My Mum Ran Comerfords Corner Shop

A Memory of Thames Ditton.

We moved south from Chadderton near Oldham in 1965. My mum had taken over running the corner shop that had been bought by Comerford's in their quest to own the entire block.

All but one house has succumbed to their buying and even when we eventually left in late 1969 the neighbours were holding out.

I was 10 years old and I went to St Mary's in Long Ditton and my brother to Ditton Hill Infants.

I have great memories of Comerford's and the huge warehouses full of old bikes that we used to play on.

I joined the Cubs mainly so we could play football and we won the Esher District football competition in what must have been 1966 or 67. I moved to the scouts and the new scout hut was built by the pavillion on Long Ditton Rec.

Great rose-tinted days.

Whatever happened to Comerford's?


Added 04 December 2010

#230412

Comments & Feedback

I wonder if Paul Devall remembers being taught by my mum - Mrs Winfield - at St Mary's? She taught there from 1952, retiring as deputy head from the new premises about 1975. Following a happy retirement at home in Longmead Road, she moved to a care home in Westbourne about 2012 to be nearer daughter Jo. She finally succumbed to her failing health in January 2016, one month after her 98th birthday.
Mum was born in 3 Park View on Portsmouth Road in 1917 and lived in Thames Ditton until marrying in 1940 when she moved to Hersham and then to Tasmania as a family of 'ten pound Poms' in 1947. We returned in 1949 to live back with mum's parents. For the next 60 years mum lived in Thames Ditton, loved by the many children who passed through St Mary's.
The pictures of Thames Ditton are fascinating, but why no image of AC Cars? What teenage boy could forget the throb of the V8 in the early Cobras and AC428's
Ah yes...the AC Cobra. I recall sitting on my push bike watching the Cobra cars being revved up on the forecourt. Probably about 1963/64. I also remember Comerfords and wandering round the massive showroom stuffed with motorbikes after school. I attended Hinchley Wood. I lived at Rhythe Court with my parents which was next to Guy Salmons the Jaguar dealer. T D was a lovely place in those days and remains so,.....just a lot lot busier. Lastly, the 602 trolley bus. Loved going on the trolley.....very fast up the Portsmouth Road and being electric....silent except for the 'whish' of the poles on the overhead wires. Great memories.
Reading these comments above bring back memories from when I was a child, I'm 80 years old now so I can remember my mother shopping in Budgens grocers shop each week during the war. My uncle worked for AC motors around the corner and I used to go round to the AC forecourt where in the summer some of the men were preparing cars for the spray shop. We were the Trotman family and lived at number 18 Summer Road. Myself as a young man had worked at Comerford's Motorcycles and will always remember the three salesmen who would stand in a line just waiting for a likely customer, and the cafe just along the road a tad where we all used for our tea breaks as Comerford's did not have a works canteen. Lastly as has been mentioned the trolley buses fantastic for anyone who thinks electric vehicles are a new invention, then think again as there not only the trolley buses, but milk floats and all Bentalls delivery vans in Kingston were all electric. Happy memories.

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