Wembley, Sudbury, And St. Joseph's Primary School

A Memory of Wembley.

My name is Jim O'Hanlon. I am 66 years old. I have just discovered this site and have seen a couple of places written about which provoke many nice memories from my childhood and early teens.
I remember Wembley well. It was a bustling town then (1960s). Two cinemas, the Odeon near Copeland School. I used to go and see the double feature on Saturday morning. The comedian,Norman Wisdom was a favourite then. The Regal cinema, on Ealing Road was the other. Remember seeing "Ben Hur" there when it first came out in the early '60s. My parents, three brothers and one sister lived in Sudbury, near Sudbury Town station. I went to St. Joseph's Primary School in Empire Way, opposite the stadium. I will always remember the football internationals were played in the afternoons then and we always got out early on those days, to miss the crowd. I remember some teachers at the school and the football. Someone else wrote about Mrs. McEwan. She was my first teacher.
I also think of Mrs. Gaughin, who used to read to us from a "Famous Five "book last thing on Fridays. Lovely moments and a great way to end the week and promote the value of reading. Another person on this site mentioned a very big lady teacher, who inspired fear in her pupils. This MUST be Mrs. Roobinson. She had the misfortune to fall through her seat one day, while giving us class in the multi-use school hall. We managed to help her to get out. She wasn't very happy but I think she thanked us for helping her. Maybe she saw her students in a different light after that. I also had Mr. Brown as my last tutor in 1964-65. He also was in charge of the school football team. We had a great season that year. The headmaster was Mr. Livesey and the deputy head was Mrs. Swindell.
As regards Wembley, I also remember other things mentioned by others. The open air market in Lancelot Road, often visited on Fridays for fresh haddock and cod. As good catholics, Friday was fish day! "Leftley's" was a great shoe shop, opposite the market. We seemed to go there a lot as my shoes didn't last too long, playing so much football. The Coopers' fruit and veg. shop on the corner of Ealing Road. Henry was often there, even at a time when he fought Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) for the World Title. Di Marco's ice cream shop was nearby.
Other places I remember were in Sudbury. Vale Farm Swimming Pool,was run by my aunt and uncle, Lily and Fred Ashby, and Wembley Football Club nearby, where the England football team used to train. I also remember Horsenden Hill, where my family and I spent many summer holidays.

I went back to see Wembley last year. (I have lived in Madrid, Spain for 32 years now). I knew that the school was not there any more and Wembley simply looked like a ghost town. What a pity! Nevertheless, great memories!

Jim O'Hanlon