Recent 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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This week's Places
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Displaying Memories 35201 - 35280 of 36890 in total
My brother and I had holidays in the chalets on the top of the cliffs along with my parents and maternal grandmother. It always seemed hot and sunny and the whole two weeks was spent climbing along the cliffs, digging in the sand and swimming. In the evenings we played board games or took a walk to California Sands. Dad took us into Great Yarmouth on the Wednesday of each of our two weeks. It may seem very quiet and ...see more
I had a wonderful week's holiday based at the Bay Hotel in the first week of August 1968, when I was eleven, with my godfather and his wife. Got slightly tiddly one night on shandy: played Rummy for the first time: roamed all over Anglesey - or so it seemed! - birdwatching, which was then my new hobby, and has remained a faithful friend ever since. Waders and terns galore, and my first Great Crested Grebe....I was ...see more
My ancestor, the Atkinson family lived in this house on the 1901 census, other family members controlled a lock in Leeds
As a pupil at Launde School it was compulsory that we were taught to swim at Oadby Swimming baths, for those of you who know Oadby today it wasn't the newly built baths on Brabazon Road, the baths were in the centre of the village, it looked like an old theatre or cinema on first glance. The boys changing rooms were on the side of the baths themselves the girls were upstairs and across a balcony. The bath was ...see more
Right on the end of this barn, hidden from view was a small irregular building with it's own door. It had been a small butchers shop some time before my Mum and Dad bought it as a hairdressing salon for my mum to use as a little business. It had no heating, just two yellow sinks and chairs, a couple of work stations and a telephone table where the phone, appointment book and till sat. ...see more
This is Sacred Heart RC Church, in Accrington. It has now been demolished. I have many great memories and some not so great from this sacred place. I felt like I had to share this info, with you when I saw this picture. When the church was being knocked down there was a last service mass held and it was a ticket only event. I couldn't go on that evening and therefore missed it. The church holds many ...see more
My Great Great Grandfather was born William Honey Cann. Born: March 12, 1845 in Topsham, England son of John Cann and Jane (Hill) Cann. (William Married - Ann Pidgeon, from England also!). Looking for more information on Cemeteries in this area. John Cann was the son of Samuel Cann & Charity (Arscott) Cann. Looking for information on location of where they lived in Topsham, or worked.
I stayed here in the 1950s but i dont know why i was there
I moved to this village in 1967 aged 14. The main building in the centre of the picture is a bank, I think it was the National which later became the National and Westminster Bank. Beyond the bank and to the right on the corner was a Post Office. Hidden by the bank in the same row as the Post Office was a fish and chip shop, the owner used to give us free bags of "bits" from the fryers, usually bits of batter. ...see more
I loved Valence swimming pool, I used to have swimming lessons there with Grafton junior school and still remember how cold that water was first thing in the mornings. My father used to buy me a season ticket which cost 7shillings & 6pence (37p) which allowed me to go swimming when ever I wanted. I was very sad when they closed it, the then new Dagenham swimming pool was never the same. A few years ago ...see more
I have just discovered that my great great great grandparents came from Rye so could anyone tell me if a place called Fishers House still exists, and also what a farm baliff was expected to do, or what kind of job did a fly catcher do? Are any family called Wenham still living in Rye?
Would anyone remember the name and exact location of a hairdressers/barbers shop in Kettering Regent Street area? Looking at late 1920's onwards.
I was bought up in Dagenham and went to Valence swimming pool regularly with my school. If you had signed up to go swimming at the start of the school year you had to go - whatever the weather!! I always had a cup of Oxo afterwards to warm me up!! When Dagenham indoor pool was built in the early 70's it seemed like sheer luxury!! What a shame it has become so run-down now.............
The George Hotel was newly decorated and it re-opened with a special day around 1985. The horse drawn Whitbread Brewery dray arrived and the newly painted pub sign was unveiled by the mayor. Everything looked great and a good day out was ensured by a dazzling display from the dancers and musicians of Whitethorn Morris - a team of clog wearing morris dancers from nearby Harrow. They looked fine in their ...see more
Hi there. My father-in-law was born in Gilfach Goch but left when he was a child. It was not long ago me and my husband took him back and he was quite shocked to see how much the place has changed. The address he used to live at is no longer there, not even a road. Anyway before we left Mr Raymond Cook (my father-in-law) wanted to know what Gilfach Goch is in English as he cannot remember. Please help. Thanks.
Richard, I am one of the current owners of the rectory (now The Old Rectory) where you came to visit and review the house you had lived in as a child and pointed out which room had been your bedroom. Strangely though, the 27 rooms that you remember seem to have shrunk to a present day 12 (plus 2 loos and a bathroom)! Combpyne has remained a "working village" though, unlike many of the surrounding ones, with many ...see more
Hi - I have a couple of photos of my great-grandmother taken by Wragg, a photographer in Wigan and Leyton Arcade, Southport. I'd like to hear from anyone who can help me date the pictures by comparing the frames. The pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicdafis/468472134 http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicdafis/468483717 Many thanks.
There doesn't seem to be many memories of the Trevethans - anyone help?
This is the road my mum lived in in Gilfach-she is Cynthia Purnell
My Grandparents, Harry and Hannah Young lived in the first cottage on the left as you enter the village. I spent most of my school holidays there with them and my Mother and I were evacuated to live with them during W.W.2 for a period of time. I attended Stebbing school for about 3 weeks, then was moved from there to a small village or church hall in the road behind the now Bowls club (my great ...see more
The lady with the white coat and shopping basket on the right hand side of the photo is my grandmother - Clara Billington - and lovely to see her in print!
Where we first met
September 22nd 1984
The building on the extreme right of the photograph used to be the Ring o' Bells Public House, owned by my great grandfather, Jesse Laver Difford. It was initially called The Grapevine Inn, or was called that when my grandmother was born there, in 1880 and its name changed to the Ring o' Bells at some time later.
I moved into this cottage in 1953 with my parents and older sister. I remember very clearly looking out of the large window in the centre of the cottage wishing I was old enough to go to school with my sister. I was also very envious as she came home from school with a Coronation mug of the Queen and Prince Philip. When we first moved in, there was no inside bathroom or toilet and we got our water from a pump in the ...see more
In the 1840's Magors and Menadues migrated from Mithian to South Australia, and I am the product of the marriages between the families. If anyone would like to correspond with me on this page I have more details and would love to learn new ones. I live in Adelaide South Australia and am visiting Mithian in May 2007 to learn what I can. Thankyou Ruth Gates nee MAGOR My father's mother was a MENADUE
I remember my grandmother telling me years ago, that I was distantly related to the Marquis of Bute. His wife the Marquess had an illigitimate child, who became my grandmother. And I am also a descendant of Alexander Wilson (a Welsh Artist on my father's side) who has art displayed of ancient Cardiff and Barry, in Cardiff Castle, but most are at St Fagan's Museum. His family owned the ...see more
Married at the wonderful old church of St. Peter's Walton on the Hill, 5th July 1972. At this time, my parents were living at Tudor Court, Walton St. Walton on the Hill, and Mum, owned the shop below, Anne Cleeves. I had been over in NZ for almost two years on a working holiday, and came home with a Kiwi in tow, strict instructions from the parents, if you want to marry, please marry at St Peter's so we did. Loved ...see more
Spent my childhood in Valleyfield Road. Streatham. attended St. Helen's school for Girls. Streatham Common North side. (mind you there were a few lads there as well!) Spent hours playing on the Common, walking through the Rookery, down to The White House and back through the common, in those days, it was considered SAFE. A group of us would do this, spend hours on the Common. Happy memories of my ...see more
We moved to Abridge in 1948, I was 8 years old, with mum and dad Pat and Stan Walker. We lived at no 41 Pancroft Estate later re numbered 45. My early memories of the little villiage was of Brighty's shop and cafe where all the cyclists use to stop for refreshments. It was the dad Burt and son Fred and I think it was his mother who looked like a gypsy. She used to sit behind the counter ...see more
I have very fond memories of the childrens pool in Lee-on-the-Solent where I used to live between 1960 to 1966. Many summer days were spent at the pool which was located adjacent to the beach. I remember I learned to swim here, I remember the snack bar and all the fun my friends & I had here. My fondest memories are of my time here, in late october 1966 we emigrated to Canada (30 miles west of Toronto ...see more
My family lived at the Book Shop in the middle of the photograph from 1961 to 1981, it was a shop that seemed to me to sell everything, newsagents, sweet shop, chemists, haberdasherers as well as selling books. I was 6 years old in 1965, I can remember looking up at the jars of sweets in awe, mouth watering at the thought of jelly babies and sherbet lemons. Harold and Nora lived in the Post Office next door and ...see more
I remember Tonis Ice Cream, Rosins the Baker, Genners toy shop, Pegglies Bike and Sports shop, Endines for Leather, Wilsons the Green Grocer and the long line ups for those ever so rare oranges, Watlings the tool shop and of course the Co-Op. I remember the shot down Messerschmitt displayed at the corner of Watling Avenue and Orange Hill Rd opposite Watling Park. I was able to sit in it because my mother ...see more
On The High Street, Neston as you look towards Liverpool Road with The Cross just behind you you may still be able to see two alleyways. One used to end in a shed where a man had a bike shop. It was an Aladdin's Cave stacked with spare parts. My Dad bought me bikes. We had the lawnmower fixed there too. The second alleyway had the doorway to a ...see more
My memory of West Chiltington as a child is of a sleepy little village where everyone knew each other. As a child I could wander with friends and not be afraid as all the village people knew everyone else. A pleasant stroll up Church Hill on a summers evening is one memory that springs to mind with Mr Gumbrell who lived at the top of Church Hill wandering across to the church to lock-up. Yes, the church was ...see more
The Three Horseshoes is an attractive pub facing the village green and the war memorial at Letchmore Heath, a beautiful place between Elstree and Aldenham just outside Watford. This pub regularly attracts morris dancers and one of the local morris sides is Whitethorn Morris who often perform both there and in the village hall. The dancers, plus the Whitethorn Band, form up in the narrow road ...see more
The Rochester Sweeps festival celebrates the traditional May Day holiday that chimney sweeps used to enjoy. It is a glorious mixture of dancing, music and dressing up with visitors from all over Britain bringing their entertainment to Rochester High Street each year. The festival attracts morris dancers and musicians who are delighted to perform in front of the huge crowds ...see more
Hello friends! I am very interested to find out as much as I can about the former Our Lady's school which used to be on Church Road in Formby. I'm interested more about the boys side as apparently boys and girls were seperated then. My Father went to that school (not sure on the year?) and he has no memory keepsake whatsoever! So for Fathers Day I would love to ...see more
My name is David Effer and we lived in Ticehurst from 1954 to 1968 when we left for Australia. We lived in Springfields and I had 4 brothers and two sisters. My father worked at Ticehurst House as a chef. Mum and dad have passed on now and one sister lives in Sicily.
Working for Thomas Wallis seen here on the left, it was a large department store selling all household goods, from tea towels to carpets and furniture. Oh how I loved my job. In those days the shops used to shut Wednesday afternoons and I wanted to stay there I loved it so much. My Mum, "Collie" as she was known, was in charge of the female staff there and it was a privilege to work there with her, she is 82 now. ...see more
My friends Carole, Linda & I would go to this roof top garden for a glass of orange juice. We were only 12 at the time and this garden was on the top of Harvey Department Store in the High Street. We would sit at the seats in this picture and watch as there were many goldfish swimming in the water there and made for a very relaxing sit in the sun.
What happy times, on holiday with my parents and my brother Ray in a little caravan site just down this road over looking the Creek itself. Next door to us 3 lads from Birmingham had come to stay, us being from Surrey it was quite amusing to hear them talk. I was just 15 when Derek asked me if I could go for a ride on his motorbike. My dad went to talk to him, as they did in those days. We ...see more
It was always my understanding that the person buried had asked for a fig to be put in one hand and a plum stone in the other and if there were a God, the fig would grow!
Here in Helperby we have hosted a great Hidden Gardens every July. And this year it will be even better. Last year was great , the weather hot and the strawberrys were very tasty. But we wanted to share more of Helperby with everyone. so we made a village website, for the people who live there. They can add what they want. Talk in the forums and post events in the calendar. Please have a look, as currently we are ...see more
I was a pupil of Upper Hale Junior School from 1969 to 1971 when I transferred to Heathend Comprehensive. When I was there the Head Mistress was a Miss Carter and my teacher was Mr Macknight, a very talented Artist who taught me and others to draw. Mr Macknight also held unusual classes of of what would be termed E.S.P: he would send a pupil into the adjoining cloakroom with a pen and paper, draw a ...see more
THIS GRAND ENTRANCE, USED TO BE THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO ASHLEYCROSS GIRLS SECONDARY MODERN SCHOOL. WE USED TO WEAR RED BERETS, RED JUMPERS AND RED STOCKINGS. THE WINDOW ON THE LOWER LEFT, WAS THE HEAD MISTRESSES ROOM (MISS ASHHURST) AT THE TIME WHEN I WENT. IF WE DID NOT WEAR OUR BERETS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL THEN IT WAS TO THAT ROOM WE WERE SENT. THE ROOM ABOVE IS WHERE WE DID NEEDLEWORK, WE LIKED THAT ROOM AS WE ...see more
I was born and grew up in the little village of Llanfairpwll. Mine was a happy childhood, free of drugs, vandalism and graffiti. Everyone knew everyone in the village, which in those days, over 60 years ago, was predominantly Welsh. We were taught in Welsh at the Infants School. Until one sunny afternoon, the excited English voices of evacuees from the English cities of the North were heard. Each ...see more
My mother's family is from Bristol and my first memory of going to Congresbury is when I was four, in 1984. Me, my mom and my three older brothers went to visit my grandma and grandpa in their beautiful cottage home, on Orchard Lea. The beautiful flowers, crab apple trees, the smell of summer...the list goes on. I remember going snail picking and being too scared to eat one. My grandpa would make us kids ice cream ...see more
Hi Paul Saxon here, we moved to Red Lion Lane in 1961. I went to Mill Lane school and my brother Craig McAteer went to Berwick Road school. Little Sutton was small as was Red Lion Lane. We lived right next to the bowling green. There used to be a youth club by the now car wash area and Craig and I played tennis at Hooton Lawn Tennis Club with Pete Moore. Our mates at the time were Clifford Snowdon, ...see more
My friend Jean and I lived at Dorney Reach and we used to go for walks by the river Thames with my dog. On Sunday afternoons we would then cross over the walkway which was on top of the lock gates and buy ice-creams from the lock-keepers shop. You could hear the roar from the weir. The children from Dorney Reach would love to help open and shut the lock gates which was done manually.
This is the hospital that my first child was born in. The year was 1968 and you had to stay in for approximately 10 days. I was also born in this hospital in 1949. The building was very imposing and the staff were wonderful. The matron was very strict and as soon as she came onto the ward the nurses would be in awe of her.
The is the church I was baptised in. As I child I used to go bell ringing here (St James the Less). We used to climb up the very narrow stairwell being very careful not to slip. Every week we used to practise. There were six bells and I used to ring No.4. Our teacher would stress to us not to break the stay as it was very expensive to replace so I always felt nervous ringing the bell. Goodness knows what it must have ...see more
My friend Jean and I used to pick wild violets in the wood just along the towpath on the right hand side of this picture. The wood was a carpet of yellow celandines in Spring and the scent from the wild violets was reward in itself. We lived in Dorney Reach so most of our childhood was spent by the river Thames. Further back from this picture on the other side of the riverbank was Monkey Island Hotel.
I was 9 years old when we came to live in Combpyne, we lived at the end of the village accross the road from a farm where my father worked. The farm must have belonged to the Webbers as I remember they had a son called Giles, like the other reader said, I think his sister was called Frances. My brother and I used to walk to the other end of the village to catch the school bus. I used to go to Uplyme school ...see more
I was born in Wilmington Way Patcham in 1938. I remember it to be high up on the South Downs. Has anyone posted up to date pictures of Patcham on the net, please. I left in about 1942, and would like to know what it looks like now.
My paternal grandmother, Kate Paine Whitbourn, was born in these cottages in 1896. Her father was the head carpenter at Bisham Abbey. The Paine family had lived in Bisham for several generations. When I was little, Gran and I would visit the kirk and 'water' her grandad. He was a great cricketer. We would stop at the monument, the war memorial, to read the names of Charles Paine and Guy and Berkeley ...see more
I have recently discovered that my Great Grandfather John Main originally from Devon (a shoe maker) and then in Brixton, London as a Dairy Manager owned the Bell Hotel in Hare Street around 1905. My Grandmother lived there as a little girl and would often tell us stories as children about how it was haunted and about secret panels etc and of an old huntsman who would sit on the garden ...see more
As a boy growing up in Burnt Oak I remember the barrow boys in Watling Avenue, the hustle and bussle of everyday trading, the people gathering round the stalls, the banter, the laughter, the friendliness. Like one family everyone pulled together on busy days. The Baldfaced Stag pub was a meeting place at the end of the day's work for fun and some fights. A few years later progress took over and the barrows which ...see more
I was born at School House, Crawley Down in 1941. My Gran and Grandad (Reg & Florrie ... known as Ducky ...Fry) lived there for many years. My elder sister Jean and I (Jacki) lived there with my Mum, Marjorie and Dad Jack Hilton, until we moved to Crowborough. My sister and I spent the long school summer holidays with our lovely grandparents. Gran was caretaker and cook at the school ...see more
I was a young Constable in the year 1951, and fresh from Peel House, Westminster was assigned tio the Savile Row station known as CD. I lived at the Section House on Broadwick Street, Soho named after Lord Trenchard. Many times I was assigned to Piccadilly Circus, on the early turn or at 5pm to 1am for a two week period. There was the box attached to and adjacent to the stairs to the Piccadilly ...see more
Going back to days when the smimming pool opened at the junior school, Mr Henderson was the head and Mr Hesketh deputy. My teacher was Mr English. We also had a great soccer team that I played in. I live in New Zealand in a place called Henderson.
My Grandparents lived at 26 Otley Street in Skipton from the 1940 ( or earlier ) and I had first visited them in 1945 after VE day, They were Thomas Henry Jackson, my Grandmother Charlotte Jackson and their batchelor son, my Uncle Gordon. My Father Norman Jackson and Mother Sadie Jackson were living in Belfast Northern Ireland since 1934 where I was born in 1938, and because my Paternal ...see more
I lived in Alderley Edge from 1950 to 1964, with my sister Ann, parents, and grandparents, after spending my very early years at Clockhouse Farm in Mottram St Andrew. We came to live in a house called Croston, previously the coachman's house for Croston Towers, a large castellated residence torn down at the end of WW2, probably due to damage by troops billeted there. Croston Towers had been the home of the ...see more
we used to stand on the edge of the fountain as kids and squirt the water at unsuspecting adults (I bet they suspected!)
My first introduction to Slaidburn was in the middle of the very cold and snowy winter of 1949-50. I had just driven down from Inverness to this charming Lancashire village with my Dad. It had been a long, cold drive in a 1938 Morris roadster car, loaded with luggage and a big tool box. I was to begin a new job working for Cementation Ltd where my father also worked. The contract was to drill a tunnel ...see more
I vividly remember the day when as an eight year old, along with my mate and neighbour, Billy Sturmey, we "borrowed" 2 shillings from my mothers purse and hired a rowboat from the Portslade foreshore and rowed around among the cargo vessels tied up on the seaward side of the "canal" as we called the harbour. We spent the whole morning enjoying what we thought was an amazing experience. The only ...see more
Seeing the pic of the font in St Marys brought back memories of my time as a choir boy there, part of a tradition in our family. Our choir master was Mr Sellers a teacher at Geneva School also known as 'Jumbo' because of his large ears! New boys were intitated into the choir with a ritual (including me) in which you had to run around the church outside, then hit on head with bell rope and finally thrown ...see more
I believe the Tivoli was owned by my Uncle Frank Williams, who lived in the 40s at Tree Tops, a modern (then) bungalow in the vicinity of Rugeley. He was my father's brother and I think he also owned the cinema at the other end of the main road (was it the Empire?) Previously he either owned or leased Cannock Picture House. He had a poster business (mainly cinema posters) where my father Erskine ...see more
For several years in the early 60's our family spent our summer holidays at the caravan park just outside the town of Conwy. I have very happy memories of visiting the castle and the lovely town. Often in the late afternoon we would walk to town via the Harbour Walk and spend a lovely evening by the harbour quay where I recall there was a little pub where you could sit outside. My father would have a beer and my ...see more
My father lived at Southbeach Mansion and apparently died in Ipswich Hospital in 1997. I have been searching for him all my life. I was hoping that someone would remember him and perhaps have some memories or memorabilia that they could share. He was in the RAF. Loved motorcycles, and as I remember when a child he had red hair. My Mother and he lived perhaps in the Cotswolds briefly. Do not know when ...see more
Sometime between 1900 and 1940 Thomas Arthur Livingston taught in Tonypandy. He had children, is there anyone out there who can provide a clue as to what happened to him, or a photo of the school with or without him.
My great great grandparents arrived in Redmire in the 1840s or thereabouts. This photo was taken in 1929 when my mother would have been about nine or ten. She was born in Redmire in 1921 to George and Ellenor Miller who had five more children William, Ethel, Lillian, John and Mary. The family were all stonemasons through the census years. My interest is in this photo. The girl with the longest hair resembles ...see more
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I lived in Aveley Villiage from when I was born in 1957 until we moved to the Kennington Estate about 1971. We had a funny house in Church View which seemed to be back to front compared to some of my friends houses. Our end of Church View was a Cul de Sac with a circular turning area in the road where it ended. Hours were spent by the children in our road playing in the street, skipping, hopscotch, rounders ...see more
Does anyone remember my great grandfather, Edward Stanley Carpenter? Does anyone know someone who remembers him as a lay preacher there towards the beginning of the twentieth century? I would love to hear the recollections. Caroline Scot.
After WW2 my father was posted to the firing range at Yantlet , Grain. When he left the army he was a caretaker at Grain Fort before working at the new oil refinery. My brother and I spent our pre teen years at Grain. It was a wonderful place for kids - forts, watch towers, the beach, ships on the Thames and Medway, the window shattering boom of the big guns firing at Yantlet, the marshes, strawberry ...see more
We lived at 1, Northanger Road, which was at right angles to Olton Boulevard East and we have had views down both directions of the Boulevard. I remember the regular visits of the rag and bone man. Cars were becoming common-place, but a horse and cart seemed very old fashioned. The horse manure was soon collected up by the keen gardeners in the area. It was a good way of getting rid of the unwanted articles, as the rag and bone man seemed to take all we gave him.
In the 1851 census William Amos, believed to have been my Great Grandfather, lived with his wife Caroline and children in No.10 High Street, Sturry. He is recorded as being a schoolteacher. In the 1861 census he is recorded as being a Shipping Agent living in Whitsable, address unclear in the register. A rather strange change of occupation. I would be very interested in learning more about him and his family and which school, possibly Kings, which is close by, that he taught at. Peter Amos
I first arrived in Llanegryn at the latter end of 1939 along with my younger sister and a lot of other kids from my school (St Johns)in Birkenhead. I was eight years old at the time and my sister was six. We were all put into the village hall where people of the neighbourhood came and took us to different addresses. A lady from the next street to me in my home town was with us as she had two girls about 5 and 6 ...see more
My ancestors owned this public house in the late 18th century. Prior to this they were tenants of the Duke of Bristol and the head of the household was the ferryman. He was mentioned in a letter to the Duke from a disgruntled customer claimed that his attitude was unbecoming! We have visited the area many times during my search for my ancestors.
