Tag Archives: 1920s

Phil Kelsey: Church

All the kids went to church. If you were a server you had to go to church without any breakfast. You went to church at 8 o’clock in the morning with the parson, and then when it was all over you went along to the rectory for breakfast. You used to do all right there because Vi White, she’d be there, and she used to lash us up with a bloody good breakfast, sausages or something or other, porridge, she always had a good breakfast for you.

In the church when you was in the choir, at Christmas and Easter you got two bob – the parson used to give you two bob. Then a bit later, when you got a bit older and you went on to be a server and had the red cassock, you got half a crown at Easter and Christmas.

On Good Friday they used to have a procession around the town. They used to come out of church and went up the High Street and down Ommanney Road. I think we turned left and come back round to the church that way
Phil Kelsey b 1920

Phil Kelsey: Families in Mill Terrace 1920s

Kelsey children at Mill Terrace

Kelsey children at Mill Terrace, Phil on toy engine c 1923

I was born in 1, Alvina Cottage in Station Road, then we moved down to Mill Terrace. We were in the one where the passage way went through.  At that time in Mill Terrace there was a lot of children.  There was the Mussells; there were five or six of them, there was Joe – I think he was the youngest one, Ray, Ruby, another gal, and Perce, the eldest one, there was quite a few.  And also there was a big family come to live there, Dicksons from Freshwater; there was about twelve of them kids.  He used to ride about on a tricycle and do a few odd jobs.  We used to try and pinch his tricycle if he left it up on the Common.

Phil Kelsey b 1920