Story 15 from Alan John Marshall

Alan John Marshall

Thanks to Alan for this marvellous account:

I was living in Sompting Road up until the mid-1960s. Myrtle Stores were at 109, just up the road from Myrtle Road. I remember so much about Boundstone Lane, and the school being built on the land which my father worked as a Market Gardener. In the War, and just after, they had an orchard there, with lots of gooseberry bushes under the apple trees; daffodils in the springtime; and I used to go finding birds' eggs along the line of elm hedge, beside the twitten - that ran along the northern edge of Dad's gardens.

Middle Boundstone Lane then was just a true "lane" with a rough surface, and big puddles in the rainy times. I was born right at the top of Upper Boundstone Lane, just below the cemetery.

Also, just at the end of the War, when I must have been about 4 1/2, I attended the South Lancing Primary School. That was a very unhappy time for me. I remember the air raid shelters, they were under the northern ramp of what is now the railway bridge. Frightening places, closed by big double doors sloping up the side of the ramp.

A teacher there, a woman whom I was frightened of, had us lined up for punishment, for trespassing on the grass slopes of the ramp. I remember something like having to dip our fingers in mustard water and suck on our fingers. Was this just a figment of my imagination? Or did it really happen? I cannot be sure. Anyway, the fear of that school and the screaming from me in the mornings at having to go to school made Mum keep me at home until I was 5, and then they got me into North Lancing Primary School, under Miss Daisy Humphreys. That was much better.

That is all I can come up with right now, but if anyone is interested and wishes to connect with me further, you can use my email address, anakial@hotmail.com and let me know who you are.

Alan
8th October 2008

Alan adds..
My parents, Peter and Cecily Marshall, were very close friends of Percy and Mildred Grover. The Grovers had their nursery at the corner of Boundstone Lane and the "top" road (Southeast corner), with several glass houses there. After retirement, Percy and Mildred moved up to near Storrington.
My dad was from a very old family of Lancing, and Mum's parents ran Myrtle Store for several years. Dad's parents had the semi-detached houses 2 doors up built in 1912, and the space between the back of those houses and Myrtle Crescent was market garden too.
We had a huge bonfire in Middle Road, each Nov 5th. One time, I was only a very little boy, my chip basket full of fireworks, was put "for safety" down by the fence, "out of the way." But someone lit a Roman candle on the post above, and my whole basket full went up at once. I was so sad and in tears for the remainder of the evening.

Alan wrote further

Mum died on Dec 23rd 2000, as a consequence of a road accident in Sompting Road. She was knocked off her bicycle. Quite an active cyclist was Mum, at 86 yrs old. Dad survived her by almost 2 years, and spent that time in Ibiza with my sister.

Dad was related to the Bushbys, Fullers, Lishers and Charles Colbourne who was a very respected butcher in Brighton (Chas. Colbourne). Colbourne's drapery store used to be at the top of Penhill Road.

Dad's aunt Mary lived at Skirwith, the market garden which occupied the site on the corner of Crabtree Lane and Grinstead Lane. One of their greenhouses had a grapevine growing in it. I understand that prior to the late 1800s grapes were grown extensively in Sussex, because of the high sunlight intensity between the Downs and the sea.

Then improved sea transport meant that imported wines and grapes from France made the grape industry of Sussex unviable, and the "new" crop of tomatoes became very popular.

Having grown tomatoes virtually all his life, and with a good reputation for sweet and tasty produce, Dad continued in his retirement to grow tomatoes in his little backyard garden at Cokeham Lane.

The Rowans, 113 Sompting Road

 He was born at The Rowans, 113 Sompting Road and told me in those years there were very few other houses in Sompting Road or Boundstone Lane. Indeed, I remember when both sides of Upper Boundstone Lane were orchards. (That is the area between Crabtree Lane and the Upper Brighton Road.) The last house on the right-hand side at that time was occupied by McIntyre, one of the coal merchants. Boundstone Lane at that point was still a muddy, puddley, unsealed road surface.

A pretty good job of re-building the road was done, around 1951/2 I would say, because I left North Lancing Primary School in 1952 and it had been done whilst I was there. The foundation of the road surface was a mixture of old house bricks, flints, and rubble down to a depth of approx. 1 1/2 feet. They used a steam roller for surfacing.

I attended Worthing High School from 1952 to 1957(Dec).

Editor note:
I emailed Alan on 16/12/2011 to establish he is available for correspondence. He has confirmed this.
He added this note to his profile:
Son of Peter John Marshall, market gardener, who was the son of Percy George Marshall.  Numerous family links:  Lisher, Fuller, Grover, Bushby, Long, Colbourne, Judd.

I now live in Tasmania.  Born 1941. Attended North Lancing Primary School, Worthing High School.

Story 14 from Adrian

Adrian (Grover)

Story 14
I have just found your website on Lancing which is where I grew and more notably, my mum is the last of the Grover Family (or the youngest at least!)

I love seeing pictures of the village, it will always have a fond place in me, especially the pictures of Crabtree Lane where I used to hang out as a youngster!

I shall have to find a picture I have of my mum as a youngster at a Grover family get-together in North Lancing which is where they lived as a family of market gardeners!

Anyway, just to say a great site!

Regards

Adrian

Story 13 from Brenda Redford

Brenda Redford

Brenda writes:
I used to come to Lancing to visit my Grandmother in North Farm Road in the fifties as a youngster in the school holidays. My aunt and uncle lived in Tower Road. I remember going to the Luxor to see Singing in the Rain and other films that were on at the time. I remember walking a lovely Labrador called Jaffa as he was orangey red in colour. My grandfather worked for the railways which were at Churchill Industrial Estate. On North Road, there was a cobbler and a small sweet shop. Also, Woolworths had small shopping baskets for us children that couldn't manage a large one. I also remember a horse-drawn milk float delivering milk and groceries. Sadly my Grandmother has passed on now but I am now living in Lancing myself and still walk dogs, my own and also run dog training classes. I expect some of you have seen me around and maybe have come to our classes. Lovely memories. I still love Lancing.
-she adds
I also used to ride the horses up over New Road owned by the Bridles.
Regards
Brenda Redford

Story 12 from Karen Foster

Karen Foster

I found your website by accident, it was such a delight it was to read everyone's memories, that I thought I would write some of my own.
Just the word Lancing conjures up pictures of my childhood.
I was born in Tower Road at No.84 moving to No.80 (the one with the steps) in 1967. My first school was South Lancing Infants in North Rd in 1958, the classroom with the veranda must take a photo of it one day before it disappears. I can remember the air raid shelters - as remembered by Paul Bridle and woe betide anyone who went near them. I believe the headmistress was Miss Birch, she had a large jar of sweets in her room, don't know how I know that one! We were told one day that we had to move schools, so we packed up our books and pencils and walked up to The Unit, which is now Boundstone Nursery School. Mr teacher was a Mr Juleff. We soon settled there until we did the same thing again and walked around to Irene Avenue for our last term before Boundstone.
I spent many happy playtimes in those schools, playing marbles etc. Does anyone remember standing tea/gum cards against the wall and flicking other cards to knock them down, winner takes all? We had lovely tea parties at Christmas in the school hall, with food provided by our parents. We also had a Beatles club there when I was older, it cost 3d, and we received a small daisy shape badge made of felt!
School holidays were filled with trips up the downs, playing in the chalk pit, and plenty of room to use a child's imagination; you could be anything up there. other times spent on the beach, building the proverbial sandcastles with moats, drinking orange squash and cheese and sand sandwiches!

I remember the Brooklands paddling pool opening. There were lots of animal-shaped pools for us to play in and rocks to climb, what fun. Fishing under the bridge that led into Brooklands for sticklebacks and minnows. Someone told us that there was an eel living under the bridge, hidden in an old mine, that was buried there. You believe anything when you are young.

My friend Sheila Haite, who lived next door and I used to go to the Luxor together to see Walt Disney and Cliff Richard films, the first film I saw was Bambi it cost 9d. We used to look for which films were on, on posters in Sompting Rd, just outside the knitting wool shop, which was next to a grocers shop owned by the Street family, then owned by the Brown family. This was next to Mr Jones the chemist. I remember Paul Bridle's grandparent's shop on the corner of Myrtle Rd, my mum Lilian Wingfield used to shop in there but worked in the other grocer's shop. She later went to work at Woolworths. My dad Reginald worked in the railway works but left in 1963 before it closed, to go to Solarbo in Commerce Way. I remember Dr Alexander was my dad's doctor, but us children saw Dr Whiting, he was a lovely man.

I could go on forever but will stop my parents and sister still live in Lancing and although I only live in Rustington, I still think of Lancing as my home.
Karen Foster nee Wingfield.

Story 11 from Paul Kidger

Paul Kidger replies to the question from Paul Bridle
Yes, I remember the DUKW at Lancing and the method of refuelling....someone would carry a 5-gall drum of petrol from the local garage and just tip it in. Struck me as very crude. Was it painted yellow? We did go out on it once or twice. There were 2 at Worthing painted Red White and blue for coronation year and maybe one was named Princess Anne.
At the side of the Mermaid Beach cafe was a kiosk which at one time was run by an enterprising young lady. I think that she used to ride a motorcycle which was guaranteed to turn a few heads.
In the early '60s, I used to work at Monk's Farm petrol station during holidays and at weekends. The owner Mr Lyons also ran the beach garage for a short while. His brother Alf used to run a driving school. I remember the foundations for that station being dug and seeing them flood at high tide. That part of Lancing, just North of the police station, is actually below the high water level even though it is about a mile from the sea.

My own driving lessons were courtesy of Mill Road Driving School. That was run by another enterprising young lady who once owned the nurseries which were then redeveloped into the Norbury estate of bungalows. She was one of the regular dog walkers who would pass by the rear of our house in Ring Rd. One old dear had a dog called Kiltie. I mistook her summoning her dog and she was henceforth known to us as the 'Filthy lady'. Another dog walker would come past at 1 pm and I called her the 1 o'clock jump after the Benny Goodman hit of the '40s. Both parents collapsed with laughter. It wasn't until many years later did I realise the significance of my comment

.
Pat Barton used to run the horse riding stables at the top of Mill Rd. Since he used to sell horse muck as garden fertiliser, he was known to us as Dungo Barton and the path through the chalkpit, which he used with his horse and cart was Dungo's path. The Barton farm is no more, fallen down and totally overgrown...well it was a few years ago. I was at school with Jane Barton, his daughter.

Regarding the Corner house, before it became the Potter and an eatery, it had lovely oak panelling in all bars.

Does anyone remember the slightly eccentric 'Lord Lancing' who would cycle around the town wearing a boater, striped blazer and flannels, probably a monocle and cigarette in holder?

Paul Kidger

NEW experimental feature an AI-generated podcast from the story written above

Story 10 from Paul Bridle

Paul Bridle

Summary

Paul Bridle shares memories of his childhood in Lancing, England, including his family's business, Melhuish's Stores, and his attendance at Lancing Infants School. He remembers a DUKW vehicle that took people onto the sea and a cargo ship that may have been bound for Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Paul Kidger adds to the story by recalling steam trains and providing details about the Bridle family's general practitioner, Dr. Alexander, a World War I fighter pilot

Story 10
I was born in Southlands Hospital, Shoreham-by-Sea on 8th November 1951 and lived with my parents in Lower Boundstone Lane, Lancing from then until later in the 1950s. My father was an architect and my mother a housewife. I attended Lancing Infants School and recall an air raid shelter in the grass playing field at the back of the school. I, along with the other pupils was too afraid to go down the steps to it.

My grandfather owned and ran Melhuish's Stores until he retired and moved to 25, Upper Boundstone Lane, where he lived until the early 1970s. I can remember the building of the school in Upper Boundstone Lane and the A27 'top road' My great grandfather who lived with my grandparents used to walk from their bungalow each morning up to the top road and back for exercise.

Does anyone else remember the ex-army DUKW vehicle which used to take people out onto the sea?
At the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I and my family were at my grandparents' beach hut when we saw a large cargo passing along the channel out to sea. It would seem that it was being shipped to Cuba by the Russians. I was blissfully unaware of the fear of war that so many people had.
Reply from Paul Kidger

I still remember the excitement of seeing a Battle of Britain class steam train going over the level crossing in Lancing. Magnificent and a change from the electric trains.

In addition, Paul writes...

I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who remembers my family in Lancing - My grandparents owner Melhuish's Stores in Sompting Road, which I think was called something like Myrtle Terrace or Parade. The shop was on the corner of Myrtle Road and Sompting Road. It was converted to a house, possibly in the 1970s.

Our family GP was Dr Alexander (called "Dr Alec"). He had a crease in one cheek from a bullet wound in WW1 when he was a fighter pilot.

Paul Bridle

New feature AI generated podcast created from Paul's story

Story 9 from Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly

Having been born in Worthing and lived there until just before my 21st birthday
I was having a good look at the Lancing and Sompting site and came across the photo of the Ironmonger's shop on Penhill Road.
You may be interested to know that I worked in that shop for a while after I left school but it was then owned by A.J. Eakins.
I got the job through his son John who I went to school with. I wonder what happened to them all.
Other than that the shop doesn't look so different than when I worked there in the late 1950s

Paul Kelly
Adelaide, Australia

Story 8 from Marjorie Lisher

Marjorie Lisher

The Lisher Family
On the 5th of February 2002, I spoke to Marjorie Lisher about her memories of the Market Garden Business her father ran on the land east of the Southern Railway Carriage Works in Lancing.
Marjorie Lisher lived in Lancing all her life, she was born in 1912 in the same house at Salt Lake where her father Frank had been born, in what is now part of Freshbrook Road.
The small modern house where she now lives is on the site of the house her Grandfather lived in when he had set up the Lisher Coal Merchant business.
Frank Lisher set up a Market Garden business on the land surrounding his parent's home.
In 1929 he built himself a house right next door. It was named the Finches.
The Nursery site took up much of what is now Chester Avenue, The Crescent and Finches Close.
On the site, there were sixteen large commercial glasshouses as well as a packing shed and stables for their two horses.
The main produce was Chrysanthemums and Tomatoes, these were taken to the old Market at Brighton via the coast road by horse-drawn van.
Sometimes this trip was made three times a week. Frank Lisher would set off at 8pm in the evening so the produce would be on the market stalls first thing the next morning.
Frank's daughter Marjorie took an active part in the family business, she remembers they also grew runner beans and mushrooms, these did not go to Brighton but were packed onto the train and sent to Covent Garden or Brentford Market.
She recalls that horse manure required for soil improvement used to come by train from racing stables to the goods yard of the railway. There it attracted a great number of rats which became a daily hazard.
To help them to be as self-sufficient as possible the family also kept chickens, pigs and rabbits. It was not wise for the younger members of the family to grow attached to the animals because they would often be on the menu.
One of Frank's two brothers joined his father in the Coal business the other was involved in the local Dairy

Story 7 from Valerie Brown

Valerie Brown

Story 7
I lived in Pratton Avenue from 1938 (then 2 years old) to 1955. We used to play in a field at the top of Pratton Avenue, which is now a built-up area. At the other end of the street we used to shop at a Greengrocers owned by two sisters, I think their name was Hibdige and also a sweet shop owned by Mr Brown.
 The bungalow we lived in was called Lorretto and I think it was number 9. My Dad built an air raid shelter in the back garden which we used to sleep in when the siren went off and my brother and I slept in hammocks which I remember falling out of.
I attended North Lancing school when Miss Humphreys was headmistress and Irene Avenue Secondary School and the headmaster then was a Mr Russell.
 I have been in Australia since 1965 but visited Lancing a few years ago and much had changed - I managed to get a photo of Lorretto which had been wonderfully updated but unfortunately, no one was home!
 I vividly remember the huge concrete blocks and barbed wire all along the seafront during the war years and was delighted when it was all over and we could spend school holidays on the beach.

Valerie Brown
Secretary
Mallesons Stephen Jaques
Sydney
valerie.brown(at)mallesons.com

Story 6 from Joan Hamilton

Story 6
Joan (Sparkes) Hamilton writes:
Quite by accident, I came upon your very interesting site.
I started this morning on Google looking for Halewick Farm, Sompting, that used to be my home.

Lancing Clump was a favourite place of mine, I daily rode my horse through and around it when I was a teenager, before the war.
Then there was an old tree with a big low branch, gone after that storm, [1987] but I have pictures of my children and then grandchildren standing on it.

 I am very glad to learn that the area has been made a reserve.
 I also lived at Cokeham Manor, at a very early age, I see you have found my cousin Edward Sparkes's Mumblings, what an interesting morning I have had!
I have lived in Canada since 1946, I married a Canadian soldier and came to Canada as a War bride, my visits are not so frequent now but I still have lots of memories.
If you would like to contact Joan write to: jehamilton(at)sympatico.ca

Story 5 from Paul Kelly

Story 5
Paul Kelly recalls
I used to live in Broadwater and had an Aunt who lived in 1st Avenue Lancing.
We had lots of good times in Lancing but the memory that seems to stick is standing outside the Corner house, in the snow, waiting for a bus home. I see they have changed the name to the Sussex Potter - what a shame.
I now live in Australia - have been here for 39 years

contact Paul Kelly paulk(at)kdfisher.com.au

Story 4 from Diane Sisman

Story 4
Diane Sisman recalls Lancing in the 1930s and '40s
"I am an old resident of Lancing. My parents had a bungalow at 16 Chester Avenue *..Is it still there?* At that time, in 1938, they paid 700 pounds for it......... At the end of the road, there was a tall stone wall where there were the cows for the little dairy on the main road. There was a path at the side of the last house which was known as the -right-of-way which was used by anyone going shopping. There was a bakers shop called Leroys with mouth-watering pastries, a grocer called Potter Bailey with sawdust on the floor and huge wheels of cheese. They had a little container that the money was put into and then sent by pneumatic methods to the other regions to be counted and change and receipts to be returned to the customer. There were two old chairs so that even older customers could sit down. My sister and I would go to the dairy and watch the milk run down rollers to be chilled and which I can still smell. I can also still smell the wonderful aromas of Potter Bailey. There is so much more I remember. I am now 70. Is there anyone out there who still remembers, too? Happy New Year.........Diane."

Further memories of Diane Sisman:
"On the beach, itself were some bungalows. One was called No No Nanette and was owned by, I think, the writer of the show. **
 There was also one that belonged to jockey Gordon Richards whom we knew very well."

Editor Note:
*Chester Avenue has since been extensively developed and '16' is now a number nearer 100 according to Diane's sister who visited recently.
**I can't find any evidence to support this idea

Story 3 from John Drewett

Story 3
John Drewett

I worked for Typower ltd as a Draughtsman, then Sales Engineer from 1964 to 1970.
Typower was previously PG Tyrer (Turbines), we manufactured Diesel Generating sets mainly. We had our works in the old Railway Power House, on the Churchill Industrial Site.
My wife worked at Beechams Laboratory, later at Bentalls Worthing, my daughter at Dodds the Estate agents, we lived in Sompting actually, in Steepdown Rd. My Chief draughtsman Ted King still lives in Worthing, he is now 86. I am 76. We went to South Africa in 1970, I kept in the Diesel Business in Johannesburg. We are now in Valentine NSW Australia, since 1991 when I retired, with my wife and daughter and grandkids.
Ted is the only bloke I have been able to keep in touch with, it would be nice if I could find any of those who remember me from those days. I have sent a brochure of Typower, it shows the DO, I am on the right with Ted and Ernie Hall, it's not too clear I'm afraid.
I remember Tony Dix, (Ken Holden, Ron Boot, Cliff Bloom) these went to Ruhaak in Worthing.
I was lucky enough to visit Uk a few years ago and drove around the Lancing area with Ted King, I have a cousin who lives in Worthing also.
I have very pleasant memories of our years spent there. The Beaches are sandier here!
Hope I haven't gone on a bit.
Regards
John Drewett

2. Paul Kidger writes about the Ricardo works

Paul Kidger

the Ricardo 
'I went to North Lancing school then Worthing Technical High School until 1963 when I went off to University and then to various jobs in the UK and elsewhere finally settling in Suffolk. My mother moved from Ring Road after my father died in 1990.'
Paul goes on to say...
'my father was an amateur painter and painted several local scenes, some from real life and some from postcards etc. There may well be a few around in private hands.
My own interest is engineering and we should not forget that one of the 20th century's foremost engineers lived in Lancing namely Sir Harry Ricardo who lived in Penstone Place The site is now the library.

View Larger Map
 Sir Harry was slightly later but almost can be considered as a contemporary of Dr Rudolph Diesel.
Sir Harry is credited as being responsible for the development of the modern diesel engine into the form we benefit from today. The significance of the Ricardo Works by the toll bridge is well known as an engine development organisation.
Also, there was the work in aviation undertaken by FG Miles at Shoreham. FG Miles almost had the first supersonic aircraft had the government not ordered a halt to the work and the files handed to the Americans who went on with an almost identical design to achieve that target. When I was a child, there were several FG Miles development aircraft flying around. Living in Ring Road provided an almost a grandstand view. '
If you would like to contact Paul Kidger write to: paulkidger(at)aol.com

1. Memories From Geoff Walden

Geoff Walden lived in Lancing in the 1960s, he emigrated with his parents to New Zealand in 1967
This is his story, lightly edited, sent to me on April 9th 2002


'I was 11 years old when we emigrated to New Zealand in 1967.

Brighton Road
I was born in Furnace Wood East Grinstead in 1956, and my family moved to Worthing in 1959/60 then to 349 Brighton Rd in 1960/61.

 At the same time, my grandparents moved from Furnace Wood to Monks Close Lancing by the railway line.

Widewater

While living at Brighton Road, we spent a deal of time playing at the beach, especially by the Widewater. I have a pretty good recollection of those years, and I can remember we used to fish for those Sticklebacks with tiny nets you brought on the beach at Brighton. I remember the water at the Widewater was quite brackish and that there was a lot of rubbish like old prams dumped, so we weren't allowed to do any more than paddle.

Where we lived there was a set of shops, a corner shop like 'Arkright's open all hours' with the grocer called Mr Bolt.

Just opposite I think there was a set of stairs where you could go between the houses to access the Widewater. There was a causeway to get across to the actual beach. I remember there were at various times, swans swimming there and there were postcards with the swans swimming in the Widewater nearer to Shoreham.

Broadway
Thinking back, we were only at Brighton Rd for about 2 years because Mum and Dad sold the house to the developers who built the big development on the roadside, was this the Broadway? There was also a problem with tidal flooding and the basement of the 2-story house was damp on the high spring tides.

Fishing off the beach
Dad and my grandfather used to fish from the beach a lot and used to take my older brother and myself with them for overnighters. I can still remember collecting driftwood for fires and helping Dad light the Tilley lantern.

I remember they caught a few fish too because we were always helping out gutting them and digging holes in the garden when we got home to bury the offal.

Farmland
Just along from the back alley behind the house at 349 was an access road where you could walk through to farmland we called the forest. I believe this was behind West Way somewhere. Then you could be gone all day playing in what was just fields and countryside without any sort of trouble.

After my youngest brother was born in 1961 my parents decided to move again to Grand Avenue, I think in 1962 or so. My oldest brother and I had started school at South Lancing in the main street not far from the railway station. When we shifted house we all moved to Irene Ave primary.

Old Salts Farm
My grandparents moved from Monks Close to Old Salts Farm Road about 1961/2 and as this was so close to the beach we spent a lot of time with them.

View Larger Map
Opposite their house, 7 Old Salts Farm Rd was a caravan park with lots of holiday and permanent people in it. Looking on the street maps it seems that the caravan park may be gone and a housing estate established. The Fairway? Is that right?

Chalk Pit
As kids, we divided our free time between exploring the South Downs up by the chalk pit in (I think) Mill Rd and the beach.

We either pushed our bikes up that hill and played all day and came down through the forest to the Manor, or came down the hill and hoped our brakes worked.

Railway
We did the train spotting thing from the overbridge at the railway station. Even then steam trains were a rarity, but I remember the occasional one coming along.
I remember buildings on both sides of the platform; we used to have to get a spectator ticket from a penny machine to prevent getting kicked off the station. They must have pulled the buildings down from that side.

Cinema
We spent many Saturdays at the pictures at the Luxor watching the kids' features for 6d. We used to go into a shop beside the Luxor and get 3d [3 old pennies] bags of fizzy sherbet and liquorice.

Scout Hall
I used to be in the Cubs, then the Scouts and went to 2 different scout halls. One was a huge old hall that had a rabbit warren of old rooms, and a huge concrete yard with high walls around it behind the hall. think this was on the corner of Kings Avenue and the main street. Not far away from the Farmers pub.

View Larger Map

The other scout den was over the road from Grand Avenue and the Upper Brighton Rd and we had to run down a tiny alleyway between a graveyard and an old church to get to it. Boy did we run in the dark.

Hardware shop
You mentioned Gardner & Scardifields as the builder's hardware place, I can remember going in there with my father for bits and pieces.

Beach Green
Over the Brighton Road was the track leading to the Mermaid [cafe] and the beach, along with the huge open green. I spoke to my father the other night after I had found your website and he told me that that huge green where they have all the fairs and boot sales now was compacted and established with all the broken-up concrete from the WW2 war defences that were laid along the beach. He was there when they were doing it. We used to call that big old home the donkey home, [St Peter's holiday home] I think it was an old folk home. There were certainly donkeys kept there for us kids to ride on in the summer. I also went to the county fair there while I was little, Dad winning goldfish that never made it home. I watched the wall of Death one year, the noise was fantastic.

School
I notice Irene Avenue Primary School has changed its name to Oakfield Middle county school. Any clues why?

They opened a tiny outdoor swimming pool I think in 1965 or 1966. My class were the first to swim in the pool and I was the first boy in when the teacher called for volunteers, as I was a good swimmer. Imagine that. It was mid-summer but probably freezing!

We used to travel by bus to the Heene Road swimming pools in Worthing for winter swimming. Are they still there? '

If you would like to contact Geoff Walden write to ( replace[at] with @ symbol): geoffwalden[at]xtra.co.nz