My Childhood In Godstone 1944 1959

A Memory of Godstone.

I was born in Eastbourne Road, in a house opposite the sand pits and the common. My name was Wendy Mitchell. With my sisters and brother I would spend hours picking bluebells and primroses and climbing trees there. At the bottom of our garden across a small field was Leigh woods which had a stream running through it. We would cross the stream via a fallen tree at what was known as Diana's fountain and we would play in the stream on hot summer days and collect chestnuts in the woods there later in the year. I'm sure that it is probably still much the same there today and that the same things are done by children today.

I walked up Church Lane to school each day and sometimes after school I would walk down The Bay to the village to buy sweets or a comic in Fitters opposite The Green or in Bookers the newsagent. Next door to Barnards, who I think also delivered coal, was a fish and chip shop where 4d would buy a large portion of chips with scraps.

On Saturdays I walked into the village to collect my gran's pension and to do her shopping for which she gave me a shilling. Eventually I progressed to a bike which made the journey much easier.

The photos of St Nicholas's Church brought back a lot of emotion for me as in 1948, when I was just 4 years old, my father died and he is buried in the cemetery there.

There is a lot I could write about Godstone and the people that I knew there and I hope that other people add their comments to this site and keep the memories of 'Glorious Godstone' alive.

I live in the Canary Islands now and love my life here but I will never forget the village where my life began.

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