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.
Search for Local Memories
Search for your favourite UK places and read memories of the local area in days gone by.
Add a Memory!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the 'Add Your Memory' buttons to begin
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:
-
How the location features in your personal history?
-
The memories this place inspires for you?
-
Stories about the community, its history and people?
-
People who were particularly kind or influenced your time in the community.
-
Has it changed over the years?
-
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!
Enjoy browsing more recent contributions now.
Subscribe
Join the thousands who receive our regular doses of warming nostalgia! Have our latest blog posts and archive news delivered directly to your inbox. Absolutely free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Displaying Memories 23041 - 23120 of 36955 in total
My great-aunts, Selena (who died when I was very young) and Daisy Young (nee Francis, and died 1962?), lived in Lower Moors Road. I forget the name of the house, but my brother and I used to play in the orchard behind the house. I will always remember the two monkey puzzle trees in the front garden. The house was lit by gas, with an outside toilet, and only one tap inside. Bert ...see more
My father Eddie Morris was last of of 7 children who lived in the Gristmill. Even aged 70, he was still hugged & referred to as Baby Brother. (Ron, Tom, Jack, Jim, Trudy, Grace, Eddie). Story is that his father was an alchoholic and would remove and threaten the children with his leather belt when drunk.....no proof that he actually used it. Story is that he was harsh to his wife, ...see more
I remember attending my aunt's 21st Birthday Party at the Grand Hotel in 1963. I was 3 years old. They had strung a fishing net from the ceiling of the ballroom and filled it with balloons. Every now and again one of the balloons would get loose and float down to the dance floor where the people would do their best to stamp on it. I loved balloons and my cousin and I collected up the pieces ...see more
Us oldies enjoy remembering the simple pleasures we had of Croydon, as someone said - the little zoo and the donkeys in Kennards arcade.
My favourite was that staircase in the middle as you went in by the doors, to me as a little girl it always seemed so grand.
Later on, about the year 1942, I saw little tables with manicurists sitting at the top of the stairs that adjoined the hairdressing ...see more
Hello,
I am trying to locate "Quietways" home. A very close friend of the family has written to me many times and the only address he has given me is "Quietways", Kingswood Road, Gunnislake PL18.9DF. Would it be possible to assist me in contacting Peter Wills at this address? I would be very grateful if we could contact him. Thanking you in advance,
Ann Laing
I have very fond memories of Gwespyr, as my mother was born in The Mason's Arms at Gwespyr. Her parents Arthur & Marjorie Thomas ran the Mason's Arms before my great-grandparents ran it, Joseph & Edna Thomas. My grandfather had an ice-cream business, as did Joseph, they travelled all around with their ice-cream. My grandfather was well known around Gwespyr and surrounding areas, as "Arthur Ice-Cream". If anyone knew him I love to hear from you.
I have just read various entries for remembering streets of Salford which had my childhood flooding back to me with lots of affection. I also can remember the cobbled streets, rag bone man etc. But I also remember the people.
I was born in 1950 and spent the first 15 years of my life in 39 Guide Street, Weaste. We lived next door to Rogers the coalman who were the noisiest of neighbours, mainly due to George's ...see more
I am looking for info on what has happened to a very large firm I worked for decades ago now, namely Harold Wood & Sons Ltd, Wormald Street, Heckmondwyke. It was a very, very busy firm of bulk liquid haulage contractors. Having recently returned to my home town of Brighouse after over 30 years working and living in Cheshire I have been retracing my youth and when visiting ...see more
I entered Harlow Wood in December 1939. I was 3 at the time. I left 3 yreas later unable to walk but cured of TB. I was under a Mr Campbell, the orthopaedic specialist.
When I returned fro frequent checks. I remember he always greeted my mother and me with the words "Here comes the miracle boy".
Thankfully I have had a full & happy life and God willing have a few more miles to cover yet.
Do you rember the penny bazaar opposite the Kings Cinema on Regent Road? And the Salford Pageant in aid of the Salford Royal Hospital?
The zoo was in Ringwood Rd near the junction with Church Rd. It closed in 1955 after complaints about Ajax the lion. Now the site of homes in Longacre Drive.
Looking at this photo it is amazing to remember that double-decker buses used to travel along here. I would travel in one from my home at Ferndown while attending Wimborne Grammar School (1945-51) and it always had trouble turning right at the point seen here in the centre of the picture and often scraped the brickwork.
Apart from lack of traffic, this picture of the Square doesn't show too many changes from when I remember it. I left Wimborne Grammar School in 1951 and became a trainee reporter with the Wimborne News in Mill Lane, just outside this photo to the right. My dad was a waiter at the Kings Head Hotel in the square.
We moved to Burghfield Common when my father started work as an MOD policeman at Burghfield. We moved into Bannister Road when the estate was still being built and I remember my mother saying that one day she opened the back door to find an adder on the doorstep. My sister Maureen & I went to Mrs Blands School when Mr Halfpenny and Miss Tanner were teaching. I remember that I always said I would have a car ...see more
I lived in Granleigh Road in Leytonstone. I was born in Forest Gate Maternity in Forest Lane. I can remember going to Leytonstone football ground situated at the bottom of Granleigh Road as a child with my dad on many a Saturday afternoon, they were in their day a very good amateur football side. I also started train spotting from Leytonstone Midland station as this also was at the bottom of the road and ...see more
I have so many warm memories of Bolingey and Perranporth. My aunt owned & lived at 1 Crow Hill for MANY years, and my mother and grandfather for some years prior. I visited there yearly from babyhood through my teens. Last time I visited was 1988, and the 4 cottages were still there. A few years ago No.2 (I think) was sold for about 250 pounds; they'd added a bathroom - which none of the original cottages had.
I remember being a wee girl I learnt how to ride a bike here. I remember a fountain in the grounds. I remember it was ran by nuns, it was a lovely place. We had dormitories. I try not to remember the past as I'm 38 now but hey, I so remember this place, this place has always stuck in my mind. My parents didn't care where I went but I loved it. Catholic nuns ran it. Later I went to Port Regis just down ...see more
I left Staining in 1974. We lived in the street where Fred Chatwick,had his garage with son Fred. My mum knew Irene very well as she worked to at the mushroom farm in Staining, along with the late Mary Whiteside and husband Frank. My best friend at the time was their daughter Teresa. I moved back to Staining in 1998, down the Nook, it's all changed, the little caravan site has gone and also Uncle Jim's Farm, who ...see more
This is the first cinema I ever went to! I even went to see 'The Circus of Horrors' X-rated film here, I was smuggled in by my mum and her friend Long Lil (Lillian Smith), it's ok, I've had no real side effects from it, ha ha. I think I was between 6-8 years old. I remember I had to hide under Lil's coat (it had a flare type bottom) and Mum and Lil walked in from the ticket booth arm in arm, into the darkened ...see more
Oh what lovely memories come flooding back, my mum and I would walk the winding river towpath from Glen Faba, where we lived, to Dobbs Weir, fish and minnow watching as we went along our way. In the summer my mum would get a hire row boat out from the man in the Fish and Eels pub garden, oh it was always sooo exciting - being so careful not to fall in the water, as we climbed into the boat, and then we were off, ...see more
I was in the Irish Guards and in 1945 we came to Trawfynydd by train for field training. The camp consisting of 2 or 3 huts was situated at Trawsfnydd on the left just off the main road to Bleanau. During one exercise on the stream high up the hill, a rifle was dropped into one of the deep pools on the stream. Our efforts to recover it were unsuccessful so it must be there still. I met and fell ...see more
We lived in Earlswood Avenue, Thornton Heath from 1949-52 and used to walk or sometimes catch a 16/18 tram to Galpins Road, on the border of Th Heath and Norbury, where my brother and I attended Belmont School. It was run by a lady called Miss Jeffrey, and has long since closed. It was based in two houses in Galpins Road, both of which have now presumably reverted to residential status. I remember the last trams, ...see more
My dad's sister worked in there behine the bar. In 2000 I did some photos, in and outside, below the garden was where the horses were kept. They used to hang the meat on big hooks. We found an old list of Honder members, it is in Black Museum now.
I am doing my family tree and my grandmother was born in Lewis Castle, Grooms House, Castle Stables, my great-grandparents were called George Steven and Josephine Clarke. I am trying to find out any info or even find a pic of the Grooms House, any help would be fab as I'm stuck.
I am visiting Watford on Wednesday as my husband is playing bowls for Kent! My mother [ Barbara Whiter ( nee Neech) who was born in Watford, and who is 90 in April, and now living in Colchester, Essex. ] just happened to mention something of interest! While at art college she made a wooden shield with the Coat of Arms that went over the main door of the Town Hall. Does anyone know if it is still there and if not ...see more
I have been told by my mum, that she went to Coven School in the 1920s. She lived for a while with her Grannie Key, who lived in Paradise Lane. They used to go to market on a Saturday by pony and trap, to sell eggs, chickens and fruit.
I remember walking along the line from Hilden to Lambeg. It was a great time and a lot of fun. As usual we don't appreciate the smaller things in life until we reach a certain age. I loved living in Hilden the school was great and the park and especially the burlies. Sam Blakely had the corner shop and ofcourse the Mill. Oh yes happy days.
I remember the Shaggy Calf well, my grandparents Maurice and Beryl (Billy) Harris took over as landlords the day that I was born, 11 March 1958. It was always a popular pub, absolutely fantastic for a kid when my brothers and I used to visit, huge rooms, lots of corridors and a wide magnificent stairway, (it was orignally a hotel), what with the distinctive wonderful smell of a pub, playing with the pub's dogs ...see more
We had several summer holidays in this house as children staying with my great aunt and her spaniels!. I remember lying on the old feather mattresses listening to the pigeons cooing in the mornings. I spent many happy hours in the garden and playing house in the room over the garage until my aunt complained about the dirt falling on her car below. In later years I took my children to visit although my aunt became too elderly to cope with us staying.
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
We used to call this "The house that Jack built", when we used to play here as children during the early 1960s!
Nightingales on the corner opposite the post office. What a wonderful smell when you walked in. The cafe (Booth's?) just up from CABLE shoes where I started work at age 14, best chips and gravy ever!
Ibbotson's bakery where my boss's wife worked for many years, Mini Broadbent.
I was born at 17th Syddall Street in April 1946.
The corner shop "Andrew's" provided everything from Fenning's little ...see more
I have lived for 20 years in Chapel House at Bradford on Tone. From outside it looks like a 1930s rendered house but was actually the Congregationalist Chapel in the 19th century. It didn't last long as a Chapel and was sold privately and later bought by the Berry family who lived next door (now Bradford House) and the chapel was the garage for the original Berry's buses.
I would love to know if anyone ...see more
It's all gone now, there are now private houses and a park where the school stood. What a school it was. When I was there I knew all the teachers there. What good times I had there. Boo hoo, it's all gone.
My parents owned and ran a guest house... Fair Tides... just up from Mousehole Beach, a stone's throw from the sea. I lived here until 1965.... not long enough as I wanted to stay here until I died I loved it so much. The years I spent growing up in and around Hope Cove are a priceless memory which I have carried with me throughout my life. These memories have inspired me and delighted me when nothing else would.
I attended the old Primary School (3 small classes) from 1955 to 1961 when I passed my 11 Plus and went on to the Kingsbridge Grammar. I remember the Headmistress Mrs Cooper who made us recite our Times Table and Hiawatha until our heads span with it all. She was a stern disciplinarian and a spinster who lived in the schlool house attatcched to the school. I also remember fondly, Mr Cooper who was very lenient ...see more
My family connection with LLandudno starts with my grandmother. She moved with her widowed mother, brother and sister from Sutton Coalfield sometime in 1900s. The family name was Ford, it comprised my great-grandmother Emma and 3 children, Gladys, Roland and Constance. My grandmother Gladys married a local Welsh speaker called Howyl Samuel Edwards, I know he was born in the town, was a councillor and a ...see more
Hi,
I am looking for a Mrs H. Higbee ( Claire) who was friends with my grandfather during the Second World War. Based on the info I have, she must have working in one of the USO clubs. Her address was 2 Aden Grove, Green Lanes, N16 Stoke Newington, London. Any advice to help me find her would be greatly appriciated. My grandfather has passed away and I would like to hear about his time in wartime London.
Thanks,
Don Morrison
I can recall going with my father up to Barkingside after an air raid during the Second World War and seeing a farm that had been hit. There were fire hoses all over the road and pigs running up the High Street. The farm was just across the road from the cinema (The State?). We too were to be bombed out of our house, at the bottom of Clayhall, near Peal Drive. I think about that time a numner of houses were bombed in Chalgrove Crescent with a number of deaths.
Hi,
My grandfather was friends with a Margaret Lewis who lived at H8 Frant Road, Thornton Heath (Croydon) in 1944. She was single and had two brothers in the service. One was in India and the other in the Middle East. She would be about 86 years old now. During the war she was in the WAAF and was stationed near Leighton Buzzard. If you have any advice to find her, please let me know. As my grandfather ...see more
Well, a little more than a childhood as I emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 24. I consider my upbringing at Ardfenaig to have been be the most fantastic thing that could have been. Sadly whilst it was in progress one does not truly understand the value of such freedom even though it was utterly enjoyable.
My parents had purchased Ardfenaig House in 1949, in an almost derelict condition, and thirty ...see more
I was born at 3 Underhill Terrace in Springwell on 18th February 1939 and attended the village school from 5 to 15 years of age.
I remember walking from Underhill Terrace daily to the school via what we called the "Horse Holes".
my First teacher in the infants was a Mrs. Clough.Later teachers were Mrs. "Pip" Jenkins (a Tartar) and the gorgeous Miss Glendenning. ...see more
My mother and I used to buy fabrics from Tanners Fabrics in Little Walk. It was a fire-trap - fabrics piled from floor to ceiling and very little room to move. Mr. Tanner always knew where everything was though and Mrs. Maxtead worked there too. The coffee roasters was a few doors down on the same side and the smell was great (unless they burned the beans!). Mum used to buy dad the Kenyan Number One roast.
Have just been reading the posts about Brant Broughton. My great-grandfather, George Pearce, was the publican who kept the Red Lion. My grandfather, Reginal Pearce, and his wife Edith took over the tenancy from him. My father Peter and Uncle Terry grew up at the Red Lion. When it closed my Grandfather and Grandmother moved to the Generous Britain where they were publicans until their retirement. They then retired to the cottage next door. I have lovely memories.
1975-PRESENT I was so sad to hear about Miss Lees Dying, she has such a special place in my heart and memories. I moved to Hinstock in 1972 with my parents. My family are from Hinstock, the Harris family from Mill Green. I now live in Whitchurch. Growing up I have special memories of Miss Lees, she taught us to have faith, she taught me to ride, she taught me about nature and to nurture it. I loved the rides around the ...see more
We moved to Middlehurst Avenue in 1951. My cousin David Gerrard lived next door, and next to him lived David Groves. We were all the same age and went to the same schools. It was a great place to live then. I now live in Spain but I go back twice each year to visit family and friends.
Paul Coppock
As a young child I can remember several holidays taken at the Warners holiday camp at Seaton.
The serious business of 'motoring down to Devon' was never taken lightly, lunch was prepared the night before to be eaten at Stonehenge, where one was free to sit upon the stones then, the Consul Mk2 was serviced or at least washed and polished, suitcases on the roof were wrapped in plastic, which made a noise all the way down! ...see more
I lived at 13 Westfield Close, from 1951 until 1965 when sadly my father died and we all moved to Weston. My memories of living there are very happy. I went to Backwell C of E School and the head, I think, was Mr Branch who kept bees in the top of the infants' playground. The houses in Rodney Road were not there then and all the local children spend many hours out playing in the fields all around. We would cycle to ...see more
My grandparents and all their 11 children (including my father) were born and lived for many years in Albert Road, Kilburn. I used to visit many years later and the whole house would shake when the trains went by on the line outside the kitchen window! There was no gardens and the front door opened directly onto the street - primitive in the extreme. We lived in Cricklewood and thought that was a great improvement!
Do you remember the organ that came up from the pit under the stage and had all the different coloured spotlights shone on it? I thought it was sheer magic!
The front seats were chaeaper than the back ones - I think they were 1/9 a the back. I also used to go the Grange cinema and the Essoldo, all in Kilburn. The Queens was another one in Cricklewood Broadway. There was also a small independent ...see more
Mine is not so much my memory as an account of the doings/correspondance relating to Scackleton School from Sept 17th 1928 to the early 1930s. I picked up this school log book in a junk shop 30 years ago and it's just travelled with me among all my other books. This book is so interesting - as well as original correspondance re hiring and firing, wages etc at the school, there are also many letters re ...see more
Hi, can anyone remember my grandad and his family? His name was Andrew Gilling, I think was a pit caller.
Hi, has anyone got any information on a Mary Ann White who lived in Wingate? My grandfather was took in by her, maybe in the 1920s, I think they were travellers. My grandfather's name was Andrew Gilling and he married Alice in 1931.
When I lived in Kelloholm, I lived on Polmeur Road close to the short cut from Polmeur to Greystone Avenue. My mum and dad Jessie and Johnny Grierson moved into 49 Polmeur Road in 1948 one month after I was born. My mum and dad used to take us picnicking to the big grassed area we all knew as the picnic park next to the Kello Water. It is now sadly overgrown and rutted due to tractors driving over it to pick up ...see more
Hi, does anyone remember Staples, the fine art dealers located at 20 High Street, Bromley? If so, please leave information regarding approximate opening and closing dates? Many thanks.
I was a pupil here for about 4 or 5 years up to 1952. I loved it there and have such happy memories. There were two sisters in particular who were so kind and understanding - Sister Constantia and Sister Pauline Mary. The quadrangle remains in my memory with the huge tortoises which I was told were about 100 years old. If anyone remembers me my name was (then) Pauline Brenda Flenley, I was known ...see more
My paternal ancestors (Box) owned the iron foundry down by the Bude canal in Marhamchurch until the coming of the railway in the mid 1800s. Many are buried in the churchyard.
My maternal grandparents (Nichols) lived in Marhamchurch in the late 1900s and their daughter Phyllis married a farmer (Charles Routley) who farmed at Cann Orchard. I spent much of the war years on this farm.
My darling Aunty Phyllis died on Saturday March 5th aged 90.
I was born in May Street and then moved to Brook Street where I went to school. It was very handy as I only lived across the road. I then went to the secondary school where I played hockey for the 2nd Eleven. I still live here now. Sadly my parents are no longer here and my brother lives in Wales. This place has changed so much in recent years.
I know this as Kenson Cottage as my mother lived there and went to school in Penmark. I have a photo which was taken when we all went on holiday of us all on the bridge. I still have family living in the area and enjoy going back to visit. My grandfather worked in Aberthaw cement works which is why the moved there from Kent. I am working on my family tree and would like any information about Penmark ...see more
I lived in old Southall (Norwood Road - Norwood Green end) during the 1960s to the 1990s and have seen great changes. I went to school at Clifton Road, and the school had a great Headmaster, Mr Hancock, for a while. One Christmas he gave all the juniors a big surprise by bringing in a Dalek! Screaming children were running everywhere! This was shortly after 'Doctor Who' had started screening on ...see more
I was five and lived on Links Road where my father had a grocer's shop. I was able to run down the burn path to the beach to swim in the sea or play in paddling pool. We would go to the summer shows in the Beach pavillion or up to the "go as you please"in Letham Glen. I loved life in Leven although left when I left Buckhaven High School and never lived there again. I do. however visit the town now and still love to walk along the beach to Lundin Links. by Dorothy Millar (nee Maw)
In 1955 I was 9 years old and lived at No. 16 Putney Hill, which was on the right in this picture and if memory serves was the house before the white one behind the tree. My grandfather owned the tobacconist and confectioners at No. 1, which is on the left of the picture, on the right of the bank on the corner in front of the bus. I was actually born in the flat underneath this shop from which my ...see more
My husband's family lived at South Lodge from 1935 until 1960 and he often wonders about when the lodge was built? There is/was a date of 1726 on the wall. We now live in Australia. If anyone knows or can tell us where we can find ou more, we would be very pleased.
Ann
I moved to Walton in the 1960s after my dad died. We lived in a caravan at a park up the Naze as we were homeless. I went to school in Stanley Road when I was 14 and went for a month or so and never went back, nobody cared! Got a job as a labourer on Castle Estates at 14 and spent 10 hours a day carrying bricks up a ladder. Had a girlfriend who I still love who was a few years older than ...see more
The butcher's shop in Botesdale was my grandad's, his name was Last but my grandmother's maiden name was Grimes. My grandfather ran the buisness with his family for many years. My grandmother's family came from Hockwold and Methwold. My grandmother's family had a butcher's shop in Hockwold.
I am researching my husband's family tree and it appears that one of his relatives was an innkeeper and musical instrument maker in Shambles Street. The tavern was called The Musical Tavern and I think they must have also sold the instruments from there. Does anyone have any other info about the tavern or the instruments that were made there.
I lived with my father Denys and sister Mandy at the Strangers. I have many great memories of Bradfirld and the villagers. Who remembers the likes of Bill Long, George Jones, George Barnes and one I can only remember by the name of Blackie.
I lived in the Station Cottages at Boldon Colliery from 1949 till 1962. I have a load of happy childhood memories there. We all knew each other in the cottages because there were only 10. I spent all my school years at Hedworth Lane Infants and Juniors and then went on to New Road Comp. Myself (Marjorie Walker) and my 2 brothers, Robert and Stephen, spent our whole childhood playing on the burn. When we ...see more
I was born in Pill, Newport, Mon, in 1938 and with my grandmother Charlotte Selina Jane Rossiter used to visit relatives in Aberbargoed. As in other memories, I shall never forget passing beneath the endless drums in the air transporting waste from the mines to the tips that to a child resembled huge mountains, the memory of miners' cottages and backyards with their outside toilets and the zinc bath hung on fences ...see more
From 1954 until 1958 The Royal Harwich Yacht Club at Woolverston was where our Thames Sailing Barge was moored, and I spent my holidays from boarding school sailing, swimming, climbing trees or running free in the parkland which surrounded the Club, and cycling over to see my friends. I would nearly always be out all day, returning to the barge when summoned by its bell for lunch, wolfing the ...see more
Our barge, Hambrook, was moored at Hoo in the early 1950s. There were quite a number of fully rigged barges there at the time, but ours had had the rigging removed and converted into a houseboat. Most of the barges were used as residences, and there were quite a lot of children living on them. My mother, brother and I were on board the night of the 1953 flood. I was woken up by the sound of things crashing, and realised the ...see more
I live in The Netherlands. My grandfather was born in Pensford in 1858, his name wass Henry Flower. I am looking for his family (there was a lady of the bridge named Flower?).
In the process of searching for family details I have discovered that Google Earth has a lot of modern photographs of Wincobank as well as a clear picture of the site of the ancient castle fort between Wincobank and Shiregreen. I would like to know what happened to the cinema which used to be in the area going back 50 years and more.
I was born in Byers Green ( at the vicarage) in 1950, my dad was the Rector, Arthur Russen. I had four siblings, Margaret, John, Barbara & Michael (Deceased). We then moved to Hunwick where my dad became the Vicar & in 1956 we moved to Warham a small village in Nth Norfolk.
My name is Carol Cook (maiden name Turner) and my mam is called Pat Turner (maiden name Wightman). I grew up in McAdam Street, Bensham, Gateshead and have a lot of special memories from there. Sadly half the street is currently in process of demolition, ready to build new houses where the old flats were... I am 38 (39 very soon!) and my mam is 64 in June. I'm looking to contact a Mr Alan Bull who knew my mam, Pat Wightman, whose mother was Ellen Wightman (or Nellie, as she was fondly known as).
My sister, Ellen, won a children's talent competition at Happy Valley in 1936, at the age of eight, playing 'Minuet in G' on the piano. I was only aged two at the time but I still remember the 'modern' Kodak camera she won as the prize. Ellen was a very talented musician and went on to enjoy a life full of achievements.
My parents were married here on 13th January 1945. The church is at the bottom of Rectory road, which is where I lived and I used to go to the service on Sundays. I remember being given a little card with a picture of violets on it to take home for Mother's day. I was also married here on 27th April 1963, a beautiful sunny day.
Reading childhood memories made me remember a few of mine. When war broke out I was 10 living in Lyndhurst Road, Thornton Heath. I used to wander up to the pond to an old shed in Thornton Road to watch horses have their horseshoe's replaced, I can still remember the smell and heat of the big soldering iron. Also, going back even further, being carried up the iron staircase at Croydon ...see more
I sang in the church choir from about 1970. Douglas Paine and then Harry Wilson were the vicars. Happy memories.
My mum cleaned at the Vine for the mid 1960s into the 1970s and we would go with her in the school holidays. I used to stock the shelves with bottles of beer. The draught beer was poured straight from the barrels kept in the celler behind the bar. Billy and Molly Ellis were the publicans.