My Saturday job
When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I earned quite a lot of money from my Saturday jobs. Each Saturday I would rise about 5.30 and go to Nash’s newsagents at the bottom of Whitehawk Road and start off doing 2 morning paper rounds. Then I would go home and have breakfast.
Working for the butcher
After breakfast, I’d make my way to the top of Maresfield Road to meet the butcher with his van from Islingword Street. He would hand over a large pram type barrow loaded with 15-20 parcels of meat and I would go down Race Hill and deliver to Whitehawk addresses. When I’d finished, I’d meet up with him and hand over the money and the barrow.
Working for the baker
After that, I would then make my way down to the bottom of Church Place, to the bakery shop called Glaston’s – they always made bread for 3 times of the day. For the morning bread round with a bike and a basket, I would cycle along Eastern Road to Abbey Road – I remember delivering to Abbey House where the family who owned Kemptown Brewery lived.
My paper round
Then I would return home and go to the afternoon cinema – the Kings Cliff, (which later became the Continental) in Sudeley Street. After the cinema I would do the tea bread round. After that I then went on to the paper shop to do the 2 evening paper rounds and then go home and have tea and then I’d go and do the babysitting at 8.00. If I finished before midnight I’d get 2/6, if after it was 3/6.
Working full time at 14
When I was 14 I went to work at John Eade Butts joinery works in Trafalgar Lane for 19/7½d a week. When I got my pay rise of 1/- per week, that was 12 pennies which equated to one farthing per hour in a 48 hour week. Whereas when I was still at school, I was earning 2-3 pounds a week. I’d already saved up £250 by the age of 14. I could have bought myself 2 3-bedroomed houses for £125 each.
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A true account of life in those days. It was even like that when I left school in 1953 and lived nearby in Sussex Square, in a council requisitioned house of flats. I did a paper round for the “kiosk” in Eastern Road where I met lads who lived in Whitehawk and Manor Farm, working as I did on paper rounds. By the way, is the author any relation to Johnny Gunn, who lived in Twineham Road at that time?
The photo posted of the bottom of Whitehawk Road, shows the same newsagents that I did my paper round for. That was in 1955 when it was called Nashes and then taken over by a Mr Jefferies I think. My round started at the convalescent home in Whitehawk Road, then up to Reading Road and on to the Cliff to Roedean, to a Doctor Bacons house in Roedean Crescent. Then it was down Riflebutt Road to Marine Gate for the end of the round, where I enjoyed using the lifts. I also did the evening round as well delivering the Evening Argus. I got 10 bob a week for the rounds. I would be interested at the date of the photo, looking at the buses it might have been in the 30s?
I would think that the photograph is even older than the 1930s as at sometime the trolley buses were introduced and I cannot see any overhead cables. There looks to be a policeman on point duty. I also did a paper round covering Roedean Road, the Cliff and the golf house on the Pitch and Putt. When I delivered the papers to the steward at East Brighton golf club there was always a small tankard of beer which was most welcome on hot summers days.
Unfortunately, the photographh was cropped. The picture hanging on my bedroom wall shows the identical scene with, on the right, a motor car, pavin, and part of the playground fence at St Mark’s Infant School, and a glimpse of the John Howard Convalecent Home in the background.
Probably around 1940. It was just like that when I was a nipper at St Mark’s Infants’ during WWII. I remember buses with open staircases to the top deck. Numbers 1 and 3 coming from Whitehawk stopped at Bristol Road (just round the left hand corner) right opposite Rugby Place, where I lived throughout the War (at number 55).
I think you meant to say that the Nos 1 and 3 buses stopped in Bristol Gardens (not Road).
Can anyone tell me the name of that newsagent in about1953/4. He was a customer of ours at Bristol Garage?
My job as a teenage schoolboy was doing a paper round in Patcham where we lived. I think the Newsagents were “Walkers” just off Carden Avenue and near the “Wilmington” pub. My round started at the bottom of Braybon Avenue and finished at the top with one or two deviations on the way. had a bike, but, due to the steepness of Braybon Avenue, it would have been useless. The No 35 bus that used that route was later replaced by the No 46 Trolleybus. I’ve no idea what replaced them!
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