the Southern part of the district

 

HolfordFamily Recollections from Wendy, Kenneth and son Steve.
The Holford family remember. Cam & Dursley.
track description time play
1 Kenneth & Wendy courting in the days before mobile phones 1:04
2 Kenneth talking about the shops in the 50’s 1:43
3 Kenneth on the bus – train connection & conscription in the army 1:08
4 Kenneth & the eye specialist at Stroud Hospital. 1:07
5 Kenneth talks about the dairy – the Landsdown Creamery 0:33
6 Steve tells of the Lister’s Fire in Dursley 1:37
7 Wendy remembers the days of steam railways 0:12
PeteCook Pete Cook
track description time play
1 Pete’s dad had a truckers B&B. he remembers pubs and shops in Stone on the A38. Plus the time it took to deliver goods from Cornwall. 1:00
2 Dursley Grammar School and discipline. He got the cane for playing the game of “splits”. 1:46
Dave Webb
track description time play
1 Dave goes to his first school, the church school Dursley . Vivid memories. 2:01
2 Remembering the Forge in Dursley, shops around the Market House & the local copper. 1:08
3 Dave’s grandfather was born in Dursley Workhouse and fought in WW1. 0:39

Bryan Harris		 Bryan Harris
track description time Play
1 Uley community events, and how the playing fields came to be 1:28
2 Funfairs and celebrations in Uley for the end of WW2 with food & fireworks 1:49
3 Jack Meadows the Uley policeman, apprehends a murderer 1:42
4 Uley pubs Kings Head, Top Crown and Bottom Crown & landlords, and what was allowed on a Sunday 1:31
5 No bananas in WW2 and rationing after the war. Lemons auctioned off at 10 shillings a go 0:48
6 Bryans first school in Dursley & teachers 0:33
7 Soldiers in Dursley during WW2 and some shops that they occupied. Belgian and French troops all muddy from Dunkirk 1:32
8 Uley shops, greengrocers – Archie Philips, Jack Norris, Bill Smith, Bill Wood. Petrol at a shilling and tuppence a gallon! 1:41
9 their wanderings and games during school holidays in Uley 1:13
10 how they repaired roads before WW2 , and navvy’s dinner 0:59
11 there were 2 village bands – brass and silver . Bryan was assistant scoutmaster 1:16
12 the bus service from Uley was excellent when Bryan was a school kid 1:03
13 the village fish shop served fourpenny fish until the war . Then Mrs Jones sold wet fish in Dursley 0:32
14 Cadbury collected the local milk for chocolate 0:35
15 the people who delivered milk in Uley 0:27
16 water supplies came from wells and pumps in Uley . Then piped water from a standpipe needed hot water to thaw it in winter 2:05
17 bakers in Uley delivering on horse and cart . How the new cart came to the village . And ever heard of cabbage bread ? 2:00
18 September 3rd 1939 , the phoney war starter . But in Uley they still had a village fair with rides despite the storm 2:09
19 Bryan’s childhood in the 30s & 40s in Uley . They didn’t go short of food though 1:52
20 VE and VJ night was cause for a joyous fete . How Mr Gardner got his nick-name , but he made fireworks for the celebrations 0:45
21 the Uley saw mill and workers were recruited for the war effort during WW2 2:02
22 Bryan lived in Marsh Mill and used unfinished rifle butts for firewood . All wood was called a “ stick ” 1:42
23 Farms around Uley . How Mr Walker died 0:55
24 Churches in Uley . Old fashioned pughs had doors 1:07
25 Sunday school in Uley , they had a summer party every year , with sandwiches and tug-of-war games . Or outings to Weston would take all day 1:13
26 Mr Bloodworth the Uley chapel organist plays “ on Ilkley Moor ba tat ” to fill up the time before the bride and groom arrive for Bryan’s wedding 1:11
27 How to get a coffin to the church during the snows of 1946 – 47 0:38
28 The Uley undertaker , Pa Williams , makes a joke and looses a customer 1:51
29 colours of the local hunts in Uley , and the men who kept the hounds 1:07
30 weather in 1939 / 40 brought the telegraph poles and trees down . 1946 / 7 was also a bad winter 1:11
31 farming changed suddenly at the start of WW2 , and Bryan learned what to wear when stacking corn stoops . But the cider blunted the pain ! Do you know what double summer time was ? 1:48
32 is “ Sheep House ” in Uley or Dursley ? Farms did not use tractors before and during WW2 1:48
33 Uley chapel had “ Bright Hour ” for mothers . There was a reading room for books and games . The Holloway club was a form of health insurance for villagers 0:49
34 Uley had 2 football teams , one dominated by one family . From Easter 1937 he remembers because the chocolate gift was different that year 0:28
35 several Uley shops and the characters running them . The coop came round selling everything including clothes 1:33
36 Jack Norris ran the family shop which became a butchers . Then Bryan lists shops in Dursley like Steels shoe shop and Robinsons for fruit and botting and Bloodworths undertakers 1:31
37 where Whittles kept their shop money after closing to hide it ! 0:20
38 characters in the village who lived the laissez-faire life style 1:09
39 Toby Dobear who worked for colonel Butler 0:47
40 Bill Wood who sold vegetables in the area 0:34
41 Sammy Mills – hen pecked – wins at darts , possibly ! 1:34

Cynthia Jones		 Cynthia Jones
track description time Play
1 Rev Maynard was the vicar in Coaley, and the shops and pubs there 0:56
2 How Cynthia and her husband started the electrical shop in Dursley 1:34
3 Transport in Coaley in the 1930s 0:19
4 Her first school in the 1920s. Remembering teachers, and discipline 0:49
5 Thrupp church and the railcar 0:51
6 Her uncle was a wheelright in Coaley 0:31
7 How the beer & cider were kept. How cider was traditionally drunk 2:04
8 Facilities in the Swan in Coaley ! Pub games they played there but not on a Sunday 2:02
9 Games in the schoolyard and at home 0:53
10 Ladies only allowed in the Snug of the Swan. Ladies wearing trousers were not welcome! 0:55
11 School was organised into “ houses ” , particularly for sports day 0:31
12 Village dances included a Whist Drive 1:13
13 the Home Guard in Coaley on Sunday exercises, ended up in the pub 0:51
14 ANZAC Day rememberence, and Church Parade Sunday 0:45
15 Coaley Feast, was the village fete and carnival. And judging the flower, vegetable and wine entries 1:00
16 the first bus service in Coaley was more like a taxi with free rides for kids. Train excursions to further parts 1:14
17 Miss Taylor the Coaley teacher with a memorable hairstyle 0:44
18 Critch Pope the auctioneer sipping whisky while others did the acution 0:55
19 Tom Margesson, the local vet, drinks tea (?) for breakfast! 0:47
20 Uncle was a carpenter and also the local undertaker / coffin maker. He made the church bier 0:41
21 Fred Jackson had a very modest home but cider was more important 0:55
22 The summer skittle alley at the Swan in Coaley. The game of Farmer’s Nap was a closed shop 1:23
23 spitoons were a reality in Coaley pubs in the 1930s. The inovation of Calor Gas smelled like rotten eggs 0:43
24 Off-licence sales were conducted with a bell at the door 0:39

Doug Marshall		 Doug Marshall
track description time Play
1 Dursley schools in the 1930s and teachers. The three “ houses ” at the Grammar School 1:07
2 Local football clubs, and his cricketing days 0:42
3 Music lessons didn’t last long 0:52
4 Dursley transport services 1:13
5 It was hoped that the Severn rail bridge would be repaired 0:56
6 Swimming in the river Severn and the Sharpness canal 1:03
7 the Severn Bore was an attraction 0:17
8 Cinemas in Stroud, Gloucester but mostly Wotton 0:18
9 Meeting his wife 0:12
10 Dursley policemen; Bill Turner is promoted to inspector. Plus the vicar & the Rag & Bone man 1:13
11 Shops in Dursley and you never forget your army number – Doug didn’t. And he had to play cricket in the regiment’s team against his old club 1:53
12 Doug’s first job before his army call up 0:44
13 Doug’s father worked at Listers, and got promoted during WW2 1:59

Robert McDowel		 Robert Mcdowel
track description time Play
1 Cam school plus teachers, and the endless supply of canes! 0:44
2 Vicar of Upper Cam and the chapel, and a couple of policemen 0:55
3 Boys Brigade, Scouts and Cadet force 0:54
4 Meeting his wife at work. Night life in Dursley 0:49
5 The pubs in Dursley, Cam and Coaley 0:46

Margaret Carter		 Margaret
Carter
track description time Play
1 Early years in Dursley her first school in Knap Lane, but she soon moved back to South Wales. Volunteering in what would be called a charity shop now 1:21
2 Worked in Dursley Coop for 18 years, she remembers shops in town 1:17
3 Walking to Waterly Bottom with a wack of cake. remebering “ Make Do & Mend ” 0:51
4 Coal rationing. The Charity Shop at 15 May Lane 0:45
5 Her car was an Austin 7 in the early 50s. Wouldn’t live anywhere but Dursley 1:06
Thomas Nawrot Thomas
Nawrot
track description time Play
1 Thomas was taken from Poland as forced labour to Germany , delivering coal 0:52
2 Memories from when Thomas first came to Dursley 1:32
3 Working at Listers , as a gantry crane driver , and at Hill Paul , tailoring 1:59
4 Social dances for the Polish people in Dursley , and the traditional dance troupe called Szarotka ( edelweiss ) 1:55
5 Thomas felt at home when he first came . And he could joke about becoming British 1:36