Favourite Memories
Reconnecting with our shared local history.
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.
Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.
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Search for your favourite UK places and read memories of the local area in days gone by.
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Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write? It's easy - just think of a place that brings back a memory for you and write about:
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How the location features in your personal history?
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The memories this place inspires for you?
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Stories about the community, its history and people?
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People who were particularly kind or influenced your time in the community.
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Has it changed over the years?
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How does it feel, seeing these places again, as they used to look?
This week's Places
Here are some of the places people are talking about in our Share Your Memories community this week:
...and hundreds more!
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Displaying Memories 1101 - 1150 of 2029 in total
I was born in the schoolhouse in 1943 and lived there until 1957. My early memories go back to the firing of a huge gun in the field opposite by the Army, with the shells aimed to reach Plynlimon near Abersystwyth! Then in 1947 there was the prolonged snow which paralysed transport and bread was brought from Garth by my uncle via his Fordson tractor following its delivery by train. I remember a large branch of a tree ...see more
Both my parents were nurses at Claybury during the 1950s. My dad worked days and my mum worked nights. I can remember her telling me that when she did 'the rounds' during the night she used to ride her bike through the dark corridors crunching over cockroaches! Dad was umpire for the Clabury cricket team and my brother and I spent many a warm sunny Sunday playing in the grounds of the hospital while Mum ...see more
This photo brings back lots of memories for me as it shows High Road, Woodford Bridge which is where the old-fashioned ironmongers that my family owned was situated. There had been one on the site since the beginning of the 20th Century, but we owned it from 1973 until my Father retired in 1987. Originally it was High Road, Woodford Bridge, but it was renamed Chigwell Road. I particularly remember 1974 as ...see more
Looking at this picture brings back memories of the Bridge Mission. You went down a alleyway, I think beside a tie factory and a shop called Grants. Because I had very small feet, the kind Mr Grant got my shoes in specially. They were always very small, tight and pointed, and were very painful to walk in; but because he went to so much trouble, I never said a word. The Mission, I was in the Girls ...see more
I lived at Hawkhurst Court a few miles from Wisborough Green. I was at school in Wisborough Green in 1939 till my family moved in 1946. My younger sisters and brother also attended the same school. I remember names such as Rosalind Woods, Alice Avis, Joan Luckford, Michael Puttock and several others. I also remember dancing round the maypole on the green, attending church and ...see more
1942/1976 - I am the son of Alex Stewart, brother to D.C. Stewart. I spent my early years at Arnage during and after the war. I was at all the Arnage gatherings and met many stars of stage and screen. Many the time the Rolls Royce would collect me and my sister at school to take us out to the castle for weekends. There were 6 brothers; Charlie, Bill, Alex, Frank, Davy and Donald. Both my father and ...see more
I lived in the cottages on Sanderstead Hill (opposite Purley Downs Road), they were built in 1895 and my mother lived there for most of her life. I lived there from 1943 (my birth) till 1965 when I emigrated to New Zealand. I now live in Queensland, Australia after 40 years in NZ.
As a native of St Blazey, I would like to write about the businesses there at the time. The first shop on the church side " The International Stores", a fine shop managed by Mr Vincent, who also owned the newsagents in Station Road. Next to "Star" (the name used by locals for the International, because it was originally the Star Tea Company) was Barlow's cycle shop. Next the shop of the Best brothers, ...see more
Having moved to Stourton from Glasgow in March of 1961 at the age of 12, it was really exciting to find that, about a hundred yards from our new house, was a big pub with its own outdoor swimming pool. The Stewpony Pub meant little to me at the time, but the adjacent Lido was eye-opening for an adolescent youth in lots of ways! During the Summers of '62 and '63, I worked part-time after school (Brierly Hill ...see more
I am not sure which grandfather it was (how many greats do you want?) but the old part of my family, the Strevens, have lived in Broadstairs for the last five hundred years, and have the honour of having erected the post in the middle of the bay. This was one of five snubbing posts that allowed the barges to warp right up to the pier where they loaded tar and coke from the gas works at the ...see more
While still at Helston Grammar School, I worked at the Headland Hotel during one summer. Pickles was the manager, he was a tyrant but I seemed to get the better of him. I wrecked the lawn-mower running over a rock while pushing it up and down those front lawns in the picture, he tried to make me pay for it out of my £4 10/- a week pay! I refused. I fell in love with Margaret from Quinton who was ...see more
We stayed in a caravan at Thornwick Bay in July 1937. On a visit to Bridlington harbour I saw the SS 'Yorkshireman', which was the biggest sea-going vessel I'd been near to at that time. I thought it was magnficent and it gave such an impression of power and strength to me as an eleven year old. When we returned to school after the holidays, I drew this black and white monster a number of times and our teacher was ...see more
I attended this school from about 1956 till 1959. We left Stapleford when I was ten years old. I don't remember much about the school, but I remember a lot about one particular teacher, her name may have been Mrs Swan. She was an older lady who must have grown up during the Edwardian era and in the years before the First World War. She taught us about the Phoenicians. She ...see more
Oh, my goodness, the memories come flooding back when I started to read some of the stories. Yes, mine was very much the same as most of yours was. I was taken to Victoria Station and put on the train with a nun. I remember sleeping in the dorm and wetting the bed. Eating dry boiled potatoes that made me gag. Walking one direction along the sea with the wind blowing so hard they made my cheeks red raw and ...see more
In October 1958 I was sent to Yarrow for two weeks to recover from a complicated operation. I have a sense of dread about my time there; my arrival into the panelled and imposing hall as my dad disappeared down the long drive, still haunts me and none of the staff helped me to feel any better - they were unfriendly and at times very unkind. The atmosphere was heavy with lots of silence and I never ...see more
My name was Beverley Anne Davies and I went to Port Regis for about 18 months in 1952. We lived in East Ham E6 and I had asthma. I remember the nuns were strict and at times cruel. I have a memory of one very young girl being sick and the Sister shaking her. I was in a play whilst there, my memory is hazy except I was dressed in a satin dress as an angel. The nuns names I remember are Sr ...see more
I attended St Anne's from age six to eleven; we had moved to Croydon so this was my second primary school. My memories are not good, on the first day I was told I had a 'heathen name' and it was all down hill from then. Some friends were made but lost when I moved on, Miss Williams was very frightening, the stuff of nightmares. We wore flat hats, indoor shoes and outdoor shoes, got sashes for ...see more
I was thrilled to see your photo of the market including Cross House Stores (the building on the far right of the picture). We lived there in 1955 for about 2 years. The front was a wine and spirits store that my father managed. I recall that the cellar of that house was over a thousand years old and had a secret passage that led to a monastry down the street that a carriage which could be driven through ...see more
My friend and I would await the arrival of American ships on their way to Manchester. We would shout "got any gum chum?!" to the crews. We would occasionally be rewarded by a packet of sweets being thrown from the ship. Far tastier than the English equivalent!
We moved in to number 13 after we got married. Our first visitor was unfortunately a policeman with a warrant for the previous owners arrest. I'm sure we were not alone in the house. We often used to hear an over the door type bell and were later told it used to be a sweetie shop. Something used to flit past the kitchen door which you would see out the corner of your eye, but never for long enough to say what it ...see more
Mr Atlee, or as he was when I knew him, Old Mr Atlee, lived on the corner of Cowper and Garfield Roads. Garfield Road was a long road starting at the balloon factory, passing the primary school and the Rec and ending at the Carton factory. Running along its length shooting off at right angles were 5 roads named after poets, starting with Cowper followed by Milton, Dryden, Tennyson and ending with Caxton. ...see more
My sisters, Anne and Mary, and I lived at the Vicarage, 175 Linacre Lane on the corner of Monfa Road. The church was along Monfa Road. We had a Cable Works opposite and during the war there was no canteen but workers were invited to the vicarage garden back lawn for a cuppa at lunch time, served from our summer house for one penny (old penny!) Ladies of the church served it. For our Saturday pennies ...see more
Hi Lorna and Carole, I may have been at St. Mary's at the same time as you but my memories are not as good as yours. I remember my mother telling me, when I got home, how scared of the nun's I was and if I saw one in the street I would pass wind! (She thought it was very funny). She was also impressed that I could write my own name. I was born in September 1944, hadn't started school ...see more
I was born at number 7, Village Road, Finchley in 1932 and lived there until October 1939 when my dad's businesses in London were requisitioned. Lots of memories. Milk was delivered by United Dairies and the horse would always spend a penny right outside our house leaving a horrid green puddle. 'Old Fishy' delivered his wares every Friday walking from house to house with a big wicker basket, followed ...see more
I'm reading a book. Came upon the name Christopher Wren (astronomer around 1683). Suddenly it slipped into my mind the combination Wrens Warren Camp and via google came upon this site.
I'm Dutch, survived the winter of 1944/1945 in that part of the Netherlands still occupied by the nazi's. Almost no food and cutting trees to get some firewood in order to burn the stove in freezing winter. The city of ...see more
When we moved from Wales I lived at the fairly extensive Sayes Court Farm caravan park off Liberty Hall Lane, before we settled in Addlestone Park Ave (defined by the statues of knights at the top). At 15, I went to work at Vickers Armstrong - now BAE. After attending their secretarial school I was placed in the sub-contracts dept. I loved to see all the logos of the Airlines of the World being ...see more
Just to the southeast of St Thomas a Becket church there are some lovely watermeadows reaching almost to the sea shore. A small beck, or stream, runs N-S down one side. One summer's day in 1942 or 43, I went on a picnic there with the Shoesmith family of North Streey, Havant. The sun shone, the larks sang high in the cloudless sky. It was one of those unforgettable magic days of childhood, when ...see more
I remember the H-G fire well. I was sixteen at the time and was on my way home from evening classes at the South West Essex Tech, as it was called in those days, in Longbridge Road Barking. As soon as I left the college on my bike I noticed the glow in the sky and knew it was somewhere near where we were living at the time in Sunnyside Rd. I always rode down Dawlish Drive and by the time I reached South Park ...see more
My parents moved into a prefab in Foxglove Crescent when I was 2. They were still assembling them and German prisoners of war were building the foundations. Compared to my nan's house they had everything, including an electric fridge which was unheard of then. The only problem was that in the winter everything froze solid inside, windows, wardrobe doors etc because they were all metal. We used to go to the ...see more
As a youngster living in Great Easton along the Welland valley, my school holidays in the early 1960s were largely spent at Seaton Junction station in Rutland. My friend Colin and I would cycle there with a bottle of orange squash and a bag of sandwiches and spend our days watching the trains on the Rugby to Peterborough line and also the Kettering to Nottingham trains over the viaduct nearby.
We ...see more
This is taken from where Penfolds boathouse was later built. I used to help out at weekends and school holidays. Sid Penfold would slip me a pound or two for helping hire out the punts and skiffs.
I was educated at Madingley Church of England School, our Principal and teacher was Gwen Ruddell M.B.E. a remarkable teacher. Educated at Cambridge University she was the school teacher and principal for the 28 local children aged 4 to 11, from approximately 1950 till 1980. My brother Lawrence, sister Helen and I (Martin Newell), all attended the school and at Christmas we used to have a ...see more
My brother Christopher and I first went down to school at Visitation Convent, Bridport in September 1957. We lived in Ascot as our father had been an officer in the Royal Horse Guards and had been based at Windsor. We took a train to Reading and then a GWR express running from Paddington to Newton Abbot.
Travelling to boarding school on a steam train was a complete Harry Potter experience. I can still ...see more
Our school, Park Modern Secondary, was situated in Barking Essex just outside of the east end of London. Each year, we had school camp at Sweets farm on the top of Dundry Hill, where we would camp for two weeks. We were told repeatedly by our teachers that we were over 600 feet above sea level (why, I'll never know but it seemed important to them) and we soon found out how high that was because we walked everywhere and ...see more
I was born in my Grandparents house - "Wimbourne" - in the valley below the Mill. Many pleasant hours have I spent sitting in the kitchen with my grandmother shelling peas that granddad had grown in the garden. The Mill could be seen from the kitchen window high on the downs. When travelling through Bridge on the Canterbury Road, we would all try to see who could spot the Mill first, a sure sign that we were home again!
Mr Norman has not mentioned the surname of the two ladies who owned the pawnbrokers it was Brenning or perhaps Brennan .Their shop was full of old old china and house bits and pieces.The stock looked as if it had been there undisturbed since Victorian times; indeed I often wondered if they ever cleaned their display. Nearby was Andrews the ironmongers, Mr Andrews ran a very tidy shop with a good ...see more
On the left of this view is the pub sign for the "Railway Hotel" - a popular drinking venue for older members of St Anselm's Youth Club and the Hatch End Young Conservatives! Next door is a garage forecourt sign - this was the Cornwall Garage where I bought a lovely blue Triumph Spitfire two-seater in 1970. I returned there in the 1980s when they had a Fiat franchise and bought a couple ...see more
My mum (Win) worked in Parsons the hardware shop and also the grocers. I remember helping out a couple of times with grocery deliveries by riding the big black bicycle with a large basket on the front which was stacked with cardboard boxes. Very heavy to ride! My mum used to cut bacon on their big slicer and customers asked for a special cut number for the thickness they liked. I learned to cut big drums of cheese ...see more
We lived briefly in Ferndale Crescent (nr 35). This was defined as Uxbridge then but the boundaries were never quite clear and have become even more blurred with the march of time. It must have been around '57 when we moved in and the same year I think was the Grand Opening of a petrol station on Cowley Rd, on the Uxbridge end of the crescent. It only had 2 petrol pumps. I remember the banners and flags across the ...see more
My memories of Acton Vale estate are endless, you would play out all day and the days were long. I can remember taking back the empty lemonade bottles and then buying a jublie. Going swimming at Acton swimming baths then on the way home getting a bag of chips or a portion of crackling. What about going on an outing to the seaside; the coaches would all be outside community hall in the middle of the estate. Some ...see more
I was born at Drive Villa, Melbury Osmond in 1938, my parents coming both from London. But my father had a music shop in Yeovil. My memories of Melbury Osmond are very happy ones, we had a school then infants and juniors, the school's still there as a house now. We had a shop and a post office and a bakery round the back. The cottages were for the farm labourers who worked for the tenant farmers as ...see more
Whilst being at either Parkside ot North Bromsgrove school my poor mom came face to face with a bull. It had escaped from the slaughter house! I also remember there being a bullet lodged in the side of the church. I wonder if it is still there.
Shoebury Hall Farm was owned by Capt H R Townsend RN and his wife Margaret I think. There was also a daughter Pamela. They were like the country squire and his family. Their house was between the church and the camp site. I recall going inside the house once with Dad. He was one of the oldest campers on the site after all. Captain Townsend could often be seen riding round the camp on his bike making ...see more
My memories of Cefn Fforest were of Whitson marches in your new clothes and having sore feet where your new sandles rubbed your feet raw. Along with 'Thomas The Milk' was Pughs Farm who had a horse and cart delivering the milk - my parents would send me out to collect the milk in a jug - this was before the milk bottles came into being. Also the police station where Sgt Church and 'Brace the Bobby' put the ...see more
My Name is William Speirs, in the 1940's we moved from Bellshill Lanarkshire to live in Fishcross, Alloa, Clackmananshire, Scotland. This is a short story about when we were kids in Fishcross from about 1946 till I left in 1959. The people I played with, my schools, Fishcross, Sauchie, then Fore brae’s at the top of Sunnyside, the characters of that time and the things we used to do.
The Early Years ...see more
The Cabin in Graham Road was a school boy's (and girl's) dream! At the front of the shop, behind the counter, was an array of jars of sweets, sold by the quarter (lb) and every other piece of confectionary or chocolate you could name: Black Jacks, Fruit Salad, Shrimps, Flying Saucers, Sherbert Fountains, Palm Toffee (banana flavour the best), Flags of the World bubble gum, liquorice sticks, etc. In the summer, the ...see more
My first job after leaving school in 1968 was at the original Frith & Co. in Raglan Road, Reigate. The company was based in a large Victorian mansion and in many ways the working methods probably hadn't changed much since the early 1950s.
The nostalgia market was in its infancy in 1968 and the company had no idea about the potential value of the historic collection held in its negative library. ...see more
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. ...see more
Just turned eighteen I was to get employment at Woolley Colliery but had to do my training at Grimthorpe Colliery. We had to do underground training and were to spend many hours looking at safety films on what, and what not to do. Once we had got through the safety drills we were to be issued with pit clothes which included boots, gloves, belt and a water bottle. We were to get our pit lamps from the lamp-room ...see more
I first came to Whitstable by steam train in 1952 with my mother and grandparents, and we stayed in a boarding house in Cromwell Road, I think. After that we came to Whitstable every year for two weeks in September, staying at the Blue Anchor caravan site at Seasalter until about 1961. At that time, at the edge of the caravan site by the sea was a little wooden café, now no longer there, like the Alberta ...see more