An ex-pat reminiscences

One of six children

I was born at 16 Whitehawk Avenue in 1950. It was the semi-detached house on the corner of Findon Road, with the police box attached to the front. My father was PC 92 Bob Young; I was one of six children. I had two older sisters Carol and Patsy, and one younger. My two younger brothers and I, along with the older girls, all attended Whitehawk Infants School. I was there from 1954 until 1960 when we migrated to Australia.

Great times as children

I returned for the first time in 2005 and visited Whitehawk. I was very disappointed to find so many of the old houses vanished and even the road layout changed. I remember the great times we had as children. We loved going to Blackrock pool, Peter Pan’s playground and walking along the seafront with my grandfather. I remember the topless double decker buses on the front.

Church every Sunday

I was a cub-scout at St. Cuthman’s and attended the church in uniform every Sunday. The scout hall was directly across Whitehawk Avenue from our house.The only names I can recall are Trevor Elliott and Derek Fox. Tony Anscombe was the son of the constable that lived next door and was the same age as me. His mother was Mary and he had a younger brother. I now live in Wagga Wagga in southern NSW, and have been in the NSW Police since 1975 after spending 10 years in the RAAF.