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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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 1301 - 1350 of 2029 in total
My family used to go every Whit week to a guest house run by a Mrs Bradshaw at this end of the promenade, late 1950s - early 1960s. It was very special. Driving towards the seafront the road went steeply upwards until at last - a view of the sea, and that beautiful smell of seaweed, which takes me back to Pwllheli when I smell it now. We arrived in our Morris Minor with a trunk on the roof ...see more
I saw the first wooden pile hammered into the river bed, and watched it day by day until it was completed. Steel piles was driven into the river bed for the concrete structures, when they got well below the river bed it was that hard they had to use pneumatic drills. At high tide water used to seep in places through the piling, to bung the leaks, sawdust was put into the close to the piling, the water pressed the ...see more
In the late 1960's I was a schoolgirl at the Derby School. When I began to be independent and join a tribe I chose the Northern Soul gang and sometimes I used to go to All Nighters, with my boyfriend and friends at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. We took the last train from Bury to Victoria Station and walked up to Piccadilly Station where the gang met. My Mum made some really cool dresses ...see more
I grew up in Dundee Street in Darlington. I remember the shops on each end of Dundee Street and Montrose Street, and the alleys between, the alleys were made of blue tiles that always sparkled in rain and frost. I remember the rag and bone man on his cart pulled by a horse, calling "Rag and bone, rag and bone" as he trundled down the back alleys. We had a coal shute in our back yard that had an opening in the alley that the ...see more
I recently went for a walk with my mum Enid, to the bluebell wood. This wood has many names, Kings Wood, Long Thwaite Wood, to mention a couple. It evoked memories of my childhood. Days when I would walk with my brother and sister. Georgina marching off in front trying not to be associated with her younger siblings or get tempted to regress to those imaginary games of Robin Hood or the land of Narnia she had ...see more
In our school holidays, I and one or two more used to go with cattle drovers, there were often a thousand Irish cattle arriving at the cattle dock on some Saturdays. The front of the herd would be at the Town Bridge as other cattle were still leaving the cattle dock. We would guard all the sidestreets and passageways. Cattle would be sold at the market, then were taken to various fields outside of town. One drover, ...see more
At the age of 11 nothing was more valuable than a set of old pram wheels.
Using a 4-foot plank (this is old money) for the base. To sit on, we fastened a short piece to the back with an axle and 2 wheels, the same at the front but fastened with a bolt so you could steer it. Fix a seat and you were away.
Pull it to the top of the hill and race down. There where only about 3 or 4 cars in Dinnington at that time so ...see more
I was one year old when we moved to Kirkdale, that was 1956, we moved to 82 Brasenose Road from Huyton with Roby so all my childhood memories were about growing up in Kirkdale. We had nothing but we were happy. There was six of us, we all slept in one bed, top and tail, but everyone in our road was the same. We never had a bathroom, just an outside toilet that looked like a shrine becuase we had that many ...see more
When I lived in Purley, there weren't many stores. I can remember when Sainsbury's opened across from Purley Fountain. There was a toy shop in the High Street called Morgan's. I stole a whistle from there when I was not very old. I can remember it to this day. It was yellow plastic with one of those pea things in that made the whistling noice. I must have taken it home but I was soon on my way back to ...see more
Boston was a war garrison in the war, It was an exciting time for teenagers growing up, Different Regiments was billeted all round the town, we collected army badges from the men; I had a tin full. The airforce used to drill in a morning in Liquorpond Street. War games were played in the streets, the make believe wounded had notes pinned to them to say what injuries they had.
The airborne used to practice in a ...see more
I lived near the top of Downscourt Rd, my back garden exiting in St James Rd. Every day I would walk up and down that hill to Roke Primary and later around the local area delivering newspapers for 'Scobles' the newsagent on Godstone Rd. I was a choirister at St.James Church and Mr Warner the choirmaster had a rolled up newspaper called the 'Bonker' which he would tap us with if we misbehaved (not ...see more
I grew up in Bodley Street (L4) from 1960-1970. There was a Welsh church at the top of the street and on the walls of said church we played '2 balls'! I would love to have the name of the church, should anyone remember it. My nan and grandad, Albert and Elizabeth Coy, shared the wall and every Sunday were blessed with the sounds of the Welsh congregation singing their hearts out. So we annoyed them by playing with ...see more
I left school at 16 and went to work for Sir Freddie Laker of Laker Airways fame. I was a stud hand at his stud farm in Woodcote - The Woodcote Stud. He provided a bedsit just outside Epsom opposite a pub (can't remember the name). I used to get paid £9.50 a week and used to go straight down to the local snooker hall on the High Street and play all the jockeys. I learnt to play snooker very well very ...see more
Our family emigrated to Canada on the Empress of England in 1959. We left Liverpool on May 29th and arrived in Montreal June 6th or 7th. I was a month short of my 12th birthday and I remember thinking on the first day onboard how smooth it was. That impression lasted until we reached the western side of Ireland after which I was seasick for 6 days. Our cabin was forward and we could feel the bow of ...see more
I used to work in the shop in the photo at about the time the photo was taken. That company also had a depot in Junction road next to the pub and the railway crossing, and I also worked in that depot. I have very happy memories of those times; we (my wife Doris & I) bought our first house there in Slimbridge Road .
I was brought up in the 70's living in the gorgeous local village pub. I have fond memories playing on my bike in the car park, riding a pony to the village school and running around the grounds of the Saxon church. Not to mention my sleep walking around the village! My mom and dad, Margaret and Tony, loved it there as I did. Great people great times. Maypole dancing and being made to sing in the ...see more
My great grandmother, Cecelia Mary Gore, b. 1887 - the grand daughter of an earl, eloped with a gardener, Albert Reynolds, in the early 1910s. They married, had four children. Win, my grandmother was one of them, Albert a son and then two little ones one of whom was called Rhoda. They lived in the church house overlooking the cemetary at St Mary's Church. Albert continued working as a gardener. My grandmother ...see more
I was born in 1934 in Burns Avenue Southall, and I remember Snells Farm at the bottom of Burns Ave, before it became a prefab estate. Left Dormers Wells at 14 in 1948. I worked at Wolf Rubber in 1949 and my job was cleaning metal shafts that where put into washing machine rubber rollers. Most of the machines were run from an overhead drive shaft and connected to the machines via a large belt. There where many foreign ...see more
When I was a child, I lived at Axminster. My favourite seaside resort was Lyme Regis, about 6 miles away from home.
Even though I was told, on countless occasions, that Lyme lay in Dorset, I would not accept that fact and insisted it was a Devonshire resort. It was MY seaside town, and I lived in Devon - therefore Lyme Regis was in Devon - that's infant child logic for you.
Before I could ...see more
Another thing that I remember was bath night. Notice I said night and not nights!!
We had a tin bath which had to be filled up by boiling kettles and saucepans. My young brother would go in first, then me, after me was mummy, and last was daddy!! What ever would health and safety have to say about that today!! We were, however, one of the first houses in our street to have an inside toilet and ...see more
My grandparents Annie Holland and Alfred John Heeks became engaged to be married at this spot. Both from Cheltenham, they were soon after married and emmigrated to Canada and settled in Manitoba, then finally in Alberta. My grandmother had so many wonderful stories about growing up there.
I was born in that White Cottage that once stood at the top of Moreton Road and have many happy memories of it and old Upton Village. In the days before the Catholic Church was built, Gemmels Wood used to stretch from Moreton Road to the start of Miss Gemmels Garden and her house which fronted Church Road. The laneway at the back of the Stonehouse Cafe was called Quinesway and they operated a hardware shop which you ...see more
I can't be 100% sure but this is a great likeness of myself and my brother Rob... I have fished this swim for large roach since the early 1990s and we still fish the weirpool to the present day. I have had many happy memories here and have some nice photos of truly outstanding catches. I have also met some lovely old boys there and have enjoyed hearing their tales of whoppers caught in the days of way back when the river here used to be tidal. They even used to have flatfish competitions!!
I lived at 27 Victoria Rd, Knaphill and went to the school at Star Hill then the school down the lane at St Johns, past the barracks and cookhouse. When the soldiers were demobbed we used to be given sweets, chocolate and fags which we took them home. I must have been about 8 or 9. I can remember when going home after school, passing the cookhouse where they used to leave cakes out to cool and we used to nick some. One ...see more
In the 1950's I lived in Dawpool Cottages, was in the choir at St Bartholomew's and went to Dawpool C of E primary and then Caldy Grammar. Life was long summers of the beach or the common and playing out till dark. The church lych gates were the wickets for cricket before and after choir practice. The quarterly fee and extra money for singing at weddings were one of the few incomes I remember. My ...see more
I remember travelling many times on this train; the two engines were called Golspie and Dunrobin - areas in Sutherland. I believe their ancestral Home was Dunrobin Castle at Golspie, hence the names for these engines. I remember at the far end of the lake having to get off and reverse the seats for the return journey, while the engine changed ends. I often wonder what happened to the two engines when ...see more
I went to Marianne Thornton school from the day it was built until I left in 1961. I used to be at Elmfield School in Balham but they had this new school built on the West Side of Clapham Common. I moved from Elmfield towards the end of my 3rd school year to the new school and it was really something compared to our very old school, it had so many new and modern features, I can remember it all so ...see more
I remember the Plough ... it was where my dad, Chas Ross, and a group of other artists held their meetings; they called themselves the Battersea Art Society, this was during the 1960's. My dad, who painted every spare minute of the day, painted a picture of Ron Moody as the famous Charles Dickens figure Fagin. The proprietor of the Plough (can't remember his name), hung it in the entrance to the pub. ...see more
My family live at the top of Fife Street and always have. I really started to notice the town when I was about 7 (1968). The places I would go to when I was young (mainly with my mum) were;, The Beehive wool shop on the corner opposite The Palace Cinema, Reg Haddens bookshop on the corner of Dugdale Street, Dee Di's ice cream parlour in Queens Road, Home And Colonial supermarket in Abbey Street (with my gran,) Tesco's ...see more
I've been here - to this very spot, with the precious women of my life - my Mom when I was a child, and with my children when they were women. How can it be that it looks exactly the same in 1890, 1971 and 2001? I can feel the cool brick under my hand, and see the flowers over the edge. I wanted to jump down and walk there when I was a child and later with my girls. How can it be that the air and the sky is the ...see more
I can remember waiting at Ashley Down Station for the steam train; towels,swim suits and picnic in big beach bags. The journey was an adventure every time, the smell of the smoke and the old carriages. Pushing your head out of the window with a a leather strap to keep it open. Feeling the wind in your hair, mum nagging about getting things in your eyes! The excitement as the train pulls into the station the ...see more
From 1948 until about 1960 the docks were my playground. My father was a member of the EXE Sailing Club (as was I, in my teens), and my grandmother lived in Mamhead View. I often stayed with my grandmother for extended periods. I got to know the sailors on the small freighters from the northern European countries delivering pine wood and coal; and would explore the timber yards of Uncle Winter (Winter Sharp of Sharp ...see more
Those of us who grew up in the very rural villages around Old Basing in 1950's, had to travel to school in Old Basing, by school buses.The school on Milkingpen Lane was the only school for miles. In the late 1950's the school still did not have flush toilets.This did present some serious health issues and some of us became very ill with scarlet fever. The school was very badly provided for, with few facilities.
The ...see more
I used to go to the Bell Street Evangelical Free Church during my teenage years in the 1950's. I joined a group called the Campaigners and in the summer months we used to play games in the Priory Grounds opposite. The minister was the Rev'd Bobs T. Lamb. Later, the church closed down and we became a bit nomadic, meeting in an old church in Lesbourne Road, in a nissen hut near or on Castlefield Road, and we ...see more
This picture is of Queenie Shuttler's cottage. She used to keep a cow and made the most delicious cream. Her brother, Les Shuttler, drove me to and from the bus stop, about 4 miles away at the White Hart, Poulner, to go to school at Brockenhurst (1968 - 1971). My father arranged this with the local Council, so that I could continue in Grammar School education, despite living in an isolated location. The Post Office ...see more
When we first moved to "the estate" in the early fifties I would have to catch the bus into Reigate as I went to school in Holmesdale Road. The school I have forgotten about but what is memorable was the smell of the fresh baked bread coming from the bakery across the road from the bus stop. As kids we would go in and the lady (cannot remember her name) would give us nubbins of left-over dough that had ...see more
I arrived in 1955, I was there for three years. I was not happy there, it was like a jail to me. I do recall the names of Clive Wood and Peter Adams - I do not recall any of the others. There was a girl with a birthmark on her face, her first name was Rita, I think. Do you remember a girl called Diana? she had Tourette's Syndrome.
Remember the cellar? We would all congregate ...see more
I moved to Mitcham in 1941 as a 3 year old having been "bombed out" elsewhere. Many of the memories in these pages are similar to mine. But perhaps not this. As a ten year old my mate Tony Burls and I lived near the Swan Inn. We went for a swim in the Seven Islands one fine day. We hid our clothes and towels in some bushes and had our swim, more of a paddle really. Unfortunately someone stole our clothes and ...see more
I am Pewsey born and bred and what a joy it is to discover a site where memories of our country's unique village life can be shared and stored for the future.
So much to share about Pewsey life... I remember playing with all the children of many ages in Swan Meadow in the 80's. Looking for 'treasure' to sell in the stream at Kings Corner and charging passers-by 2p for a broken piece of china! Making rose 'perfume' and ...see more
Having been evacuated in 1942 to High Easter from the war torn East London, staying with my Aunty Hilda was a dream that I never wanted to end. Our local school was a delight, even Sunday School at St Marys was enjoyable, and play time in the local fields on all the farm equipment was an adventure beyond belief.
Highlight of the week was a trip to Chelmsford in a Joe Lodge coach driven by Sid Perry, a family I ...see more
As a child I remember being dragged around Fine Fair once a week, being sent for a box to the front of the store to put shopping in and being given the job of licking the greenshield stamps and putting them in the book!
St Patricks Open Air School Hayling Island. I went there to get strong enough to have an op' to remove my lung. Didn't like it at all ! The girls were great and had good friends, but it was quite harsh and I found it very strict, almost to the point of unbearable, but it certainly toughened me up ! I can remember Sisters, Bertha, Dorethy, Raymond, John Joseph, & Paul, not forgetting ...see more
Great Aunty Liza lived in an area called Buckland Wharf in a long, low, white bungalow where time stood still except the Grandfather Clock ticked in her "parlour" to tell us otherwise. The room was very dark because the blinds were drawn "to keep out the sun". There was a heavily framed picture of her husband on the wall- a severe looking man with a handlebar moustache - very much the ...see more
My Dad was a sergeant in the RAF; along with Mum (Jean), brother Robert, and sister Carol we lived in married quarters in Medmenham. I remember Roddy Banks and Chris Waillin and the big snowball fight between the North Close and the South Close - we lost. I remember walking for days in the top woods (Hog Wood) and sledging down a big hill there. Also remember the tunnel ...see more
I was born in Chelmsford in 1937 and can remember going to the market every week and seeing all the farm animals such as cows, bulls, pigs, sheep, chickens, rabbits, etc. all there for sale. My favourite part, though, was where they sold dogs and puppies and my parents always said no to my plea to buy one every week. About 20 years later in the early 1960's I had two sons of my own and history repeated itself as ...see more
I had recently passed my driving test and drove a Morris Minor Saloon, to practice my parallel parking I used to drive down South Street after work or on a Sunday and park outside of Woolworths or Marks and Spencers and try various manoeuvres with the aid of the reflection of the car in the plate glass windows.
When I was born in 1939 we lived at 97 Shelvers Way, but my very first memory happened in 1944. It was a lovely sunny day and my mother, Doris Parker, was going to feed the chickens at the bottom of the garden. I was playing outside when mother called out to tell me to go inside and into the shelter as there was a "funny" thing in the sky. I never did get to the shelter, only the dining-room and the next thing I ...see more
My earliest memories are of the married quarters, well into the interior of the barracks of the Dorset Regiment. My father had escaped the poverty of the East End of London in 1923. By 1937 he was a very formidable sergeant of the Second Battalion of the Dorsets.
I used to run through the archway of the keep every morning to the Grove School and I was all of about six years old. ...see more
I used to love The Puddle, I used to go there every weekend during term time from when it opened at Easter every year, until in closed in October. I would try to go every day during the summer holidays, but I didn't always have the money to get in, I would plead with my mum to give me the money to go, I used to do odd jobs to earn some money to go. I remember one day I went and it was throwing it down with ...see more
I was at this school all through the 50s and celebrated the Queens Coronation at the school. All the girls wore a little paper crown on the group photograph that was taken. I had happy memories of my time there and keep in touch with one of the girls I went to school with and now we are in our 60s. I have vivid memories of two old gentlemen coming to the school and they must be long dead now but it seems ...see more
