Stafford, Victoria Park c.1955

Photo ref: S411015

I was born and baptised at St Berklins on the Eccleshall Rd in 1966 . I used to remember the old indoor market , it took you ages with everyone trying to get their shopping for the weekend , You could get get nearly anything you wanted in the first part , then through the doors and into the second part to get your veg , cheese , biscuits and meat . Used to hate going into Barclays bank so dad could get cash out for ...see more

I am learning more about my family history, and have discovered my Grandad trained to be a nurse at the General Infirmary, Foregate Street, Stafford. He became a registered nurse in 1950, before moving down to work in London. Does anyone have memories of training there? I would love to learn what it was like. He worked as a volunteer helping with the ambulances during WW2 beforehand. I would be very interested if anyone has memories of this as well.

It’s a rather sad fact that you only come to appreciate a town several years after you have left it. At the age of 19 I was sent to live and work in Stafford between 1964 and 1979, before the Main Street was fully pedestrianised and it’s much maligned traffic relief ‘ring road’ scheme was devised and tortuously introduced. It was a time when Stafford still strove to be ...see more

My father recalled when this castle was occupied in the 1930's. How did it ever fall into such neglect so quickly that it was virtually razed to the ground? Who let part of our heritage disappears so readily?