Lost on Thomas Street in the summer of 1977

I am on Thomas Street in 1977.

This I know because of the street sign high up on the building above the Jarvey Snack Bar and because my friend Jean remembers taking the picture in that year.

But I am lost.

I should remember the scene, and try as I might I cannot fasten it on Google street map.

So perhaps there is someone out there who can help me with the exact location and the date when the buildings vanished.

Such is the price of finally leaving Eltham for good in 1973 and making just the odd trip home which did sometimes take me back to Woolwich.

And just after I had posted Chris added this,  "Thomas street is still alive and well and should easily be found on Google maps ...

The row of shops pictured were all demolished around 1983-84 and a big open space called General Gordon SquareOccupies the area ( Revamped a few times ) .  The opposite side of the road ,  which cant be seen is still original 18th century buildings.

Jean’s picture would have been taken from outside the Earl of Chatham pub which is still in business."

Chris went on to add a link to his excellent site which has a shed load of pictures of Woolwich.*

Which just leaves me to say I went back and found Thomas Street on google maps helped by Andy Murphy's comment that "your friend was on the corner of Wellington Street facing south east. Peakes Place went off to the left next to Alan's and at the end of the terrace is the Fortune of War pub. Love the Escort Mk 1 with the oversized wheels!"

Picture; Thomas Street in 1977, courtesy of Jean Gammons

*Chris Mansfield, www.chrismansfieldphotos.com

Arch 19 on Watson Street ……. What Andy Robertson spotted

 Now Andy Robertson can always be guaranteed to come across the interesting when it comes to developments with our historic buildings, and so last week he was on Watson Street, hard by Great Bridgewater Street in in the shadows of the Beetham Tower, the old Central Railway Station and the Great Northern Warehouse.

He commented that this is "a section of the railway bridges that cross Great Bridgewater Street by Watson Street have just been demolished. I think this part went into the warehouse rather than Central Station".

And according to the Planning portal of the City Council the spot consists of  “arches J & K (18 and 19) on Watson Street, which are to be in converted into to a new theatre, events and teaching space and associated facilities including a bar

The development is proposed as the new home for independent theatre operator and charity 53 two who were previously located at the Bauer Millett site on the opposite side of Great Bridgewater Street. 

The Bauer Millett site is proposed for development and as such 53 two vacated their previous home in May 2019. 

The use of the Bauer Millett site by 53two was approved by Manchester City Council in 2016 (planning application number 114040/FU/2016) and subsequently operated successfully. 

The uses under a new application are the same as those approved under the previous planning application, with a view to enabling 53 two to carry on operating as it has been for the previous period, from a new home”.*

I was aware of the theatre, but this jogged my memory, and that is that is pretty much it, other than to say I know Andy will be back, to record the developments.

Location; Watson Street, Manchester

Pictures; What you discover going on down at Watson Street, 2021, from the collection of Andy Robertson

**CDN/21/0232. Statement of Archaeological and Heritage Record, of listed Building Consent, ref 124383/LO/2019. | Arch 19 Watson Street Manchester M3 4LP Manchester City Council Planning Portal, https://pa.manchester.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=QQDRDSBCFR600

When a poster made you happy ....... walking back to the 1920s

Just suppose said Peter “we took a style of poster popular in the 1920s and 30s and used it to advertise places we like today......... now that would be fun”

And I agreed with him which is as good an introduction to Posters from the Past as you get.*

Tomorrow Peter will explain the story behind the new series.

And that until tomorrow is all I have to say.

Location; Blackpool

Poster; Blackpool, © 2016 Peter Topping

Web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk

 *Posters from the Past, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Posters%20from%20the%20Past

Looking into Salford ……..Ordsall from the tram

Ordsall from the tram, near Cornbrook.

The apartments continue to spread and rise to the skies.

Location; Cornbrook

Picture; Ordsall from the tram, 2021, from the collection of Andy Robertson

It's the detail that draws you in, another Belleville picture from 1945

I keep coming back to this picture and like all good pictures it raises questions which as yet I do not have answers.

On the surface it is easy enough to see what is going on.

We are at Belleville railway station, Ontario in the autumn of 1945 and the Prince Edward Hastings Regiment have returned from the European war.

Of the two central figures, one is an officer who appears in many of the pictures while the other can be seen in a few of the photographs.  I would love to know what has made them laugh but that sadly is lost.

Beyond them there are other soldiers getting ready to disembark the train.  Some stare directly at the camera, while others seem more intent on getting on to the platform.

But what draws you in is the central figure of the railway employee.  He is one of two and the way they stand is out of kilter with the upbeat mood all around them.

Their heads are bowed and they stand apart from all that is going on.

Now I shall be careful and avoid any sweeping generalizations.

My knowledge of this period of Canadian history is almost nonexistent, which is an awful admission and one I want to address.

But I do have to ask why have they struck that pose?

There are of course many possible explanations, ranging from the shyness of the employees, to company policy about how to behave when passengers are disembarking from a company train, particularly when the press are present.  Or just maybe it is something less pleasant.

Either way my attention is drawn to this tiny little scene and I wonder at the social conventions of the period.

In much the same way as in the film of Doctor Zhivago where there is a scene where the young Zhivago is called to assist on a case of attempted suicide.  It is snowing hard and Zhivago and his professor go inside the house leaving the coachman to sit outside and wait.

Nothing you might think as odd.  But this is pre Revolutionary Russia, and Zhivago has just witnessed a brutal attack by the army on a peaceful street protest.  Added to that, the house call takes place against a backdrop of a social gathering of the wealthy.

The contrasts are all too obvious but I doubt that many pick up on the plight of the coachman who will sit for hours in the snow waiting for his employers.

There will be those I suppose who mutter “he’s going over the top and elevating a sixty second shot into something more than it is” which may be so.

And yet it is the tiny detail that often reveals a host of stories and puts the image into the bigger picture.  Well with this one we shall see.

In the meantime it is another of those unique records of the Prince Edward Hastings Regiment retuning home.

And there is no way that you can escape that sense of excietement on the faces of men who left for Europe in late 1939, saw action in France, Italy and Holland and were now back in Canada.

The collection is in the possession of Mike Dufresne who bought them in an auction and tells me they will be left to the regimental museum.

I can think of no fitting place for them to to end up and is a good reminder that all such images are part of oor collective history.

And it is worth mentioning also that Mike has already begun releasing them to the social network site,  Vintage Belleville, Trenton & Quinte Region.*

Now this I like not least because it means that people who live close by can see them, but total strangers from the other side of the world can also share this little bit of history.

All of which is fascinating, after all it is the stories of the "little people caught up in a big century" which bring the events of that period to life.

Picture; from the collection of Mike Dufresne

* https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Belleville-Trenton-Quinte-Region/395830067158776

The man who stole Chorlton’s village Green …..a lost stream …. and a church quarrel

Now if you had ever wondered who stole our village Green or just where the lost stream went, the new book “Nothing to do in Chorlton” will offer up the answers and provide you with a shedload of other interesting information to keep a pub quiz going all night and beyond.

The book has arrived

The book by Andrew Simpson and Peter Topping was published this week, costs just £4.99 and comes in a handy pocket edition which allows the reader to take it on walks across Chorlton.*

It fits into Andrew and Peter’s quirky approach to history and to the story of Chorlton, which is to look for the stories most history books ignore but tell us so much about how we lived in the past.

Like their other books it is designed to be walked, and came out of a discussion about “the sweetness of doing nothing”.**

Andrew and Peter doing nothing, 2021 on the village green

This in turn morphed into a book which would celebrate doing nothing while offering up opportunities to fill those empty moments with stories that might entertain, be interesting and set the imagination off on a journey.

But to fulfil the promise of doing nothing the authors provide you with six secluded spots around Chorlton and a mix of outlandish events, some that will shock and some that will bring a wry smile.

The book is the first in the series and centers around Chorlton Green, with a gentle stroll south to the churchyard and meadows, east to Chorltonville, and north by way of the Horse and Jockey to Scotch Hill. 

The lych gate, 2021

At each location you will encounter stories like the awful burial scandal, the great Chorlton Church schism along with the the Highland visitation and a discussion on just how to play pooh sticks.

And because such an important and delightful publication deserves it, Chorlton Voice will host a launch of the book on November 9th in Chorlton Library at 7.30, and Peter and Andrew invite you to walk the book on Sunday November 28th at 2 pm beside the lych gate opposite the village green.***

The walk will cost £5, and for all those that buy a copy, the book will act as a free ticket to the Sunday walk.

Leaving me just to slide in that sneaky Christmas announcement that the book is the perfect size to fit in a Christmas stocking.

And is just the antidote to two days of festive binging, providing all you will need to a slow and happy stroll on Boxing Day.

*“Nothing to do in Chorlton” by Andrew Simpson & Peter Topping, is available from www.pubbooks.co.uk and Chorlton bookshop

**”Il dolce far niente”, “the sweetness of doing nothing”

***Chorlton Voice, was Chorlton Civic Society

With The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment in Belleville, Ontario in 1945

Arriving Home © Mike Dufresne

Here are three of those images that pretty much speak for themselves.  

We are in Belleville in Ontario in the autumn of 1945 watching the home coming of The Hastings and Prince Edward  Regiment.

They had shipped out for Europe in the December of 1939, saw action in France in June 1940 and were part of the allied landings in Sicily and mainland Italy in 1943.  In the final months of the war they moved to North West Europe

© Mike Dufresne

Meanwhile back in Canada in June 1945, a second Battalion of the regiment was mobilized for service in the Pacific but with Japan’s surrender in the August the battalion was disbanded in the November.

Each photograph is a rich source of detail, from the informality of the disembarkation at the railway station to the formal march past.

So often the identities of the people in the pictures are lost but the second soldier in the parade was the Inetelligence Officer Farley Mowatt.

Pictures; by Mike Dufresne, posted on the facebook site, Vintage Belleville, Trenton & Quinte Region

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Belleville-Trenton-Quinte-Region/395830067158776

© Mike Dufresne

Eating out in Chorlton ….. 1979 …. waiting for the revolution

Now it is still within living memory when eating out in Chorlton, revolved around a Chinese restaurant, two Asian ones, and the Italian on Wilbraham Road, with handful of chippies and a few takeaways.

Saray, 2021

This was the 1970s, when coffee consisted of a warm brownish liquid, salad was a simple mix of sliced tomatoes, curled cucumber with a few bits of lettuce, and if you asked for cheese and biscuits there was a choice of red or white cheese.

The plethora of restaurants, serving Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, as well Spanish, Korean and Asian Fusion were two- and a-bit decades away, and while there were a number of cafes these tended to close early.

Costa, 2021

And pubs were pubs, where the peckish might get a variety of flavoured crisps and pork scratchings, but nothing more adventurous.  And here I may be wrong but those, staples of some pubs, which were pickled eggs, and pork pies wee never presented on the bars of our public houses.

Although what happened at the Feathers, The Southern and the Oaks, on the edges of the township I cannot vouch for.

So, when ever I am confronted with those nostalgic rambles of when Chorlton was better I would just have to offer up a menu and the closing times of our cafes from the 1960s, along with a snapshot of what was available to eat after 5.30 in the evening.

Dining, 1980s

There will be those who bemoan the onward advance of cafes, bars, and takeaways, and I confess we must be reaching saturation point, evidenced by the growing turn over in some of them.

But the way we shop has changed and those traditional businesses serving up groceries, fruit and veg as well fresh fish and a slew of other things have gone, and I doubt will come back, leaving that simple question of who and what will fill the vacant spaces?

On a brighter note the news is that Patrick, he of Primavera and the Lead Station is coming back and opening a restaurant in the very premises on Beech Road, from which helped transform Beech Road.

Café Society on Beech Road, circa 2008

And for those who want a bit more nostalgia, the post has led to a shedload of memories, some of which qualify my harsh comments on our pubs.  So, David weighed in with "The Trevor Arms had pickled eggs behind the bar but you had to ask, otherwise out of sight and once tried, out of mind", while Glenys brought back memories of the travelling shellfish man who did the rounds with small packets of cockles and other delicacies from the sea.

Location; Chorlton

Pictures, eating on Wilbraham Road, 2021 from the collection of Andrew Simpson and one of the restaurants circa early 1980s, from the Lloyd Collection

Is it really 50 years? …….. Tapestry, Decimal Day ... and that seminal haircut

Now I don’t usually do anniversary stories, for the simple reason that once you start ….. everyday can offer an event which it could be argued is worth a story.

New Money Snap, 1971

But 1971 is perhaps a year which shouldn’t go unremarked.

And here I confess it is purely a personal response.

It was my second year at the College of Commerce, or as we called it the College of Knowledge, which was situated on Minshul Street in the heart of the city.

That location proved a pretty neat opportunity to dodge going to the library and instead exploring all that Manchester had to offer, which for a lad from south east London was a lot.  

I got to see the Northern Quarter before it became the Northern Quarter, spent most lunch times in one of the many Chinese and Asian restaurants which offered three course meals for three shillings during the midday lunch rush and explored all the twisty turny streets of character.

And for those who wonder about just what a three shilling meal was, 1971 was the year when the price became 15p, which seems an even more outlandish charge for a starter, main course and pudding.

At the time of Decimal Day there was that widespread belief that businesses would round price up, and that some people would be confused.

I can’t now remember if prices did go up, or just how far people were baffled by the new currency and its relation to £.s.d.  

But I did recently come across the New Money Snap game which was to be played at home by people of all ages as preparation for the changeover.

I had completely forgotten it, but in turning out some old family stuff, I came across our copy.

The instructions point out that “The rules for ‘New Money Snap’ are the same as for ordinary snap with the additional rule that snap can be called where the money value is the same”.

Our pack is still in pristine condition, which rather makes me think that no one was at all confused, or worried about the changeover.

Just whether Julia paid for her copy of the LP Tapestry by Carol King in new money I have no idea, but sometime late in that year I sat listening to it in her room in Fallowfield.

Before the haircut, 1971

It was and remains one of my favourite LP’s and a copy has sat with the vinyl collection from that time.

That said back then, I don’t remember me thinking that this was a seminal moment, although later that year the hair cut might have been regarded as such.

Like most students I had shoulder length hair which on occasion was parted down the middle, but even 50 years ago the warning signs were there that I was on the way to losing it, and on a whim one Tuesday morning I went “skinhead”.

The barber’s was on Portland Street in what is now the Ibis Hotel facing Piccadilly Gardens.  It was one of those where you stepped off the street down a flight of stairs and into the room.  I can’t remember who was more surprised, me or the barber and the assorted other customers, but in a mater of minutes it was gone, and for a short while I was the “skin head student” at the College.

50 years on

Lecturers thought I must have been going for an interview, and friends were baffled.

Now 50 years on, there is very little left to cut, so 1971 marked a moment of transition.

Pictures; playing cards from New Money Snap, 1971, and pictures from an album,  from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Tapestry, Carol King, 1971, Side 1 "I Feel the Earth Move,"So Far Away", "It's Too Late", "Home Again" "Beautiful", "Way Over Yonder",  Side 2 "You've Got a Friend”, "Where You Lead”, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" "Smackwater Jack","Tapestry"

Stories behind pictures, the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment marches through Belleville in 1945

 © Mike Dufresne

I like this picture not least because it captures a confused moment when lots of things seem to be going on at the same time.

It is another one of those photographs of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment during the parade to mark its return from service in the European war.

The date is 1945 and we are in Belleville, Ontario.  The regiment had shipped out for Europe in the December of 1939, saw action in France in June 1940 and were part of the allied landings in Sicily and mainland Italy in 1943.  In the final months of the war they moved to North West Europe, and were part of the liberation of Holland.

Now I don’t have an exact date for the picture but judging by the leaves on the trees and the presence of so many top coats I guess it will be late autumn.

It is  the platform party with its mix of uniformed men, civic dignitaries and the large wooden figure of a Native American that you notice first.

But it is the little detail that draws you in. So there is the photographer running to get ahead of the troops, and the two young women looking in different directions at events unfolding in front of them.

And then there are the two boys with their bikes almost oblivious to what is going on around them, having their own private conversation while the crowds applaud, the officers salute and the soldiers march past.

It is the sort of picture I would have liked to have taken, and one where you can go off and ponder on each of the tiny scenes.

Did the photographer get the picture he wanted, and what exactly was it that caught the attention of the young woman applauding?  After all she is pretty much alone in looking back while most of the crowd are preoccupied with the line of troops parading past.

And what is it that those boys are talking about?

All the time the soldiers are marching past and some at least of the crowd may have been reflecting on that previous war which took Canadian servicemen to the Western Front.

None of this is of course historically in order.

Speculating without hard evidence is not how history should be told, but on the other hand it is exactly what makes a good picture.

So I shall leave it at that, on a day when the Prince Edward Hastings Regiment came home, and the people of Belleview could celebrate the first autumn of peace in six years.

Picture; Mike Dufresne, posted on the facebook site, Vintage Belleville, Trenton & Quinte Region
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Belleville-Trenton-Quinte-Region/395830067158776

Another step in finding grandad and Nana ..... the 1921 census

Now the hearts of many historians, and especially family historians will beat just a bit faster with the news that there is just 70 days to the publication of the 1921 census.

Granddad and Nana, circa 1930s

I could say more but instead I will let the National Archives say it.

Today we can announce that the 1921 Census for England and Wales will be published online by Findmypast on 6 January 2022.

Taken between two world wars, during a period of economic turmoil and at a time when women had just won the right to vote, the 1921 Census will provide some fascinating insights about society and how it has evolved over the past 100 years.

In preparation for the online publication, a team of hundreds of Findmypast conservators, technicians and transcribers have worked for almost three years to complete the invaluable task of getting the census ready. 

It is the largest project ever completed by The National Archives and Findmypast, consisting of more than 30,000 bound volumes of original documents stored on 1.6 linear kilometres of shelving.

Dad and friend, circa 1930s

You can find out more about what to expect from the 1921 Census of England and Wales by visiting www.findmypast.co.uk/1921-census.

Neil Curtis, Chief Operating Officer at The National Archives, said: ‘Census releases are keenly anticipated and create a period of collective curiosity about the past, generating a national moment of reflection.

‘The 1921 Census will offer us a glimpse into the lives of individuals and communities between the wars, recovering from a great influenza pandemic, and embarking on a new era where everyday rights and roles were changing.

‘What makes the 1921 Census even more vital is that it will be the last census release for England and Wales for 30 years, with the 1931 Census lost in a fire and the 1941 Census never taken.'"

Well in the case of granddad and Nana ... not quite, both were still in Germany with my mother and uncle, and would not return for another two years.

Still there will be plenty of others to go looking for.

Pictures; Nana and granddad, Derby, and Dad, Gateshead, circa 1930.

*The National Archives, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/1921-census-online-publication-date-announced/?utm_source=emailmarketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=census_announcement__27_october_2021&utm_content=2021-10-27

On walking through Piccadilly Railway Station ...........

 War memorials are meant to be seen.

It is one of the ways we both mark the sacrifices made by that generation of men and women who were swept up by the conflict, and also of course a way of remembering those who died.

Which brings me to these memorials on Piccadilly Railway Station.

The first stands by the ground floor entrance looking out towards busy taxi rank.

The other is a new memorial to “the memory of the Manchester Employees of the London North Western Railway Company who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country during the Great War and as a grateful tribute to all who served”.

It replaces ab older one which has been lost which stood in the London Road Goods Department.

Both have featured before.

Location; Manchester Piccadilly Railway Station

Pictures; war memorials, 2021, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Looking west from those other trenches …… postcards from the Great War ….. no. 1 the uniforms

Now, I say looking west, but these young men may have been destined for the Eastern Front.

But the passage of a century and a bit has made it pretty unlikely I will ever know.

One of the cards bears a Munich postmark and another comes from Warsaw, and both are dated 1916.

There may be someone out there that can recognise details from the uniforms which may offer up a clue to a regiment and hence a destination, but until then I am stumped.

Which just leaves me staring at the men, and in a very unhistorical way wondering about who they were and what happened to them.

Over the years I have studied and used many picture postcards from the Great War, and tried to fit the five men of our family into similar British uniforms.  We do have a picture of my great grandfather who in 1916 was in the West Kents, and one of my uncle George in the uniform of the Black Watch.

But I don’t have any of the German side. Our maternal grandmother was from Cologne and married granddad who was in the British army of occupation in 1920.

Her brothers may have served in the Imperial armed forces of Germany, and she will certainly have had cousins who also fought for “Kaiser and Empire”.

If there were any pictures taken of them they have not survived, so these four are all I have.

And one of these postcards has the name, and address of the photographer on the reverse along with the name Bergez, which I take to be the young man in uniform.

The photographer was a Bernard Koch of the “Art Enlargement Agency, and the address was Tumblingerstrasse, München.

The street is still there just a stones throw from the River Isar.  It is one of those pretty unremarkable side roads you can find in any town or city across Europe, and while some of the building look like that might have been known by Herr. Koch, other look to be very modern.

But there is a building at the end of Tumblingerstrasse, just as it goes underneath the main railway line and marshalling yard which looks like it might have been a military barracks.

And that would have made sense for Herr. Koch to have set up business close.

Certainly, the young man is standing in front of a standard studio background, almost exactly liker the one his British counterparts might have chosen for a backdrop.

Interestingly two of the other images show the soldiers out in the open.  In both cases they are standing in front of a building which bears a resemblance to the one on Tumblingerstrasse, but that may just be me wishing it to be the barracks.

So, there you have it four picture postcards of six men in German army uniforms sometime during the Great War, doing pretty much what soldiers do everywhere before being sent to the Front.

Location; somewhere in Germany

Pictures; German soldiers, circa 1916, from the collection of David Harrop

Catching a bus ……. London Transport …. The BFI …… and a tribute to the documentary

Now, here is one that just indulges my love of public transport and in particular the London Bus.

Hare Street, 1970

I grew up in southeast London during the first half of the last century, and we didn't have a car, so London Transport which ran buses, as well as the Underground along with the trains of Southern Region was how we got around.

So with that in mind, here are four short documentaries when we still made interesting, and entertaining short films on London Transport, which didn't showcase the lives of celebrities and wannabe celebrities.  The films can be found on YouTube and are from the BFI National Archive

Bridge of Song, 1955,  Fares please, Overhaul,  Story of the RT, 1957. 

They are accompanied by two fine historic photographs from John King whose pictures of London take me back to how south east London used to be, and come with his own description behind the images which offer up a context.

"Hare Street, Woolwich seen from the top of an RT type bus. Other buses can be seen on the stand. Before the new ferry terminal was built traffic would queue in this road to cross the river.

No longer a bus stand here, there is a bus stop for a couple of routes. The road is one way now in the other direction. March 1970".

Woolwich Road, 1968

"Morning traffic on Woolwich Road Charlton. Don't think it has improved that much with the dual carriageway.

Morning rush hour on a misty day. A 177 bus bound for Blackfriars and Embankment can be seen in the queue of traffic on Woolwich Road, Charlton.

On the right is Stone Sports Ground, which flooded one winter, it was left as a lake for many years after with tennis nets sticking out of the water. It has been redeveloped as Stone Lake Retail Park.

Everything in the picture has gone, and the road is now a dual carriageway with a large roundabout around here. August 1968". 

Location; London

Pictures; Hare Street, 1970 and Woolwich Road, 1968, from the collection of John King

*Bridge of Song 1955, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cPYSUyhc1Q

Fares please, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyrj_wZor4U

Overhaul, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8lXC4Xp7YM

Story of the RT, 1957, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ql5yAFByYg

Grey Days in Manchester …… no.2 .... getting wet at Deansgate Castlefield

Now, I am not good with rain, especially when the plan is to take autumnal pictures of the city.

I had hoped for one of those mild late October days, when the pale sunlight made the best of   the autumn leaves.

But that didn’t happen, and after several tram trips around the city centre to dodge the rain and find a dry spot, I gave up, and settled on views from the Deansgate Castlefield metro stop.

I would like to think they are a small contribution to the record of how Manchester is changing.

And still puzzel over the rusty building, and how it actually works.

Happily someone will explain it to me.

Well that is my excuse for posting them.

Location; Deansgate Castlefield

Pictures; grey pictures, 2021, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The missing Oswald Road houses ……..a request ……. and an outrageous advert

There will be someone who remembers the terrace of houses on Oswald Road, which included number 94.

Oswald Road, 1907

I should do but I don’t.

Nor can I put to mind when they were demolished and eventually became the landscaped area beside the Field of OS.

I started pondering on when they vanished after someone contacted me asking what had happened to 94.

They appear on the OS map for 1894, and are still there on the OS for 1952, and I expect were knocked down in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

And here enters Peter Topping into the debate, because Peter did what I didn’t do and looked up the Chorlton Bomb maps.  These were compiled by the City Council and showed just where bombs fell in the city during the war.

Using the OS map of Manchester & Salford for 1933-34, direct hits were indicated by "red circles for fire bombs; blue circles for high explosives; pink shading for damaged buildings; red shading for demolished buildings; green marks: line mines, indicating bomb damage by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz”.

And our house had its own bomb circle, leading Peter to conclude this was one of the properties the Luftwaffe accidentally hit on its nightly trips out, which played out to his assertion that Hitler wanted to destroy Manchester City’s ground because he “was an ardent Manchester United fan”.

Now this might surprise some but the logic was explored in his book “Smile Dammit Smile !!! Chorlton”, which was published in 2020 and presented a lighted hearted version of the news.*

It was based on the publication Billy’s Weekly Liar, which was a spoof broadsheet sold in Blackpool before and just after the last world war.

So I rather think, we should be careful of Peter’s interpretation, not least because our house received not a high explosive bomb, but an incendiary device, which would explain why it was still there in 1952

That said I admire Peter’s determination to readjust history for the purpose of making us smile.

Location; Oswald Road

Picture; Oswald Road from the 1907 OS map of Manchester & Salford

*“Smile Dammit Smile !!! Chorlton”, Peter Topping, 2020, Hitler’s MUFC Takeover Bid, pages 104-105. The book  is available from http://www.pubbooks.co.uk/ or Chorlton Book shop

A little bit of Manchester …………. in Saxony ……. the city of Chemnitz

There will be those who question a story about a German city with the tenuous link that it was once known as Saxonian Manchester.

But Chemnitz, is also twinned with the city and has been since 1983.

For this and the story of Saxonian Manchester I have my friend Lyn to thank who back in the 1980s worked at Central Library and translated some of the documents relating to the forthcoming twinning agreement.

Back then Chemnitz, was known as Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was its name from 1953 till 1990.

Lyn remembers, “I met a woman from there at the twinning ceremony in Manchester Town Hall and we have stayed in touch over the years.  I went to Karl Marx Stadt in 1988 and stayed the night with her family and visited the city”.

And yesterday following up on that story she sent over the link to a newspaper story published in Germany about the city which  recently named “European capital of culture for 2025 meaning it beat off competition from Hanover, Nuremberg, Hildesheim and Magdeburg. Here are some fascinating facts about the city. 

The golden days for the city of Chemnitz came in the 19th century when it was one of the first German cities to embrace the revolutionary technology of steam power.

It won the moniker 'Saxonian Manchester'. This nickname wasn’t just a reference to the manifold factory chimneys, it was also a comment on the poor air quality in its streets. Just like in the English town, textiles were a central pillar of the local economy.

The city was a hub of invention - six times more patents were registered than the German average. And as industry took off, so too did the population. Chemnitz achieved the status of a Großstadt in 1883 when its population topped 100,000”.*

Großstadt roughly translates as big city, and today it is the third largest city in the German federal state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany.

So there you have it, I could quote more from the article, but where would the fun be in doing that when you can read the full account along with some fine pictures by following the link.

Location; Germany

Pictures; Chemnitz, 2013, Kora27, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

*5 things you should know about Chemnitz, the newly crowned capital of culture, The Local, October 29th, 2020, https://www.thelocal.de/20201029/5-things-you-should-know-about-chemnitz-the-newly-crowned-capital-of-culture?fbclid=IwAR17WxLB3cI_izDo3LDnBaq9FmMymtW95DiuMuLZcFwbWDZP7_qERFAw8CQ

October in Varese …. With the joys of a patisserie

Now, one of the pleasures of a Saturday out in Varese, is the opportunity of take a break from the shopping and pause for a visit to a patisserie.

And the town has plenty to offer.

Our choice was  C’Est La Vie, on the Via Giusseppe Garibaldi, which is one of those narrow streets fronted by a row of modern shops, a bank some apartments and a hairdressers called Beautiful.  

But at one end of the street is the Church of Madonnina in Prato, which began as a small shrine which was located  outside the city walls.  

By degree through the 15th into the 18th centuries it was transformed into a church, the entrance of which is protected by a porch and adorned with the statues of San Gioacchino and San Giuseppe.

Sadly none of us took any pictures of the the church, which we know quite well.

And anyway we were there for the cakes which are an art in themselves.

Still there will always be another time.

Location; Varese

Pictures; streets and a patisserie, Varese, 2021 from the collection of Balzano

Grey Days In Manchester …… no.1 .... water and rooftops

So, take an indifferent day in late October, which had promised much but delivered fine intermittent rain.

Not perhaps the best day to go taking a series of pictures of Manchester’s half-forgotten streets.

The project had been to record Fennel Street and Withy Grove as they appear today and weave the images into a story about this bit of the city in the early 20th century.

But the rain rather defeated me, and so after an hour and a series of short tram trips to find more promising and dry locations I gave up.

Location; Cathedral Gardens and Cathedral Street 

Pictures; Water feature, and Grey Roof Tops