52. Keith Lenham sent this memory

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 Bristol Boxkite which Miles made for the film The Magnificent Men and Their Flying Machines. Bob Bushby was also an apprentice at that time. I subsequently worked for several other companies based in the UK.

Family and Cricket

My brother Les went on to play cricket for Sussex as a professional, he is now of course retired and living in Eastbourne but I’m sure that he will remember Mike Reynolds and Ron Kerridge. His son Neil also played for Sussex and likewise, he lives in Eastbourne.

Local Character

Horace Duke was mentioned in an article, this character I remember well, in his latter but still active years he was often seen on his Frances Barnet motorcycle around the area.

Just a snippet but hopefully informative


Regards
Keith

51. Mike Reynolds sends this great memory of happy times

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 the punctures, and Mum running the shop at the front. The other shops I can recall nearby were the World Stores, a grocery where the front of the counter was lined with glass-topped biscuit boxes, Surfleets Chemist on the corner of Penhill Road, Colbourns Haberdashers, Potter Bailies Grocers, Isteads Hardware shop, and on the other side of South Street was the Co-op, where the money was sent on overhead wires from the counter to the cashier.

School Days and Steam Trains

I walked each day to South Lancing Primary School, just over the Southern Railway line. I suppose I would have started there in 1943, but I can’t remember the names of my teachers. I remember that afternoon school finished at about the same time that the “Steyning Flier”, one of the last steam trains to run through Lancing, would come puffing through. We boys would run quickly up and onto the footbridge over the railway line and wait for the Flier to pass underneath, shrouding us in a cloud of smoke and steam – we also tried to spit down the funnel!

Playtime and Wartime Memories

As others of your correspondents have told, the war years made the beach a no-go zone, but with very little traffic on the roads, The Drive and Chester Avenue were our playgrounds. The horse-drawn cart of Mr Souter, the milkman, Lisher’s coal cart, or the rag and bone man’s cart were about all the traffic there was!


I don’t have any clear memories of the air raid on April 25, 1941, in which two houses in The Drive were bombed, but the bombed sites became makeshift (and not very safe) playgrounds.

Exploring Beyond Childhood

When I got a bit older, I had my own bicycle, and I was able to range further. First, the Cubs, and then the 1st South Lancing Troop of the Boy Scouts kept me out of (most) mischief, and at age 11 in 1948, I started at Worthing High School for Boys in Broadwater.






If any of the above jogs other memories, I can be contacted by email at reymor@bigpond.com

50. Hilary sends an article about Horace Duke

I was so pleased to find your website on “Memories of Lancing”. Indeed it did bring back a lot of memories and I am so glad you set it up.

I wonder if you remember Horace Duke, a flamboyant and eccentric character, who donned Edwardian dress and who used to cycle along the Lower Brighton Road in the 1960s? I found an old newspaper cutting of him, in a collection of photographs belonging to my late aunt. Unfortunately, I do not have an actual date on the newspaper cutting, but there is mention of “Mods and Rockers” in the article, and having looked up the Lancing Rep productions mentioned in the article alongside, I deduce the date to be around June 1967.
I understand from searching on the internet that he sadly died in 1995. But I have discovered no photographs of him online, which is a shame.

I wonder if anyone knows anything about him? The article mentions he lived in Brighton Road, Lancing. He certainly was an enigma!
I wondered if the article about him might be of interest to you for your website.

Our extended family moved to the Sompting/Lancing area between 1958 and 1965, but I now live in Norfolk, although my mother is still in Sompting.

49. Bill Lindfield

A new site that pays tribute to the late Bill Lindfield's life has been created by members of Lancing & Sompting Pastfinders

William Lindfield 23.3.1927 - 28.11.2011

http://www.somptingestate.com/bill-lindfield

48. Bill Lindfield Audio History

Coming soon, more from Bill Lindfield

Bill Lindfield

46. Marion Dolemore-Bushby sends information

Marion Dolamore-Bushby wrote to me and wished to share the following..

Dear Ray,

My father's family were Bushbys. My grandfather was born at Church Farmhouse opposite St James church N Lancing. His father William and grandfather were millers and his uncle was Charles Bushby who owned South House,
The first picture is supposedly Lancing Mill.

The second is South House c 1860.

The third is from George Shaw's book and a picture of Bushby homestead with fig trees.

Mr Shaw told me this was South House (presumably the barns), but I am unsure that he was certain of this.
 The next picture is of Lancing Mill. I do not know who the people are.

 

The last picture is of Charles's 3 spinster daughters living in South House in all those rooms! When families of 6 or more children lived in two or three rooms.

Hope this is of interest. I do have more on the family, and maybe you know of people who have other info of interest to me as well?
I spent a long time searching for a picture of South House and only found the one here recently. I am unaware of any others.
 I have a painting of the mill that a distant relative sent me, so will send that on to you if you wish. Marion .....

And so she did...

This is the painting I was sent by a distant Bushby cousin, which is of Lancing Mill.

I don't know the authenticity of that. Maybe you do or can work it out from the view. I have been to Lancing on many
occasions, however, I received this picture since moving to Australia, so cannot visit to see for myself.
Hope it's of interest. Marion [dolamore-bushby]

Marion wrote again...
I am enclosing two photos of William Bushby, the miller's daughters. I only have one other picture of his children, and that is my grandfather Edward Dolamore-Bushby, who was a baker.
George William, as you probably know,w was a butcher.
These pictures are of Clara, with the two Challen girls holding kittens, and Emily.

I have done my family tree, so might be of use at some time. 

Many thanks to Marion for these  words and marvellous pictures

Comments

Graham Funnel writes a comment to George Forrest

On the subject of the Lisher cart-horses, I well remember, as a child, seeing them in their flint stable and out on their rounds, in the late 1950s. I recall both Unigate and Co-op dairies finished using horses at about the same time as Lishers, around 1962. "Joey" the milk-horse, was a favourite with the children, and he reputedly knew exactly which houses to stop outside of. Joey was always given a carrot or some other treat when he got to our house, in Annweir Avenue, which probably jogged his memory of where to stop !

That's probably where my life-long affection for horses started, and why my family and I currently
look after so many elderly rescued ones !

45. Jenny Shackley (nee Charman) writes about life in Lancing from 1947

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 school to go to work. I then got married after a few years and finally ended up in Bristol, where I still live.

Fond Memories

I have a sister who still lives in Lancing and was an usherette at the Luxor, and I do visit about three times a year. I still remember fondly the sweet shop in North Road where we used to go on the way to school, the bread shop opposite South Lancing school where we used to buy a crusty roll for a farthing and eat all of the insides, leaving only the shell to eat on its own.

In the summer holidays, I had friends who had one of the beach huts and we used to spend many happy days on the beach. I still like to go down to the beach whenever I visit.

All in all, your website has brought back many happy memories.

Jenny Shackley (nee Charman)

jenny.shackley@blueyonder.co.uk

44. Colin Harrison recalls Boundstone School early days

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 again for the info and some of those wonderful old photos of the Lancing, I loved.

 
Yours, Colin Harrison, late of Fircroft Avenue.

43. Jo Christmas, born during air raid at Saxon Villas

Hear Jo's story

Jo writes about the Canadian troops preparing for D-Day

Birth During Wartime

I was just going through our file of important documents and found my birth certificate. It gives the address where I was born as 1 Saxon Villas, Lancing, on 10th February 1943. I have been on Google Maps, and that address isn't listed any more, so I presume it no longer exists.

Obviously, I have no personal memory of the time in Lancing as just before I was born, an attachment of Canadian troops moved into the area and, in fact, took over the house where my mother was staying. All the surrounding area was evacuated, I gather, as the whole area around that part of Lancing was full of army lorries and vehicles, loaded with ammunition, etc., as they were preparing for a possible invasion by the enemy.

As I was due at any time, they allowed my mother to occupy the upstairs bedroom whilst the troops took over the rest of the house. In the meantime, the local midwife was detached to try and find someone or someplace to take her in as the army wanted me rehoused as soon as possible. The young Canadian soldiers took turns to sit with my mother (she was confined to bed at this time with a severe case of toxaemia) and would talk to her about many things, including their families back home.

A Narrow Escape

One morning, one of the soldiers told my mother that all the lorries outside were loaded with munitions, and it only needed one bomb to land in the vicinity and the whole area would blow up. A short time later, the air raid sirens started, and aircraft began flying overhead. At the time, my mother was lying in bed on her own and only managed to clamber out and crawl under the bed whilst she could hear the bombs dropping not far away. Apparently, all the troops had fled into the air raid shelter somewhere close by and in the rush, no one thought of my mother upstairs. Mother was not even physically able to get downstairs, and shortly after the bombs started, she went into labour.

The midwife, in the meantime, was scouring the town for someone or someplace to take Mum in, but had to duck into the nearest air raid shelter to take cover as soon as the air raid siren started. However, she realised that this air raid would undoubtedly bring on mother's labour, and it wasn't until the all clear was sounded much later that she was able to continue her bike ride to mother's house.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, she told Mother she could hear me wailing upstairs, and on arriving at the bedroom, she found me bawling my eyes out under the bed, blue with the cold, and Mother passed out! She was so upset that Mother had been all alone and had me under the bed with no one around to help her, but at least I was alive and kicking (or wailing!)

An Evacuee's Story

As the midwife had been unable to find anyone to take Mother in, she was told by the army that she had to leave the house as they could no longer be responsible for her. With nowhere to go, she was preparing to put me into an orphanage when an old neighbour was in touch and arranged for me to be cared for as an evacuee by a friend of hers in Seaford, and mother then found a place to stay in a nurses' hostel in London. I remained in Seaford for the duration of the war.

The funny thing about that was that at the time, many children were being evacuated out of Seaford because of the many bombings by the V1s flying directly over the Sussex Downs and often unloading their bombs on the area. As our house was directly at the foot of Beachy Head, many bombs dropped nearby, and I gather I spent a great deal of time sheltering with them in the cupboard under the stairs!

A Search for the Past

Obviously, all this was told to me second-hand by my mother as I was too young to remember any of it. Having just found the Lancing address where I was born on my birth certificate, I have been trying to find it on Google Maps, but there is no mention of 1 Saxon Villas Close in Lancing, so I presume it no longer exists. Would really love to know if anyone in Lancing remembers where Saxon Villas used to be, as I would love to find out exactly where I was born.

Anyway, thought you might be interested to hear of wartime experiences in Lancing during WW11.

Regards, Josephine Christmas (nee Smith)

Editor Note: After a little bit of luck and research, we found Saxon Villas