Sunday, 13 May 2018

More Memories of Carshalton


Carshalton Women's Social Group Brighton Beach outing 1928
My wife is at far left on her mother's lap and I am in the front row, third from the left


I was happily surprised to learn that the good folks at Historic Carshalton had shown such interest in my depression era childhood ramblings. I’m not sure if that means I should now regard myself as an historian … or a relic.

I’ve spent some time jotting down more memories of Carshalton that I’d like to share with you.

A favourite haunt for the gents of Carshalton was The Conservative Club on Stanley Park Road. It was your standard British social club where card games went on for hours, along with lively snooker matches. In fact notable snooker players were known to visit the club and put on shows for the members.

There were also sing-alongs.  Even my future father-in-law, a natural introvert, was known to break into song on occasion.

Speaking of my father-in-law, it’s part of family lore that his lovely wife, piqued at the amount of time her husband spent at the club, knocked on the club’s door one evening and demanded to speak to her spouse.

When he came to see what the fuss was about, she handed him a plate and scowled “You spend so much time here, you may as well have your dinner here” before marching back home.

The mothers of pre-war Carshalton were also a very social bunch.  They were celebrated for their Whist Drives, where games were played at each other’s homes for pennies a game with the proceeds going towards outings for poor children to Box Hill and excursions to the seaside.  My Aunt Dolly spent a lot of time arranging Whist Drives - I believe she was a big fan of both card playing and kids.

The mums also had a group that got together over tea and arranged outings (with the children, of course) to exotic places like Brighton.

As you can see from the picture gracing this missive, we’re talking a fair-sized group. No doubt head counts had to be taken before setting off for home.

Someone at Historic Carshalton recalled The Crystal Palace going up in flames in 1936. That really was a night to remember.  I was 11 years old and watched the inferno from my bedroom window. It seemed so close and lit up the whole room.

Since Croydon airfield was nearby, bomb raids were common during the war. This gave us ample opportunity to participate in the hobby of foraging for shrapnel. The shells from the anti-aircraft guns would explode high in the air and rain searing hot shards of steel to the ground.

While most were small jagged pieces of iron, not all could easily fit in your fist. Some chunks were quite large and could do real damage. As soon as the all-clear sounded, boys would scour the streets and gutters in search of precious shrapnel.

Trading pieces and admiring each other’s collections became quite a social activity.  Alas, this fun came to an end when the government began commandeering the shrapnel when metal became in short supply.

Movies played a big role in our young lives, especially the thrilling serials. We could barely wait for the next instalment.  There were three theatres in Carshalton back then – the Gaiety, Gaumont and Granada. By the time I left, the Gaumont and Granada had moved to Sutton and only the Gaiety remained (later to turn into a musical variety hall – my wife and I went there the evening of our wedding in 1948).  Sadly, I hear none of them exist now.

The most impressive movie house was the County Cinema in Sutton. A great memory was the annual Christmas parties held for children from poorer families at “the County” where you’d see a film, enjoy a feast and receive a token gift, such as a pen.

An equally important place for Carshalton youngsters during my time was the Band of Hope Hall on Stanley Road. Not only was it the home base for the Boy Scout troop (and Brownies for the girls) but they had magic lantern shows of travelogues, movies and religious tales.  One memorable showing was Paul Robeson singing from the movie “Sanders of the River”. A quick check on the internet reveals that movie was released in 1935.

Of course a certain neighbourhood lad became a singing star himself quite a while after I had left Carshalton, although one of my younger sisters went to school with him. Cliff Richard, excuse me, SIR Cliff Richard resided in a house on Windborough Road. I wonder if there’s a plaque commemorating his residence in the modest home.

I hope the glorious lavender fields still flourish. Who doesn’t recall the sweet smell? When I was growing up in Carshalton a local company called Pannett & Neden ran a lucrative business of harvesting and selling packets of herbs and marketing lavender talcum powders and perfumes.

The street I grew up in had previously consisted of tenement houses that were torn down for our “new” housing development to be built. Our council houses weren’t fancy by any means, but they were an improvement on the tenements to be sure!  I remember my father taking the rent money down to the council offices, which were near the Carshalton Ponds.

When I was overseas during the war I would tell my non-English crew members I was from Carshalton Beeches and they'd ask "Are they sandy or pebbly?" I didn’t have the heart to tell them Carshalton was miles from the sea but did say “Actually, they're leafy”.

Once I returned from the war and joined the London police force, my wife and I moved away from Carshalton to London and then eventually to Toronto, Canada.  We managed to visit every few years and my children had the opportunity to enjoy Carshalton.

For many years, and through a few moves, we had a wood-framed map entitled The Village of Carshalton hanging in the house. It showed all the places of interest - well, they were of interest to me and I’m sure they would be to you.

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