Summer Of '63

A Memory of Ash.

Hello.
Although I spent all of my early life - that is up to the age of 21 - in Penge, South London, I also spent some time(s) in Ash (Kent) during August to December, 1963. I have already written about my early life in Penge in another feature. I was just going through the pages that numerous others had written during their times at places in all the Counties in England, and eventually I got as far as Kent. I then looked up the Village of Ash.
Having had an Elder Sister who had moved to Sandwich during the early1960s and had also stayed at Her house when my Family spent our Holidays there sometimes, I had gotten to know a fair amount about Sandwich and some of the people who I had met there. It was particularly during the year of 1963 - when I had turned 18 - that I was able to get out more and so discovered some of the pubs in Sandwich, of which were many in those days. Also during that particular week, on the Friday when I had arrived at Sandwich I went down to the hall that evening which was when they used to have live groups and dancing.
I met my younger Sister outside that hall and she was with some Friends and they were going into the hall so I joined them. One of my Sister's Friend's Name was Jean Bishop, we got to speak a few times and when the dance was over we left the hall, I went back to my Sister's house and Jean went back to her house at Ash. Next morning on the Saturday I went back down to Sandwich and sat in The Café to have something to eat and drink and play some records on their Juke box. It was in that Café where Jean and her Friend from the previous evening were already seated and so we got to talking again. Later on my younger Sister came in with Her Boyfriend and two other young guys, so we stayed a while longer and then left to go over to the ''Sandwich Arms''. Some hours later we all left there and went back to the café to eat, and then we all went up to the milwall (or ropewalk).
It was particularly because I saw first the Name of Ash Village and then the name of the Pub in Ash, ''The Chequers'' that I first decided to start this article. I am mainly writing to see if I can find out if Jean Bishop is still living around there. My younger Sister's Boyfriend then was Tony Corner, and the other two young guys who joined us in the pub were George Stockley and ''Muffer'' Smith. I don't know if that man whose Girlfriend lived at ''The Chequers'' may have known my Sister, Kay Godly, Jean Bishop or those three men I have mentioned. My name is Tony Godly I was courting Jean Bishop until December 1963 and then we broke up. I remenber that we were very fond of each other for some time until I had an accident in November 1963 and spent 3 weeks in hospital and one more week recuperating.
Jean had apparently met somebody else during that time, and so much to my regret, She ended our courtship. She was quite young though and I suppose that She wanted her free time with others and so didn't want to wait while I was away or until I was out of hospital. I think that up until that time of meeting Jean I had never met anybody like her, nor loved anybody as much either. Ah well. that is part of growing up, although at the time I couldn't see it. Enough about that, does anybody from Ash reading this know Albert ''Bert'' Tong? I was in The Army With Him, in Aldershot during the late 1970s and early 80s. During that time we had gotten to talking about Ash, and Bert had said that He had known Nancy Bishop when they were both younger.