Reginald Richard Salway(1900-1995)

My Uncle Reg lived next door to me in Rushlake Road, Coldean, which was previously called West Drive. Like his father, Harry, Reg was a skilled cabinet maker/journeyman carpenter. My grandparents, Henry Welfare and Elizabeth (Bushby), had 5 children who were Ivy, Violet, Iris, Harry and Charles.

In 1930, Reg married the eldest of the Welfare flowers, Ivy. Charles died in World War II but the rest of the family married and all lived very close to one another in Coldean before it came under Brighton and was developed. When money was very tight in the late 1940s and early 1950s, I could always count on my Uncle Reg to provide me with a stunning Christmas present made skilfully out of off-cuts of wood. A painted fort with a working drawbridge, a model racing car and, best of all, a model aerodrome with hangars, a control tower and wooden planes were some of the wonderful gifts he made for me.

When my Uncle Reg died in 1995, he left me a suitcase full of photographs and postcards. Most of these give no clues as to who they were. Many of the postcards were sent from his father saying what day and time he would arrive home from work. Nowadays, the message would be sent by email, text or a mere phone call. In those days postcards were often used for that purpose and reliably arrived first post the very next day. I have a postcard sent by Harry with a picture of the famous Louis Bleriot monoplane flying over his Brooklands workshop dated 1916.

Among these photos were several relating to Reg’s time as a member of Brighton County Harriers; some of these are shown here. I think my Uncle Reg is the one with the cup – and number 81 in the group photo. Another seems to be a competition between cross country runners and ‘cyclo cross’ athletes, I believe my uncle is right in the centre.

Can anyone recognise any of the other people in these photos?

Comments about this page

  • My father Maurice Martin is the man in the picture (top right) with his arms around the centre men. He died in 2003 at the age of 96. I too have pictures of his running days.

    By Val Gabriel (08/07/2008)
  • I’d love to know more about this picture. My wonderful Grandpa, Herbert Morris Martin, is the happy, smiling chap wearing the No 16(?) shirt at the back. My Mum and I both inherited his tooth gap!

    By Helena Nicholson (20/08/2011)

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