Roxy Theatre

I was born in 1946 at St Luke's Hospital and lived at 176 Mapperton Rd until I was eleven. My father was the doorman at the Tennyson Place picture house on Otley Rd. During the war my mother was an ARP warden, her post the Methodist Chapel on the corner of Tennyson Place and Mapperton Rd. Ross's sweet shop stood on the corner of Ripon St and Mapperton Rd and down at the other end of the street, Kilburn's fish and chip shop at the Junction of Undercliffe St and Tennyson Place. There was just on car in the whole of Mapperton Rd, and that was the Richardon's Buick.

There was no electricity, only gas for lighting and cooking. And the radio was a Relay (cable) set.

I attended Hanson Primary School, then Barkerend Rd secondary. Every Saturday I accompanied Mum to the washhouse on Leeds Rd, pushing a pram-full of washing. My pals were Bob Richardson and Keith Hardy who both lived at the top of our snicket, one on each side.

I was saddened to find, when I visited, that not a trace of Mapperton Rd remains. But that's progress, right?

We used to go to Saturday morning pictures at the Roxy. Admission was sixpence and a jam jar. God know's what they did with all those jars.

I am the daughter of Harry Ross who ran the newsagents on the corner of Mapperton Road in the 1950's/60's.. I have great memories of that time. We played for hours on The Wreck (Myra Shay) - fearless, skinny and healthy. Our playground was the bomb site across the road - cellars wires and pipes sticking up. We were always in there - no cotton wool bringing up for us. Saturday matinee at the Roxy. May walks when my sister Pauline dressed up as cowgirls. I went to Gregory Girls school and never missed a day. Walked there and back and then did a paper round for my dad before homework and then getting baby sister ready for bed. Our cat Belinda used to sunbathe in the shop window and always ran along the wall to meet the car when we came home. Later regular Saturday night dress up for the Alex in town - THE place to be. I worked at Bradford Town Hall and actually went up in the lift with Lawrence Harvey when he filming Room at the Top. I left Bradford when I married in 1966 and now live in Nottingham. I had a great teenage life, good education and wonderful memories of my early in Bradford. Like the above member I too returned a few years ago to find Mapperton Road gone. Bittersweet.