Web Page No 2729

 

3^rd October 2020

 

 

The Rec.

 

 

I have no contemporary photos of the Rec so those below are all circa 2019

 

1^st Picture; A 2019 view of the Farlington Avenue Rec

2^nd Picture: The Farlington Avenue entrance

3r Picture: The Grant Road entrance

 

 

 

Many of us, when we were kids had an area we played in called The Rec, short for the recreation ground. Over the years many of these areas have disappeared usually built on. However, the one that we used most in our area is still there and it is still a green open play space, albeit rather changed from when we knew it.

 

This Rec can be seen in the first picture and is situated between Farlington Avenue on the west, the Water Works property at the bottom (south), Grant Road to the east and what is now Blake Road to the north. When we first knew the area the Rec stretched from the Waterworks property at the bottom right up the hill to the farmers’ corn fields at the top of Portsdown Hill. The area was rough scrub with an area of mown grass in the middle, just right for games and adventures. At the bottom of the rec was the metal scaffold type frame of a children’s swing, unfortunately there was no seat on it and so an old length of rope with a knot in it had been thrown over the top of the frame as an improvised swing. Also, the frame came in for use as a climbing fame and I think that many of us have fallen off it at one time or another. Another feature of this part of the rec was the drinking fountain. This was an upright thing with a twist grip handle to open the tap. Very unhygienic, but we all used it! My lasting memory of this fountain was that it was set on a concrete base but the surrounding area was always wet and muddy.

 

 

The major feature of this field was what we called the bomb hole. This was a large area that had been blown out of the rec when a German bomb exploded in the field.

 

The event occurred at 02.20 am on Good Friday morning 11th April 1941when a Parachute Mine dropped in the rec. One assumes that the target must have been the water works settling and filtration tanks further along the hill. This actually, was one of only three major bombing hits in Farlington that night; the others being in Second Avenue and Hardy Road. This raid resulted in 20 dead and 30 injured, 50 houses destroyed, 450 Houses damaged and 200 persons made homeless, the Gas Main was hit and caught fire. As far as I am aware there were no casualties from the bomb in the rec. But we knew nothing of this and the rec was just a great place to play in and it still is. Today as you can see from the photographs the rec is neat and tidy and much smaller than it was. BUT it is still there and is still used by the locals including some ex school friends as part of their regular walks.

 

Of all the areas of Portsmouth, Farlington received relatively few heavy bombing raids.

6th, December 1940; @ 1929 Hrs, 3 x High Explosive bombs fell on Eastern Road/First Avenue area, an Oil Bomb fell near No 28 Second Avenue and most of Mr. Copsey's Greenhouses badly shattered.

Good Friday 11th April 1941: As above

Thursday August 20th 1942, 2310 Hrs; 200Yds West of Drayton Lane, 2 x High Explosive bombs fell in grounds of Drayton Farm causing a fire in the barn.   This does not include the small incendiary bombs. We had one of these in the roof of the family home. The burnt-out shell (it had been extinguished before it could get a hold) remained in the roof until my parents moved in 1968.   When the farmer sold some of his land in the late 1950’s Blake Road was built which cut the rec in half and this was followed by the building of the Royal Naval housing estate. This changed the profile of the wildlands of Portsdown Hill for ever!     Stay in touch   Peter   gsseditor@gmail.com   You Write:   News and Views:   On this day 3rd October 1960 - 1965

On 03/10/1960 the number one single was Tell Laura I Love Her - Ricky Valance and the number one album was Tottenham Hotspur. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68.  Worst flooding in Southern England since 1953. The big news story of the day was No Hiding Place (AR).

 

On 03/10/1961 the number one single was Kon-Tiki - The Shadows and the number one album was The Shadows - Shadows. The top rated TV show was Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ATV) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 03/10/1962 the number one single was Telstar - The Tornadoes and the number one album was Best of Ball Barber & Bilk. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 03/10/1963 the number one single was She Loves You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Dam malfunction kills 2000 in Italian flood

 

On 03/10/1964 the number one single was Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

 

On 03/10/1965 the number one single was Tears - Ken Dodd and the number one album was Help - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.