For Full Story

This picture was lent to us by reader Cliff White, and comes from his dad's collection. He thinks it shows an old St Albans character called Pop James, who lived in Cottonmill Lane. Can anyone tell us about Pop?

City's dance

band days live

on in memory

Answers

AREADER Yvonne Ansell (ne Reay) contacted us after reading our question about dance bands from St Albans' past.

She writes: 'I remember the Harmony Aces well - my father, the late Samuel Reay, played in the band on alto saxophone during the war years and beyond, and at one stage became band leader, for how long I cannot remember.

'Other band members I can recall were Bill Brooks, Sid Staff, Ken Goodall, Les Argent, and maybe Joe Davidson and Eddie Jones.

'At the tender age of five to six years I used to go to the Ballito Saturday night dances with my mother (no babysitters then) and watch my dad, and even dance with soldiers, English and American, jitterbugs included - and on one occasion was given some Gum Chum, and was told to stick it behind my ear when fed up with it. Mum was not too pleased upon discovering this the next day, and my hair had to be cut to get rid of the offending gum.

'My father knew Frank Harwood (whom I later danced to in my late teens at the Waterend Barn on Thursday evenings). George Mason, Stan Hunt and Teddy Tibbet were also names I frequently heard mentioned by my dad.

'Many happy years were passed by my dad playing with the Harmony Aces and special memories for myself which I will always treasure.'

What can you remember about the golden era of the dance bands in St Albans? Call Tony on 01727 736054.

AONE reader, who didn't want to leave his name, called in with memories of St Albans going back to the 30's.

He said: 'I remember in the 30's when they had the old court house in the back of the town hall, and every now and again after a big court case they would bring all the convicted criminals out of the big doors and down the steps to a fleet of black Marias, which would take them away to jail. It always used to attract a crowd.

'You were asking about the big ditch which runs in the woodland parallel to Beech Road, and stated that they built a rifle range down there during the Boer War.

'Well, this would make sense because when I was a boy that area was always known as the Butts, which was another word for range.

'I got knocked out in the Butts once, I was there with some pals and we were riding our bikes down one side of the ditch and up the other. I was on a W.H. Smiths red paper boy's delivery bike, which I came off and hit my head against a tree.

'Another reader mentioned the dells up on Bernard's Heath, where the fire station is now. We used to go riding around there on motorbikes - little 50ccs, 'fizzes' we used to call them.

'You were asking about the old St Albans mechanic Ralph Jolly. Well, he also had a place down in Colney Street, where he kept a great big American car called a Cord.

'And in Market Place there were two lovely shops - one called Walton's, a fruiterers, which had a black and chrome shop front, and another called Saunders, which sold stuff like dried beans and bulk sugar. Another one I remember was Maypole the grocers, on the corner of High Street and Market Street.

'My grandad, who was called Alf Willis, looked after pigs and chickens for Josh Pearce. He kept them at an old scrap yard down at the nunnery in Cottonmill.

'He used to collect stale cakes from Lyons in his old wheelbarrow, and feed the pigs with them. That's where we always got a chicken for Christmas from, too. Chicken was a luxury in those days.

'This scrap yard was a wonderful place. As kids we used to root about on it, and would find bits of old aeroplanes, rusty muskets, all sorts.

'Once my grandad was cutting up a float taken off a sea-plane, which ended up at the dump, and a big leech that was in the float stung him on the arm. It swelled up and was very bad for three or four weeks.'

Does any of this ring a bell? What can you remember about this old scrap yard, or the area around the nunnery? Call Tony on 01727 736054.

AREADER Kathleen Seabrook (ne Carter), who lived in Spencer Street until 1939, phoned in with her memories of the street.

She said: 'Looking down Spencer Street from the old town hall end, on the left you had Waterers the tailors, then the offices of Gibbs and Bamforth printers, and a little bakers shop owned by Mr and Mrs Stretch.

'Mrs Stretch used to cook little fancy cakes at the back of her shop - the sort of things that mums couldn't aford to make, like cup cakes.

'Next came three of four little cottages, and a shoe repairer called Perrins, before you came to Cross Street. Then along Cross Street to Dagnall Street, before the church hall was a cycle shed where the workers at Gibbs and Bamforth stored all their bikes.

'Going back up to the top of Spencer Street, and looking down on the right hand side this time, you had John Godfrey's shop, which sold bed linen and curtains, then a gateway leading to the back of Salmons, a very long and narrow shop which sold everything and anything, including fireworks.

'Next there was a little hairdressers, then a big house which two sisters kept. They were grumpy old ladies, and all us children kept out of their way.

'Further along were cottages, and a Mrs Gosling, who always used to feed the pigeons at the town hall. She was a bit of an oddity.

'Then there was another little shop, Freemans the sweet shop, which also sold vegetables out in their back garden.'

What can you remember about the street where you grew up? Call Tony on 01727 736054.

AREADER Evelyn Aldridge phoned in after reading our question about the greengrocers shop on the corner of Cape Road and Castle Road in Fleetville.

She said: 'I moved into Cape Road 44 years ago so I remember many of the people who ran the shop.

'The first owners I can remember were Mr and Mrs Jack Baker, who left to take over Reads in Harpenden High Street, then the shop was taken over by Miss Basford, then Mr and Mrs Southern.

'Next came Mr and Mrs Glover, whom I worked for for a while, then lastly it became a glass shop, Tominey's.

'It has now been turned into two flats.'

What used to be on site of housing estate?

Questions

QWHAT was on the site of the Oysterfields estate in St Albans before all the houses were built?

QCAN any readers remember a lady called Mrs Gosling, who lived in Spencer Street and could always be seen feeding the pigeons outside the Town Hall?

QWHICH city centre pub was nicknamed the Dirty Duck?

QREADER Jim Hind asks: 'Can any readers remember what 555 referred to?'

QREADER Eric Randall, who was in the Scouts during the war with mates Roderick Ward, Jack Cross, Bob Anderson and a young Bickerton, said the Scouts were involved in lots of war work like helping out ARP wardens. How else did local youth movements contribute to the war effort?

QWHAT can readers remember about the Penny Bazaar in Chequer Street, St Albans?

QONE reader remembered that Luptons shop on the corner of Catherine Street and Etna Road used to have the initials 'SPQR' above the door. What did this mean?

QREADER Gordon Myland paid £15 for his first car - an Austin 7, which he bought off someone in Sopwell Lane. He said other popular 'first cars' were Ford V8 Pilots and Moggy 1000's. What were your early motoring days like?

QDOES anyone remember Finley's bike shop in Keyfield Terrace? Which other bike shops can you recall?

QYOU know what they say about the 60's - if you remember them, you must be aged at least 40. What was it like growing up in St Albans during the swinging years? One reader recalled seeing The Rolling Stones play on the same bill as the Everley Brothers and Bo Diddley, at the Odeon in London Road, in about 1963. Do you know of other famous bands that played here?

QTHE phrase 'Sleeping at Mrs Greenfield's' cropped up in a recent conversation with a Nostalgia correspondent. Do you know what it meant?

QCAN any readers remember a character called Pop James, who lived down Sopwell Lane?

QDO any readers remember the old steam wagon, believed to be a Foden, kept at the old gas works on the site of Sainsbury's in Everard Close, St Albans? One reader said it used to deliver coke all over the city.

QVALLEY ROAD, the road leading down to Porters Wood industrial estate in St Albans, used to be known as Soothouse Lane. Do any readers know why? What other road names have changed in your lifetime?

QCAN any readers remember Herbert Warwick, a former band leader of St Albans City Band?

QDO any readers know the origin of the name Garden Fields, used to describe the area around Bernard Street and Grange Street?

QDOES anyone know the piece of local folklore about a character named Jim Brooker, who always walked around in shorts, carrying a briefcase, and who once strapped a load of dynamite to himself and tried to blow up St Albans?

QCAN anyone remember the gun emplacement in Abbots Avenue, off Cottonmill, during the last war? St Julian's Church has been built on the site.

QFAMOUS physicist Professor Stephen Hawking, who wrote A Brief History of Time, was a pupil at St Albans School. What other boys and girls from local schools went on to great things?

QCAN any readers remember the old airfield off the Harpenden Road, set up in the 30's, from which such exotic aircrafts as Tiger Moths used to take off? The airfield was about half-a-mile north from the Ancient Briton, on the right as you head towards Harpenden. The site is currently being developed as a big sports facility.

QOUR question about local nicknames has brought some interesting examples, like the Claybanks, Mobs Hole, the Battlecourse, the Fleapit, Snob's Island and the Dardanelles. Which other long-gone nicknames can you remember?

QDID steam trains ever stop at St Albans train stations? What are your personal memories of the golden age of steam?

QONE reader said there used to be a fire wardens and an ARP look-out station in Ashwell Street, St Albans. Can any readers give us details?

QWhere was Chalk Hill in St Albans? What is there now?

Share your stories

AS a weekly forum for popular social history - a unique service in St Albans - the Nostalgia page relies on calls and letters from readers.

So if you enjoy reading this, and have any memories to share, please do call in.

Any memories are welcome, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. Often it's only by knowing the small details of a subject that we can build up the bigger picture.

You don't have to leave your name if you don't want to. All calls, letters and photos will be considered for publication. Photos will, of course, be returned.

If you have any answers to any questions listed here, or any questions of your own, call Tony Drexler on 01727 736054. Don't worry about the cost - we'll call you right back.

Or write to Questions and Answers at Observer Newspapers, The William Henry Building, Porters Wood, St Albans AL3 6PQ.