My Memories Of Dibden Purlieu

A Memory of Dibden Purlieu.

I lived in Talbot Road back then with my foster sisters and our wonderful Foster Mum Mrs. Jones. I can remember attending Orchard Road Junior School durring the Queens Silver Jubilee and getting a coin with the Queens face on it. I wish I knew where that coin was now as I could give it to my daughter. That was the year when Star Wars originally came out at the Cinema. It seems so strange now to think of how care free we were. I remember walking down to Hythe and walking the length of the pier with the train on it and catching the ferry over to Southhampton to go to the Cinema all without any adult supervision. I still can't get over that my sisters and cousins, and friends from school would make that trip on a regular basis.
I can remember one time catching the little train with my mum to go to the end of the pier and a small boy turned to his Mum and said in a serious voice when is this contraption going to get going, he was only about four and I was about twelve at the time and it made me laugh.
Another thing that my sisters and I tried to do for some strange reason was to get lost in the New Forrest, we must have walked about five miles into the forrest but then realised we could still see the Electricity Pylons which ran down the side of the main road (the A326 Hythe Bypass) and the one near Dibden Purlieu was one that had different arms to it than the rest, needless to say we gave up on that idea.
This was also the year I moved up to Noadswood Comprehensive School as it was known back then, Mr.Hawkes was the the head master. I can remember a few teachers, Mr.Goodall a trained SAS marksmen with a piece of chalk, if he caught you talking in class, can't think why I remember him so well. Miss Hasslet was my Art teacher and I think just about all the boys in my year (if not the school) fancied her, I can remember standing with my friends waiting for her to pull up in her MG Midget and watching her as she crawled out of the car, that was the first time I encountered a short skirt. I remember at school when did a cross country run we take a route through the New Forrest. There was some rivalry between Noadswood Comprehensive School and Applemore School, they referred to us as the Blackjacks (we wore black blazers) and we would reffer to them as the Bogies (they wore green jerseys).
My sisters and I made dens in the forrest on a regular basis, because we made them in hard to find places, we couldn't remember where they were either. If only GPS was available back then. My sister Gail started working at Beaulieu Palace House and motor museum. Quite often I would cycle from home to Beaulieu and go in the trade entrance and go on the mono rail around the grounds.  We would sometimes ride our peddle bikes down the main road (the A326 Hythe Bypass) down to Lepe beach so we could look across the water to the Isle of White.
We also attended Blackfield Baptist Church and one year we camped in the grounds. My friend had a small radio and at night we listened to Radio Luxemburg untill we got caught that is. My sisters were Baptised there and I remember them all wearing white robes durring the service. I live in North Wales now and I attend Libanus Baptist Church in Llanfairfechan and in someways the close friendships remind me of that church.
All these years later and just mention of the New Forrest brings back great memories. I will probably remember more in the future so I might put some more memories up in future.  


Added 23 June 2010

#228727

Comments & Feedback

I'm Peter McLaren. I too went to Noadswood (after Hardley) and I worked at the Montagu Motor Museum. My memories are very similar to yours. I'm 79

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