Memories of North Street 1951-65

North St, Portslade
Postcard from the private collection of Bob Carden

My name is Dudley Whittaker and I lived at 53, North Street between 1951 and 1965.

Sweets and the Salvation Army
53 North Street was a shop owned by my mother Mary Whittaker where she sold mostly tobacco and confectionery. Whilst my memory is less than impressive, I believe I can remember some of the people who lived in and around the street during the 1950s and 1960s. Our shop was two-thirds of the way down on the same side as the Salvation Army. I remember it well and particularly Mr Moon who I think led their band.

A Coronation invitation 1953
Next to us, at number 51, lived Mr and Mrs Imrie with their daughters Felicity and Vivien. They lived above the shop rented by Nora Robinson who sold material and cottons. At number 55 (down from our house) lived Mr and Mrs Judge who ran a carpet shop in the early 1950s. They closed down later in the ’50s and the building lay derelict for many years. I particularly remember them because they had a TV before almost anybody else. My first introduction to TV was on 2nd June 1953 when we were invited in to watch the Coronation. This was followed a week or so later by a street party to celebrate the event.

Remembering the neighbours
At number 57 lived Mr and Mrs Ware and their son Alan. They were fairly elderly in the early 1950s and ran a greengrocers but soon retired. I now get a little vague but I think that the next shop (59) sold cat and dog food for a while. When it closed the rest of the building was occupied by a Mrs Sweet with her sons John and David. Number 61 was a Post Office for a while run by Mr and Mrs Cable and assisted by their son, Jimmy. The corner shop was at some stage a cafe but I don’t know who owned it.
Moving down the road oppposite us lived two elderly ladies: Ethel Rippington and in the next house down, Violet Roelich. Next to them were the Stevens’ with their children Joan and Victor (my contemporaries). Two doors down were the Willards. They had 3 or 4 children. The only one I knew was Maurice. Then there were the Fords. Their daughter, Valerie, was also a contemporary.

The Crazy Gang
Opposite us were two shops which changed their use at different times but I can’t remember the details other than three uses: a bread shop (with lovely cakes); a shop which sold tools (owned by Mr Fuller who lived in Hangleton); and a bookmakers run by a Mr Dowsett. The particular memory of the bookmakers is that among their regular customers were the ‘Crazy Gang’ including Flanagan and Allen who used to come into my mum’s shop too.

Caught red handed!
On the corner opposite the Baptist Church (to which I was sent every Sunday morning despite protests) was the impressive house of an elderly lady, Mrs Baddeley. She had a small orchard which had delicious apples. One day, having been scrumping (a word you never seem to hear these days) I was caught climbing back over her wall by a policeman. He gave me a choice of a clip round the ear or telling my mum. I chose the ‘clip’ but he told my mum anyway!

Potted memories
The sack factory seemed to dominate North Street but I can vividly remember Goble’s (a brilliant greengrocers), the Home and Colonial Stores, and the butchers. Like others, I remember the cinema as being a flea pit.

The Clarence
My memory is that during my time there it was a good community, although there were one or two difficulties. The sailors (often Russian) called in at The Clarence (run by Bert Myers) when they were in Shoreham Harbour. They could be pretty noisy and I can vividly remember the sound of breaking glass when the pub closed.

Do you have memories of North Street?
I would be really interested to hear from anybody if I’ve struck a chord. I now live in Suffolk but have really fond memories of Portslade and always look out for the Albion (not the Seagulls) scores.

Comments about this page

  • My grandfather Robert Goddard ran a butchers shop at 53 North Street in the early 1900s. Kelly’s Directory shows him there in 1905. I wonder when it changed to a sweet shop?

    By Christine Brickell (23/09/2006)
  • I’m unable to help, except that I know it was a sweet shop immediately before we moved in, in 1951. I’ve looked at some of the paperwork relating to the property purchase in 1951 but this reveals little.

    By Dudley Whittaker (29/09/2006)
  • I used to live in East Street. My sister Beryl and I also attended the Baptist Church in North Street where we had to go to Sunday school every Sunday. Do you remember going on the Sunday school outings with all the famlies? Coaches would take us all, then we would stop at a road side restaurant for lunch. On one of these occasions, when we went to Tunbridge Wells, it rained all day so everyone had to go to the pictures. I was in the girls life brigade. They also had a boys brigade, were you in that? I also had to go to bible study at the minister’s house once a week. Where I live in Australia, the Baptish Church holds their service in the high school as they don’t have a church built. It’s a lot different from when we attended. The minister here plays in the band at the service. I knew Mr and Mrs Moon – yes, he was the band master. I also remember a lot of the shops down North Street. I only found this site by accident, which I am glad as I told my sister about it as she still lives in Woodingdean Sussex.

    By Patricia Finneran (nee Morley) (08/10/2006)
  • I can remember the outings and one in particular to Camber Sands where there was a gale force wind. There was more sand in my sandwiches than on the beach! It always seemed slightly odd to go from one seaside resort to another for an outing.

    By Dudley Whittaker (19/10/2006)
  • Does anyone remember the name of the other square below North Street demolished in the 50s slum clearance? One was Belgrave Square near Boundary Road, the other near where Tate Repair Shop, formally Flexer Sacks now stands.

    By Emma Wheatland (17/01/2007)
  • I think one of the squares off North Street was called Clarendon Square, as the Clarendon pub was nearby.

    By Tony Clevett (11/02/2007)
  • One of the other squares of North Street, was St James’s Square. I think that it was where the Flexer Factory was built. One of the houses was used in the making of a WWII, film as was the cinema at the bottom of North Street I believe.

    By Dave Phillips (25/02/2007)
  • Do you remember the baker’s shop, Mason’s on the corner of North Street and Campden Street?

    By Jan Howlett (06/03/2007)
  • Emma, I put a couple of photos of Belgrave Square on this site a while ago. Going west along Wellington Road, from the bottom of Station Road, Belgrave Square was first on the right followed, I think, by Camden Place, which was actually another square or col-de-sac.

    By Alan Phillips (08/03/2007)
  • My grandad, Ernie Mason, owned the bread shop until he died in 1960. Does anyone have any memories of my family, or the shop that they can share with me? (jh122@hotmail.com)

    By Jan Howlett (25/03/2007)
  • Has anyone any info re 67 North Street, Portslade by Sea, Sussex. A corner premises. I have been told at one time it was a pub?

    By Howard Hacker (05/04/2007)
  • 67, North Street was for many years, I believe, a cafe which sold a range of sandwiches through to full English breakfasts. It was used quite a lot by employees of Flexers (the sack factory) and Bakers (the wood yard). I can never remember it as a pub but that could have been before my time in North Street [1951 – 1965].

    By Dudley Whittaker (10/04/2007)
  • Nice to see Tony Clevett is still in Portslade, long time no see. I don’t think you live that far away from me.(Valley Road) What times we had so many years ago. The old names just come flooding back: Sonny Watts, Len and Jack Ratcliffe,Bert Thorpe,Frankie Harman and his parents, the Harveys. George and Ivy Fuller and of course your very own parents, the list is almost endless.

    By Chris Goble (12/07/2007)
  • My Uncle Bert owned the grengrocers, Bert Goble. I can remember being machine gunned in North Street. My mother Daisy (Goble) took me by the hand and ran into a sweet shop, right through into the back room. The woman in that room told us it was only a motor bike and to get out. We were down from London trying to escape the bombs only to be machine gunned.

    By Jean Verlander (10/08/2007)
  • My Grandmother lived at 44 North Street until her death in 1965. I think she moved there in the 1950s. I visited with my parents occasionally and spend summer holidays there in the late 1950s and early 1960s. My memories are scant but I recall that 44 was an upstairs maisonette. I have a photograph of her unlocking the door and there seems to be a shop window next door as there is a Bachelors Peas sign running along the bottom of the window. I do not recall the shop but remember a café on the same side a few doors up. Thanks for the posting. Spent a nostalgic day in Brighton this week including a visit to North Street Portslade and your information, plus the photograph, are of great interest in my family history work.

    By Robert Keen (24/08/2007)
  • Chris Goble, great to hear from you Mate,yes,long time no see,hope you and yours are well. Sadly I no longer live near you, having moved to Worthing last year. Can’t get used to it yet, once a Portslade boy always one. The names you mentioned brought back many happy memories, nice people and a great neighborhood, we could write a book eh? I still see Gordon Aylwood now and then and I have seen Micky Green. I often go back down and just close my eyes and remember, great childhood days. Hope to see you sometime Chris, always a wecome for you.

    By Tony Clevett (31/08/2007)
  • To Chris Goble: Do you happen to know if we are related? My mother was Daisy Goble, I was brought up in London, so do not know all my relatives. Bert Goble at the greengrocers was my uncle and Leslie Goble, who took over from his dad, was my first cousin.

    By Jean Verlander (03/09/2007)
  • There were two Clevett brothers who were members of the Portslade branch of The Salvation army. I would be interested in any information on them.

    By Tony Clevett (07/09/2007)
  • I think I remember Dudley Whittaker from my school days at St Mary’s school Vale Road, Portslade. I used his mothers shop in North Street and can remember his mother making bread rolls for workers in the area. I remember the timber yard of H Bakers burning down. Does anyone remember Rios Cafe in North St? It was owned by a man called Jim and his wife who I believe was called Eve. They were Irish I think. I think they had a grandson called Eugene Mullen. Also at the top of North Street was a second hand shop called Better Bargains and I think it was there well after all the other shops had gone. Opposite bakers yard was the church and it had been turned into a wood machining factory. This site has bought so many memories flooding back for me.

    By David Broad (09/09/2007)
  • To Jean Verlander:  Hi Jean – it would appear that we are cousins, your mother was my dad’s elder sister, Emily Daisy Goble, born 1895 to George and Elizabeth Goble. My father was James Albert Goble born 1900. His younger brother Bert (Hubert) had the shop in North Street. I think you will find that the old family sold coal, fish and greengrocery, not from the same shop I must add. Aunt Daisy rings a bell in this old head of mine, but so many many years ago. Where did Aunt Daisy live before she moved to London?  Jean, if you want to get in touch with me, my email address is: christopher.goble1@ntlworld.com

    By Chris Goble (14/09/2007)
  • Hi David. I can remember you from school. Your memory of North Street and my mother’s shop are spot on. No doubt, collectively, we could go down memory lane in greater detail. If so, I’d be pleased to hear from you.

    By Dudley Whittaker (23/09/2007)
  • Hi Dudley, wonderful to hear from you. Yes indeed we could no doubt recall much of Portslade and indeed the shopping area of Boundary Road and Station Road. This is my email address: dvd_broad@yahoo.co.uk please get in contact and we can recall together our collective memories and then perhaps post our knowledge on here and hopefully rekindle other peoples memories. Your memories to date have been fascinating.

    By Dave Broad (07/10/2007)
  • Can anybody tell me what 79 North Street was? It’s that lovely building that housed Grate Fireplaces up until about one month ago. It’s the red brick building on the corner with Church Road. And did you know that there are plans to demolish it – the last bit of history left. How sad.

    By Amanda Brown (11/10/2007)
  • Hello Amanda, the building you refer to was the Portslade branch of the Salvation Army many years ago and you are right there is a lot of history attached to it. One of my ancesters laid one of the foundation stones and I for one would be very sad to see the building demolished.

    By Tony Clevett (12/10/2007)
  • I was a young member of Jimmy Ratcliff’s gang in the late forties. Sometimes on our journeys up North Street we came across a poor lad called Dribble Johnny. He was a simple lad whose main crime seemed to be lifting girls skirts. Does anyone recall this poor boy? Ron and Gordon Halewood are my cousins and I recall many happy days down Elm Road,there were some pretty girls down there too!

    By Den King (02/01/2008)
  • Hello Den – your name rings a bell. I still see Ron & Gordon around. Ron still lives in the old house in Elm Road, Gordon in Lancing quite near to me. I lived in Buckler Street in those days and they were happy times. Jimmy Ratcliff is also still around. Dribble Johnny was Johnny Rosa, he had a sister June. North Street was heavily populated in those days with many shops and houses all now sadly gone and replaced with industry.The Elm Road area has changed little except for the people.

    By Tony Clevett (12/01/2008)
  • Hi Tony, I think you are younger than me, I’m almost 70! I recall us coming back from the Pavilion and playing cowboys and Indians or Americans and Japanese hiding in the Buckler St Gardens to ambush the other half of the gang. I wonder what happened to the Watts girls. Dont go over that way much now since Auntie Meg died, it all seems so dismal now with the steets full of cars. It would be good to meet at Gordons to talk about the old days.

    By Den King (14/01/2008)
  • Hello Den, I do remember being part of the Buckler Street battles, but was probably an Indian or Japanese as I always seemed to be shot. The Watts girls are my cousins although I havent seen them for years. I was very unhappy when the Buckler houses were pulled down. As you say, it isn’t the same.

    By Tony Clevett (17/01/2008)
  • Hi Den. My name is Beryl Thompson (it used to be Morley). I used to live in East Street with my two sisters, one was called Joan and the other Pat. I think you may be refering to a boy called Johnny Roser – he used to live opposite us in East Street with his sister June and family. He was of no harm to anybody. He and his sister used to walk up and down the road banging on saucepan lids. He never did us any harm. Hope this solves your problem.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley) (03/02/2008)
  • Hi Beryl, thank you for clearing up the Roser name. My mom was June’s sister. John is now dead, and no he never harmed anyone although he did scare us. June is still alive and is in Hove.

    By Eddie McCabe (16/04/2008)
  • Hi Den, thank you for your reply. Sorry to hear John is now dead, I hope June is well. I probably knew your mum. I remember the family all going off to the hop fields. I can’t remember the sister’s name, but I know one of them came to my sister’s anniversary party. It was nice to hear from you.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley) (18/04/2008)
  • Hi Beryll, my mom’s name is Anne. There was Violet, Maud, Gwen, Daisy and Alice. Also a few boys (thirteen in all). Mom’s birthday was yesterday, she was 88. I’m going to tell her about this site tomorrow. I hope to post some pictures soon.

    By Eddie Mccabe (18/04/2008)
  • I am Daisy Goble’s daughter Jean. I have fond memories of sitting on the step of the Pub whilst my Mother and Father were having a drink with her Brother Bert (of the greengrocers). Can anybody tell me why everyone called the Pub Monty’s? I never knew until I had grown up that it was actually called The Clarence.

    By Jean Verlander (18/04/2008)
  • Hi Eddie, I am sorry I seem to have names mixed up and the above message was meant for you. I hope you can let me know your mum’s sisters name.

    By Beryl Thompson nee Morley (19/04/2008)
  • Hi Eddie, thank you for your reply. I do remember some of the sisters but don’t remember Ann. I knew Maud, Violet and Gwen. I have a sister called Pat and another called Joan. Pat now lives in Australia. She used to go out with two of your sisters and she went to the hop fields with them as well. I have told her about your letter and she said she would write one. It would be nice to have some pictures. Thank You.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley) (20/04/2008)
  • Hello Eddie, my sister Beryl said that she had written to you about John and June. My name is Pat and I am Beryl’s sister, I now live in Australia. Yes I remember the family, I used to go over to their house. Also Mrs Roser took me with them one year when they all went hop picking. We all slept in huts with straw as mattresses. We also went blackberry picking while we were there, they were good days. I read that John had died, I read that June is living in Hove. It’s good to hear from people who lived in Portslade.

    By Pat Finneran (nee Morley) (20/04/2008)
  • Hi Pat and Beryl. I have seen my mom, who was called Nancy then I’m told, and Maud who does remember you and sends her best. She also told me of another family of Morleys who lived opposite them when they lived at the bottom of East Street during the second time they lived there. They also remember the hop picking in Kent. It was great to go through the old photos which I will put on here soon.

    By Eddie McCabe (22/04/2008)
  • Hi Eddie. Thank you for your reply. Yes, there was another family off Morleys. They lived two doors down from your mum. There were three girls: Chris, Mary and I can’t remember the name of the other one. We lived opposite them; they were no relation to us. I will look forward to seeing photos.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley ) (27/04/2008)
  • Going by my recollections of my Saturday mornings at the wonderful Rothbury in the ’50s, I always thought it was Caroline that Johnny Roser came along with to help us all cheer on the goodies during the shoot-out at the end of each reel, but I didn’t realize before that there were other sisters too.

    By Jeremy Pender (18/06/2008)
  • I grew up through childhood at 49 Wellington Road just around the corner from North Street. Have lived in New Zealand since 1966. Well remember many places/people mentioned earlier here – especially John & June Roser, The Rotherbury Cinema, The Baptist Church, Post Office, Flexer’s Sack Factory, etc etc. Lived with my mother and grandparents, Ben & Mabel Fears, on Wellington Road and attended Benfield Primary School. Hoping to make a first visit back before it’s too late!Well remember “The Jolly Sailors ” pub. We lived opposite the Gas Works where I had my first job.
    I was friends with both the Willards and the Fords in North Street. There was Maurice and Raymond Willard and my mate Derek Ford. Guess we got into lots of mischief in those days! Also knew Jimmy Cable from the Post Office. Also the Martins, especially ‘Dinkie’ Martin who seemed to lead me into much grief. All this was in the years 1952-1966.

    By Jim Duncan (in New Zealand) (25/07/2008)
  • Hello Jimmy Duncan. I am sure we were in the same classes at St. Peters and Benfield all those years ago along with Ray & Derek. Sadly some of our old class mates are no longer with us.

    By Tony Clevett (28/07/2008)
  • Hello Tony Clevett – What a surprise !Yes, you are spot-on with your memory. I remember the name but not the face after all this time. Would love to catch up with you when I visit UK, hopefully very soon. Guess you are in the local Portslade area? My daughter made a visit home a few years ago to see my old stomping grounds. Seems really strange for me to hear from an acquaintance so far back in my early life. Good to hear from you. Jim Duncan, NZ

    By Jim Duncan (30/07/2008)
  • Hello Jim, good to hear from you, I no longer live in Portslade having moved to Worthing a couple of years ago. Most of our old classmates are still in the area though, Tony Butcher, Bill Wright and Lol Coppard to name but a few. I should have retired last year but was asked to, and was happy to carry on for a while. Good to hear from you also, Jim.

    By Tony Clevett (04/08/2008)
  • Chris Goble, sorry we haven’t kept in contact Chris, but you only put 5 numbers down for your phone number. Best wishes

    By Tony Clevett (09/09/2008)
  • An answer to Jean’s question. The Clarence was called Montys because the landlord at the time was Bertram Montague Myers.

    By Pauline (nee Goble) (21/10/2008)
  • I remember the sweet shop in North Street, and Mary Whittaker. Would often pop in with my younger sister Karen, for black jacks and fruit salads. I remember she had a very cosy back living room.
    We lived in the Clarence pub, opposite Flexers sack factory. My mother Rose was then married to Gordon Luxton, who ran the pub from around 1966 for a couple of years. I remember very well, Gobles the greengrocers, right at the top of North Street, and played with Barbara(?) one of the daughters of the owners. “Lost in space” in the garage was one of our games.

    By Sandie Laidlaw (nee Luxton) (08/11/2008)
  • I think I went to school with Pauline Goble. I lived in St Nicholas Road. I have just added a photo of my class in St Peter’s to the St Peter’s page and I think Pauline might be in it?

    By Pauline Golds (nee clark) (24/11/2008)
  • I’m Bandmaster Moon’s grandson, and can remember coming to stay with them on holidays with my Mum and Dad (Muriel and Ted Nichols). I used to play with Dudley Whittaker and remember going to his mum’s shop to get bottles of fizzy drink. I can also remember going to Gobles’ greengrocers wih my Grandparents, and also I think a dog meat shop to get food for their Scottie. I can also remember the Salvation Army Band going out to play carols and then coming back to 7 Middle Street to count the night’s collection.

    By Graham Nichols (16/12/2008)
  • I can remember you, Graham. It was many years ago but it suddenly seems like yesterday. I visited North Street and the surrounding streets 18 months ago but it has changed so much that it’s almost unrecognisable. I have a book called “Portslade: a pictorial history” [by Claire Green] and it brings the memories flooding back. It’s well worth a look if you can get hold of it. I rarely visit Portslade now as we live in Suffolk. My mother lived here for the last 6 years of her life but she never really recovered from having her beloved shop compulsorily purchased by the council. Portslade was always her first choice. I hope you are well.

    By Dudley Whittaker (24/12/2008)
  • Thank you Pauline for telling me about The Clarence and the nickname Montys. To which part of the Goble family do you belong?

    By Jean Verlander (17/01/2009)
  • I lived at 88 North Street from 1946-1960 with my mother, father, and sister Valerie. I can remember our neigbour Mrs Baddeley and the apples from her garden were indeed very tasty. The Cables ran the Post Office opposite and Mrs Whittaker ran the local sweet shop a few doors from it.

    By Derek Ford (28/01/2009)
  • I can remember you and your family Derek. Your sister Valerie is my contemporary. I can also remember your house next to Mrs Baddeley’s.

    By Dudley Whittaker (13/02/2009)
  • For Jean from Pauline. My grandad was Bert Goble who owned the greengrocers. I lived there with my grandparents, Bert & Dorothy, together with mum and dad, Les & Doreen Goble, and my sister Barbara. Number 37 was part of the complusory purchase order and was demolished in about 1971, when we moved to new premises at the top of the road.

    By Pauline (24/03/2009)
  • My parents, Kit and Les Phillips, were living in the flat above 57 North Street when I was born in January 1949. We moved to St Leonard’s Avenue, in Hove some time later the same year. My Mother (nee Smith) was born in one of the houses adjacent to the Crown Inn (demolished in the very early 1970s, I think?) on the south side of Wellington Road. I recall walking from my Grans in Seaford Road every day to St Peter’s School when many of the shops in North Street were still open. I seem to recall a Mr & Mrs Took who had a general stores close to the Station Road end of the road, more or less where the County Cars parking area is now. Of course, I also remember the original and the second Goble’s shops. Where else was there to buy fruit and veg in those days?

    By Alan Phillips (25/03/2009)
  • Pauline, your Dad was my first cousin, I am the daughter of Emily (Daisy), the sister of Bert Goble, I was born in Kensington and Chelsea. I often saw Les and Doreen at family occasions (mainly funerals) I married a Sussex man and live in Lancing.

    By Jean Verlander (27/03/2009)
  • Hi Pauline, Jean Verlander pointed me to this site. My grandmother was Ivy Louise Goble, Bert’s sister, she married her second cousin George Goble. I am trying to piece the family tree together and it would be great tohear from you my email is raygoble@ntlworld.com

    By Ray Goble (28/03/2009)
  • I am related to the Burtenshaw’s, Attree’s, Virgo’s and the Baker’s of Portslade. Does anybody remember the Upwards and the Burtenshaws who lived at 27 George Street, Portslade? My Grandmother was Caroline Emma Upward (Virgo). She had a Daughter, my Auntie Jinny who was married to John Attree, they had a Son, my cousin Ron Attree who was a few years older than me. He had one of the first black & white 9″ TVs. In 1951, 52 & 53, I cycled from Hove to his house to watch the very first televised Cup Finals and I saw Stanley Matthews win his one and only winner’s medal. Ron and his family moved to Norfolk shortly after and he died at quite a young age, late 40s I believe. I lost contact with his family. My cousins, the Burtenshaw’s, moved to Foredown Road in the early 50s. I still have contact with Maureen Burtenshaw (Bacon). My Dad was Harry Upward, who worked at the Co-op in Boundary Road, in the late 20s and 30s. He died in India in 1944 courtesy WW2. I would love to contact anyone who knew these families. Keith Upward, Queensland Australia

    By Keith Upward (03/07/2009)
  • Hello Jim Duncan. You mention ‘Dinky’ Martin in a couple of your entries. You will be pleased to hear that he is still going strong in Portslade. Yesterday I printed out all the ‘Portslade’ pages and took them round and gave them to him. He was over the moon. He couldn’t put them down. If you would like to send him a message, via this medium, I’ll see that he gets it. Best wishes from Ron.

    By Ron Charlton (20/07/2009)
  • Hi Beryl and Pat. Sorry to say but Maud Roser died earlier this year. Been in hospital for six months so I’m a bit late with this information. She was 84 though. There are now four sisters left out of the 13 children.

    By Eddie Mccabe (19/09/2009)
  • Hello Eddie nice to here from you. Sorry to hear about Maud where was she living, hope the rest of the family are all keeping well? Hope you are much better since coming out of hospital. Did you ever find the photos that you were going to put on line. Hope we still keep in contact.

    By Pat Finneran (nee Morley) (03/10/2009)
  • Maud was living in Brighton when she died.  I’m a lot better now thanks, all the rest seem OK and I will send them your regards. 
    Editor’s note: Eddie, if you would like to contact me on the email address below, I can help you with uploading your photos. jennifer@mybrightonandhove.org.uk

    By Eddie Mccabe (03/10/2009)
  • Hi Eddie, sorry to hear you have been unwell. Hope you are better now, will look forward to seeing the photos.

    By Beryl Thompson (05/10/2009)
  • Would anyone know the name of the photographer who had a shop in North Street Portslade in the early 1940s? Also – were there any other photographers in the area? The reason I am asking is we have some old photos and can’t read the name on it.

    By Pat Finneran (12/10/2009)
  • My dad Brian Farrant lived at 33 Church Road, with my nan and grandad Ruth and Bert (who was a milkman). Nan used to work in a shop that was just round the corner from North St in Church Road, it was someone’s front room. Nan’s parents Daisy and Clem (or George) Comber lived next door at 31. Nan bought me a doll from Norah’s, we used to wander round the shops up there quite often. It would be good to hear if anyone remembers dad.

    By Sue Kerly (18/10/2009)
  • Hi Beryl, trying to upload the photo of Maud’s wedding now – you will see someone you know. lol, hope you are all well, Eddie

    By Eddie Mccabe (23/10/2009)
  • For Dudley Whittaker. I put a message on this site on 13.10.09 asking anyone who could remember the name of the photographer that was in North Street. Then I remembered that you lived in that street. As you will see by my earlier message, I have been sent some old photos. Hope you can help me. Pat Finneran, Australia.

    By Pat Finneran (24.10.09) (24/10/2009)
  • Hi Beryl, if you look on local folk you will see the photo, more to follow now I know how.

    By Eddie Mccabe (04/11/2009)
  • Hi Eddie, This is Pat just to let you know that there is a message from Beryl under your photo [here]. I am writting this as Beryl is having trouble with her computer.

    By Pat Finneran (Australia) (12/11/2009)
  • My grand parents (Ganders) lived in East Street and I often visited them on satuday mornings during1945-1952. I also used to visit Derik Ford since his father and mine worked at Brighton Power Station. I went to a CEGB training school Ashcroft in !959 and met up with Derick Ford again. I live in Eastbourne and I would like to meet up with Derick again. I use to live in Applesham way.

    By Robert Gander (24/11/2009)
  • Sorry it has taken so long to reply, Pat [in Australia]. Sorry but I can’t remember the name of the photographer. Hope somebody else can help.

    By Dudley Whittaker (30/12/2009)
  • Thank you Dudley for answering my message.  I will keep trying someone might remember the name. From what we have seen on the TV and what my sister has told me, you have had a lot of snow. We are in drought over here. Happy new year to you.

    By by Pat Finneran (03/01/2010)
  • My ancestor Albert Henman (according to 1901 and 1911 censuses – widower and retired seaman) lived at 11 North St with 3 young children – Daisy, Thomas and Albert. If anyone has any ideas about what became of them I would love to know.

    By Jim Wortley (04/01/2010)
  • My maternal grandfather Ernest Constable was born at 4, North Street Portslade in 1891 and I have been told met my grandmother, Ivy when she lived at a local pub with her mother (my Gt Grandmother) – Florence Maud Phillpot who may have married a John Goble. My grandmother’s house in Crawley was named Clarendon so I wonder if it was the Clarendon Arms. It’s all a bit of a mystery as my grandmother was illegitimate. If anyone has any info that would be great – thanks!

    By Allison R_J (30/01/2010)
  • To Alan Phillips. My mother(Mrs Dorothy Lawson) was a great friend of Mrs Took. We used to live in St Andrews Rd. I now live in Beddington, Surrey. I went to Benfield School with Tony Clevett although I got on well with all of my classmates. My three best friends were Victor Enright, Bob Edwards and Peter Waughman. My cousin, Fred Starr was in the class beneath us with another of my cousins, Melvin Patterson. It’s great to hear some news of the old days.

    By Barrie Lawson (08/02/2010)
  • Yes, I knew the Gobles. They lived in St Andrews Road in 1960, and still might. They have still got a hairdressers in North Road to this day. One was called Stuart and one Mary.

    By Eddie McCabe (08/02/2010)
  • Pat Finneran: The name of the photographer at No 42 North Street, Portslade in 1956 was P & S Photographic Service (W.F. Pettett). Hope this helps.

    By Jean Martin (nee Smith) (20/02/2010)
  • Hi Jean, are you related to Len by any chance?

    By eddie mccabe (22/02/2010)
  • Thank you so much Jean Martin with the information on the photographer that used to be in North Street, Portslade. It will help both my sister and I. We have been looking for it for a very long time, she still lives in England- we used to live in East Street, Portslade. Sorry that I have not answered your message before this but I  have been away.

    By Pat Finneran (Morley) 8.3.2010 (08/03/2010)
  • Hi Eddie, no relation to Len Martin, Eddie. I married Peter Martin of Shelldale Road, brother of Phil, Terry and Dennis, Barry and Pat. I found the wedding photo that you posted, very interesting as my Mum worked with Mrs Roser, John and June’s Mum.

    By Jean Martin (08/03/2010)
  • Hi ,the len I meant was Len smith. My sister went out with Phil Martin and we had some great times on the cxanel etc

    By Eddie Mccabe (10/03/2010)
  • Hi Eddie, hope all is well. Did you manage to get the rest of the photos put on the site. I look forward to seeing them some time.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee morley ) (20/05/2010)
  • Daniel C: Hi Daniel – My Great Grandmother on my mother’s side was Georgina Baker (I think born in 1865), she married Albert John Moon in 1888. Her father was William Baker and she had 5 siblings: William, Eliza, Bert, Stephen and Anne – she died in 1957. I’m wondering if your grandfather could possibly be her brother William?

    By Graham Nichols (07/08/2010)
  • Does anyone remember the little jeweller’s shop that was opposite East Street. I think it was run by the Winstanleys, I think there were two sons, Colin and Brian. If I remember correctly, they moved to Mile Oak like us. I think Colin rode a motorbike.

    By Beryl Thomson(nee morley) (09/08/2010)
  • Hi Beryl. In 1956 the watchmaker and jeweller was Belcher (previously Wm Skinner). That was at No 13. the Winstanleys lived at No. 11. Hope this helps.

    By Jean Martin (nee Smith) (13/08/2010)
  • I used to knock around with a girl called Maureen Bacon from Portslade in the late 40s. I think her friend’s name was Anne.

    By Malcolm Citrone (19/08/2010)
  • Re my comments of 19/08, her name was Pat Bacon not Maureen and her friend’s name was Ann Whiting of Portslade.

    By Malcolm Citrone (20/08/2010)
  • Hi Jean. Thank you for putting me right about the jeweller’s shop and the Winstanleys. We had moved to Mile Oak in 56 so that is why I did not remember the name.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley) (24/08/2010)
  • I remember Mrs Whittaker’s sweet shop. I also remember that there was at least eight pubs within five minutes walk of her shop: the Crown, Cricketers, Anchor, Jolly Sailor, Clarence, Clarendon, Windmill and the Halfway House. There was also a pub on Wellington Rd, which I think is now called The Becket – they used to like a drink in the early 50s! Our family lived in Middle St.

    By john harper (16/09/2010)
  • Does anyone remember Dells cafe at the bottom of Boundry Road? The owners name was Arthur he ran it with his wife. A crowd of us used to go there, we also went to the Youth club in the tin hut on Fishersgate Green. This would have been in the early sixties. Great days, great memories.

    By Sandy Goldsmith (16/10/2010)
  • Hi all, it was great to read so many comments about North Street, I lived with my parents Joan & Denis Mitchell plus my two sisters at no 20 North street, the grocers and off licence shop, up to the mid 60s. My grandmother was Mrs Bostel who with grandad owned the shop since 1924, I can recall loads of stories that my mum and dad used to tell me about the area right up to they passed away.

    By Peter Mitchell (06/03/2011)
  • Here is one for everybody who remembers the area. Who can tell me anything about Thomas Huntley Wood who was said to be the sailor on the Players Navy Cut cigerette packets? I do not believe that he was the original model for the packets but I do know that he was involved and that his image was used somewhere in Players’ advertising for Navy Cut. I believe that he lived in Seaford Road, close to North Street. I have a vivid childhood memory, from nearly 70 years ago, of him saying hello to me in my pram! outside what I believe was my grandmother’s house in a long-lost twitten off North Street, near the old Windmill Public House.

    By John Upton (10/03/2011)
  • In reply to John Upton re information on THOMAS HUNTLEY WOOD, he was my great grandfather and indeed his image was used to advertise PLAYERS NAVY CUT. He posed for several photographs in 1897 on board the HMS EDINBURGH one of these photographs then appeared in various periodicals advertising the cigarette brand. The rest as they say, is history.

    By DAVID T WOOD (29/03/2011)
  • Looking on the internet to find out why I couldn’t find 32 North Street in Portslade recently, I discovered this site and wonder if anyone can help me? My family name is Buckler and I’m trying to find any information about my ancestors in Portslade and Hove, around 1870 to 1890. In the 1881 Census, my great grandad, Robert was a bricklayer living in Petersfield Terrace, Portslade, which I think may now be part of Bampfield Street. He had two brothers, both builders, John and William, living at 4 Clarendon Villas and 62 Denmark Villas, Hove. He also had a sister, Elizabeth, married to James Kingsland, a plasterer, living at 32 North Street, Portslade. I visited the area recently to try to see where they all lived and found Buckler Street just round the corner from where my great grandad lived! I would love to know if it was named by one of the Buckler family builders. Another mystery is why nearly all of them and their families sailed to the USA in 1882, some returning to England later, but John Buckler, a builder employing 40 men in Hove, ending up in a “poor farm” in Oregon and dying there in 1912?l

    By Bob Buckler (10/06/2011)
  • Hi Dudley. I was born in 1954 and lived in 104, St Andrews Road. I do remember your mother’s shop and I especially remember Norah’s – how she never had a fire in there I will never know, it was packed to the gunnells! She was a rosy faced lady with a tight perm and rode a bike. I remember the Sweet’s; I think David was a little younger than me. The Captain at the Citadel was named Hambleton. Grace Hambleton was in school with me (See my pic of St Peter’s School). The picture house opposite was a recycling depot for rags and paper in my day. I remember the Luxton’s at the Clarence Hotel, I played there with Sandie, we were at Benfield together. I also remember the Goble greengrocers, Pauline was my sister’s age. Didn’t Andrew’s old established in North Street become the Stationers on the corner of North Street/Station Road? I remember a man with a very squeaky voice served there. I don’t remember any of the people you mention as living in North Street opposite the Citadel that were contemporaries of yours. I rather think that North Street was already becoming a bit of a ghost area when I was a primary age child and there was a lot of clearance taking place. I was rather discouraged from going around there in the evenings. The end of Albion Street and Pauline Bohannon’s house were my limits – she had an elder sister Angela I recall. However my Grandfather had shops in North Street. The fish shop at 46 and a barbers shop. I have just added a photograph of him in the doorway of 67 or 65 – can you place this doorway? Someone says it was a pub in early years – the 1930s? I thought the group were standing in his shop doorway of the barbers..maybe not. Please check out my newly added pages. if you facebook me or friendsreunited me I will send full size images. I now live in Cardiff.

    By Martha Hooper (Nee Sands) (06/10/2011)
  • Hello everyone, can anyone tell me a bit more about the build of the Battle of Trafalgar Public House in the 1800s. They are thinking of knocking it down – absolutely devasting. Any information would help our case to keep it as a pub and not flats.

    By Claire Docteur (25/10/2011)
  • Does anyone remember Joan Driscoll who had a market garden in Kings Lynn? I also think she had a brother in Portslade named Ted. Anyone with any information, I would appreciate it. My name used to be Morley and I lived in East Street Portslade before moving to Valley Road.

    By Beryl Thompson (08/03/2012)
  • i remember Dells cafe in Station Road- it was next to the cabin cafe and run by a family called Vince. I was a mate of their son Kenny. The father was a cook on a coastal tanker for the Everard line called the Prowess. I once was allowed to steer it out of Shoreham harbour. I was about ten at the time.

    By John Baker (12/03/2012)
  • Hi John, my name is Beryl and I used to live in East Street, Portslade. You mentioned Dells Cafe- there was a crowd of us who used to go in there. We had good times.

    By Beryl Thompson (nee Morley ) (15/03/2012)
  • I lived at No 2 Camden St from about 1957 to 1962/3. I’ve seen some names I remember. John Baker, I knew you briefly as I was a bit younger but you lived in Camden St as well. By the way, my dad Jim Cosgrove, sailed on the Prowess – I thought she was a sand boat but have now done a bit of research and found it was a tanker. I went to St Peter’s then Benfield, then on to Hove Grammar. My nan was Ethel Lomas who lived in Albion St. We called Vale Park the Pit. Used to scrump apples from the St Andrews via a small wall on the western edge. Knew Dudley Whittaker and his mum’s shop, but seem to remember a sweet shop on the opposite side of North St being more frequented, especially as the owner had an encyclopedia set and would help me with answers to Miss Belinfante’s homework. My two brothers, Mick and Richard Jones, and two sisters Sheila and Pat Cosgrove also lived with us. My mum worked at the Feedwell Cafe opposite us in North Street.

    By Peter Cosgrove (02/04/2012)
  • Hi Peter Cosgrove. I remember you very well. I lived at No. 6 Camden Street and you and I used to play together. I remember your dad had a gym in the basement and you had black dog called Prince. I also remember your brother Richard, he looked after me when I left Benfield to go to Portslade Secondary Modern. Hope life has treated you well.

    By John Baker (04/04/2012)
  • Hello John Baker, nice you remember me, and Dad’s gym. Our dog was called Bob, but he was black! Unfortunately Richard died about five years ago, I have been down in Cornwall since 2003 but still miss Sussex. I can still remember the wallpaper in your mum’s kitchen, it had a sort of Mediterranean feel, I thought it was very posh. Weird what you remember. I was quite scared of your mum for some reason though. Did you experience the slum clearance that created what we called the dump? It stretched from George Street to the Windmill pub and from the back of George Street eastwards. I played there all the time but never knew it when houses existed there. I also seem to remember something to do with a child’s scooter, might have been yours, that I wanted to buy or vice versa. Other names I remember: Arthur Pumphrey, Angela Harwood, the Greenfields, the Carrolls, Diane Knight, Rio’s cafe. Don’t suppose you have any pictures of Camden Street? We didn’t own a camera in those days, or a car/fridge/phone etc! All the best.

    By Peter Cosgrove (05/04/2012)
  • Hi Peter. I remember the whole area when it was lived in in the early 50s; a nice community. I remember they started demolition in George Street behind the Clarence pub (1960?). We used to go to the derelict houses and cut up the floors for firewood and sell it at 2d a bundle.  I know all the names you mention. Wendy Harwoood, not Angela, I had a crush on her. I went to her wedding and cried as she got on a plane to Jersey from Shoreham for the honeymoon. Very sorry to hear about Richard. I now live in Spain since 1999. Good to hear from you. Regards John

    By Camden Street (08/04/2012)
  • Hello John, just wondering if the Wendy you mentioned had a younger sister? I think you were a few years older than me. The Harwoods I remember lived in North St, towards Boundary Rd, on the same side as Camden St. I’ve been back there a number of times over the years, the only thing that remains is the pub,(Alexandria in our days) and strangely the kerbstones that look like they are original. I wonder if they dug out the foundations if Dad’s cellar still exists? Anyway I’m glad you’re enjoying a life in the sun. 

    By Peter Cosgrove (13/04/2012)
  • Hi, My Mum and Dad lived in 6, East Street Place in the very early ’50s -Mavis and Walter, with two sons, David and myself Greg. I remember Johnnie Roser – used to scare us little ‘uns. I remember the Coronation when we were given mugs and stuff. As you turned into East St, on the right side before East St Place, there lived Sylvia and Johnny Davidson – he was a Glaswegian. Like many others, we moved to Mile Oak, on the actual Mile Oak road – first house past the now block of flats. Used to be a field. Anyone remember us? 

    By Greg Doull (29/11/2012)
  • Hi John! Long time no hear. Get in touch. Mike.

    By Mike Attree (11/12/2012)
  • Hello John and Peter. Sad to say that where John used to live at number 6 Camden Street, there is now a sort of warehouse like structure that is in fact a drive-in hand car wash. Between it and the pub on the corner of Wellington Road is a mobile burger van.

    By Alan Phillips (11/12/2012)
  • Sandy Goldsmith, do you have a brother called John who used to be at sea and then worked for Shoreham Harbour Board, married to Marge, daughters Sharon and Debbie? Ian Wallis.

    By Ian Wallis (12/12/2012)
  • To Greg Doull, you refered to Sylvia & John Davidson.Was this the “Jock” Davidson with whom I worked for many years at Southern Engraving with? He later lived in Wickhurst Road.

    By Tony Clevett (14/12/2012)
  • Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has any photos of the shop that the famous murder took place in, which from what I can gather was on the corner of Clarence Street/Road and North Street, Portslade. I ask because I am looking into some of my family history and it turns out that my great uncle was hanged for a murder he took part in there. The details about this have always been covered up in my family for obvious reasons but I was wondering if any of you could supply any information or photos about this case. Many thanks.

    By G Parker (06/03/2013)
  • G. Parker: I posted the story of Frederick William Parker and Albert Probert being found guilty of murdering Joey Barton on this site at: http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__5595.aspx on 14 May 2005. No pictures I’m afraid, just the narrative.

    By Alan Phillips (07/03/2013)
  • To Tony Clevett: Yes it was John (Jock ) Davidson. My mum and dad were friends of theirs for years. We moved to Mile Oak Road, they later went, as said, to Wickhurst Road. They had two sons, Leslie and David. To Martha Hooper: I knew Pauline and Angela Bohannon well- I used to go around with her brother, Robert. He became a brickie, then a truck driver. He was living in Brighton last time I checked. I used to be dragged down North road to St. Peters School ( I never liked going there) with a girl called Jennifer Wiltshire, – her dad was, I think, called Charlie – they lived up a street about halfway down North Street as if heading to the flea pit.

    By Greg Doull (25/06/2013)
  • To Tony Clevett, am I right in thinking you used to live in Stonery Close? If so we lived next door to for a few years.

    By Kathleen Brown (nee) Scott (28/08/2013)
  • Hello Ian, sorry I have taken so long to reply to you but I haven’t visited the site for ages. Yes I do have a brother John who is married to Marge and whose children are Sharon and Debbie. I also have a sister called Margaret. My name is now Sandy Taylor and I live in Somerset. I left Sussex in about 1965. Where do you know my brother from? All the best

    By Sandy Goldsmith (23/09/2013)
  • Sandy, lovely to hear from you. I knew John back around 1959/60 when he had married Marge and was working for the Harbour Board. I was still at school and John taught me a lot about seamanship etc. I went away to sea in 1961 eventually becoming Captain in 1973. The most important thing was that John was my best man and Sharon and Debbie were bridesmaids when I married in August 1969. I live in Canada but I am arriving in the UK on 4th October for a month and it would be great to see them all again!! I think the last time I saw them they were living in Steyning. Thanks for your reply

    By Ian Wallis (23/09/2013)
  • I used to live in East Street – no 25. I have two sisters Joan and Pat. I remember the gregorys used to live in the first house in East Street. The Lanes lived opposite. Johnny Rosers lived across the road from us up in the corner. I remember the mugs we were given.

    By Beryl Thompson nee Morley (30/09/2013)
  • Hi Ian, nice to hear from you again. I will let my brother know that you have been in touch and that you will be visiting the UK soon. Yes, they are still living in Steyning. How can he get in touch? He is not on the internet. Let me know. All best wishes

    By Sandy Goldsmith (02/10/2013)
  • Hi, Sandy. I am leaving Canada this afternoon. Maybe you can email me at awateah2@hotmail.com  Thanks

    By Ian Wallis (03/10/2013)
  • Hi Kathleen Brown. Yes, I did live next door to you, our house was actually in Drove Crescent and yours was the first one in Stonery Close. You were just a baby at the time and lived with Dad Gordon and Mum Steph along with brother Anthony. Dad drove a petrol tanker if I remember. Our families were close because my Mum knew your Mum before we all moved up there. I am pretty sure I have a photo somewhere of your Mum and Anthony with you on Mum’s lap. Keep in touch, love to know if Mum and Dad still around.

    By Tony Clevett (04/10/2013)
  • Did anyone know a Dennis, Rose and Richard Ford?

    By Richard Ford (10/10/2015)
  • My mother’s best friend at school was Nora Robinson so we frequently visited her baby clothes, haberdashers and wool  shop in North Street. She had a large doll in the window which was dressed in knitted clothes. I was fascinated by it and wished she would give it to me.

    By Diane (11/10/2015)
  • Richard, they may have lived nearly opposite to me. If so, I didn’t know them by name but I knew a Valerie Ford. Could she have been the sister/daughter of the above?

    By Dudley Whittaker (12/10/2015)
  • I recently obtained my dad’s (Jack Gladwell) war records which show an address of 27 North Street, Portslade in 1943. My grandparents were Dora and Arthur who lived there and later moved to 1 Brambledean Road. Does anybody remember them or what the house in North Street would have been like?

    By Steve Gladwell (06/03/2016)
  • Hi Dudley – our family used to live at 83, Wellington Road until those houses were cleared, I think in 1963. We moved to Downlands Court of the Mile Oak Road. I remember you and your Mum, Nora and the Gobles. My dad used to work at Bakers. Its nice to hear from people from so long ago! 

    By James Coles (14/06/2016)
  • Hi James. They [the council] cleared so many houses. It was a good community in the 1950s with lots of supportive neighbours but then, I guess, that could be said of so many areas in the 20 years after the war. Hope all is well.

    By Dudley Whittaker (18/06/2016)
  • Jean’s memory of Pettetts photograpers at 42 North Street is interesting. My mother Valerie Coomber (nee Britton) worked there during the early to mid ’50s and I believe she lived in Sheldale Rd at that time. Anyone remember her or anything about the photographers?

    By Stephen Coomber (08/02/2018)
  • Hi, my maiden name is Wray, my grandmother’s maiden name was Baker and my great great grandmother was a Hill; they lived at 5 Clarendon Place. When my grandfather came back from WWI in 1919 he started a photographer’s business in North St. My great grand mother adopted a newborn baby called Billy Mason. The Moons, Virgos and Tidys were also related to the Bakers. Nice to see so many memories on this page. My father, Alf (Monty) Wray used to talk about a friend called Les Phillips.

    By Dee Wray (16/04/2018)
  • Dee Wray: My father’s name was Les Phillips. He was from Gladstone Road in Portslade but moved to North Street some time after marrying in August 1946. My mother’s maiden name was Kitty Smith, from Belgrave Square, and my parents moved into a flat at 57 North Street before I was born. We moved from there to St. Leonard’s Road, Hove, in 1949, when I was 10 months old. My father passed away in 1989 and my mother in 1993.

    By Alan Phillips (17/04/2018)
  • Hi Alan. We too lived in St Leonard’s Rd at no 99. My parents lived there prior to my birth in June ’52, then for another 7 years when we moved to Hangleton. I do remember your father’s name and that of your mother and feel I used to know them when I was a child, but it’s such a long time ago now. Both my parents have left us, Monty in ’94 & Norah in 2010. Good to talk to you and thanks for replying.

    By Dee Wray (19/04/2018)
  • Dee, I seem to recall a Norah, in North Street, Portslade who ran a haberdashery. My mum bought all her wool from Norah’s shop, which was not very far from where we had lived at number 57. Would that have been your mother?

    By Alan Phillips (19/04/2018)
  • You are correct Alan. She was Nora Robinson and her haberdashery was at 51 North Street next to where I lived at No. 53. She lived in Hangleton and cycled down to her shop every day.

    By Dudley Whittaker (23/04/2018)
  • My great grandfather was Ernest Clevett. Ernest was a contractor, and I have seen pictures of him in front of buildings in Portslade with his name on the cornerstones. He immigrated to the US in 1910. He brought his family over in 1912 on the Olympic, the first to sail cross Atlantic after the Titanic sunk, my grandmother, Winifred, told me stories of the crossing, she would have been 9 at the time. I am going to visit next summer 2020. I would love to hear if there are any remaining family members in the area.

    By Patricia O'Connor (21/10/2019)
  • Patricia, there are a number of posts on this site from a Tony Clevett (the last one above, on 4 Oct 2013). Tony is from this area so I assume is most likely related.

    By Alan Phillips (22/10/2019)
  • I’ve only just discovered a comment made by David Broad written on 27/10/2007. I was at school with David [St Mary’s Primary, Portslade] and he wanted to get in touch with me. He left his email address [now unfortunately not his current one] but if you read this David it would be good to get in touch. Hope all is well.

    By Dudley Whittaker (21/05/2020)
  • Richard Ford,
    It was a long time ago you asked,but I know Dennis and Rose Ford.

    By Kerry Ford (26/11/2021)
  • Hi Pauline Goble,

    I went to Benfield with you I am sure and
    I remember your shop in North Street.

    Do you remember Mrs Belafonte? The headmaster was a Mr Whiting.
    There was also a young lady teacher who had one arm – and she played the piano in assemblies! Miss Seigfreid ,or similar,I think.
    One very bad memory of North Street is Flexer Sacks. I had the misfortune to work there. My first job; welcome to the wonderful world of work! Hell on earth,I lasted 2 weeks.

    I lived in Crown Road and then Gladstone Road.

    Are you any relation to Mick Goble who is the landlord of the Mile Oak Inn? My elder brother David is a ( very) regular there.

    Anyway, I hope you and yours are well.

    Nick Poole.

    By nicholas poole (19/08/2022)

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