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Bennett Road

Childhood reminiscences, late 1940s
By Mick Peirson

I lived at number 35 Bennett Road. I remember Sussex Crumpets, where a carrier bag of damaged crumpets could be had for a tanner in the late afternoon. I also remember the bombsite where we played for hours and hours. I remember Phillip Mansfield and his brother and his parents and grandparents. The Mansfields lived next to Ian (Sid) Bradstock by the telephone pole. Mr. Mansfield was a prison warder as was my uncle Arty, who served in Wandsworth and Pentonville and Canterbury prisons.

The local shop
The shop at number 2 Bennett Road was first an ice cream factory in the late 40s. When we kids stood outside long enough one of the girls would bring us out a block of ice-cream to share among us. After that if I remember rightly, it was a bike shop run by Bert and his wife. And after that it was a sort of DIY store selling all sorts of bits and bobs. It was owned by a Mr. Thompson and his wife, they both later moved to a shop in Whitehawk Road. I think it became a pet shop after that. I never remembered a fish and chip shop in Bennett Road, there was a fish and chip shop on the corner of Rugby place, the next street down.

Big pools winners
The Bostons winning the pools was a big story when we were kids, they bought a Rover 75 with a cyclops headlight, and they also bought their house and the one next door at number 29 where the Macklins lived.

Fun in Sheepcote Valley
The military stuff that we played on was over in the dump at Sheepcote Valley, another big fun playground of the time. We were quite good at building our own pedal bikes, and Sheepcote Valley was a splendid source of bike bits. We usually came home covered in dirt from raking around the tip.

Mrs Smith and her parrot
The sweet shop at number 1 was where we spent our pocket money usually on the lucky dip. I remember Mrs. Smith and her parrot. I can see the cage now with it's black knob on the top. She would put the cage outside in the summer. Later came Mr. Mrs. Bridges, and indeed he was a good electrician. I can remember loads of times from Bennett Road, but what I did last week I would have to look in my diary. I wonder if there are any more folk with memories from that time in our lives.

This page was added on 23/11/2006.

Comments:

I lived in no. 7 Wiston Close Whitehawk from 1947 to 1958. I was nearly 12 years old when I moved with my parents to Australia. I can remember playing in the Sheepcote Valley dump. It always had an amazing array of "treasures" that fascinated us as young boys. I remember a disused tank like vehicle that we played in. As I recall we could still turn the turret. I loved my childhood in Whitehawk. I'm sure I regularly walked along Bennet Road on my return from the beach,although I didn't know many street names at the time. It would be great to see photos and/or maps of the area as it was then.

By Eric Cook (02/12/2006)

I had a look at the map of Brighton, and could not find Wiston Close. There is Wiston Road which I remember as a kid, and there is Wiston Road South and Wiston Road North. Was the Close off Wiston Road? I don't know if the area has been developed since I lived in Brighton. I seem to remember I used to walk home from school in Woodingdean with a lad called Mickey Woolmer from that area, did you ever hear of him? I am glad you remember Sheepcote Valley tip, how could you forget it - the best place I ever found as a kid. From where you lived Eric, you only had to walk across Wilsons Avenue and you were there.

By Mick Peirson (13/12/2006)

Hello Mick. The area that I lived in in Whitehawk has been completely redeveloped. Wiston Close was a short cul-de-sac about where Alan Way is now and it ran parallel to Wilson Avenue. At the top of Wiston Close was a farm. At the bottom was a lane that I used to walk to Whitehawk Primary School. The lane ran from Wilson Avenue, past Wiston Close and over Nuthurst and Findon Roads where there were steps. The houses in Wiston Close were all prefabs. I don't remember Mickey Woolmer you mentioned, but I would love to hear from anybody who lived around the Wiston Close area. The only name I can remember is Christine Evans.

By Eric Cook (04/03/2007)

So happy to read about Wiston Road, Whitehawk.
I lived at 109 Wiston Rd when I was nine years old and went to the school there. They were such happy days, my friend David Funnell lived next door and we still see each other now and again. Next door to that lived John Tidy and his brother Robin, their dad worked on the buses, such a nice family. I sometimes meet them also on my travels. Later on we moved back to Sandhurst Ave,Woodingdean but my mum returned to Wiston Road later in life and lived at 228. Her name was Dolly Eke. Thanks for the memories.

By Christine Eke (05/10/2007)

My family lived at 57 Bennett Road and I can remember memories of Whitehawk School. Some of my brothers, Jimmie, Roy, Raymond, David and my sister Mavis went to the Whitehawk School. My eldest brother Jimmie who married Marie Oliver, lives at 169 Wiston Road and has lived there all his married life. Jimmie is now 82 years old. I can remember when we were living in Bennett Road during the war and one night when we came home from the Whitehawk Boys Club our house had been hit by a bomb. Unfortuately our piano was destroyed. That night and for the next three nights I went home with the Georgie Bocker who lived on Hervey Road, Whitehawk.

By Ron George (17/01/2008)

I lived at 7 Firle Road from 1928 to 1950, apart from stints working in aircraft factories in Crawley and Golders Green, and as a flight engineer in the RAF. I went to St. Luke's Infants, Junior Mixed, and Senior Boys Schools. In the Senior Boys, from 1933 to 1936, my pal was George Whiting, a foster child who lived with the Leaches at number 2 Firle Rd. George and I often walked over to Sheepcote Valley, though we called it "the dump," and soon found it was a great source of good bike parts from which "bitsas," (bits of this and bits of that), could be assembled. Our big problem was tyres, because only tyres with big holes could be found. We soon started to cut tyres into bits that could be inserted over the holes in "good" tyres, and rode on from there. We often rode over to Hassocks, where George was formerly fostered, to visit a friend of his called Doughty. Anyone wishing to get in touch could e-mail me at regreen@optonline.net, in New Jersey, USA, where I now live.

By Robert (Bob) Green (14/02/2008)

As a kid I remember Ronnie George although I was a little kid when he was grown up. I remember all of the Georges from Bennett Road and I also remember that Jimmy always had a smiley face as did most of the George family. They were a very nice family when I was a kid and would always say hello if you spoke to them, even to a whippersnapper like me. So many memories from that time.

Best wishes

from number 35 Bennett Road.

By Michael Peirson (20/07/2008)

I lived at 58 Bennett Road in the 1980s and remember the fish and chip shop on the corner of Rugby Place, would it have been the same one? The husband and wife would always be arguing, it was so funny. There was a wool shop just up from Bennett Road - wool shops, what ever happened to them?

By Philippa Lane (24/10/2008)

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