Tag Archives: 1960s

Rodney Corbett: Services, Fire Brigade 1950s

Fire Brigade

Fire Brigade 1950s

Now my Uncle Ted as a young man was the ‘leader of the band’ of mostly builders who used to run with this handcart if anywhere was on fire. The handcart was kept in the Town Hall; they didn’t even have a horse. It must have been a very slow turn-out – to go round gathering the men in to run with the handcart. The handcart brigade would deal with anything round the town.

Just before the war they decided that Yarmouth would have to have an Auxiliary Fire Service team and Ted got ousted because it was all made up of Bucketts.  Ted went off in a fit of pique and joined the Home Guard. In the war it became National Fire Service from Auxiliary, and after the war they were put back to the local Councils and then became the Isle of Wight Fire Service.  When I joined, the original Fire Chief for the Island, Sullivan, was still there and how many Chiefs did I see? – dozens. Rod Corbett b 1943

Fire Brigade in action

Fire Brigade in action

 

Peter Smith, Ted Lawry : Services, Builders,1960s

If you wanted the best roof in the West Wight you needed Ted Lawry to build it for you. I was apprenticed as a carpenter to Cronins and chosen to work with Ted. It was a real honour but a bit daunting. He was a hard master because his standards were so high. He  was a good teacher, didn’t mind keep explaining how to do things but expected you to listen and get it right in the end. I learnt a lot from him.  Peter Smith b 1946

 

Blanche Kennard: Shops, High Street, and buses 1950s 1970s

Bus in High Street 1970s : photo John Golding

Bus in High Street 1970s : photo John Golding

The buses used to pass so close to the shop door at Higginbothams. One day when I was just paying for something at the counter, I let go of Colin’s hand, – he was only about 3 –  to get my money out, and he ran to the door. It was open and the bus was going past. I just grabbed him in time. Oh, it did give me a scare.
Blanche Kennard nee Dore b 1923

Margaret Lawry: Shops, High Street, Ablitt’s 1960s

Ablitt's the Butchers, High Street

Ablitt’s the Butchers, 1990s photo from Jane Blake

I worked at Ablitts on Saturday mornings and in the summer holidays in the 60s.    Mollie and Malcolm Mallett owned the business. Jim Smith, the butcher, and Phyl Hardy the cashier worked there too.  Jim always used to call you ‘My Gal.’ Vertically next to photo)

I used to cut up meat and make mince in a big mincing machine, and make sausages. Depending on which sausages we were making, I used to cut up various pieces of pork or beef and add secret ingredients and mix it all up by hand in a big metal bowl. With one hand I then put it in the machine and pushed it through with a wooden plunger, and caught it in the skin with my other hand.  I then plaited up the sausages and hoped 8 sausages weighed 1lb.

I used to deliver meat around the town carrying a big wicker basket, and remember a lovely housebound lady always gave me 6d tip.  I also delivered to Longs Wharf and Yew Trees when it was a hotel.  Mollie delivered meat by van out in the country.

Jim used to put sawdust on the butcher’s block at the end of the day and scrub it with a metal brush. That made a lovely noise and it would look like new again.

I always went home with sawdust on my shoes as the floor was covered in it, but Mum was used to it as Dad was a carpenter, and she’d worked in Ablitts when she left school in 1936.
M.S. b 1949

Alec Cokes: Shops, The Square, Harwoods, 1960s,

Mr. Harwood outside Harwoods in the Square 1960s

Mr. Harwood outside Harwoods in the Square 1960s

John and I, we wanted twenty fathom of rope so we went to see Mr Harwood.
In those days you went through the same door as now, and the counter was on the left as you went in and Mr. Harwood was just looking through a gap, with stuff all round him, all hung up, pots and pans and whatever.
The well, that was in the back yard.  It’s inside now so that shows you how small the shop was. So we said, ‘Mr Harwood, can we have some rope?’
He said, ‘Yes, of course you can.  What do you want that for nipper?’
We said, for an anchor rope.  So he says, there’s the coil, take it outside. The pavement is all marked in fathoms, roll out what you like, cut it off and bring the bit back in.
So we said all right.  So we unrolled this coil, and of course he’s not looking out the door or anything, so we thought …. we’ll not stretch it too tight.
We coiled it all back up again and said, ‘There we are Mr Harwood, that reached almost to the public bar in the Bugle.’
He said, ‘ Oh, did it? That’s alright then’.
He said, ‘Give it here’, and we thought he was going to measure it, but he weighed it.
Alec Cokes b 1945

Eileen Smith: Yarmouth Carnival 1930s – 70s

The Yarmouth Carnivals were a highlight of the year, always held on a Thursday, early closing day. There were maybe 4 bands, proper bands.  They were wonderful .

Jazz band 1930s

Jazz band 1930s with Curly Jupe on accordion and Megan Cook vocals

 The fishing competition on the Pier used to draw over a hundred rods. My Grandfather, Robert May, supplied the Rod for first prize.My aunt was asked if she’d like to keep up the tradition after he died, but she said no, it was the end of an era, and Harwood’s took over giving the prize.

Robert May awards Carnival Fishing prize of rod

Robert May awards prize rod for Carnival Fishing competition off Pier

Robert May awards the prize rod for the fishing competition on the pier

During Carnival Week there were harbour sports, greasy pole and swimming races off the Common. All the families joined in and won prizes too. Yarmouth was a town of families, now it’s a town of holiday homes. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Richard lawry: Free Time, Cricket 1960s

Several locals played for West Wight – George Kelsey, Fred Cheverton and Chris Cheverton, Ted Lawry, Ted Crooks, Denny Stretton, Stuart Holloway, and before I left to become a Police Cadet in 1963, I joined Dad, (Ted Lawry) so there were two generations of Chevertons and two generations of Lawrys playing.

In the early days when Dad was playing, my mum used to push my sister in her pram with me walking, along the railway line to watch Dad play at Stroud. If we were lucky, there were wild strawberries growing along the railway line to make the walk more tasty.

I remember being told that Dad, who was a ‘Demon Bowler,’ took a lot of wickets at Calbourne in one match. Dad was working in the High Street on the following Monday, and Bill Brett, a staunch Calbourne player and member of a cricketing family, was working in South Street. Dad couldn’t resist the chance to celebrate  West Wight’s victory so he made a giant sized bat and sent his apprentice round to deliver it to Bill Brett, with the message that Calbourne might like to use it in the next match.
Richard Lawry b 1947

Carol Corbett: Free Time, Concerts and Plays 1950s and 1960s

The ‘Con Club’, Sports and Social Club was used as an entertainment venue for concerts, plays  and pantomimes. ‘Winter Wonderland’ was one when I would have been 7. My mother was in the show, I wanted to go all the time to watch it.
I went with my grandmother one night and couldn’t understand why my dad wasn’t there, and apparently he took one of the women’s places because they were ill.

Watching the entertainment at the 'Con' Club 1950s

Watching the entertainment at the ‘Con’ Club 1950s

Carol Corbett nee Cotton b 1946 

Alec Cokes: Free Time 1950s 1960s

One time there was a big classic football match going on up the Rec. Jim Ryall then was the Fire Chief – and he was up there watching the football .

All of a sudden two figures came up across the back of the Rec, right across the middle of the playing field and disappeared.  It was Dicky Hatch and Dook Henderson.  They’d only managed to set fire to the rushes down the marsh.  There was a big cloud of smoke.
Somebody said, Jim, Jim, the marsh is burning.  He said, let it burn.  No point in getting down there with the fire engine, what was the point of that, it wouldn’t do any harm.

I can remember Rodney with his touchwood tin – he used to have a Golden Syrup tin, punched some holes in it with a bit of wire for a handle, get the old rotten wood out the middle of the trees and put something in to start it burning and of course you had a flame and if you wanted to light the marshes or something you just let go!  Nothing ever blew up.

Mick, he was a bugger, he’s a bit older than us – and he was very good with these bows and arrow he used to make.  We used to get in the middle of the Rec. a whole gang of us, about twenty of us, and he would fire this thing up in the air.  He’d have reeds for arrows with a bit of elder for the tip and a feather and a nail stuck in it, and he’d fire it straight up in the air – a game of chicken, watching this thing to see which way it was going to go.  Alec Cokes b 1945

Rodney Corbett: Early days

Before the new road was built, Tennyson Road,led to 'back lane' not a thoroughfare.

Before the new road was built, Tennyson Road, led to ‘Back Lane’ which was not a thoroughfare.

War brought my father here, Royal Corps of Signal.  My grandfather came here as a Royal Engineer in the first war – so I’ve got some fresh blood.  At the end of WWI he married my grandmother. She was a soldier – I’ve got a picture of her in uniform – I think she was quite a radical actually, a typical Methodist radical.  They then moved away from Yarmouth because he was in the Army and my mother, being the eldest, was sent back to live with her grandmother, my great grandmother. My great grandma to me was like my grandma, and she was born in 1866. I called her ‘Gran’.
My father was away at war, so we all lived with, ‘Gran’ in Field Cottages on Tennyson Road. They were pretty cramped and small – two up, two down, with no hot and cold running water. The toilets were at the end of the garden. Of course the road didn’t go anywhere then, just up to Back Lane so it was much quieter, we could play in the road. Rod Corbett b 1943