Lancing Village Memories

Hear Malcolm's Story Those Were The Days My Friends . . Malcolm G Hill's Memoirs of Lancing Life 1947-1963 Introduction and Early Origins Like many of the people whose reminiscences of Lancing life appear here, I too came across this fascinating website by pure chance whilst trawling references on the internet to the Lancing/Sompting/Worthing area. So I trust my few recollections of growing up there will prompt further reflections among those of us scattered around the globe, and of course, those of you still resident in the area, and also prompt others to write accounts of our early lives and even perhaps engage in mutual correspondence whilst we still have time before our all too soon inevitable demise. My name is Malcolm Gerald Hill. I was born in 1940, not in Lancing actually but in Hayes, Middlesex, but within a few weeks of my birth was taken to live with my grandmother, Mrs Gertrude Perkins at her home in First Avenue, Lancing on account of my mother's premature deat...

  Alan Marshall said... Hello from Lancing to Alan Marshall in Tasmania. Thank you for sharing these wonderful memories. I have formatted your text with subheadings and corrected some punctuation to make it easier to read. School Days David, thanks for all those wonderful memories you have brought back to me. I am somewhat younger than yourself (I was born in 1941), but I do remember the old schoolroom, and Mrs Thomas used to teach there. The name Miss Allman, I think she became Mrs Horne. At that age, I had no idea of people getting married and changing their name! Michael Ayling was in my class at school. I attended there from about 1946 to 1952. The "new" dining room and kitchen were built at the top northern side of the playground, close to the bicycle shed. I will always remember the horrible smell of grease and food waste oozing out of the waste pipe from the kitchen, and that horrible minced meat, hard potatoes, and spinach! It was an awful taste for a 7 or 8-year-old....

Hear the story Early School Days at South Lancing I was born in Lancing and attended South Lancing Junior School, where the Headmistress was Miss Cates. I didn't dislike school, but the only thing that bothered me was my eyesight. My desk was always in the fron,t and then I couldn't always see the small writing on the blackboard. Wartime Memories and Family Fundraising I do remember some very cold winters with the school milk popping out of the bottles, so that we tried to thaw them out on the school hot pipes. In that freezing weather, we all wore homemade clothes, which luckily our mother could always manage. She was very good at knitting and sewing, so that in 1944 my sisters: Averill, Frieda and Veronica Gascoyne, our cousin Peter Voice and his friend Derek Denyer went out to sell tea cosies, bed socks, kettle holders and anything Mother had made to raise the princely sum of £21 for the Red Cross. Anything over went to the hospital. A newspaper cutting of 1944 has a phot...

Keith Lenham keithlenham123@btinternet.com Hear Keith's Story Introduction A friend suggested that I look at all the reminiscences posted on your blog. Early Life My name is Keith Lenham born in Lancing in 1945, my parents died when I was very young and my brother and I were brought up by an aunt and uncle in Grand Avenue. I was educated at North Lancing Primary School and then on to Worthing Technical High School. My brother Les being older than me was educated at Worthing High School. Fond Memories of Lancing So much has already been written, a significant amount of which is very familiar to me, names, places shops etc with much of my youth spent in the Little Park, Lancing Manor and up on the Downs in the first and second clumps, the chalk pit and also the beach in summer. Apprenticeship and Career Upon leaving school I took up an apprenticeship with F G Miles who at that time was located at River Bank works in Shoreham, Much fun was had working on the design of the...

A Glimpse into a Lancing Childhood NEW Experimental  AI-generated podcast from Mike's Story In these times of coronavirus lockdowns, I found myself with time to browse the internet and found your website. I thought I would send you some of my memories of a Lancing childhood My name is Michael (Mike) Reynolds, and I was born in Lancing in June 1937. My parents, Eric and Dorothy Reynolds,(I think a year or so before I was born), bought a new bungalow at 14 The Drive, South Lancing, and it was here that I lived with my family for the whole of my childhood. The family consisted of Mum and Dad, my Dad’s father, Frank Reynolds (Pop), and my brother Geoff, four years older than me. The Family Business and Wartime Lancing Before the war, Dad and Pop had set up in business with a bicycle shop in South Street (number 111 I think),- W.F. and E.F.Reynolds- but when WWII started, Dad was called up into the RAF, and my earliest memories of the shop have Pop in the workshop at the back mending th...

Hear Jenny's story Jenny writes... I have just read all the memories of people on your website. Early Life in Lancing I was born in Lancing in 1947 at 8 Tower Road. My Dad used to work for Frank Lisher and, in fact, looked after the shire horses referred to in one of George Forrest’s comments. My sisters (of which there were 4) used to go to the stables to watch the horses being fed or mucked out, or get ready to go out. My dad loved these horses dearly, and whilst I don’t recall, he must have been heartbroken when he did not look after them any more. School Days I went to South Lancing School, both infants and juniors and then on to Irene Ave for one year and then on to Boundstone Comprehensive when it was brand new. Oh, how privileged we did feel with that school. I had Mr Jones as my first form teacher, and he said to me, “Are there more of you Charmans at home?” as apparently, he knew the rest of the family. I stopped on for an extra year to do GCE and was sad to leave the...

Hear Colin's story   Cherished Childhood Memories I spent my childhood in the lovely village of Lancing, and have so many good memories. Dad worked in the railway works after his discharge from the Army, right up to its closure, and Mum worked part-time in Fircroft House. School Days  I attended North Lancing county primary school, then one year at Irene avenue secondary and was one of the first years at Boundstone, the previous year we boys had been up there on 'day release' so to speak, to do woodwork and metal work, as those classrooms were the first to be built and finished. I remember all of the school being told we all had to pay a pound towards the construction of the school swimming pool, situated in the open behind the police houses, a right cheek as I left before its opening, so I never splashed in anger.  Work and Wandering I spent the 1960s working around Sussex, then wandered off to see the world, returning to live now in Eastbourne in my old age. Thank you a...

34. Barry Ruffell A quick note to say I was pleased to come across the ‘Lancing Memories’ website, which included some items about (or from) people I remember. I lived in Lancing Manor House from 1950 – 56, where my dad was a caretaker working for WRDC, and subsequently in Berriedale Drive, Sompting (‘56-’59): I went to N Lancing Primary School from ’53 – ’59, and recognise some of the names mentioned and/or pictured on the website. Some of the names that come to mind from my year are: Terry Stacey (subsequently a musician and music shop owner (Approximate Music, Worthing), and father of folk artist Cole Stacey) Margaret Hogben Christine Marshall Derek Shoulders (whose dad ran an electrical retail business) Peter Clist (who emigrated to Australia, I think) Derek Gorham Ian Ralph Philip Norton Jamie Wrench (of the Red House, North Lancing, and whose dad ran the Boy’s Brigade) John and Anna Caulfield (twins: moved into the area around 58.) Amanda Walker (lived at the top...

Dorothy Yeates commented on Memories   Milk Delivery with Jack the Horse     I also have just found this site and reading through made me remember the milkman delivering milk with his horse, that was when we lived with my grandparents in Annweir Avenue. I believe the horse was named Jack, not too friendly. My grandmother collected what he left behind for the roses, as did other residents, cleaned the street up nicely! Grandparents’ Sweet Shop in Wembley Avenue For a while, my grandparents ran a sweet shop in Wembley Avenue, I don't remember the dates exactly, would have been during the 1950s Shops in Crabtree Lane Someone mentioned the shops in Crabtree Lane, I remember Hibdiges, also, I believe the coal was delivered by Lishers. My Father’s Land and Boot Repair Shop My father had a piece of land behind the Luxor where he kept chickens. Before that, he had a boot and shoe repair shop, I think, in the High Street in Worthing, I remember the Phillips stick-a-sole metal si...

Hear David's  stor y   David Nicholls Summary This text is an excerpt from a personal website, written by a man named David Nicholls. He describes his childhood growing up in Lancing, England, during World War II, recounting memories of school life, air raids, and the presence of military personnel in his town. He also remembers daily life and common places in the area, including the  local cinema, his paper route, and a nearby manor house. The excerpt reveals the impact of the war on his everyday experiences as a young boy. AI-Generated Overview Podcast I found this website by chance, and it certainly triggered off some Memories of Lancing for me. Memories of Lancing. Early Days in North Lancing I grew up in North Lancing.  In 1939, my Dad bought a small bungalow at Lewes Road off Fircroft Avenue. I remember the cost of our home (just five hundred pounds). Then, Fircroft Avenue was an unmade road lined with almond trees which shed their blossoms like confetti. T...