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Wembley
Wembley maps
Historic maps of Wembley and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Wembley maps
Wembley area books
Displaying 1 of 13 books about Wembley and the local area. View all books for this area
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Memories of Wembley
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memories of Wembley.
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Olympic Games & After
My father, who worked for Philips Electrical (Mullard Amplifier Division) was the Sound Engineer at both the Wembley Stadium and Pool during the entire Olympic Games of 1948. He had to work very long hours not only during the events but also during the daily rehearsals of ceremonies. I went to one of the last events, with my grandparents, which was equestrian. After the Games finished, my father continued as the Sound Engineer and my Sister, (and sometimes my cousin) and I went to all the ice shows at the pool. We also went to see the Harlem Globetrotters every year when they came to the UK. They were good times. I went to watch Speedway at the Stadium but my view of this event involved climbing a very high ladder to one of the spotlight cabins, way above the stands. Quite a frightening experience for a small boy! I have very many happy memories of those times, I still have programmes from the 'Games' and some Rugby matches and... Read more
1948 Olympic Games
My father represented Great Britain in the 1948 Olympic Games. He (Thomas Patrick Holt) and his brother John and two sisters were on the swimming team. Unfortunately, Thomas came fourth in his event, as he was struck down with a tummy bug, prior to his swim, as he had over-indulged in the lavish food supplied for the competitors, and as it was just after the war, dear old Dad could not resist the temptation of food he had not eaten for the duration of the war (WW11).
None the less, I am very proud of his achievements as he trained without the assistance of a coach, dietician or any financial backing. Today's Olympians have every facility available to them to achieve success. My Dad inspired myself and all of my siblings to swim, and to try your best at everything we attempt. I live in Australia and plan to visit the site of the Empire Pool in August 2008.
The Leeds And Sunderland Cup Final
I watched so many cup finals on black and white television when I was a boy never dreaming of the day that I might actually be there. But it happened in 1973! Would you believe my neighbour was a long retired football referee and received two tickets for every cup final! I don't think he had refereed since the 1940's and yet he continued to get his tickets - small wonder that real football fans struggled to be there on the big day. Anyway he made my dream come true and sold me his tickets for an unbelievable face value price of just four pounds each so my wife Elizabeth and I were able to see the Cup Final. The touts were out in Olympic Way offering big money to buy tickets and Elizabeth thought this would be a good idea to finance a shopping expedition in the West End. No way! I told her that the Cup Final was a magic occasion, part of her education and an event... Read more
Paddling.
I can remember paddling in the pool, the depth went from nothing to, I think, about 24 feet to allow for the height of the diving board. Every so often a bell was rung to let people know that the wave machine was about to start up. There was a rope across the pool to keep the diving area clear. Living close to Wembley I went to a lot of shows; Skating on Ice, Harlem Globe Trotters, Ice Hocky, Skating Vanities ' roller skating'. There was a speed limit of 12mph around the area, I was stopped by a policeman for speeding on my bicycle, he was joking.
Killips Shop
The name of the shop on the corner of the High Road and Lancelot Road was Killips. There was also a smaller Killips shop on the other corner, and above the shop was a big square-shaped clock known popularly as "Killips clock". I lived in Lancelot Avenue, at the far end of Lancelot Road, from 1941 to 1964.
Wembley High Road
I used to go to the shops in Wembley High Road in the 1960s. There was a shop on the corner of the High Road and the that had the market in it. It was a haberdashery shop. Does anyone recall what the name of the shop was?
Sports Galore
Although it was a fair walk or bike ride away from my Wembley Park home at Barn Rise, I regularly used to play tennis in this wonderful park, always around the time of Wimbledon when everyone rushed out to play. From memory there were both hard courts and grass courts and they were pretty well-maintained. I think there may have been a putting green too.
I attended the Boys Brigade across the road at the Methodist Church and we used the facilities too, coming down the hill to play football (we had an all-conquering team) and cricket (with a soft ball which once memorable exploded in mid-air it was hit so hard by one of our young athletes).
Short Attendance
In 1942 I should have attended Wembley Manor school but this was bombed and completely demolished, so we were split up and 2 classes went to Park Lane school.
This school was bombed at night 3 days later and slightly damaged at the opposite end to my class. It was opened again a week later.
My teacher was Mrs Newbury and she taught everything except history. I and others were shy and wanted to sit at the back of class, but she would have us sitting at the front.
