August 2008 Archives

A CHESTER lollipop lady was surprised to see a photograph of herself in a recent Nostalgia feature on Boughton St Paul's School.

Mona Concannon, known as Monica, spotted the photo in our feature on the history of the school which closed in July as part of Cheshire County Council's Transforming Learning Communities.

She was lollipop lady at the school when it was on the corner of Hoole Lane and what was Richmond Terrace.

Monica, who turned 80 in July, has fond memories of her time at the school and of headmistress Miss Cornelia Graham.

"It was a wonderful school and I loved the job," she said. "Every holiday time I would give every child a little present.

"At Easter it would be an Easter egg, at Christmas time a bag of sweets and in the summer a lollipop."
At the time Monica lived in Newton with her husband Michael and three sons.

She now lives in Handbridge and has six grandchildren and great grandchildren, one of which is due mid-August.

"I used to be invited to go on school trips and remember a lovely day out at the zoo," she added.
She even helped the children learn to swim on a Saturday morning at the City Baths.

"Every Friday on the way home from school the children would say: 'Mrs Concannon, will you be at the baths tomorrow?' and I would be there."

Monica originates from County Clare in Ireland and moved to Chester when she was 21. She worked at Williams and Williams on Liverpool Road before getting married.

Gerry Lynch, an ex-Portite who has lived in Canada since 1954, describes a narrow escape in wartime air attack. This photo was taken on the day he left Ellesmere Port for a new life in Canada in 1954. He is pictured with his mother on the steps of the family home at 87 Park Road.

Gerry describes of the night a bomb fell near his old home in Ellesmere Port during the Second World War. He wrote: "On the night of May 3/4 in 1941, at the height of the bombing of Merseyside, a bomb fell in front of 87 Park Road.

"I am looking for evidence that will confirm details regarding this incident. Here is a summary of what I know about this incident so far from my personal experience and research records.

"I was aged eight at the time. My brother, myself and my mother were all in bed when I heard the apparent whistle of a screaming bomb that was about to fall in front of our house.

"Upon impact we all got up and were walking on broken plaster that had fallen from the ceiling as a result of damage that had been done to the house. I remember all the soot which had come down the chimney and the cracks from the plaster of the walls.

"Luckily, there were no broken windows, and we preceded downstairs to the living room area.
"I recall hearing my mother ask an air-raid warden where the bomb had fallen. He told her it was on our front door step!

"The bomb had landed in the centre of the road in front of our house and close to the intersection of Park Road and Green Lane.

"It was a coincidence that some 150ft away from my house there was an ARP shelter. I remember crowds of neighbours on the streets standing around in front of the crater left by the bomb.

"It seemed to take up the width of the road and the water main people came out to deal with the damaged utilities about 2am.

"Across the street there were two houses which were damaged and had to be demolished and rebuilt.
"There are many stories which came from that night.

"I remember my Godmother, Mrs Rose, of 6 Green Lane, who was also an air-raid warden.
"She was on her way down to the air-raid wardens' station at the time and decided to drop in and see Mrs Davis at 5 Green Lane.

"She heard the scream of the bomb and managed to dive under the kitchen table prior to impact.
"She believed that if she had continued walking to the ARP shelter she might have been fatally injured.

"At the same time my dad, who had been on a nine-day leave in Ellesmere Port, was returning to Scotland to join the 5th Seaforth Highlanders Regiment. We thought he was well on his way to Scotland. However, during the air raid, he was trapped at Lime Street Station in Liverpool.

"He was out in the alleyway when bomb blasts forced him to go back inside. Little did he know that a bomb had also just landed in front of his house in Park Road.

"While he was at Lime Street Station he recalled hearing a loud explosion which was likely the munitions ship Malakand which had just exploded on the south west side of the Huskisson number 2 dock.

"Incidentally, there is still visual evidence of exactly where the bomb hit the road and where it has been re-paved over the years. My son Peter observed this in 1996.

"There are several accounts from people of this event but I have not been able to find any photographic reference of the crater.

"I'm looking for photographs taken by various authorities or any individuals documenting the bomb damage which took place in front of my house.

"I'd like to see what records the Royal Engineers and local Civil Defence may have regarding the incident.
"I'd also like to contact the German Luftwaffe to see if they can shed any light on the matter; for example who were the pilots and crew who dropped the bomb during this raid.

"I'd also like to find out what type of plane and bomb it was.
''And are any of the pilots involved in this bombing still alive and could they be tracked down?

"I have seen reconnaissance records of aerial views taken from the German Luftwaffe's surveillance photographs in various publications.''

If you can help Gerry out with any information about the bomb in Park Road you can contact him on gerryevertonlynch@yahoo.ca

Today, Chester Zoo is the jewel in the crown of the city's tourist attractions, but a new book has revealed the storm of protest and legal wranglings that threatened its creation.

Reared in Chester Zoo tells the story of June Williams, née Mottershead, whose father George founded the zoo in 1931 when June was only five.

Now 82, she has set the record straight on the troubled history of her father's creation in the book, written by Crewe-born author Janice Madden over the past two years.

Janice now lives in Australia but made two journeys to Chester to meet June, as well as speaking to her regularly on the phone.

June tells how, having established an aviary and zoological gardens in Shavington near Crewe, Mr Mottershead set his sights on a picturesque, 11-acre site which included The Oakfield House.

But after paying £3,500 for it in 1930 and announcing his bold vision, Mr Mottershead faced fierce opposition from residents and councils.

Local children would even throw stones at June as she walked home and a petition was handed to the council containing the signatures of hundreds of local residents.

After hearing from people who feared the arrival of wild tigers, lions and "people of mixed types" in then rural Upton, Chester Rural District Council and the Chester Town Planning Committee refused to consider the proposal.

Mr Mottershead promptly hired a barrister for an appeal at Chester Town Hall on February 6, 1931.

Under cross-examination from the town clerk, he responded to fears Upton would be overrun with visitors.
"If people came in hundreds and thousands, I would raise the entrance fee," was his astute response.

As the hearing continued an estate agent, Colonel Brown, was asked if he thought the zoological gardens would benefit Chester as an attraction.

He replied: "Oh, I don't think you could expect a very large number of people coming to Chester because of The Oakfield."

After hearing numerous representations, the town planning authority and the rural district council concluded The Oakfield was not a suitable place for a zoo and aviary.

The president of Upton Women's Institute and the chairman of Upton Parish Council also gave evidence against the application.

Mercifully, the Ministry of Health granted the zoo permission to open on March 13, 1931, subject to conditions agreed upon with the City of Chester which further delayed the opening until June.

Chester City Council drew up the conditions, including one barring signs advertising the zoo. Only one sign could be erected and that was to be at the entrance.
June says they found ways to get around the legislation.

"Because council workers weren't working during the holiday, we put signs out at the start of the bank holiday and took them down the night before they came back to work," she explained.

"The biggest thrill for many years after was when you saw 'Chester Zoo' on signposts."

The zoo failed to make a profit until 1944 when a lion enclosure was opened.

"We were just getting on our feet and it was getting established, then war started in 1939," adds June.
Mr Mottershead went on to buy three farms and 26 houses as the zoo expanded to its present 500-acre site.
June says: "My father bought as much land as he could to stop it being used for urban development."
He was made president of the International Zoological Society in 1962 and in 1963 the zoo achieved its first million visitors over a year when the tropical house was opened.

PUPILS at Crewe Grammar School in the 1960s were partial to a game of footie writes Russell Gregory.

This photograph, taken of the under 13s football team in 1965, has been kindly loaned by David Green, of Lynton Grove, Haslington, who is stood on the back row, second from left.

Led by Mr Pickup, the team was a strong side, bonding well together and winning every match they played.

But the kit left a little to be desired with the picture showing hardly any of the socks matched.

David says: "I'm still in contact with a lot of the people in the picture. One of them, Steve Jones, is still my best mate"

From left to right, sitting, are Christopher Allott, John Clark, Keith Whittingham, team captain Mick Lightfoot, Donald Black, Graham Buckley and Raymond Smith.

Standing are Peter Cope, David himself, Alan Gill, Mr Pickup, Robert Taylor, Philip Evans and best mate Steven Jones.

OLD girls have caught up with former schoolfriends at Chester's Queen's School.

Two groups of former pupils arranged reunion lunches at school to celebrate the anniversary of the day they left school.

One group was the Class of 88 returning after 20 years, the other was the Class of 48, who left the school 60 years ago.

Organiser of the event Margot Lumb, of Chester, said: "Some of us return to school regularly for meetings of the Old Girls' Association, but some of my contemporaries have not been back to school for many years.
"Inevitably there have been a lot of changes and they were fascinated to see all the new developments. We had a lovely lunch and exchanged news."

The Class of 88 greeted the arrival of their former headmistress, Margaret Farra and deputy head Elinor Edwards, with cheers and applause.

Headmistress Catherine Buckley, who welcomed all the former pupils said: " We were delighted to see so many old girls of the school.

"We are always keen to host reunions for former pupils, but this is the first time I have welcomed ladies who left us so long ago. I am pleased that they still want to return to their old haunts and remember their days at Queen's."