and would take me there for their annual holiday camping at the foot of the Benthills just below where the power station is now. The Gunthers House surrounded by a wall did not stop me from sampling the wonderful apples from their tree. I remember my grandmother taking me for a walk through the pine trees where the power station is now, and showing me the ruins of a cottage where she lived during the war when my grandad was away serving in the Royal Navy submarines. It is very true about the blackberries big as gobstoppers, I collected metal buckets full of them for selling to a local farm for pocket money. Uncle Jack Fryer, the local fisherman and his brother Tom, and their mother Mabel have all passed on now but they are still fresh... Read more
Sizewell Holiday.
As a kid I spent a couple of August weeks in Sizewell, staying in a timber-built bungalow just before the rise leading up to what is now the Power Station. The little bungalow was set back off the (dirt) road, and had no running water - we went to a pump for water - and no electricm and my mum cooked on a paraffin stove. The bungalow was owned by my uncle, Ted Titlow, who had a newsagent's and hardware business in nearby Leiston. I believe this business is still in the family. Between bungalow and beach a pair of brothers, Fryer, kept a number of old motor cars which were just rotting away in the elements. These motors were generally vintage 1920 and, bless the Friars, they never minded us kids climbing over them and having a whale of a time. The sun always shone, and we often ate shrimps caught locally by Sid Booty who boiled them in his hut on the beach - we bought them by... Read more
Father's Birth
My father was born in 1916 at 88 Sizewell Road Leiston, and lived there with his parents Marmaduke and Kathleen and brother Alec. He was apprenticed as a printer in Leiston I believe. His grandmother lived in Sizewell. I would love to hear from anybody who has any memories of these people. Thank you.
Thorpeness Mill 1942 to 1957
My father Ted Friend was the millwright at Thorpeness for many years, he worked on the Ogilvie estate, and we lived at Thorpe Road. He and I would often walk on a Sunday afternoon around the mill, and Dad would tell me stories of when he worked there. I also remember him talking about the sandpit at Sizewell - his first wife and two of his three daughters by his first marriage are buried in the Baptist Chapel graveyard at Aldringham, Dad is buried in St Andrew's churchyard.
Workers at The Power Station
My family, the Lasts, lived in Leiston and worked at the Sizewell Power Station during 1965-66. They were good friends with Andy Bell who also worked at the Power Station inspecting the welding of the pipes. If anyone knows of any further information regarding the Last family and/or Andy Bell, I would love for you to let me know.
My Place of Birth
I was born in No 5 The Coastguards at Sizewell in 1950 (before they put another house on the end). My parents were teachers and I had two sisters and a brother. I played all along the front and in the big sand pit in front of the houses. The Morbys and the Warners lived in the houses. I have sat outside the Vulcan with a packet of crisps and a Vimto while Father had a pint. I now live in Aldeburgh and work at Sizewell A Power station.
1969 - I Lived in Sizewell And Grew up There
I lived in Coastguard Cottages and used to play in the village with Tim Carl Pryior. Jack Fryer, Noal Cattermole, Willie Free, Paul harrison were the local fishermen, we used to wait for them to arrive on the beach to help with the fish boxes. Frank Taylor was the car park attendant, we called him 'Peanuts' because he ate monkey nuts all day and shells laid everywhere. As kids we walked the beach to collect coal, wood and anything else the sea would bring. I can also remember the sweet shop in the Benthills, it was a great treat to go there. We used to walk to Sizewell Hall, Mr Wattison used to throw us 50 pence as a treat when he won on the horses, for sweets. We had many a great time as kids in the village and we still chat about it.
