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 1701 - 1750 of 2029 in total
Many, many, happy memories of holidays in a cottage on the Warren located next door to old Tynans (sorry if not spelt right) bakery. Waking up to the smell of pies and bread, while being sent to the stand pipe on the old dusty main road for the water. Waiting for the call of the calor gas truck, the excitement of the weeeeooooop from the loud speaker on its roof then CALLLLLOR GAS CALLLING....CALLORRRR GAS ...see more
There were four Italian shops in the town when that nation joined Hitler. Tazioli, Vincenti and Rinaldi had ice cream/sweetie shops. Moscadini had a fish and chip shop, a thriving business. The first three kept very quiet but silly old Moscadini would go down the pub and tell all the lads about what cowards the English were and how brave the Italians were and often had a black eye to prove it! However his fish and ...see more
We didn't need a gym, we got our fresh air and exercise outdoors. Couldn't wait to catch up with friends after school, John, Kevin and myself went to Saint Cuthberts Catholic School, the only Catholic family living there at the time. Church every Sunday, back home, out of or good clothes and off we went. It didn't mater what religion you were, we were all mates. I remember going with Linda, my best ...see more
I was stationed in Morfa Camp in Towyn between Jan 66 and Dec 68. We were more or less regulars at the pub, especially on Saturdays in the winter. The landlord at that time was an Englishman named Len or Les. He was an authority on the history of the British Army. My fondest memory is of winter evenings sitting by the log fire and listening to the 'choir' that regularly entertained. They were led by ...see more
The Army
My call up papers came with a railway warrant for Gloucester, where I and another group of lucky lads, were picked up by army lorry and taken to the barracks of the Gloucester Regiment for our six weeks basic training. Unloaded at the barrack square, we were marched (shambled) to our huts, then to the QM stores for uniform and kit.
The Army does not give you your kit, it is yours “for the use of” during your ...see more
The Seagoing Years.
I must have left the Army sometime in August or September of 1949, and went back to C.J.King & son, tug owners, to carry on with my job as deck boy. This was not to my liking, as I was now twenty, and scrubbing floors for 3 quid a week all hours of the day and night was beneath my dignity, even though I was only getting 26 Shillings in the Army, but that ...see more
After the war, on April 14th 1946, flying training ceased, and Lulsgate Bottom was abandoned by the RAF in October. The airfield was used by Bristol Gliding Club during the next ten years, but the accommodation became a refugee camp for Poles, whose children went to Catholic schools in Bristol.
In 1948 and 1949 motor race meetings were organised by the Bristol Motor Cycle and Light Car Club ...see more
It is ironic that these massive buildings that dominate the ridge at Ashley Down were known for generations as the Muller Homes. Their founder, German immigrant George Muller, was insistent on the title 'The New Orphan House' as he did not want his name to be prominent, for he considered himself merely an instrument in the venture. In fact, in his youth he must have seemed an unlikely candidate for such benevolent ...see more
The Dutch House - this 17th century building once stood on the corner of Wine Street. It was reduced to a charred skeleton during the Second World War and for safety's sake it had to be pulled down.
The Dutch House was Bristol's best-known landmark before the Blitz. By 1732 it was the house of John Vaughan, a goldsmith, in 1810 it became the Castle Bank, in 1826 the Stuckey's Bank; and by 1855 it was occupied by ...see more
St John's Gate in Broad Street in Bristol is the only surviving medieval city gateway, at one one time there were seven gates into the old city. Fortified gateways pierced the town wall at intervals. St John's Gateway, originally one of these, is the only Bristol one to survive. Portcullis channels are still visible within the arch. Queen Elizabeth I rode through here on entering the city in 1574. ...see more
Over a thousand years ago Bristol's harbour developed around the lowest bridging point of the River Avon. The exceptional tidal range of the Severn Estuary and Avon carried laden ships into the city and scoured the river of silt.
Local trade flourished between Bristol, South Wales, the Severn ports and Ireland. During the Middle ages the port grew in prestige, trading with the Atlantic seaboard, Iceland and the ...see more
Pisa has its famous leaning tower - and so does Bristol, with its drunkenly off-vertical tower of Temple Church in Temple Street. The tower isn't on the stupendous scale of its Italian counterpart, it's true. But its prominent position by busy Victoria Street and its proximity to Temple Meads station make it one of the most startling sights to be seen by newly-arrived visitors to Bristol.
Poor ...see more
Our family had returned to England at the very end of 1948 from a short overseas BOAC posting in Montreal. My father, a BOAC pilot, was due to begin training to fly Boeing Stratocruisers at Filton in 1949, and along with other crew families we were placed on a new housing estate in Westbrook Road. Shortly before Christmas 1951 my older brother (8) and I went shopping in the Centre travelling in by bus, I ...see more
'Cash on the Nail' the man said. . . and a century or so ago in Bristol he really meant it. For the deal would have been clinched on one of Bristol's four famous nails standing outside the Corn Exchange on Corn Street or, from the late 1550s to 1771, under a covered walk outside All Saints Church before they were moved to today's well-known site.
The brass nails with their flat tops and raised edges to prevent ...see more
Goddamn fish and chips!
At the very bottom of the Christmas Steps lies a building thought to date back to the 13th century, which has housed a fish and chip shop for well over 100 years. One of the first ever 'chippies' to open in England, this shop won a Best in Britain award whilst under the management of the inimitable Grace and Robert. After taking over the restaurant in 1964, the couple ...see more
The High Street - the scene of many stirring events in Bristol's history and the heart of the city - was destroyed and lost forever during the Second World War.
As a city with docks and industry at its heart, Bristol was a natural target for German bombing during the Second World War. The German Luftwaffe were able to trace a course up river from Avonmouth using reflected moonlight. This path brought them right ...see more
Arnos Vale Cemetery is the location of the tomb of Raja Ram Mohun Roy - 'The Father of Modern India'. He died when on a visit to Bristol in 1833. This gentleman left home and 'sought knowledge by his extensive travels'. He mastered ten languages, encouraged the study of English in early 19th century India and was a journalistic pioneer in India.
He came to England in 1830 to plead the cause of ...see more
The large vessel in the foreground is a pleasure steamer belonging to Campbells, the 'Empress Queen', and was the first screw steamer owned by the company. The vessel on the opposite bank was a William Sloan steamer, registered at Leith, although her name, partly obscured, was not one of their regulars and may have been on charter whilst either the 'Annan' or 'Findhorn' was in dry dock. They operated from ...see more
Two of the cranes were purchased by 'City Dock Ventures' and two by the city council. All four were put into the museums care in 1989. Although the electricity supply to them was cut in 1974, one has been restored and another is in the process of being restored by a dedicated team of volunteers, led by Dave 'The Crane' Cole.
One crane is now fully working and sometimes open for the public to go up to ...see more
The Llandoger Trow - It is rumoured that Daniel DeFoe had met Alexander Selkirk ( shipwrekced sailor who had been rescued by a Bristol ship) in the Llandoger, on whose story he based his book 'Robinson Crusoe'.
The Llandoger is also supposed to be the model for The Admiral Benbow pub in Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure book 'Treasure Island'. Blackbeard the pirate, who also came from Bristol, ...see more
Only a handful of people have survived the terrible fall from the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The most celebrated was young lover Sarah Ann Henley.
Sarah was a local girl from St Philip's in Bristol. In 1885 she was 22 and working in a Bristol factory when she was jilted by her boyfriend. The heartbroken girl made her way up from industrial St Philips to Clifton and the bridge and, in despair, she ...see more
It has long been claimed that the lady in black who haunts the beautiful old Theatre Royal in King Street, home of the Bristol Old Vic, is none other than the great actress Sarah Siddons. There are similar tales of Siddons haunting other theatres but why should she haunt the Theatre Royal where she rarely appeared and where nothing momentous happened to her?
The answer is that the Theatre Royal's ...see more
Having a harbour right in the city centre gave Bristol an unrivalled attraction for visitors who gazed in wonder at the sight of tall masts - 'In the middle of the street, as far as you can see, hundreds of ships, their masts as thick as they can stand by one another, which is the oddest and most surprising sight imaginable', wrote Alexander Pope in 1732.
A long street, full of ships in the middle ...see more
The Thames-side Miniature Railway opened in about 1946 and closed in 1954. The station, which had a single platform, stood at the Caversham end of the line. To the east of the station was the engine shed and, beyond that, a turntable. At the western end of the railway was another turntable and a passing loop that enabled the locomotive, once turned, to return to the front of the train. The railway ...see more
Wonderful little beach. As a lad in the late 1940's and early 50's, I was a deckchair boy here, and hundreds of people would walk from town to have a coffee at the cafe at the bottom of Rapparee steps, or spend half the day sitting in a deckchair. I learnt to swim here, jumping from the rocks at the side of the beach. Rowing boats from the harbour would visit, taking people back to the quay for ...see more
During the years of 1959-1960 I worked as secretary in the Education Centre at RAF Mildenhall. One of my favourite memories of that time was having lunch at Tillys Pantry every Friday. Another secretary at the air base had just passed her driving licence exam - quite a feat for a young girl at that time as it was a thorough examination and not too many passed on the first attempt, and ...see more
I remember this paddling pool so well, when I was about 8 years old I would be there with my nana {in fact in looks like me in the pic}. She would sit on the bench in the pic and eat her rich tea biscuits. I begged her to let me swim every time we were there, I would mostly paddle though. One day the pool was empty and I was playing around the drain and I got my big toe stuck in it, I was really ...see more
I was a policeman in Newmarket from 1962 -1970 and well remember having to stand in the glass tower in the middle of the roundabout controlling the traffic using the part-time traffic lights on each of the 5 entrances to the roundabout. This caper was mainly carried out on Summer weekends when the traffic coming back from the coast would be particularly heavy coming down the ...see more
My friend Sue and I worked as waitresses at the Runnacleve during July and August of that hot summer whilst on holiday from catering college. Not that we saw much of the sun! We served breakfast, lunch and dinner with short breaks in between. We would start work at 7.30am and finally finish around 9pm. We were in the annexe of the restaurant and I waited on the American owner, Mr Roberts and his family who had the ...see more
My family ran the Carlton from the early 1970s. We lived there for a year or two in the flat which was on the right where the garage is in the picture here. I remember cycling around the place on my blue plastic tractor (I was born in 1971 was I wasn't old). We found that some guests came into the flat and used our bathroom so we hid a fake rubber severed hand poking out of the toilet. They never came in ...see more
My mother Elizabeth and my father, Graham Thomson, lived on a houseboat in Poole harbour during 1950 and 1951. I was a baby and they had to move to dry land when I became a toddler! My mother used to tell me how she used to hang nappies from the sail masts on deck. I don't remember much, apart from the clinking of sail masts which I still find very soothing.
My mother and father used to ...see more
At the same time in Wimbledon, there was also another Kennards and like the poster said, he used to go to Kennards with his mum and nan and so did I (to the Kennards in Wimbledon). I was about 4 or 5 then, just after the war and when I first went there with my mum and nan, I was amazed to see in this great big shop with so many departments, there was a dance floor and a small orchestra playing and a singer. I had never ...see more
Was there really a live donkey in Kennards Arcade at some point? Was that just a childhood dream I had?
One highlight of my childhood was going to one of the big department stores with my grandmother and mother. Ladies dressed in black played violins while we ate coffee and cake. For a few brief hours we were rich, had a huge house and all the other things I once thought made life fun. I cannot remember if it was ...see more
I was also in this Fever Hospital with Scarlet Fever for three weeks I was 9 or 10. I clearly remember being rushed there in an ambulance wrapped tightly in a blanket with a bag of sweets stuffed down my front. I felt very bewildered by the whole experience. I recall the nurses were very kind but the food was not so good. A big box of oranges was sent in by one of my uncles which felt very special as I saw ...see more
My memories are relating to the mid 1950`s & 1960`s: smelling the ground coffee and Broomfields Bakers, C&A store, a boutique called `Bus Stop` and Martin Fords in the high street, where I bought my first leather coat. I have lots of memories of the old Croydon, especially going swimming in the baths in Scarbrooke Rd. It had two baths, a large and a small. Cost of 6 old pence a session. After, we ...see more
My mother Kathleen Reeve used to work in Kennards and I remember that at the end of the day over the loudspeaker system they would play "Now is the Hour". In later years she always used to say how much she disliked that tune! I was only 7 but I too remember the arcade and the sights and smells and how wonderful it was for a child at Christmas time.
In about 1952 appeared in the scouts gang show at Civic Hall organised by Ralph Reader. In 54 attended my final year prize giving before I left Croydon Sec Tech. Still have picture of this event which appeared in the Croydon Advertiser. I also remember well the toy shop Hamleys and many Dinky toys and Meccano kits, my parents bought for me. The Sax One Shoe at the top of the hill provided me with ...see more
Hi, my name is Margaret Henderson (nee Percy). I lived in Westerham, Kent but worked in the Croydon Model Laundry. I used to travel by bus to Croydon every day from Westerham and then walked down Surrey Street markets to the laundry; you turned left at the bottom of Surrey Street (BHS was on the corner on the right), the laundry was further along on the right, near a bridge. I loved going down the markets in ...see more
Does anyone remember Davidson Road Secondary Modern School? This was late 1950's pre co-education days so although housed in the same building, girls were upstairs and boys downstairs. Seperate playgrounds and 'never the twain shall meet'. There was a girl with long wavy fair hair .Like me she was a prefect, her name was Margaret Connell and I positively worshipped her for the whole of the last year of ...see more
The pub in the middle distance on the right is The Red Deer. On the triangle, which is formed by the junction of Brighton Road & Sanderstead Road, where incidentally I later lived & two of my children were born, stood a horse trough. This trough had not been cleaned or serviced in any way for a number of years. Two friends & myself came out of The Star Pub at Broad Green, which is the other ...see more
I purchased my first vehicle at Dees in 1959. I was twenty four and really wanted a car but the prices were high for used vehicles and the registration fees also. I went to Dees with my friend Graham (we met while working at Mullard in Mitcham) and one of the the employees told us they had some used vans for sale. In those days the registration fees for vans was a lot lower than a regular ...see more
I lived in Ashford Road for the first 20 years of my life and my mother still lives in the same house; she has lived there since 1933. I was born in 1950 in the new cottage hospital at the top of the road. I went to school at Fordingbridge Primary and Burgate Secondary. I remember the snow of Boxing day 1962; we were playing in the field next to the river at Ashford Road when it began in the late ...see more
A few days after starting school, I paid my first remembered visit to Fordingbridge Fair. A funfair visited Fordingbridge every year during the first week in September. It was situated in Church Square and in the land opposite and a few stalls were placed in the open space at the junction with Back Street, now called West Street. Cars park there now! The fair was already a shadow of its pre-war self in ...see more
After our family home in Trafalgar Avenue, Peckham was damaged by the 'blitz' for the 3rd time, my mother decided enough is enough. She got in touch with her sister who lived in the country (South Norwood) to try and get us accomodation near her - this she did. We moved from Peckham to a nice upstairs flat at 34 Whitworth Road. Both of these houses although suffering a pummerling (minor damage ...see more
The picture house was nicknamed the Swimming Pool, because of all the breaststrokers. Ritchies ferry was great and could be depended upon unlike the farce of a ferry which now only operates when there is no wind and no waves. I remember when Rab Ritchie would stop for a wee bit of fishing if he was quiet! Nowadays a rowing boat would provide a better service. (well nearly). They have even emasculated the formerly reliable service to Dunoon, never mind Blairmore! Progress backwards.
My family, the Wicketts, were the first family to move into #11 Station Road, just after it was built. I believe not long before my father, Wilfred, was born in 1916, or prehaps just after his birth(?). My cousin, Margret Coish, nee - Margret Clay and her husband Robert Coish now own #11, making it a family owned house since it was built! The first Wicketts to live there where, my Granma ...see more
I was brought up in Blaenau Ffestiniog and lived there until 1971. The High Street photograph brings it all back. The shop on the extreme left of the photo was my mum's hairdressing shop and we lived in the flat above. My dad was the Superintendant Registrar and he used to marry people, usually on Saturday mornings. I well remember the lobby to his office always had bits of ...see more
My strongest memories of Lewisham is there being three cinemas there. The Gaumont (where I saw the Beatles live in the 1960s) - I went to Saturday morning pictures there. The Rex cinema, just by the bridge opposite The Duke of Clarence pub, also opposite the best restaraunt in Lewisham, 'The Saville'. And the Prince of Wales which was further up Lewisham High Street almost opposite the ...see more
My mother, then called Billie Gwilliam, was living in New Cross in South London with her parents Bill and Connie Gwilliam during the Blitz of the Second World War, and has many memories of what it was like to be a young child living through this terrifying time.
‘I remember a group of us coming up the hill from our school, which was at the bottom of the road, and the air-raid siren ...see more
I was born in Carlton Road in 1937. Got bombed out when a landmine dropped down the road and we were evacuated to Clacton while my Dad worked down the Underground tunnel when his factory and the machines were moved away from the air raids. Went to a boarding school in Surrey because I got very good at forging notes to my teacher and playing hookey. Forgot one thing - the attendance officer. Family ...see more
