mercurydancer

Cliff Ton The Wheatsheaf pub would be about 10 yards from the lamp post in the middle centre of the photo. The mill itself remained at least until I was a child at Berridge. I can recall the lovely house next to it, some sort of mill owners house possibly? Was there ever a station there? There is a station house which I recall very well, but a station? no.

Jill How old was he? I cannot find that out. His army number is a bit odd. It is short of the usual by one digit. Maybe a regimental thing, but it is unusual, but not a typo. There were many other soldiers of the time who had 5 figure numbers.

I have for many decades visited military cemeteries and I have evolved a notion that with each grave, there is a person, who, when we are talking Nottingham soldiers, walked the same streets as we do, knew families which still exist today. It is no longer fanciful to find faces on old photos of those who lie, in some cases, very far away. I want to find out more of these soldiers (I am not that well acquainted with the Navy) but its important to me

Jill, I'll look him up on CWWGC. I am very interested in Nottingham and more specifically Hyson Green soldiers. Jill The grave registration gives a little more detail but not a lot more. Husband of Mrs Saunt, 120 Birkin Avenue

Jill Almost all military priests are referred to as Padre. It avoids a poor soldier trying to remember which denomination/religion/ordination when he really just needs someone to speak to. It also avoids the issue of rank. Chaplains do have rank but it is non-executive ie they cannot issue orders.

Dave Thank you. That is about right because my family moved into no 86 in 1963.

I saw Rev Beckett a few times after he carried my kit. Always called him Padre, bit of a military term, and he always responded with kindness.

Dave, what date is that from?

The Joynes family name is familiar but I cannot place it. My recollection is meagre on the family but I do think they lived about 94 Bobbers Mill Road.

As I understand it, everything between Alfreton Road and Radford Road going north was Hyson Green. How far north before it got into Basford? Good question. I think the train line defines the northern boundary. (not the tram line, different thing) but this still begs the question of the streets on the east of Radford Road running to Noel Street, and north to Shipstone Street. Relatives (now gone) on Belton Street certainly referred to it is Hyson Green. One grave in the Somme Valley has a casualty of Belton Street, Hyson Green. I think that everyone would agree with me that the epi

An area well known to me in the late 60s and 70s. My grandmother lived at 118. The numbering system nowadays is not compatible with the numbering system then. I recall a small newsagents run by a very old lady between 118 and the bottom of the road at Gregory Boulevard. Across the road I recall a Pownall shop.

The sand cliffs on what is now Plantation Side were quite high. They have been reduced by industrial activity but were in the region of 100 ft high. Undoubtedly the Leen had some effect on that side of the sand pit, but I have no idea how the cliffs were formed. The Leen does not seem to have had the power to carve out such steep cliffs.

Now the mention of Rev Beckett brings a memory. 1980. At the end of a tough army course. Got from Aldershot with all of my kit. By the time I got to Radford Road I was very tired indeed. I started to move some of my kit 50 meters towards home, then go back for the rest, and move it on. It must have been Rev Beckett. He had a dog collar on. Obviously he was elderly but at 20 how do you assess age? Bright white hair. Slender man but with a lovely smile. He helped me to get me and my kit closer to home. Even by a few meters it was totally appreciated.

Again another fascinating photo. Indeed the main entrance to the quarry was off Plimsoll Street but at the very bottom where it met the Leen. There was also an exit between the Vicarage and the houses onto Bobbers Mill Road, clearly visible on this photo. I do not know when these photos were taken, but the quarrying to the left of the photos did not go much further before there was no more. There was also an underground stream going downhill from the top of the photo and in heavy rain, it would emerge onto the road exactly where the factory with three gal

I have just had a thought, it was not RAY Machin but Gerry.

The houses to the south ie Bobbers Mill Road where I lived from about 60 to 100 were built at the same time. Many of them had deep cellars possibly due to stability and possibly because of underground streams. Ah police houses! The houses were owned by the Police authority and the officers paid no rent. A pretty good deal in those days. There was a restriction with respect to how far they were away from their station. They obviously could not own the property but that started to change in the early 1980s. Police officers could own their own properties but were not entitled to any

There is much more in that photo I can explain. On the road opposite St Stephen's rather small bell tower is a house on a corner of a road. Again like Molly Mills it does not look like it is a shop. It became Beardsmore's newsagent. The Beardsmore family took over a couple of shops exactly on the Radford Road Tram stop and called it a Mini-Market. A tram (204) has now Erica Beardsmore as its name. Lambert Street, off to the right of the factory, had a beer-off. I can remember going there as a child to get Indian brandy for my Dad when he had a cold. On the

The sand quarry was really quite large and surprisingly deep. Bobbers Mill Road is on the top of a ridge (although the photo does not indicate it) and the quarry was mined to about 8 foot at the allotments close to Bobbers Mill Road back gardens to about 120 feet close to Plantation Side. In width it went from Darley Road to St Stephens. Jill, I was briefly in Nottinghamshire Constabulary before going back into the army. Ray Machin was in the Police Choir. The next door to the Machins was also a police house. Len Smith was the police officer there with his family. I seem to recall

Jill Sparrow Yes I do remember Geoffrey Whiley and his brother Peter. Old man Whiley had a woodworking workshop in the attic. As a very small child I can recall he made me a wooden toy duck. I still have it. I recall Ray Machin having a different accent to ours. Much softer. Gaye was a good childhood friend and it was only when the Machins went through a divorce I lost touch.

Jill Sparrow I wonder if you can recall Clarence White (Clarry) who lived close to your end of Bobbers Mill Road? He was a chargehand miner at Babbington pit. Had a very distinctive guffawing laugh. I remember him fondly.

Cliff Ton As usual you come out with the greatest of images. Again you have my gratitude. I lived at the house almost exactly in front of the little chimney of Smith Dennis factory. I recall it being struck by lightning and causing lots of damage to the house next to it. I recognised very many features in the photo. The sand pit was actually a functioning sand quarry until it was exhausted in about 1965ish. Then it was taken over by a scrap metal firm who were still there until the early 1980s. Half of the allotments at the bottom of the Bobber

Bang on. The Machins lived at 82.

Jill Sparrow I used to live on Bobbers Mill Road. I was friends with the Machin family. Kim and Gay. I was closer to Gay. Just two houses down. I have said this before but I remember Major the dog. Gerry Machin used to have me hold an egg in my hand just in front of my face. Major would take it without breaking it on many occasions. I do remember on a Sunday, it was very quiet, and you could easily hear the Council House!

Just an aside, My mrs is Russian and is a teacher. She is now... after much difficulty in getting past the authorities. There is a Citizenship test which is quite expensive. My mrs failed it the first time. They gave her a DVD which you could put on the computer to prepare you for the test. I am English, born in Nottingham, an ex-military officer and a published military historian. I think I qualify as a UK Citizen. I failed the test three times. Basically it was full of things that unless you are from a certain community you would not know. I do not know the proporti

I use Wetherspoons in London as it can be relied upon to provide a decent pint for reasonable cost. My wife thinks that I have a built in Wetherspoons radar and could find a Wetherspoons on any planet in the solar system. Comically we were walking through Bath this summer and she wanted a toilet. "Now where is the nearest Wetherspoons now? " she asked with a certain amount of sarcasm in her voice. I just said "Wot that one?" and pointed to the door about 5 metres away. Wetherspoons are a sea change in pubs. Whist it was not the first chain to sell real ales they tended to speciali