Sutton/Carshalton In The 50's

A Memory of Sutton.

We lived in a block of flats, Weihurst Court, Carshalton Rd. This was at the top of Ringstead Road, where the trolley buses came up this steep hill. As a child it was fun to watch when the arms of the trolley came off the wire and the driver had to get off and sort it out with a long pole. I attended a prep school, St. Norberts, in Carshalton Beeches. The uniform was blue and grey and the colour of the headmaster's open Daimler sports car was also painted in the same school colours! From 1955 until 1960 I went to the City of London Freemens School in Ashtead, Surrey. I recall in our 2-bedroom flat, we paid a rent of £22 per month. I also remember...going down the hill over the railway bridge, the garage/greengrocers called Bottrells, the sweet shop close by, the toy shop further down on the right, then a garage, then down to the Windsor Castle pub. On the other side going up the hill was Fishers, the gents barbers then the sub-post office and finally my dentist, Mr Ross, who had the pleasure of looking after my pearly whites! I recall I had a tooth extracted at a young age in the days when they used nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas. In later years I came to know quite well the pubs in the area. Also being a keen stamp collector, very close to Trueloves the undertakers, was a small stamp shop. His name was Salter and I believe he came from Reigate. I used to look through the stamps and put a few together, the ones I wanted, and probably paid the princely sum of 7/6d. This shop was in front of the water works where you could climb on the railings and look down at these huge tanks of water, rather frightening. I understand that they are no longer there. Then carrying on up the hill on the left-hand side there was Len's secondhand shop, and then you came along to the Police Station on the left, Granada cinema on the right, and then we had Cedar's man shop where I bought my first suits. My parents then moved on in around 1964 to a house in Cheam village, close to the local celebrity Harry Secombe. In 1968, after a few boring type jobs, I managed to work overseas as a Representative for Skytours, part of Thomson holidays. I now live in the south of Spain where I have been for 35 years, so have not visited the area since the mid-70's. As you will see I have an unusual surname, so someone may remember the family. I would welcome hearing from anyone who cares to make any comments and share similar experiences. Russell Shurmer