< Web Page 3031 25th May 2024 Adventures by bike First Picture: Dead Mans Wood

Second Picture: Hayling Sand Dunes

Third Picture; Ports Creek

Fourth Picture Portsdown Hill Talking to Willie Westcott the other day he came out with the statement that we would not have grown without our bicycles. Most of us had two one for everyday use and one fixed wheel one for use on the local dirt tracks, one on the hill and one on the old allotment site that was on the site where the school was eventually built. Locally we would tour the local chalk pits the two in Drayton Lane and the one in Gillman Road. The large chalk pit at the top of Drayton Lane had a an area where, those who were brave enough, could cycle over the edge and down a slope to the bottom. Quite an exhilarating experience but you also stood the chance of falling off and we all did at one time or another. The smaller chalk pit up this lane only supplied a dirt track but was patrolled by the hermit who lived in the green corrugated iron within the small pit. The pit at the top of Gillman Lane was a totally different matter. This was overgrown and creepers and ivy covered the wall and we spent many hours climbing through the branches seeking out birds nests and cutting secret tunnels through the undergrowth, Whilst talking about this area I must mention the little thicket just on top of the hill. This had memorial stones I it and was known locally as Dead Mans Wood even though no bodies were interred there. The undergrowth was covered with moss bracken and ferns between the trees. On a visit back there a couple of years ago, it is now part of the golf course , the trees are still there but the ground area has been manicured and is far too tidy. Very disappointing. The hill was our playground especially before they built the naval estate. We would spend days on our bikes and cycle out to Hambledon, Droxford and Old Winchester Hill. We would also go in the other direction Havant, Emsworth and Torney Island. I suppose the most popular ride in the summer was to Hayling Island to spend time on the beach, in the sea and among the now long-gone sand dunes. A great time was had by all. We took a packed lunch and a bottle of Corona. After a day on the beach we them faced the cycle home and believe me if just a minute piece of sand remained on your lower body and lodged itself between your skin and underwear when you reached home you could be suffering with a very sore undercarriage. One other thing the bike came in useful for was fishing. I would tie a garden fork to the cross bar along with my fishing rod and my tackle in my duffle bags and cycle down to Portscreek. The down side was that I had to cycle there in my wellies because the bait we had to dig, lugworm, lived in the mud in the creek which meant wading out there with the garden fork and digging them out by hand. Then it was onto the Eastern Road bridge to start fishing. I was never very good at this part of the operation in fact I only ever remember catching one small fish and dozens of tiny crabs in the whole of my fishing career. Griff Writes Ah! Jetex that's a name that brings back memories for me. As Peter mentioned in his last blog that these Jetex motors were very common in the 50's 60's 70's as a power plant for model aircraft and plastic bodied racing cars. Wynn's toyshop in Drayton use to sell these Jetex kits and if memory serves me correctly they were 2/6d. (12-1/2p) for a basic kit which was at least weeks pocket money for me at the time. Solid fuel pellets within an aluminium case and you lit the fuse that you had to pull out without burning your fingers to enable the motor to provide rocket thrust of about 8 to 10 seconds through a pinhole exhaust which was just enough thrust time to get your model aircraft airborne trailing a puff of white exhaust smoke. Many a happy flying day for me at the Farlington Eastern Rd. playing fields. Jetex kits are still around and making a nostalgic comeback but the price is around £40 for the full set. That's inflation for you. Regards to Everyone Melvyn (Griff) Griffiths. Stay in touch Peter GSSEDITOR@gmail.com /b>

Web Page 3029 20th May 2024 First Picture: Mobo Snail

Second Picture: Mobo Horse

Third Picture; Mobo Jeep

Fourth Picture Jetex fuel

Mobo Toys MOBO TOYS' were made by D. SEBEL & CO., ERITH, KENT, ENGLAND from 1947 to 1972. David Sebel had emigrated from Russia in 1912 and set up in partnership as a Wheelwright in East London in 1921. In 1928 he moved the Company to Lant Street with the take over of a firm, Hazeldine & Norton, of Wheelwright's & Motor Body and Van Builders. Interestingly the house next door had been the residence of Charles Dickens when his parents were in the Marshalsea Debtor's Prison. In the 1930's they expanded into Architectural metalwork and other engineering projects. Also producing street cleaning carts, milk churns and fronts for Cinemas. In 1931 Harry Sebel, David's son, joined the firm starting from the bottom up. During the Second World War the Company turned over to war work and several local premises were used for their production of aircraft and tank components, bunks for air raid shelters, bailey bridge components and even a tower for an experimental radar station. In the early 1940's Harry was looking to the future and realised the need to expand the company and find work for the existing workforce and those which had been called up. After much research it was decided to go into metal furniture, under the Trade name Stak-a-Bye and into the toy business. But what to make which would be different from anyone else. Harry had the idea of a Rocking Horse which the rider could propel along themselves. Basic plans were drawn up and a mock up was made using bicycle gears. To get an idea of what the finished product would look like a Taxidermist in Piccadilly was approached for a horse hide, the only thing he had was from a Zebra so that was used. The prototype Zebra was around at the Erith factory for several years. A Patent was taken out in 1942 for the basic mechanism. Later Charles Morewood, was commissioned to sculpt the clay body of what became the Mobo Bronco. The steel furniture business was set up in 1946 from the Weller Street side of the premises, a name which was used at the Erith factory to denote the furniture production building. The Lant Street premises were not going to be big enough for the toy and furniture business envisaged and so the ex Vickers Gun Works at West Street, Erith, Kent were purchased in February, 1947. As the intention was to produce everything in-house from the arrival of the raw material to the finished product, the full kitting out of the factory with large presses, dip tanks, spray booths, etc. took a while. Toy production did not start at Erith until September, 1947. The name 'Mobo' came from a brain-storming session when 'Mobile Toys' had been rejected. The clown on the decal was due to an interest in the Circus by the David Sebel. The Circus theme was used in a lot of their Exhibition Stands and advertising. A tin clown was designed but never went into production. The most well known toy is the BRONCO, the ride-on horse. It works by the rider sitting on the horse and pushing down on the stirrups, then releasing them and then the horse moves along. From 1947 to 1950 the Bronco could only be steered in a straight line, but in February, 1950 Magic Steering was introduced. This enabled the rider by pushing on either stirrup to move the horse in that direction. The Broncho was so popular that it stayed in production until 1971. The body pressings were also used for a series of other toys SPRING HORSE (PRAIRIE KING), NIGHT RIDER, PRAIRIE PRANCER, RANGE RIDER two different types produced, ROCKING HORSE, & BRONCHO MERRY GO ROUND. The colours came from 'market research' with the local school children yellow and red being the favourite. These children were also used for photo shoots for advertising and testing the toys. In 1949 the 'Walking SNAIL' was introduced at the New York Toy Fair, also at the same fair the 'PONY' was first shown. The 'Pony' pressings went on to be used on several different toys. The American Market was an amazing success for the MOBO Company. In 1948 they exported to the USA half of the total toy exports of ALL British Toy Companies. At this time Britain was recovering from the Second World War and steel was rationed according to the amount of goods exported. Mobo never had any trouble obtaining supplies because of their excellent export record. A New York office had been opened in 1948 and an American subsidiary formed Sebel Products Inc. Other major markets were Australia and South Africa. A Showroom & Office had been opened at 39/41 New Oxford Street, London W.C.1 in September, 1945. Other toys produced included Prams, Bicycles, Desks, Wheelbarrows, Rockers, Swings, Scooters and from 1956 Pedal Cars. In 1951 Harry & David emigrated to Australia and set up a factory at Sydney. Here they produced both Toys and Furniture. The components were shipped from Erith and assembled and painted at Bankstown. The Australian company decided in 1957 to concentrate on the furniture business and so toy production was stopped. In 1955 the Toy Boat business of Harold Flory Ltd., of Bromley, Kent was taken over. They produced the SNIPE, SWIFT, ST. CHRISTOPHER Motor Boats, the SPRITE YACHT, and the SNORT SUBMARINE, also Toy Cars. The boats were continued in production by Mobo's. Jetex, the Model Aircraft Engine business was purchased in 1956. Besides a range of Jet propelled engines they also produced model kits for aircraft and a plastic boats and cars for the Jetex engine. The mid 1960's saw an introduction of toys made from injection moulded plastic and the importation of a range of plastic Pedal cars from Pines of Italy. By the late 1960's the British toy industry was having a difficult time due to cheap imports from the Far East. When John Bentley of Barclay Securities made an offer to purchase the Company in 1970 it was taken up. The Barclay Toy Group was formed to which Chad Valley, Charles Methuen and Tri-ang were added in 1971. Unfortunately the overheads of the Group meant that losses were still being made and a major reorganisation took place in 1972 with the Erith Works being closed and all production of all Mobo Toys ceasing. The site is now a large housing estate.

Web Page 3027 11th May 2024 First Picture: William Pink

Second Picture: Pinks shop Petersfield

Third Picture; Pinks shop Portsmouth

Fourth Picture Sugar in blue bags

Pinks I suspect that many of our mothers would have, at one time or other shopped in Pinks Grocery store, there always seemed to be one near wherever you lived. William Pink was born on December 15th 1829 at Durley, near Botley he was a farmer's son. The Pinks were a notable Hampshire family having their family seat, for over 300 years, at Kempshott Park near Basingstoke. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a greengrocer at Winchester. During the Crimean War period he worked in London for the prestigious grocery firm of Fortnum & Mason thereby gaining extra experience of the retail trade. Returning to Portsmouth in 1858 he opened his first shop at the corner of Surrey Street and Commercial Road. He stood for the Council in 1868 and, with but a two year hiatus, served his borough for thirty-six years. By 1866 the business was firmly established and William Pink began to devote a greater part of his time to public duties , first as a Councillor and then serving as Lord Mayor for five terms. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1891 and made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour for his services in entertaining the officers of the French fleet which visited Portsmouth the same year. In 1887 William Pink took his three sons into partnership - Ernest, Harold and Victor . Harold followed his father into public affair s as well and was Mayor three times. He was knighted in 1919 for wartime duties. The partnership was changed into a limited company in 1912 with Sir Harold Pink as Chairman and his son Frank as Secretary, After the First World War Frank Pink became Managing Director of the company and expanded it into a very prosperous concern with forty ¬ two branches. Frank Pink did not involve himself in civic affairs but his son Ralph Bonner Pink did , becoming Lord Mayor in 1961 and Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South in 1966, holding the constituency until his death in 1984. Our nearest Pink store was on the Havant Road in Drayton. To me it always seemed rather dull and dreary inside. But here you could see the shop assistants making up blue paper bags to serve sugar in, or a whole cheese being cut with a cheese wire. Many items were sold loose or individually sultanas, butter beans and dried peas being examples. There was also wine counter where, if you brought your own bottles, your folks could buy loose wine or sherry. Another popular sight in the shop was when the assistant took up the butter bays and moulded it into half pound blocks. I also remember that all the cash transactions where undertaken by a lady sat in a cash booth in the back of the shop. These were the days when there was always a chair by the counter for the customer. I am getting old. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail/com

Web Page 3025 4th May 2024 Max Bygraves First Picture: Publicity photograph

Second Picture: Max, Tommy Cooper and Arthur Askey

Third Picture; Max and Blossom

Fourth Picture : LP Cover

Max Bygraves, died aged 89 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease, was an all-round entertainer: a mischievously smiling raconteur, a full-throated and sentimental singer, a television host and a reluctant gameshow compere. He always kept the persona of a cheerful cockney stevedore, smart-alecky but good-natured, with a reassuringly imposing presence and the sort of innocent bawdiness that would not upset anyone. The persona was entirely suited to the voice, the expansive arm gestures and the chummily unemphatic manner that absolved jokes that in another mouth might have been offensive. He was born Walter William Bygraves into a large family in Rotherhithe, to Henry Bygraves, a prizefighter who became a docker, and his wife, Lilian. The family lived in a two-room flat and money could be scarce. Max Bygraves wrote in a memoir. Henry tended to fend off his young son's questions about life and sex with jokes. When, in early adolescence, the boy asked him why hair was beginning to grow on his body, his father told him it was God's punishment for his misdeeds: "You're turning into a coconut." He attended St Joseph's school, Rotherhithe, and sang with his school choir at Westminster Cathedral. When his father dressed him up in an old army cap, gave him a broom for a rifle and got him to sing a popular song in front of an audience of dockers, the collection for him was large enough to encourage the thought of a career in show business. However, after leaving school at 14, he went into an advertising agency, WS Crawford, as a messenger, ferrying copy to newspapers and popping into the Holborn Empire to see variety acts whenever he could afford it. When the advertising industry slumped at the beginning of the war, he got a job as a carpenter's apprentice and built air-raid shelters. After being blown off a roof he was repairing during an air raid, he decided to volunteer for the RAF in 1940 and served as an airframe fitter for five years and. He met a sergeant in the WAAF, Blossom Murray, and they married in 1942. Together, they had three children, Christine, Anthony and Maxine. Stationed near Kew he started entertaining the troops and performed in pubs, doing impressions of Frank Sinatra, the Inkspots and Max Miller (earning him the nickname Max, which he kept). By the time the war ended, he had resolved to turn professional. At the Grand theatre, Clapham, he was spotted by the agent Gordon Norval, who got him six weeks' work. Further engagements followed but the going was tough. Despite their love of Britain, he and Blossom had just decided to emigrate to Australia when a letter arrived from the BBC asking him to repeat the audition act he had recently given. This earned him an appearance in the radio series They're Out, which featured other entertainers such as Spike Milligan, Jimmy Edwards, Frankie Howerd, Harry Secombe and Benny Hill. In 1946 he did a touring revue, For the Fun of It, with Frankie Howerd. He had another radio hit in the 1950s, performing in the comedy Educating Archie, written by Eric Sykes. Meanwhile, the London Palladium had become something like his professional home. He made his debut there in 1950, after he was seen at the Finsbury Park Empire by the leading impresario Val Parnell and was asked to stand in for the comedian Ted Ray at the Palladium. He appeared in 14 shows there over a period of 10 years and eventually starred in 19 Royal Variety Performances. After the first of these, in 1950, Judy Garland asked him to appear with her at the Palace theatre in New York where, wrongly, he did not expect his cockney humour to register. He was naturally laidback and worked on perfecting the art of unforced pace on stage. His gags went over better than ever; from then on, his delivery was always apparently casual. He regarded his catchphrases as better value than a press agent, and lines such as "A good idea, son" and "I wanna tell you a story" became national property. Like many variety big earners, he was sometimes taken for a ride but he also made some shrewd business decisions. His company Lakeview Music bought the rights to Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! for £350 and he made a fortune when he sold them on for £250,000. In the 50s, he had reached the Top 5 with the singles Meet Me on the Corner, You Need Hands/Tulips from Amsterdam and Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'o Be. He published a novel, The Milkman's on His Way, in 1977. His autobiography, I Wanna Tell You a Story, appeared the previous year, and further memoirs followed, including After Thoughts (1989), Max Bygraves: In His Own Words (1997) and Stars in My Eyes: A Life in Show Business (2002). In his later years he settled into a routine of overseas shows, especially in South Africa, which he had often visited before the end of apartheid, protesting that an entertainer should not concern himself with politics. Personally, he was generous to family, friends and old associates and worked for theatre charities. He relocated to Australia from Poole, Dorset,. Blossom died in 2011. Max Bygraves died 31 August 2012 and is survived by his children and several grandchildren.

Web Page 3021 20th April 2024 Patrica Hayes First Picture: Early publicity picture

Second Picture: Edna the inebriated woman

Third Picture: With Irene Handl and Warren Mitchel

Fourth Picture : With Benny Hill

Patricia Lawlor Hayes OBE was born on 22th December 1909 and fame in many stage and television dramas as well as regular appearance in both TV and Radio comedy shows. She was born in Streatham the daughter of George Frederick Hayes and Florence Alice Hayes. Her father was a clerk in the civil service and her mother was a schoolmistress. As a child, she attended the Sacred Heart School in Hammersmith. In 1928 she graduated from RADA and then spent the next 10 years in repertory theatre. She became an actress because her mother had been stage struck so attended RADA and won a gold medal but despite that she was out of work for a year. An early success was as Ruby in Getting Married at St Martins Theatre in 1938, As a small child she was sent to an acting teacher who taught her to recite The Murder of Nancy Drew by Charles Dickens and used to recite it in childrens competitions and win prizes She was featured in many radio and television comedy shows between 1940 and 1996, including Hancock's Half Hour, Ray's a Laugh, The Arthur Askey Show, The Benny Hill Show, Bootsie and Snudge, Hugh and I and Till Death Us Do Part. She played the part of Henry Bones in the BBC Children's Hour radio programme Norman and Henry Bones, the Boy Detectives from 1943 to 1965. She also played the part of the saucy boy in several early radio shows. She was cast in supporting roles for films including The Bargee (1964), The NeverEnding Story (1984), A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and was also featured as Fin Raziel in the Ron Howard film Willow (1988). Her most substantial television appearance was in the title role of Edna, the Inebriate Woman (Play for Today, 1971) for which she won a BAFTA award. She provided the character voice for comedy puppet performances for television programmes such as Gran (Woodland Animations, 1982). She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews. In April 1975, she was interviewed by Roy Plomley for Desert Island Discs. A sizeable, yet incomplete, extract is available to listen to and download via the programme's website on the BBC. In 1977, she appeared on the BBC's long running TV variety show The Good Old Days; she had been an early member of the Players' Theatre in London, an old time music hall club, from the 1950s onwards. In 1985, she starred in the title role of the TV play Mrs Capper's Birthday by Noël Coward. She was the mother of British actor Richard O'Callaghan (born Richard Brooke) by her marriage to Valentine Brooke, whom she divorced. She never remarried. She was formerly the head of the British Catholic Stage Guild, which her son later chaired. She was awarded an OBE in 1987. Patricia Hayes died in September, 1998 in Puttenham but she appeared posthumously in the 2002 film Crime and Punishment which had been filmed in 1993, but delayed because of a legal case. She is buried at Watts Cemetery, Compton, Surrey. She had become one of the best known ‘also rans’ on television and the cinema screen. Stay in Touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

Web Page 3119 13th April 2024 First Picture: Sheath Knife

Second Picture; Catapult

Third Picture: ex WW2 handgranade

Fourth Picture; Winchester Riflee Weapons We must have lived a charmed or sheltered life but as a group we never came across the weapons that seemed to be around in todays schools and youth clubs. Most boys in our year carried a pen or pocket knife as these were useful for sharpening pencils or whittling away at twigs and sticks. For most boys who were in the Boy Scouts a sheath knife was normally an essential part of the uniform and were carried on the scout belt. We had access to all these knives but there was never any thought of attacking someone with them and murder was not in our vocabulary at the time. However I do remember that the Mods and Rockers and the Teddy Boys normally carried flick knives, but I never personally came across these although there were gangs around in Portsmouth. Most of us lads had or made their own catapult, many of us would search the local trees or bushes for suitable Y shaped branches we could cut out and attach some strong elastic to. For some folks, who had more pocket money the most of us, they could go to the local tuck shop or Wynns toy shop in Drayton and purchase an aluminium catapult with the elastic fixed to the forks. I could never afford one of these so homemade catapults had to serve for both myself and my friends. One other weapon that could be homemade was the sling shot. It may have been ok for the likes of David in the Old Testament when he slayed Goliath. However, neither I or any of my friends could ever work how to make the sling work properly. There is another weapon that I think when we became over 12 years of age we could buy over the counter. This was either the air pistol or air rifle, using pellets or darts, the makes that I remember are Diana and BSA. Very few boys actually owned an air gun, I was never allowed to own one which is ironic because one day whilst rooting through one of the sheds we had in the back garden, there were two sheds, one in use and the other in a derelict state. During this rooting session with a friend in the derelict one we came across an ex-World War Two army Winchester rifle this was about 1959 so it must have been there since the war and left there by the previous occupants of the house, we moved in I946. On taking it indoors my mother was horrified and that evening she insisted that my father take it to Cosham police station. I never did work out how he got it there as at that we did not have a car so he must have wrapped it up and taken it there on the bus. The mind boggles! The story does not end here because a couple of years later another friend and I discovered half a dozen or more hand grenades and shells buried in his back garden but it was up to his father to dispose of them. I understand that this particular garden, which was part of market garden, was the wartime ammunition dump for Drayton’s Home Guard during the war under the leadership of Captain Copsey. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com