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Sulhamstead Abbots
Sulhamstead Abbots maps
Historic maps of Sulhamstead Abbots and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Sulhamstead Abbots maps
Sulhamstead Abbots photos
We have no photos of Sulhamstead Abbots, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Burghfield Common| Mortimer Common| Theale| Stratfield Mortimer| Englefield| Silchester| Tilehurst| Bradfield| Woolhampton| Tadley| Reading| Pangbourne| Purley On Thames| Bramley| Brimpton| Mapledurham| Caversham| Hartley Wespall| Earley| Yattendon
Sulhamstead Abbots area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Sulhamstead Abbots and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Sulhamstead Abbots
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Berkshire memories
Life in Burghfield in The 1950s
The passageway led from Clayhill Road all the way through the village, and came out on the Reading Road, some 2 miles away, the passageway was used by us children daily as a short cut to school, and it went by the side of most people’s fields and the odd house.
Further down the passageway and at the top of a steep hill (looking down), was Mr Barker’s bungalow. My father told me once that one dark night during the Second World War, Mr Barker’s bungalow was hit by a stray bomb, apparently after a raid on London during the blitz in 1940, and on their way back to Germany, a plane jettisoned its remaining bombs in and around Burghfield. His house roof and walls were badly damaged, and although he had this repaired, you can still see the damage caused by the bomb and shrapnel.
I’m told you could see the distant lights and search lights high in the night sky that was used to strafe the... Read more
Mrs Blands School
We moved into School House in 1941 when my dad, Mr Halfpenny, took over as Headmaster. I was 3 and my sister Sheila 7. I loved living on the school premises and would creep into the infants class with my gas mask when the teacher, Mrs Carbine, wasn't looking so I could dive under a desk when they practised sheltering from an air raid. My younger sister, Christine, was born in School House in 1945 and brother, Keith, in 1948. I remember helping my mum to make huge bowls of jelly and blancmange for the school Christmas party every year. There was great excitement one night when Gregsons shop opposite the school was broken into by some boys from the borstal, not something that happened very often in the 1950s!
I too, remember Terry Clark, he and Keith were great friends and are still in touch after all these years. My best friend who lived in the close was Jenny Mars and we spent many hours playing in the... Read more
Burghfield Common
I was 1 of 9 children, we were placed at 83 Hunters Hill. I went to Garlands Schhool. My friends were Sharon Mallem, Jackie Baily, Jackie Bruce, Connie Sharky. I remember others ie the Farmers, Beals, Kemps, Longs,and more. We got the news a 4 bed house at Purley, mum and dad were really upset but needed more space, we left Burghfield. The years went by, I really missed Mr Biddof and his Christian books and the Wellers Van. My name was Debbie Judges, I was number 8, the others called Terry, Beverly, Sharron, Cherelyn, Martin, Ronnie, Tommy and Sonia. 1984 me and my partner Ady Walker had our first daughter Kirsty, and then Cheryl 13 and a half months later. 1986 I think October time we were placed at 38 Hunters Hhill, July 1987 we got married in the Methodist church on Burghfield Road and partied after at the hall. I became Debbie Walker, although referred by all as Mrs Walker, it was complete and marriage certificate a treasure.... Read more
Childhood
I was born in Blands school house in December 1945 where I lived with my eldest sisters Sheila and Janet and later my brother Keith. My mum looked after the children and my dad ran the school as headmaster, At the side of the house was a small gate leading into the playground, where I used to spend time talking to the children attending school. In the middle of the playground there was a very large metal bell which I clearly recall being hit by lightning on one occasion during a thunderstorm, a lot of the children in the nearby classroom were very upset. I had a very happy childhood and many wonderful memories. I can still visualise the firs where we all used to play, building campsite, going fishing in the local ponds for tadpoles and always spending lots of time exploring and having picnics on the common. I had a friend who lived on the edge of the common and she would let me play with her dolls... Read more
Music
We moved to Burghfield Common when my father started work as an MOD policeman at Burghfield. We moved into Bannister Road when the estate was still being built and I remember my mother saying that one day she opened the back door to find an adder on the doorstep. My sister Maureen & I went to Mrs Blands School when Mr Halfpenny and Miss Tanner were teaching. I remember that I always said I would have a car with the registration number OMO 21 just like Miss Tanner's. We had piano lessons from Mr Parlovich at home. He would come in and place a few sweets on the end of the keyboard and say 'if we were good with the lesson, we could have the sweets at the end' I don't remember not having the sweets. Although we attended church at St Mary's, Sulhampstead I went to Sunday School at Burghfield Common Methodist Church. A small group of us formed a choir and we would go around... Read more
The Lane Pauline Johnson
I used to walk to Blands School through the lane with my friend Jean Brookes, we would often stop outside the Clark's (Terry) house and climb up the bank where we could see Jean's house across the field. Then we would continue past the West's house (Peter). We were often late for school as you can imagine! The headteacher at Blands school was Mr Halfpenny, one of the teachers was Miss Tanner, a road leading of off Hollybush Lane was named after her. I remember Dauntless well, my mum worked there for a while in the 1960s, a few of the local lads got married to Wrens. I lived on Clayhill Road and my friend lived in the Close.
Memories of The Lane
I remember the Lane so well. Pauline Johnson and myself used to use it on a daily basis to go to school. We used to dawdle and chat and skip and tease the boys, Terry Clark and Alan Berry being two of the names that come to mind. We used to love the little stream that ran along the bottom and often stopped to look at the brown pebbles and the endless amount of frog spawn. I wonder, is that steam still there ? My friend Pauline and I must take a walk along there soon to check !
