Geoff

OK dear brothers of mine. You are both considerably older than me, so tell me what life was like before I came along to enrich your lives.

John

My earliest memory is living in the pre fabs before you were born. Terry and me sleeping in a double bed together and we had a male dog called Judy. One day he lost the plot and savaged some chickens so had to be put down. Dad cried for a week in the privacy of the little bathroom we had. Another recollection is Dad buying Mum a small bottle of gin for her birthday as he handed it to her, it slipped and broke and spilled into the fire place hearth, Dad took one of Mums old stockings and spooned up the glassy liquid and filtered it through the stocking so she had just about one spoonful of her drink. You must remember that Nip didn’t you get some glass in your finger?

Nip

Cant remember the Gin incident, and don’t remember cutting my finger

John

When we lived in the prefabs, I can remember some of my misdemeanours, like sawing down a pine tree in the copse and the woodman Mr Penhorn insisting that Dad punish me or he would go to the police, so I got my ass smacked, the only time I remember and recall that Dad was more upset than me. I also had a fascination for fire and set the coal shed on fire, Dad didn’t get mad, he just went very quiet. Crikey, I have just thought of more misdemeanors, I made a trolley and left some 4" nails sticking out, poor ol Nip had a go on the trolley and ended up with a 4" nail through his knee, I was so pissed off that I smashed it up, the trolley, not Nip’s knee. Then there was the time that we went into the woods with… ( no I will preserve her modesty) and played doctors and nurses.

Nip

Yes I recall having to go to the old Children’s Hospital, opposite St. James’s Park in Winchester Road, to have a Tetanus jab, and a bandage.

I remember that the police did, in fact, call at our pre-fab over the fir tree incident. A group of us including Robert Jones, John Meanwell, Terry Humby, Jeremy Fox, and John and me took about a week to saw this pine tree down with a toy woodworkers saw. The reason for doing it was that we wanted it for a Guy Fawkes bonfire which the neighbours had decided to celebrate together, and we thought we were being helpful. Anyway the police came to speak to us all in turn. I admired Dad when one of the officers made derogatory remarks about John & myself. He said something like " Hey Ginger, if you can’t say something useful. Keep quiet". I was so surprised, but proud of Dad for saying that.

John

I remember dad as being a very quiet man one of his greatest gifts to me was a poem by Rudyard Kipling – "IF". He always polished his shoes and was always punctual; he told me that such things were a mark of politeness. I remember that I used to comb his hair sometimes when he came home from work and collected the tobacco that came from his head. Oddly enough, when Mandy and Caroline were very young, they used to do the same thing!. Dad always used to have tea with Granny Knappett on a Friday and when he came home he would have a threepenny bit from her for Nip and me.

John

Going back to the prefab days I recall my first day at Bassett Green Infants School when I was 5 years old. I couldn’t tie my shoe laces so befriended a girl called Christine Rawlins who helped me. The same day I met another girl called Vivienne Grey who became my first girl friend. Mum was so happy because I think she saw her as a daughter. We spent all our free time together. Vivienne was an only child who lived with her mother in an apartment in Midanbury and I once walked for what seemed an eternity from Leaside way to Midanbury to have afternoon tea with Viv. We went our separate ways when I was about 8 and incredibly we made contact again two in 2007. What was very special is that Viv and her husband Trev, who now live in Perth, were visiting England and called in to see Mum just a few weeks before she died. I know that Mum was so happy about that, so thanks Viv and Trev.

Geoff

At last, something I can remember. I can’t remember the pre-fabs – but I do remember Dad coming home on a Friday night, after he had been to see Grannie Knappett, with our Crunchie’s.

He had that Bown motorbike then. JTR 329 I think. Myth and legend says I was going to be christened Russell or Rosalynd so he would have had a personalised number plate.

John

Dad used to cycle to work at BAT before that. He got his first motorbike when I was about 13 I think. It was brand new, bought from the motorcycle shop in Shirley. It was a 98cc Bown. He was very proud when he arrived home on it.

Nip

The first time we had our own transport was when Dad bought a motorbike and sidecar. I think this was a Matchless.

I remember we all, (Mum & Dad on the bike, and John & I in the sidecar,) went to Newhaven to see Mum’s sister in law Maisie. On our return trip we broke down when the drive chain on the bike broke. I don’t recall where we were, how it was repaired, what happened to it, or how we got home, but I remember that John and I contracted Scarlet Fever on this trip, and we were isolated in the front bedroom of Granny Stonehouse’s house in Tulip Road. I recall that we used to ride a tricycle round this room. I also remember when the maroon Trojan defumigator van came to disinfect the room when we recovered.

The time came when Southampton County Borough Council allocated us a pre-fab at Bassett Green. Dad continued to ride a pedal cycle to work at the BAT factory at Regents Park. It was a long ride, and after a long day, a bike ride was the last thing one needed.

So Dad bought a second hand black Royal Enfield 125cc motor cycle I think the registration letters might have CCG. I understand he bought it from a ‘ friend’ who had a garage at Twyford, Hants. This bike was very unreliable, and Dad traded it in at Jenkin & Pursers at Shirley for a new red Bown 98cc, which, in fact, had a 125cc frame. It was registered JTR 329. I passed my motor cycle driving test on this bike, and Dad used to let me use it when he didn’t need it.

For a time Dad and Uncle Jim shared a maroon and black 1935 Morris 10/4 4 door saloon reg. no. DY 8294. I can recall that this was the first car I ever drove, when Dad took us to Stoney Cross in the New Forest. I think I only got into second gear, but I caught the driving bug! I can’t remember when it was, but when this car was sold I think Jim bought an immaculate 1938 Morris Eight 2 door saloon, reg. no. BTP 58, and I remember him taking us to Swanage where we had rented a caravan for a week. Uncle Jim collected us for the return journey.

Dad then purchased our first family car. This was a dark green 1948 Morris Eight Series E 4 door saloon, and this was the car that Dad taught me to drive, and pass my test in.

We then had a Romsey Blue 1952 Austin A40 Somerset reg. no. FJT 742. This was followed by a grey Austin A30 4 door saloon. I think DMU were the registration letters. Then came a grey and white Austin A40 Farina Mk II, a white Austin 1100 estate with LOW reg. letters, a blue Triumph 2000 MkI saloon, and, just before Dad died he bought a Teal blue Austin Maxi.

Maybe one of you can remember the reg. nos. of these cars.

We also got involved with Mum’s boss, Miss Renee Bright Manager of the Cadena Café in Southampton. Dad taught her to drive. She started off with a black 1952 Ford Prefect, then a cream Morris Minor 1000, A grey Wolseley 1500 MkI, another Wolseley 1500, but MkII, and a Rose Taupe Wolseley 16/60. When her niece Wendy arrived on the scene she had a Lambretta Li 150 scooter reg. no. 431 YMU.

Geoff

I remember all the cars! The Morris 8 series E was GOR 585. I remember being in the Morris 10/4 when the clutch went in Guildford High Street.

Anyway can we talk about the other Knappetts – Grannie Knappett, Jim and Bet. I never knew Pop.

John

I remember the Series E Dad taught me to drive in it and I also took my driving test in it. Most Christmases we spent an afternoon and evening at Uncle Jims and uncle Jim and Granny Knappett would play the piano and we would have a right old sing song, then Jim would take us all home in his motorbike and sidecar – a Matchless 500cc.

Nip

I also recall some Sunday afternoons being taken, by bus, to Granny Knappett’s in South Mill Road. We had, together with Maureen & Chris, Uncle Jim & Auntie Betty’s children who were of similar age to us. the run of the house. I will always remember the lovely bread & beef dripping that was laid on for tea. Uncle Jim would always bring us home in whatever car he had at the time. One I remember was a pre-war blue Ford Eight.

Geoff

Uncle Jim moved up to a Hammond organ. He was remarkable in that he could pick up a tune after a few bars and make a whole sing song with it. I never saw any music there – and I don’t recall dad playing anything at the parties.

John

Dad used to play drums in a band run by Freddie Gibson who played the piano accordion and was out on jobs most Saturday nights to earn extra money. He also played banjo and saxophone in a wartime band run by uncle Jim called Jimmy Knappett and his boys. Dad’s banjo was his 21^st birthday present from his Mum and dad and it was second hand then. He gave me the banjo when I was about 14 and I learned to play it and still bring it out for a sing song. My granddaughter Alice loves the sound it makes and has the beginnings of an interest so I may hand it down to her later – much later.

Geoff

I can remember Fred Gibson. He had a Vauxhall Victor didn’t he. I remember going to see him play in a church hall somewhere. Dad used to tread the boards too didn’t he?

John

Dad was also a bit of a whiz at tap dancing, he actually had the proper shoes. Dad used to make props and acted in at least two plays. I saw him in "Dangerous Corner" at the Grand Theatre in Southampton. I remember one of his lines was " I might just as well have married a bloody boa constrictor". Dad was a very good ballroom dancer and mum reckoned she was good because dad was even better. I remember when we lived in Farnham I took Mum and dad to a Country Club for one of their wedding anniversaries and amongst the guest artists was Lulu. During her routine, she asked if anyone was celebrating a special occasion, and as we were near the front I put up my hand and said " yes my Mum and Dad". Lulu struck up the anniversary waltz and dances it with Dad, then brought him back to Mum and danced a bit with me. She told me that Dad was a fabulous dancer.

Geoff

I have some press cuttings from Dad’s am drams – and some programmes. Mum often spoke of his portrayal of Fred Ashton, "footloose and fancy free".

Nip

Freddie Gibson did have a Vauxhall car, but it was a Wyvern similar to the one used as a taxi in the "Heartbeat" television drama.

I remember seeing Dad in a play at the Avenue Hall on one occasion. Did you know that he sometimes made props for a play. I recall a coffee table. I think Mum might have been a bit jealous of the leading lady sometimes.

I understand that Dad’s Tap Dancing abilities may have been a wind up on Aunty Bubbles, because whenever she asked Dad to perform a Tap Dance he always made an excuse that he had forgotten his board or his shoes. I wish he had been able to do it because he could have taught me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I did try it once, but I fell out of the sink!

John

Geoff, skipping back to when you were about 18 months old, can you remember being all dressed up ready to go to Swanage on holiday , I had just got back from a Wolf Cub camp in the forest and I brought you a bar of chocolate as a present. You changed from being a bonny pretty little boy to a little black boy, I don’t think that you understood chocolate was for eating not body painting

Geoff

I don’t remember that holiday – but I have got the photo of Mum and me on the swings there. I hadn’t been to Swanage for years when you (John) and I took her and Cath there for mum’s 80^th birthday. We now go back a couple of times a year. Swanage hasn’t changed much at all. The swings are still there.

John

Farnham brings another memory of Mum and dad coming up to Farnham to wallpaper our dining room. I thought that I had bought pre pasted wallpaper and when Mum and Dad had finished hanging it we stopped for lunch. When we re started all the paper was all over the floor ---- it wasn’t pre pasted.

Geoff

Dad should have been a good decorator. Wasn’t that Pop’s trade? Do either of you remember anything about him – and Grannie Knappett?

Nip

I’m not sure, I thought he worked at BAT. I know he used to enjoy a beer. He always had a flagon (screw topped bottle) of beer by the side of his chair.

I think Granny Knappett was a Cook or even maybe a Chef at a London hotel at one time

John

I have a very vivid memory of Pop coming down the stairs at Southmill Road. He had a wooden walking stick with a curved handle and he "nudged" me out of the way with it. I have lots of very fond memories of Granny Knappett. She fostered my interest in music. My secondary school ( Regents Park) used the playing fields near Southmill Road as the school sports field that I was supposed to play either cricket or football every Tuesday and Thursday. I didn’t like either (sorry Geoff) so went to Granny Knappett instead where she fed me with Eccles cakes and taught me chords on her piano.

Geoff

Pop did work at BAT. He was a painter and decorator there.

And how about Mum’s mum – Grannie Stonehouse. All I really remember of her is being ill and in bed. I showed her some new red sandals just before she died.

Nip

I remember Granny Stonehouse as a short lady who usually dressed in black with, maybe, a white blouse, but under a black cardigan. I don’t recall her smiling much.

A terrible thing to admit I know, but if we wanted money for sweets, we used to go and see her, and usually get a threepenny bit.

John

Granny Stonehouse was confined to bed for as long as I remember. She was always propped up in her bed in the front bedroom of Tulip Road, a very frail woman whose hands were crippled with arthritis. My most vivid memory is the day she died, it was the day of my 11 plus exams and I called in to see her. She asked me to go to the shop to get Sedklets Powders or Beachams Powder or something like that. Just after I got home, I think it was Deany who came down to tell us that Granny Stonehouse was dead. I can’t remember anything after that – not even the funeral.

Geoff

Nip, you mentioned Mum at Cadena Café. Did she have any jobs before that or was she a full time mum? Dad was at BAT forever wasn’t he. Remember the Christmas parties? Jim worked there too – and Pop before them.

Nip

I think she was more or less a full time Mum, but I do remember she had a cleaning job up at the University’s Glen Eyre Hall. I recall she gave a student Dad’s demob. (demobilisation) suit. It was a medium brown and dark brown striped suit ( in Dad’s case) which was given to service men when they left the MOD ( RAF in Dad & Jim’s case) after the war

John

I think Mum’s one and only job was at Cadena Café. I remember that I used to go there after school to do my homework – yeah right, then I got a part time job working in the store room.

Geoff

I did too – on a Friday night. I used to sit up in the window high above Above Bar looking at town disappear into the night in their Guy Arab buses.

Of course, we haven’t mentioned Cath or Daisy and life at Bluebell Road.

Perhaps that will be in the sequel!