December 2008 Archives

Do you recognise any of this smiling bunch?

This picture of the third year class at St Mary's Catholic Primary School at Crewe back in 1963 was found by former pupil Daniel Riley as he rummaged through his mother's old albums.

Daniel, 55, who lives at Burchmuir Close in Crewe and works for a CCTV firm, says the picture brought back fond memories of his days at the Dane Bank Avenue primary.

He said: "I think we were 10 years old in the picture and we're all smiling so we must have been having fun. Even our teacher Mrs Mason is smiling.

"At the back of the picture you can see the stage where we used to do our nativity plays.

"I still keep in touch with a couple of the guys on the picture but I want to share it with everyone so hopefully others will recognise themselves.

"I remember it was a very strict time and religion was everything but we still managed to have fun."

If you have any information on this picture, please contact: The Chronicle, 32-34 Victoria Street, Crewe CW1 2JE or crewe.news@cheshirenews.co.uk

PEGGY WOODCOCK looks back on 40 years of Chester's inimitable Gateway Theatre.

I remember the Gateway stage rippling with water for a stunning production of Pinter's emotive play Betrayal.

On the same stage I once talked to acting legends Pauline Collins, of Shirley Valentine fame, and John Alderton, currently in BBC's Little Dorrit.

These hugely successful actors memorably made clear the value they placed on small venues like the Gateway, and their determination to give support.

I remember children squealing and laughing through Charlotte's Web, Jungle Book and other Christmas productions, some of which went on to other theatres.

There was the youthful Hamlet writing red graffiti on dazzling white walls. Not for me, but, away from the classroom, a teenage audience was actually enjoying Shakespeare!

The Chronicle campaign is rightly focusing on the present, pressing for a re-opened Gateway as a way of redressing the dire situation existing for the arts in the city centre.

The strong case is being argued on these pages. Maybe some snapshots from the past will help to bolster it, to remind everyone what an asset the Gateway was to the city.

I helped report the Gateway from the early nineties, when the theatre created its own productions of wide-ranging plays like the shocking, brave, gay Torch Song Trilogy, the happy Yorkshire-set Second from Last in the Sack Race, the passionate Wuthering Heights, the thriller Night Must Fall.

Artistic director Jeremy Raison, now at Glasgow Citizens Theatre, attracted talent like actor Patrick Robinson, Ash in Casualty and then the first black Heathcliff in Chester. He went on to Stratford, is now in the TV drama Survivors.

Raison brought in household names, like Michael le Vell, Coronation Street's Kevin Webster, making his first foray into theatre as the sinister Dan in Night Must Fall.
It brought the national press to the Gateway as, later, did heavyweights Dennis Waterman, Patrick Mower and the late Ned Sherrin, when they made our theatre the first stop for their scriptwriter comedy Bing Bong.

The theatre commanded respect within the industry and helped talent grow.

And it entertained as Raison upped audience figures to more than 84% and brought a prestigious regional theatre award to the Gateway. He gave us rock and roll summers with great shows like Three Steps to Heaven, which twice went on to national tours.
I remember the relief of crucial Arts Council funding and the welcome arrival of pink seats from the Mayflower, Southampton - second-hand but such comfort! - and of Deborah Shaw, a talented director who made a success of the recent mammoth Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival in Stratford.

Passionate about the Gateway, she promised "the best of theatre, what Chester deserves and should have" and delivered with treats like a delightful Alice in Wonderland, a clever Vanity Fair and a lively version of the Hitchcock thriller Marnie.
Sadly the Gateway ceased as a producing theatre but went on delivering entertainment as a venue for visiting companies, stand-ups and other performers.

I remember laughter with Maria Gibb as a comic Joyce Grenfell, Aussie Caroline Reid, naughty as trolly dolly PamAnn, and Rodney Bewes, a delight in Three Men and a Boat.

And the fun of Hull Truck's nightclub Bouncers and football Perfect Pitch.
Colin Baker boomed through The Haunted Hotel and Rula Lenska shocked, well, some of the audience, in The Vagina Monologues.

I remember the pathos of Trestle's masked Stoneheads and the drama of death, bagpipes and Edinburgh Castle on stage for Tunes of Glory.

Soap stars came: Steven Pinder (Brookside) in Dial M for Murder, Chloe Newsome (Corrie) in Pride and Prejudice, and Scarlet Johnson (Eastenders) as Daisy Miller.
Rani Moorthy cooked curry on the same stage where, years earlier, Sunny Ormonde, as Shirley Valentine, had memorably fried chips and egg.

So many local societies entertained with opera and musical theatre, like Tip Top Productions, now keeping the Forum Studio alive.

It was here I watched school kids engrossed in a dark, mini Macbeth, and the marvellous Iestyn Edwards reduce his mini audience to tears of laughter as ballerina Madame Galactica.

You will all have your own memories of the Gateway, of productions that have made you sad, made you laugh, made you think, enriched your life.

But like me you will remember arriving to a crowded foyer buzzing with anticipation for the entertainment ahead, whatever it may be - this same foyer where once, earlier in the day, you may well have had a coffee or a sandwich lunch.

Great days. Let's get them back!

READERS responded with some alacrity to the idea that they should submit their own suggestions for names they felt worthy of inclusion in the borough's Blue Plaque scheme.

The above picture shows one nominee, Canon Perrin in his chaplain's uniform, with soliders and nurses in the vicarage grounds in 1917. In the First World War, All Saints' Parish Church vicarage in Highlands Road was used as an emergency hospital and some 3,460 wounded servicemen were treated there.

The aim of Halton Council's project is to put up 50 plaques in the twin towns and surrounding villages.

The blue plaque awards can also commemorate notable and momentous events or places and buildings.

First off the mark was Runcornian Betty Helsby, of Coronation Road, who believes the borough should honour the work of the former vicar of All Saints' Parish Church, the late Canon H N Perrin, who was also recognised in years past as the Vicar of Runcorn.

Canon Perrin came to Runcorn in 1912. He refused to live in the damp, dilapidated old vicarage in Highlands Road and had a new vicarage built at his own expense. During the Great War, he handed over the new vicarage and all its outbuildings to the military and it was used as a hospital for wounded servicemen. He was the representative for the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Families Association and was contacted by many servicemen for help.

Canon Perrin's eldest son was killed while serving in the RAF during the Second World War. The canon's services were recognised in the Honours List and he was in his Seventies when he retired in 1946 and went to live in Clifton, Bristol.

Norman Kitson, of Windsor Road, Widnes, wrote: "The name that stands out for Widnesians to honour is Roy Chadwick, the gentleman who designed the Lancaster bomber.

"Roy was born at Marsh Hall, Derby Road, Farnworth, in 1893. He left Widnes at the age of eight when his father relocated to a job in Manchester. He left school in 1911 and started work at Avro, the Manchester aircraft firm, as a draughtsman.

"The firm relocated to Woodford, Cheshire, and Roy was promoted to chief designer in the 1930s. The rest, as they say, is history..."

Mr Kitson notes that Manchester University bestowed an Honorary Master of Science degree on him and he was later awarded the CBE. He also had a stamp and a first-day cover in his honour.

"Yet," Mr Kitson says, "the town of his birth has done nothing to honour him."
I also received a call from a Widnes lady who was at Wade Deacon Grammar School when the town's former MP, the late Gordon Oakes, was a pupil.

The lady, who wished to remain anonymous, reeled off the names of several people whom she thought were deserving of recognition but said she was opposed to the idea of honouring them with plaques because she believed that, inevitably, many deserving people would be omitted from the list.

She obviously felt pretty strongly about her old school, the "outstanding" Wade Deacon Grammar School. She said it would not have been built but for the efforts Henry Wade Deacon.

She also mentioned one or two former heads responsible for the school's high standards and a Dr Cecil Nelson who had a surgery at West Bank and worked every weekend, starting at 8am.

Commander Shawcross, a former Widnes MP, and the late Cllr Dick Illidge, were other people she mentioned.

In the First World War, All Saints' Parish Church vicarage in Highlands Road was used as an emergency hospital and some 3,460 wounded servicemen were treated there. Here, soldiers and nurses are seen with Canon Perrin in his chaplain's uniform in the vicarage grounds in 1917.

THIS photograph taken of Boughton St Paul's primary school taken in the late forties may jog a few memories.

Mrs Jean Wells, Glamis Close, Vicars Cross submitted the black and white picture taken after she found it lying around the house.

Mrs Wells hopes that former classmates may recognise themselves and help her solve the riddle of the people in the picture taken 60 years ago.

She said: "Does anybody recognise themselves in my picture? It was taken in Boughton Chester 1948-49 I think it was possibly a May Day celebration but I am not quite sure. She added: "My name was Jean Graham in 1949."

If you can identify any faces or have any information about the photograph contact The Chronicle on 01244 606416

The authors of the forthcoming book When They Were Kings - the Crewe Speedway Story are appealing to Chronicle readers to help solve a picture poser.

The book is due out in May 2009 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of British League speedway at the old Earle Street stadium. It is being compiled by Mark Potts, Tony Marks, Kevin Tew and Andy Scoffin.

But there is a mystery to be solved when it comes to one of the photographs they have of the Kings, who raced from 1969-75.

Mark Potts explains: "We haven't a clue who the man is changing a bulb in the picture. Some speedway books state that it is Alan Corbett but it isn't, as Alan Corbett says so!
"If anyone knows please contact me on 01270 560015 or mark@markpotts.wanadoo.co.uk."

Pre-ordering details for the book will be announced soon.

Tackling rowdy behaviour, disorderly conduct and the alcohol abuse is high on the Government's agenda at the moment.

And it was just the same for residents living around Upton Village Hall during the Second World War.

In 1942, four residents living near the hall, on Mill Lane, complained about the disorderly conduct of certain people attending late dances and the consumption of intoxicating drinks on the premises. The correspondents suggested imposing a closing hour of midnight on all users of the hall.

Despite complaints, the majority of local people seem to have appreciated the facilities.
Upton Village Hall celebrates its 80th anniversary this month, having been officially opened in December 2008 by Lady Arthur Grosvenor.

The hall's history has been chronicled since the early 1920s and a scrapbook containing circulars, programmes, notices and press cuttings up until 1984 was lodged with Cheshire and Chester Archives.

An inventory of gifts was kept, including a kitchen geyser from Mr A Crompton, the first chairman, a gramophone and records from Mr W Clayton and five dozen teaspoons engraved 'UVH' from Mrs C Newport.

Phil Pearn, chairman of the village hall committee, said: "Unfortunately all the spoons are missing so if anyone has one in a drawer at home please could they let us know."
Other titbits from the minutes include, in June 1931, the cricket club agreeing to give a length of matting to the hall in return for two free nights for dances.

Maintenance of the hall didn't come cheap and a minute from 1952 records the purchase of a vacuum cleaner costing £25. With the average salary just topping £100 per annum, it would be the equivalent of spending about £5,000 of today's money to keep the place clean.

In 1953 the conduct of the youth club was considered to be unsatisfactory and the vicar was to be informed.

Earlier this year local resident George Bolton confessed to getting into dances free back in the 40s and 50s.

One of his gang would get in on a ticket and then let the others in through the window.
The village hall underwent a major refurbishment during the 1980s under the chairmanship of Nancy Turton, described in the minutes as a 'young, ambitious, enterprising, energetic and keen chairman'.

Nancy is still a trustee of the village hall. The hall has recently undergone another refurbishment, in a project named 4-SCORE and it now boasts a new kitchen and bar area, a new side entrance with toilet giving better access to the meeting room, increased storage space and a new sound system.

An exhibition celebrating the 80 year history will be mounted this Sunday, December 7 from 2 - 5pm at the village hall.

Does this picture dating back to the 1950s ring any bells with you?

It was sent in by Jean Dowles of Sweet Briar Crescent in Crewe, whose husband Lewis, known as Lou, is pictured.

It shows employees of Denton and Tapley Precision Tool Engineering, which was based in Edward Street Crewe.

Mrs Dowles doesn't know much about the people pictured but said that it was taken on an annual work's outing .

Look back with mirth

A NOSTALGIC look back with laughter is on sale from memories man Gordon Davies with his latest book aiming to be the ideal stocking-filler.

Retired Chronicle photographer Gordon, 76, has already achieved publishing success with six nostalgic Memory Lane Crewe books as a well as a Nantwich version and a book on the history of Crewe Alexandra.

Now he has gone for fun with a rib-tickling autobiography called Read All About It which recalls many of his amusing and bizarre moments.

Read All About It is priced £6.99 from the Chronicle office at 32-34 Victoria Street in Crewe with every copy signed by the author.