1950’s

Woolworth Hastings – 1950’s

by

photo shared from…https://www.facebook.com/hastingsmuseum/

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery… We have a double throwback today – who misses Woolies and is that an old route master bus as well? We think this photo dates to the 1950s.

Peter Fairless… Before Woolworth’s had a remake. Anyone know when that was?

Lloyd Johnson… What no Dengates?…linen jackets,Benny Hill caps, leather money pouches and separate tickets on a wooden sprung block of wood….I Loved the cream and green Dengate buses a total throwback to the 1920s /30s….and still running in the early 60s..

Sid Saunders… Not a Routemaster bus, they only operated in London.

Sarah Harvey… Agreed. Looks like a Bristol K6A

Jacqueline Marsh… My mum worked at that woolies

Sarah Harvey… I know, My mum and I bought a Helen Shapiro single there and Aunt Phil served us 🙂 xx

Lynda Whatley… and Aunt Nell was a supervisor there-

John Gale…Never seen that photo before,,, loved Dimarco’s. A great place to go on a Sunday afternoon between Sunday lunch time closing and evening opening times for the pubs, saved going home,. Made alot of friends in there, can’t imagine that happening in McDonald’s so much

Mick O’Dowd… Is that a bank next door. If so which one?

Jim Breeds… The Ministry of Food, I think.

Mick O’Dowd… Where was the silly walks one located Jim?

Gary Benton… When I was in the fire service the basement of woolworths was always know as a firefighters worst nightmare, its like a rabbit warren. We would often say to each other “see you under Woolworths”

Jon McCallion… I have run round the corner many times when I did a paper round from the shop just up from there in Castle Street, Wish it was like it now compared to this we have a complete mess in our town centre

Nicola Dobson… Yes I used to get them snd my grandfather snd uncle were bus drivers

Tony Davis… I’m currently trying to get photos of Hastings in the 60s and 70s for a book I’m having a go at writing. Particularly interested in the Town centre and George Street. Can anybody help please

Andy Davies… Does anyone know who ran the sweet shop? My Granddad used to have a shop around there but as I never saw it, I don’t know. His surname was Horsfall.

Andre Martin… Routemaster buses were London Transport, what you have in shot is a Maidstone & District, possibly a Layland rear loader, with the driver stuck in a small cabin under the top deck and over the front RH wheel, I was told these were cramped and had no heating – just right for the country routes. Good image of the Town Centre, before the planners decided to make unnecessary changes.

Richard J Porter… No heating but a 7 litre + diesel to keep you company under your left elbow.

Bernard Goffredo… There was a Hotel behind the bus, I remember going there with my dad to pick up his drumkit after he had done a gig the night before

Alan Esdaile.. Castle Hotel.

Nigel Ford… I used to catch a SOUTHDOWN version back from Mountfield school to Virgins Lane Battle in the early to mid 60s.

Peter Ellingworth… Red LT RT buses ( Regent Three, a pre-war design) did work into Hastings, but only in transit bringing Sarf Londoners down for day trips in the ’50’s-early 60’s. Remember seeing them parked up in The Stade /Rock a Nore coach/car parks anybody ? I think they were working from New Cross, Catford or Sidcup garages, and the last public RT workings were from Barking until well into 1979. Good solid bus, with pre-selector gear boxes, but no power steering. Ouch ! Some were the wider bodied version known as RTW’s, and were sold on to Sri Lanka and Canada for further use. Regarding the photo : hard to pin down an exact date, but notice the trolleybus wires still in situ, also the wall mounted rosette for the span wires dating from tramway days to the left of the drain pipe above Dimarcos, (if you know where to look some still around the town) so this would date it autumn ’59 at the most, as the trolley buses finished public service at end of play Sunday 31st May 59, and the sea front and town centre wiring was the first to be dismantled fairly soon after. Regarding the bus parked up, I would think it a Leyland PD2 ( or Bristol K6A as Sarah H mentoned). The Leylands were used on route 152 to Tun Wells via Battle & Mayfield, and route 5 to Maidstone. Incidentally building a dedicated bus interchange in the town centre was on the cards since before WW2, but only came about when the rail station was rebuilt !

Peter Fairless… Yes, used to be a pain if you got behind one on the old A21 on the way back to London on a Sunday evening!

 

 

Congratulations to all who were born in the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s & 70’s from 1029 KOFM

by

995709_631647250188038_451033982_n

photo 1029 KOFM

Thanks to Paul Bridgett for finding this. Shared from 1029 KOFM

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s ! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos.. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes or cancer. Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags and we went round the streets on Go-carts made from old pram wheels & bits of wood. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC or Subway. Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn’t open on the weekends, somehow we didn’t starve to death! We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren’t overweight because…… WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on FOXTEL, no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms……….WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no Lawsuits from these accidents. Only girls had pierced ears! We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time… We were given catapults for our 10th birthdays, We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! Mum didn’t have to go to work to help dad make ends meet! RUGBY, NETBALL and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully’s always ruled the playground at school. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! Our parents didn’t invent stupid names for their kids like ‘Kiora’ and ‘Blade’ and ‘Ridge’ and ‘Vanilla’ We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were. ‪https://www.facebook.com/1029KOFM

Alan Esdaile… Excellent.

Vic Whitelaw… Wonderful, and so true!

Keith Wildman… Don’t seem to remember being driven 500 yards to school in a Range Rover either. Had to walk the 3 miles in all weathers and still mucked about with mates on the way.

Mick O’Dowd… Wow ! I couldn’t have put it better myself. An excellent article.

Tony Davis… The story of my childhood. Days when we could play marbles in the gutter because there weren’t cars parked everywhere!

Caz Simpson… My knees were always scuffed, I’ve not seen a scuffed knee for donkeys years!

Alan Esdaile… Didn’t they get scuffed when you were weighed down and carrying speaker cabinets, Caz?

Caz Simpson… Ha! And driving crusty old vans with no brakes Alan.

Geoff Tidley… Many a happy time refixing gocarts good times.