| 1940s |
Jon |
I
was born in London Rd opposite the Richmond Arms in my grandmothers
home in 1941 Ican remember the Morrison shelter under the dining
room table. My Nan had pilots billeted with her from Tangmere
and Ford aerodromes. My Dad was in the Navy as a child we played
in the air raid shelters in the wood opposite the house on the
corner of Upper Bognor Rd. I went to the South Bersted Church
school then Westloats Secondary. I worked at Woolsworth on Saturdays
earning ten shillings and sixpence in my last year at school.my
grandmother ran a small boarding house in the summer season on
London Rd. right up to her death in 1962 at age 84.it was a great
childhood growing up in Bognor Regis
|
1960s
|
Terry |
As
a person who grew up in Bognor during the '60s, I was Googling
'Bognor Regis' in the net and your site http://www.bognor-local-history.co.uk/
was among the references found. I just wanted to drop
a note and say 'thank you' for your efforts and to let you know
that it brought back many happy memories.
Bognor
was a wonderful place to be a kid.
We
had Hotham Park to roam around in, adjacent to it was the field
in which the donkeys for the beach donkey rides were kept, and
taking a short-cut across that field to get to the west entrance
of the park was taking your life in your hands - those gentle
creatures turning savage at the mere sight of boys crossing
their home turf. Hotham Park, especially it's nether regions
around it's perimeter where most people didn't venture, was
perfect for kids (except for the stinging nettles, which seemed
to go out of their way to find us). It was an ideal spot for
gathering conkers.
We
had the amusement arcades on the sea front, where we knew every
penny machine that with a copper and a judicious nudge could
be induced to return twopence.
We
had that magnificent pier, with it's amusements, attractions,
saucy postcards, and bizarre confections.
We
had three picture houses showing everything from first release
featured films to American 'B' movies.
Because
of the tourists, the quality of the shops, especially newsagents
(for comics), sweet shops, and toy shops was as good as could
be found anywhere.
We
had the esplanade, which was perfect for skateboarding (in the
days when that was roller skate wheels screwed to a short plank)
and because that pass-time was still a novelty then, it was
looked at benignly by adults.
Finally, we
had the beach and ocean. English people on the beach were fun
to watch back in those days, although I can't really say why.
Perhaps they attacked that particular novelty with a certain
'Britishness' that hasn't survived to the current era.
|
| 1930s
|
B.
Bognor |
There
were a variety of shops in London Road, Home & Colonial, International,
Woods, Staleys and Lemons.
Evenings
found day trippers trooping back to the Coach or Railway Station,
past the tall St. Johns Church (now Boots) to wait patiently for
their trains as there were often long queues.The holiday people
returned to their lodgings for high tea or dinner. There
was much evening entertainment, with 2 live theatres, 3 cinemas
and of course the band playing on the prom, a summer show such
as Dazzle was also available.
No
one had cars, so as we walked home there was no fear, as most
of the entertainments ended at the same time, so there was always
plenty of people walking the same way.
During
the winter of course Bognor went quiet, the sea would sometimes
to join the town in York Road, with other similarly placed roads
in Felpham, Middleton and Elmer and low lying bungalows also flooded
deep enough to sail a small boat on. We always found plenty
do and there was always the Sunday teas of freshly caught and
cooked winkles or mackerel. These were provided by the local
fishermen who would gather them at pagham or catch the fish from
Bognor, cook them at home and then bring them around door to door
on a flat barrow. |
1940s
|
Alan,
Crawley |
I
was evacuated with my 3 brothers in 1943 for two years to North
Bersted. I was only six and remember arriving at Bognor
Regis station, we all had our gas masks, the sound of the station,
loundspeakers calling details of train movements, slamming of
train doors. We were met by a group of people and taken
to the house in which we were going to stay.
The
house was opposite a parade of shops. The bread shop was
called Rawlings. We would go for long walks through the
country lanes and the banks were filled with primroses, which
are still my favourite flowers.
At
the end of the road where our house was there was a farm with
a duck pond and we used to feed the ducks. When the weather
was warm the tar in the road used to bubble and we popped them
with our thumbs and got smacked very hard for getting dirty. There
was also old scrap cars around and we used to sit in them and
pretend we were driving.
At
night we would all have a bath ad put on a white nightgown ad
hve one boiled sweet each. We would then listen to the wireless
for a while. duck Barton special agent was my favourite,
then it was off to bed each holding a little oil lap to go up
the stairs. (Extracted from a recently received letter Ed.
5/06. |
| 1940s |
Lance,
Lancaster |
My
dad was stationed at a nearby RAF airfield during the war &
my family joined him from Yorkshire for summer school holiday
periods. I remember a park that had a lake with scallop shaped
edges, my brother was walking backwards pulling a model boat along
not looking where he was going - which happened to be backwards
into the lake.
During one of these holidays we managed to gain access onto the
beach, how, I cannot remember but my mother did not believe us.
Does anyone remember bombs being dropped onto Bognor during the
summer of 1942-44. I can just picture an incident when the air-raid
sirens sounded & my mother ushered the family into an air-raid
shelter, after the all- clear was sounded, we walked back to our
accomodation passing a bungalow which had all shingles blown off
leaving a bare skeleton with a bomb crater in the road. Was a
German bomber shot down during this period, landing in the sea
near to the beach? Or did I dream of it?
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1940s
|
John,
Exeter |
The
'Messenger' came to rest next to and facing the ditch that separated
the Grammar and Secondary Modern Schools.The opinion was that
the aircraft was attempting to land towards the Grammar School.
It's wheels ran into the ditch, spinning it round and tearing
off the starboard wheel and cracking the starboard wing near the
root. There was a Beagle aircraft from Shoreham that removed
it the following week. I saw their recovery vehicles
driving past the school hall whilst I was inside taking exams. |
| 1942 |
Don,
Bognor |
| I
was five years old and remember the big bang when a German plane,
got chased and crashed into the big gasometer. As kids we saw lots
of dog fights, over our house in Dorset road and on VE day we had
a swell street party with our dads coming home. |
| 1940/50s
|
Clifford,
Bognor |
| I
was born at 2 Sudley Terrace on 7 May 1947, next door but one to
Coplestone House. My mother started a dressmakers shop called Elder
Berry at the same address and designed and made dresses for Duchess
of Norfolk and Charlie C’s ? wife the famous pianist who lived
at Middleton on Sea. My best friend was the son of the manager of
Saits Dairy and I worked for Ron Whittington in my school holidays. |
| 1949 |
Arthur
Ord-Hume |
| "That
summer we went on holiday to Bognor, where one of my mother's professional
friends, B.C. Hilliam (one half of the old Flotsam and Jetsam Radio
duo) was performing locally that season. I had known Hilliam
since I was a wee schoolboy, and so our holiday was spent in close
involvement with the show and with his singer Arthur Richards.
Arthur had some contact with the company LEC Refrigeration, which
had a factory. We went over to look at this, accessible only
by walking through the factory and crossing a styile and the railway
line to a small blister hanger rather like th Experimental Group
One's at Elstree. On this visit to Bognor was notable for
the start of another friendship. Also staying at our hotel was a
nervious young man making his first steps as a stand-up comediation;
he too was in the pier show and it was he who described Bognor as
being "bright black with here and there a vivid streak of grey."
His humour was strange, outrageous, very, very funny and yet he
was a privately quiet introspective person. His name was Tony
hancock. |
| 1950s |
I.
Edwards, Bognor Regis |
| "I
remember working in Woolworths on a Saturday and early 10/6d. (52p)
I can remember leaving my cycle outside Woolworth’s, going
to the Picturedrome and arriving home without the cycle. I rushed
down and it was of course till there." |
| 50s/60s |
Max,
Bognor Regis |
| "The
shop on the left hand corner ( nearest to the "Wheatsheaf"
up the step ) is a former tobacconist/confectioner called "Mc
Gregors" but owned for all the years I can remember by a man
called Bill Allan. The
shop on the other corner was a former "Happy Shopper"
but its roots as a convenience store go back many many years before
HS was ever thought of. The shop's facia bore the name "Mason
& Christian" but was known all over simply as "Masons"!
It was one of those shops that would regularly be open till at
least 9 pm when everybody else closed at 6 pm latest and always
stocked all those little things you needed at a moments notice
like a bottle of aspirins or a packet of plasters - as you know
in the late 50's / early 60's things had basic names not fancy
names! The owner for as long as I can remember back was Harry
Beatton - however I believe at some time in the distant past there
was an actual Mason and a Christian but we are talking 50s here
- far too long ago for my evaporating memory" |
| 1960s
|
Trevor,
Bognor |
| With
regard to your article the other week re. the clock in the Old St.
John's tower, I was invited up there in May, 1961 by two churchwardens,
Mr. Ernie Fisk and Mr. Alf Tout, (who used to own Webster and Webb's)
just before the demolition people arrived since they were going
to dismantle the old clock and wanted someone to take photos, which
I duly did. Mr. Fisk, whose hobby was clock collecting stated he
hoped it would be installed in St. John's Church in London Road,
but I'm not sure whether it ever was. Apparently the clock and bell
cost £200 when it was installed in February 1833. The bell
weighed 4 cwt. By
the way, I shall always remember an incident regarding the old
Co-op in Canada Grove. This one used to sell clothes amongst other
things and there was an advert in the Bognor Regis Post at one
time where they were advertising "Shirts in presentation
boxes", except that the letter "R" was left out
of "Shirts"! It was said at the time that an employee
at "The Post" had deliberately left the "T"
out as he had just got the sack! |
1960s
|
A.
Bennett, Felpham |
My
husband and I used to shop in Sainsbury’s in London Road,
when the shop was being altered you should see the tiles on the
wall, showing the turkey and ham. |
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