GROWING UP IN COWES IN THE 50s AND 60s by Stuart Jones

I was born in Mill Hill Road Cowes where we lived until I was 9. My school life started at Parklands Avenue School - a super little prep school of about 20 pupils, run by the Misses Effie and Cecil.

Miss Effie used to get hot under the collar with us and I remember her losing her rag one day and throwing all our exercise books out of the window! We used to do fretwork in our "hobbies" class, cutting animals out of plywood to paint and take home.

Dad was the manager at Cowes Gasworks and, whenever a ship was launched at J.S. Whites across the river, he would take us up in the retort house for a grandstand (and very warm!) view.

Every Saturday we would all go to the pictures at The Royalty, Kings (East Cowes) or the Medina, Odeon or Grand Newport. I remember seeing "Where No Vultures Fly" at the Royalty - it was the last film George V1 saw before his death - the queue for seats stretched almost as far as Mill Hill Road.

Later, as "lads", we often went to the Royalty - half price stalls - 1/- and you could see the whole programme of feature film, supporting film "Pearl & Dean" adverts + Pathe News round twice. We used to sit smoking Capstan Extra Strength, coughing our lungs out, thinking we were the cats whiskers. If you were really rich you paid 3/2p for a seat - but we all had to use the same stinky loos!. Alexandra Hall, opposite the Royalty was well renowned for punch-ups on a Saturday night. If we went to pictures at Newport we used to avoid the last bus home - it was invariably full of drunken squaddies returning to their barracks at Camp Hill, Albany ar Northwood.

Coming back late from East Cowes after the last floating bridge, you had to rattle the chains with your feet and the nightwatchman would bring the bridge over to pick you up.

Cowes had a pier in those days and the Cowes Week fireworks used to be let off from it - the fire- men used to do a water display on the Parade. As yobboes we used to hurl rotten apples with lighted bangers in them, from David-&-Golliath type slings right up over the crowds so that they would explode in the air with spectacular results! (I seem to remember that bangers in fresh cow-pats were pretty impressive too - but I digress!).

Cowes Town Regatta was a good laugh with competitors getting in an unbelievable state trying to beat each other up greasy poles erected below Princes Green. "Pirates" would come ashore from the Naval boats anchored off, chasing all the girls and taking them off in their boats!!??!

Who remembers the year an American Marines Band played swing music on the bandstand on Princes Green, and, who remembers Anns Pantry? Through the Blue Door for tea and crumpet.

Later on we moved to The Firs at Park Road - which backed onto Westwood Football Ground (who remembers Rodeos at Westwood) and Corkes Farm.

As teenagers we used to walk over the "cliffs" from Gurnard Marsh to Newtown, stopping on the way for catapult battles at the old gun battery (long since gone over the cliff).

Princes Cafe was the "IN" place for jiving. Girls from Solent House School used to bop to such numbers as "I am a mole and I live in a hole!" Coming from a very strict boys-only background at Ryde School, the opposite sex were a complete mystery - the boys used to pose at one end of the room while the girls danced together at the other!

With the advent of Skiffle and Rock-n-Roll we formed The Vulcans - starring at such venues as the Gurnard Womens Institute Hall! The Knights followed, belting round the Island in my Isetta bubble car with girlfriend + a complete Kit of drums to play the holiday camps. We then played for two years at the Trouville, Sandown (remember "Bits & Pieces"?)

I worked, for a time, at Ventnor travelling each day, first by Triumph Tiger-Cub and then by Isetta and in 1963 a very heavy snow-storm blocked the roads with only the trains left running. I remember Mill Hill Station, Cowes packed with people trying to get to work. The same year we were at the Medina and a message was flashed onto the screen saying that there had been a heavy snow fall and the last train would be leaving in half an hour.

Memories awaken other memories - do you remember:-
Dances at Shankin Pier (and secret liasons beneath!)
The old lift stuck halfway up the cliff at Shanklin
The cattle market at Newport.
The plane crashes at Shalcombe and St. Boniface Downs...................

I now live at Sway in the New Forest and frequently sail my small boat across to walk Headon Warren or Tennysons Down. I have bought a Royal Enfield Bullet 500 and come across as often as I can.

I have one remaining cousin living on the Island and, for one week each year we swap houses, cars and cats to come back for all-too-brief visits.

I would love to hear from anybody who grew up during this period to share a wealth of memories.