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Hi all, hope you don’t mind an interloper as I never lived in Basford but I do have connections to it. My grandmother, a widow probably living in Arnold remarried to John Culley, moving with my dad to Ealing Avenue where my uncle was born. Uncle later worked at Simons on Vernon Rd and lived with his wife on Southwark St, would it be? It was the terrace at the back Of the Vernon cinema. My mother moved to Basford when my grandfather retired from Nottingham Forest (Robert Firth, known as Bob) and was the landlord of Catchems Corner (real name Great Northern?) met and married my father and moved to Heathfield estate me being born in Highbury hospital. I regularly stayed with my gran’ Riding the train from Daybrook, where we lived from 1945 visiting the Vernon and my uncles, she later moved in with us.

My next connection was as a fourteen year old schoolboy who was a keen sportsman, especially a swimmer and was a member of the Nottingham schools swimming team and was persuaded to swim for the Basford team that raced before water polo matches so joined the Northern baths swimming club and won the cup for the 100 yards freestyle at that years gala. Don’t remember too much about that time but the coach was a fireman called Bill, my own father being a fireman too.

Deserted you from then until the 70s when I became a member of the club on the left hand side of Vernon road just under Northern bridge (sorry forgot the name) They had some great acts on and I remember the Blues Brothers very well. Well that’s my small contribution and perhaps it will start a couple of new talking points.

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Big game?  

The first house to the right of the shop, (where the 'Walls' sign is) I remember a man who lived there and had a 'Huge' black Great Dane named Captain, he used to let me take the dog for a walk...or rather he let the dog take Me for a drag, LOL.

The last house on the right of the picture, which was next to Stevo's, I remember a girl named Christine Culley lived there, used to join our gang playing on Billy Bacons and Basford United football ground.

Hi Bill, just posted on the site and noticed your photo. Christine is my cousin and she has a sister called Valerie and a brother Johnny, there mum was Sue, an Irish woman and uncles name was Arthur. Sorry don’t know the whereabouts of any of them now. I visited them regularly as a youngster in the late 40s early 50s.

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  • 3 months later...

hello everybody, it brings back memories when talking about Big Bev,from Bulwell, i was one of his Members,

(putting it mildly) we got challenged to a gang fight from Sandiacre,s local mob, and we took up the offer,

we borrowed a Bartons Bus and headed over there, when we arrived there was no one to great us, i guess they

had got the message ,that we were on our way, what a sad day outing, thats youth for you!!

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hello everybody, it brings back memories when talking about Big Bev,from Bulwell, i was one of his Members,

(putting it mildly) we got challenged to a gang fight from Sandiacre,s local mob, and we took up the offer,

we borrowed a Bartons Bus and headed over there, when we arrived there was no one to great us, i guess they

had got the message ,that we were on our way, what a sad day outing, thats youth for you!!

Hi Dennis,

We may have 'met up' then in the late 50's?

I was part of Kenny Brant's Basford crew and we had a few encounters with Big Bev and co.

He was a big lad though wasn't he?

Regards.

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Am pretty certain Pear's Chemists was at bottom of Eland Street, virtually opposite gas works gates, if not there was one v near the futurist, and I think another on North Gate?

I think we had a Pear's Chemist on Valley Road somewhere. Could have been at the junction of Valley and Hucknall Road.

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Am pretty certain Pear's Chemists was at bottom of Eland Street, virtually opposite gas works gates, if not there was one v near the futurist, and I think another on North Gate?

I think we had a Pear's Chemist on Valley Road somewhere. Could have been at the junction of Valley and Hucknall Road.

You're right about the one on the junction of Valley Road/Hucknall Road, that was definitely a Pear Chemist. The location of the Basford shop is what I've wondered about for years.

The reason is my dad worked there for a long time. He was at the Valley Road shop for at least the late 1950s and first half of the 1960s and I went there quite a few times with him. I heard him talk about "the Basford shop" and I think maybe he worked there before he went to Valley Road, but I never knew where the Basford shop was. Amazing that I should get the answer to that after all these years.

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Am pretty certain Pear's Chemists was at bottom of Eland Street, virtually opposite gas works gates, if not there was one v near the futurist, and I think another on North Gate?

Was the one "near the Futurist" at the Valley Road/Nottingham Road junction, because I know there are/were a few shops there? (i.e. the next junction along from the Valley Road/Hucknall Road shop which is the one I remember)

And most old shops on North Gate have probably disappeared now, so not much chance of working out which one it might've been

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Yes the chemist near the futurist was in that "block" last time I was in Basford it was a reception/office for factory next to it on nottm rd. recall the one at hucknall rd/valley rd, thinking about it pretty sure both were "Pears" as neither in later years catered for NHS perscriptions,

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Was there ever a chemist near the old railway bridge on Valley Road?

I remember Lawrence's post office and wool shop next door, Marsdens I think, but wonder if there was also a chemist there? probably not.

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  • 3 months later...

More News! found out from Stan Smith (Basford Bystander) the pub on Nottingham Rd was The Vernon Arms, assumed replaced by The Vernon Hotel on Vernon Rd? I was always told Vernon was a corruption of the word Wyvern which was the symbol of The Midland Railway who built said road from from Arnold Road to Church St, the original junction of the latter with it was half way up the rise to the railway bridge, recently built upon and formally Smithy's Scrapyard. This road was built as a "bypass" to save traffic having to cross the railway twice to get to Bulwell or Arnold. If in fact that is true (re the name) it would date that pub being built post 1848 which is the year the railway opened in Old Basford.

Hi Ashley,

I know it was a couple of years ago when you and Basford Bill were on about Old & New but I've only recently found this website. We lived in Chard Street, towards the top. One of my older brothers Neil, was a keen cyclist and rode a 'Record Ace'. I was six years younger and rode a sit-up-and- beg and didn't get into cycling before we moved town. Neil was part of the crowd at Day Lane in the early fifties. I used to ride out on a Sunday over Red Hill to 'Mansfield Ramper' to watch the ten mile T/T. He also went out to Gunthorpe to do the 25's. I don't think he ever quite made it under the hour.

I walked to Ellis via railway bridge, Bacons Field and Cowley St. Do you remember Mr. Brown at the bottom of Cowley? He sat on the front step selling crabby apples 'ten a penny, lovely apples'. Poor feller had a speech impediment. Did you live on the corner of Rosetta Road/Nottingham Road with big pear trees at the back? If so I remember your sirname also.

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Yes you got me, not one of the Christian brothers (to others, as in related with surname thus, not some perverted monks etc) There were also the Holland Brothers, others I recall were Pete Osbourne, the Asher sisters (and younger brother)

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Yes I remember you now. You were the posh kid who moved into the 'big house' about 1951. LoL. And I do remember the out-buildings but we didn't knock the door to access your property; much more exciting to go over the wall at the back of the Chard Street houses. I lived next door to the Holland's; they were good lads except that the young one preferred to hang around with the girls. Claude, their father was a great guy; he used to take a gang of us fishing on the Embankment from time to time and show us how to make yellow coloured groundbait.

Great times as a kid. Good games of football and cricket in the street or in the entry if it was raining. After the war the communal air raid shelters in the area were knocked down . Ours was directly opposite the top of Liddington Street. They were brick built with thick concrete roofs. Inside, on the ceiling people had written names with the smoke from candles. When the demo team came around with the breaker ball kids were running in and out to try and be the last person in there. Crazy! Someone mentioned sledging on Chard Street. I have vivid memories of 1947 winter. Not many vehicles in them days and it was just like the Olympics on that hill; straight across Suez Street by Johnny Burrows house on one corner, beeroff on the other and the bakery across the road. I recall a sledger going under a lorry at that junction and out the other side without a scratch. The snow stayed for weeks.

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not posh, just that I could read and write, and you're wrong with my moving in date, 1946 straight from city hospital, do you recall Karl the German POW who lived with us? I have very vague memories of him (not to be confused with part german family who lived at first house on rosetta road next to our back gate). Malcolm Holland became very good runner, ran for the county, whether anything to do with rumours of him being gay (queer in those days) I don't know! despite becoming ladies hairdresser he wasn't gay and had some cracking looking girlfiends in later days

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  • 7 years later...

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