Burgess Hill 1957 1968

A Memory of Burgess Hill.

My parents moved from Durham to Burgess Hill in the mid-fifties. I was born in 1957, at Cuckfield hospital, and at that time lived in West Park Crescent. Both my brother and sister were also born in Burgess Hill. I remember my Mum sometimes used to get us to pick some shopping items up from a local shop, which would have been nearby (probably no longer there). Eventually, we moved to Holmesdale Road. I attended 'London Road County Primary School' between 1965 and 1968 and still have my old school reports. My class teacher in 1965/6 was Miss Holloway (Class 8) and in subsequent years M. Lambert (Class 7 and then Class 3). The numbers in the class varied between 35 and 41. The headmaster during that time was J.A.Baird. Memories of the school include playing a game with Beatles black and white cards by leaning them against a wall, in the playground, and trying to knock them down by flicking other cards at them. I remember there was a corner shop nearby where we used to buy them. I enjoyed sports and played a lot of football, carrying on in local leagues after ultimately leaving school. Another memory was learning to write in italics and I remember having an Osmoroid pen to do this. The idea was that we would be taught to write in a more flowing style at secondary school. Unfortunately we moved away before starting the final year of primary school, so my writing evolved naturally at my next school, who were very impressed with the italic writing, although often commented that they wanted me to write faster. While living in Holmesdale Road, I remember walking to the railway bridge to see the last trip for the 'The Flying Scotsman' which had the Blue Peter team on board. When living in Holmedale Road, I remember there was a school playing field at the bottom of our garden where we used to take our dog for walks. We had a footpath alongside our house leading to the fields (I suspect that they have now been built on).

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