I always felt sorry for poor old Florrie.
Old Miss Ireland, the one I said I didn’t like, used to ask on Monday morning who had been to church, put your hands up if you had been to church, because they didn’t like it if you didn’t go to church. Anyway Florrie put her hand up and Miss Ireland said,
‘You can put your hand down. You never went to church, you went to the Methodist Church.’ Florrie went to the chapel along South Street and so did Megan Cook (nee Buckett) Jean Maitland nee Levey1928
Tag Archives: Jean Maitland
Jean Maitland, Joy Lawry: WWII 1940s
Pump outside Coastguard Cottages 2013
George Warder was bending down filling his kettle from the pump in Coastguard Cottages pathway at 7 a.m. one morning when a German plane went over and shot him in his backside, much to the amusement of his friends. Luckily he wasn’t badly hurt. It wasn’t so funny when planes went down off the pier. Jean Maitland nee Levey b1928
Most nights were disturbed by bombers on their way to bomb the cities, though we had some stray bombs around here, the Convoys being the attraction. Our local milkman, survived a machine gun bullet from a passing German plane. The night Cowes was heavily bombed, a house at Bouldnor was hit and an elderly lady killed. Joy Lawry
Jean Maitland: Harbour breakwater construction, 1930s
Piling crew who rebuilt the pier and harbour in 1930s: photo Jean Maitland
Bob Cook’s grandfather, Bob Buckett, and Jack Payne, Fred Wadham and my Dad, Bill Levey, they put in all the piles for the harbour breakwater by hand. You wouldn’t have had a pier or breakwater if it wasn’t for them. You can see their piling rig in the photo, the crab winch in the background was part of it. See the length of pipe in his hand?
They would push it on the winch brake handle so you could hold the brake on – the handles on them were never long enough. Winching that weight up time and time again, to knock the piles in, that was hard work wasn’t it eh? The times they went in the tide under the pier when they were rebuilding it! Look at the clothes they wore in those days, didn’t have overalls and if it rained they got wet. My Dad fell in, sea boots and all. Good job he was a good swimmer.
I can always remember how the old men used to get down the Spit and Lean on the Quay, spinning yarns. You know how these old boys like to yarn.
Jean Maitland nee Levey
Jean Maitland, Phil Kelsey: Allotments 1930s
When we were living down the Square my Dad had an allotment up “Pigs Alley”
OOH I mustn’t say “Pigs Alley” because people these days get cross. “Pigs Alley” is the lane behind Victoria Road, that people now call Garage Alley. Yes, its proper name always was “Pigs Alley” because pigs were kept up there, but that was before my time. Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928
Of course all that was allotments right through there. Before the war they were all well cultivated too. I remember like on a Good Friday there would be everybody up there if the weather was right, digging away. When they built the council houses there was a bit left where the flats are now. Dad had that until I took it over after him until they built the council houses. Phil Kelsey b 1920
Jean Maitland: Free Time 1930s
I remember trying to go to Mill Copse along Mill Bank and Harry Jackman chasing us away. All we wanted to do was pick primroses and bluebells. Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928
Jean Maitland: 1930s, The Mount, Dashwoods
The Mount seen fom the marsh
We used to go scrumping apples at The Mount. We used to go through the bottom of the Rec. and fill our knickers with the apples, them knickers that had pockets in. The boys used to dare us.
When anybody had a baby they used to take them down one rose, Cuthbert, Caroline, and Miss Constance, the Dashwood family.
Miss Constance was the last one left of the Dashwoods. She left me a book when she died. Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928
Jean Maitland: Early Days playing at the Castle
Wheatsheaf Lane 1930s
My mother used to do the washing for the Simpsons at North House and I used to have to take the washing back down the steps to the big kitchen.
When I lived in the Square we used to play up the Castle and in Wheatsheaf Lane; that was our play area because there were no cars or anything like that. You could go up to the Castle anywhen you liked. We used to love going up there because you could frighten one another to death in the dungeons, and if anyone shut the door you could hear them scream right across the town.
Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928
Jean Maitland: School days
I always felt sorry for poor old Florrie.
Old Miss Ireland, the one I said I didn’t like, used to ask on Monday morning who had been to church, put your hands up if you had been to church, because they didn’t like it if you didn’t go to church. Anyway Florrie put her hand up and Miss Ireland said, ‘You can put your hand down. You never went to church, you went to the Methodist Church.’
Florrie went to the chapel along South Street and so did Megan Cook (nee Buckett)
Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928