Virginia Water memories
Here are memories of Virginia Water and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Virginia Water or a Virginia Water photo.
Nurse Hampton
On August 13, 1961 I took up residence as a student nurse in Lindsay Smith House across from the hospital. It was the day the Berlin wall went up, and, as I recall, the day before the grouse shooting season began. I was 19 years old. Miss Goodyear was the Matron. Miss Lemon was Assistant Matron; Miss Mitzi Tauber was Assistant Matron (rumoured to be the cousin of Richard Tauber the singer); Miss Cottingham was Night Sister. I wore a blue cotton dress, a white apron (fresh daily), a plain cap, black stockings and shoes. I was also issued a navy blue cape with a red lining. It was so cold dressed thusly, I made a red flannel petticoat and combinations to keep war. We were not allowed to wear a cardigan, unless by special dispensation, like when the boiler was not working. We worked 12-hour shifts from 7am to 7pm for four days. One day, we were on at 10 am. On our days off... Read more
Nursing Auxillary in Abraham Cowley Unit, Chertsey
I moved to Sandy Lane, opposite Lindsey Smith nurses' accommodation in Virginia Water. There were twelve of us auxillaries from Scotland as far as Kent. We all used to go out to the local pub by the station, The Trotsworth, and ask for a glass of water if we were feeling the pinch. We had a minibus that took us to work at St. Peter's Hospital. Unfortunately The Holloway Sanotorium was closed by then, but we did meet Madonna's bodyguards at the local pub when she was with Sean Penn making a movie called 'Shanghai Surprise'. Bonnie Tyler did the video for 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' there as well. We also worked with nurses who used to work at the sanatorium and were told about the haunting picture in the main hall whose eyes followed you everywhere. It would have been fantastic to look around the place, but due to a lot of filming and adverts made there it was not possible. A lovely place to live in Virginia... Read more
Not A Memory But Important Documents!!
Hi to anyone out there that is interested in this building (Holloway Sanatorium). To tell the whole story would take too long, but in the early 1980s when I was a kid and the building was in a state of disrepair and 'open', I came across what I believe to be the original Crossland architect's drawings for the sanatorium, in a skip!!! They are hand-drawn in ink on canvas backings and show all the floors including the roof. In total I have about fifteen of them and each one measures about 1mtr by .75 mtr but vary. These drawings are I believe, from doing lots of studying, original and totally unique. If anyone is interested or want to know more please e-mail me. Chris... c_p_mann@yahoo.co.uk
Holloway Sanatorium
The ballroom had huge paintings on the walls. In particular I recall one of Sir Walter Raleigh. The patients' dining room had those lovely murals. We were issued a key which unlocked all of the doors in the hospital and Lindsay Smith House. Dr. Nugent lived in the staff cottages across the street. I babysat his daughter Helen. He emigrated to Australia. Ann O'Reilly, one of my "set", married Jimmy (I don't remember his last name) and was living in one of the cottages when I last saw her. Her son was named ?Neil. I met a fellow in the lobby one evening and discovered that he sang, so I invited him to join the choir. His name was Roy Blaber, he was the hospital carpenter. Mr. Reed was the evening person on the desk in that magnificent lobby. The Rev. Harper-Holcroft was the minister. Curiously enough he had been on the parish church staff of St. Botolph's in Boston, Lincolnshire when I was a child, and knew people... Read more
Gavin Fairfax Garage
Does anyone have any memories or photos of the garage at station parade, I lived there from 1957 to 1960 at flat Number 3, the building was typical of the 1930s with white rendered walls and castle style crenelations at the top.
I recall the neon signs at the front elevation of the building ( glowing in red and green) at night it was a BP branded petroleum sales site with Standard Rover and Jaguar marques. a showroom and a cafe at the end of the building near the station.
Virginia Water
As A child my father worked for qantas and we were sent to live in England from Australia. For a few months in1968 we lived in Badgers close not Badgers hill. Has this road been renamed?
Memories of Surrey
My Early Life.
I was born in 6 Milton Road, Egham on 13-05-1947 and we shortly moved to 9 Almond Close, Englefield Green. I first attended school at St Jude's infants in 1952, Mrs Searl was head, one of my earliest memories is of my Dad collecting me at the gate and taking me to see 'Gunfight at the OK Corral'. My next school was St Jude's junior (next door) where Mr Frome was head, other teachers I remember from there are Mr Pike, Mr Leigh, Mr Smith, Miss Robinson (she got married while I was in her class). My friends in those days where Paul Wagg, John Brian, Derek Keith, Desmond Jenner (he unfortunately drowned in the Thames at old Windsor), Mick Bunyan and Colin Payne, to name some of several. I fluncked the 11 plus (probably on purpose to stay with my friends!). Next was Egham County Secondary School in Manorcroft Road, Egham, Mr Glyn Price was head. I especially remember David Coleman as an inspirational teacher. I left school in... Read more
First Day of School
First Day of School Arriving at Egham Hythe Infants School, aged 5, and being placed in the care of Mrs. Spenser. There I remained for one entire term. Most of the faces in the classroom were new. Some of the names heard for the first time. Rex Aldwinkle, Richard Howard, Christine Addison, Jennifer Shore, Christine Vass. I am amazed that I remember these names as we were only in the same class one term. Mrs. Britton was the Headmistress. Wherever I went she seemed to be there. Was the school really that small? At break I learned about cigarette cards. I am now in my fifty third year of collecting them. I own over one million of them. Brooke Bond had just started issuing cards in tea packets - Frances Pitt's British Birds. And then it was Wild Flowers, Out into Space, Bird Portraits, British Wild Life and so on. Well I have them all, every variation ever issued, different papers, different backs, error cards. And I have all the foreign... Read more
The Old Cinema
We moved to Egham in about 1955. My father had been born in Medlake Road in 1920. We lived in Oak Avenue, Egham Hythe in a house built in the 1930s. I attended Egham Hythe Infants and Primary and later Magna Carta (on both its sites - Egham Hythe and Manorcrofts - it is now just in the Hythe). In those pre-M25 and M3 days Egham was a much quieter place. The High Street was much as it had been in the early 1900s. There were still some gas lamps which were lit by hand. Green double decker buses ran through Egham linking Staines to High Wycombe (route 441). One red bus service (117) terminated at Egham Station. One major change was that we used to walk to school or sometimes use our bicycles. Very rare now in these car dominated times.
I recall the old cinema in the High Street. It was on the south side. My neighbour had once been a projectionist there. It had... Read more
Magna Carta
The text to the Egham photographs calls Egham uninspiring. What it may lack in architectural merit (although there are gems if you look closely, perhaps an architect would care to enlighten the readers) is more than made up for by its place in history as the location for the signing of the Magna Carta by King John in 1215. This took place at Runnymede. There was a major celebration in 1965. This took place on the field just below the American Bar Association Memorial, one of three to be found in Runnymede, the others being the RAF Memorial and the John F Kennedy Memorial. The JFK Memorial was once damaged by the IRA who tried to blow it up. Appropriately the Magna Carta celebrations largely took place on Runnymede itself. There were jousting displays and various activities. I still have my replica Magna Carta written on fake parchment. Freddie Mills the boxer was supposed to attend. However, he died in mysterious circumstances which made headlines for days.
Egham
I can remember Mullen's the Chemist, sawdust on the floor in the butchers which I would scoop up in a pile with my feet, the map where you could press a button and it would light up, the steam trains passing as I swung on the swings, Auntie Winnie at the sweet shop, buying second-hand scooters and peddling them home into The Crescent, going to the phone boxes outside the post office, Dr Sam Taylor and his Ford Zephyr - with the blue painted waiting room with just a bench I think (my memory may be playing tricks on me), being lifted to post mail in the letterbox down Grange Road, a plane on fire as I walked home from St Cuthbert's at Englefield Green . . .
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