We remember 10

Roger Edwards

Country: United Arab Emirates Maidstone I remember it well: The Coffee Shop in Week Street was called Importers and was managed from 1950 to his retirement in mid seventies by my father Alan Edwards. Importers were based in Bromley and had a network of shops across the Sth East. The smell always caught everyones imagination and judging by those who have commented to me learning my connection was an important Maidstone Memory for many

Roger Edwards

Country: United Arab Emirates Maidstone I remember it well: The jazz organist commented on by previous corrospondant as playing at the Star Ballroom was Alan Haven who was actually managing the events on behalf of the British Jazz Society who were the organisers of the public weekends in the 60's. Their 1st event was the Temporance Seven just as the Beat Boom took off leading to the weekly saturady nights of the bands of the day. My other Maidstone musical memories Dave King and the Kingfishers, I went to college with Dave who I recall emigrated to Australia, Tony Bathurst I recall as "singer around town" and would appear with everyone. The Whirlwinds used to have an old ambulance as their transport. The Zyphers I rember. The regular concerts at the Granada led me to join the entertainment business as a Theatre Manager to enjoy a long career that has included Londons West End and running the Wembley site so staging many international concerts in the Arena and Stadium

shirley bray

Maidstone I remember it well: Just revisited this site, and Yes, Rene Newman, my grandparents WERE Frank & Ethel Simpson, at the Brewer Street Working Mens Club!! So pleased you had good memories of them!!

Trev Cradduck

Maidstone I remember it well: Yes I remember the guy playing the piano and I am sure he was called syncopating sandy.

roger miles

Maidstone I remember it well: Picture theatres, where was the Seven Pillars? I thought it was the one in Pudding lane that burnt down in 1952-3 ish I remember watching the fire from my Mum & Dads bedroom window in Hedley St and the cans of paint from Fremlins paint store exploding with lots of flames.

Fremlins, They had a Dray horse named Puddon who was to fat to get betwen the shafts, the horses were stabled in Earl st left hand side opposite to brewery gate,the building is still there now used for a Hairdressing supply business. The Fremlins pub signs were hand painted upstairs behind the stable.

pam usherwood

Maidstone I remember it well: When I wrote about the Maidstone Street Carnival, I was informed by my husband that the A.T.C. Band always lead the parade. He was a member of the band for many years.

Robert Lewer

Maidstone I remember it well: Attended Vinter Boys from about 1956 to 61. I was captain of the Junior B side (under 13s). I remember losing 2-1 in the semi-finals of the Sharps Cup. Dave Weston was in our side who went on to play for Gillingham FC. The opposition was Maidstone Technical School. Dave Saddler played for them and then went on to play for both Manchester United and England! I was on that trip to the Rome Olympics in 1960. We went by train, about 20 of us. It cost about £20 for us to go, which my dad paid! we watched the football events in the stadium where they now play the Italian Rugby internationals. We also say Gordon Pirry who was the great hope, but failed to win a medal. Dave Thompson from Maidstone won a gold medal for the walk at Rome, but we managed to miss this!!

James Nicholls

Maidstone I remember it well: Hello Re: "We Remember 5": You are thanking me for advising you about Frances Kidder. However, she was the last WOMAN publicly hanged - not the last person: that was Fenian (IRA) bomber Michael Barret on the 26th May 1868 outside Newgate Gaol (now the Old Bailey).

Nice interesting site.

Regards,

James Nicholls (author: "Frances Kidder - The Last Woman Publicly Hanged In England" - Dobby Publishing Ltd., £9.99)

Sorry James We Remember 5 is full

Gillian Dewing

Maidstone I remember it well: I can remember going to see Winifred Atwell at the Granada. I think she was the first live act to be staged there.I can also remember queuing all the way round the Granada and up Gabriels hill to see Davy Crockett.

Now where did I leave my Davy Crockett hat, I know it's aroung here somewhere

michelle clark

Maidstone I remember it well: hi i am actually on here on behalf of my daughter who is doing a school project about her great grandad , he was a member of the maidstone boxing club that met in tilling stevens canteen in buckland hill, he joined in the 1950 s. Does anyone know of or was also a member? Would be pleased to hear any memories of the club

Lets have his name then Michelle

peter dean Maidstone I remember it well: does anyone remember divy hughes i think barry hynes should do, i remember many days in the fiesta.

COLIN EDWARDS Maidstone I remember it well: MARY BETTS nee SMITH JUST SEEN YOUR POST.I REMEMBER A GREEN GROCERS IN BOWER PLACE.I WORKED THERE (OUT THE BACK) AFTER SCHOOL AND SATURDAYS AND ALSO A PAPER ROUND FROM THE NEWSAGENT AT THE TONBRIDGE ROAD END ALL BETWEEN 1964 - 1967.BROADMEADS TO GET OUR RECORDS IS ALSO A MEMORY,LISTENING TO SKA,BLUEBEAT AND SOUL IN THE BOOTHS AT THE END OF THE SHOP MOST OF SATURDAY AFTERNOONS.G RANCH,TOFTS IN FOLKESTONE,SAVOY IN SNODLAND (WAS JUDGE DREAD OR SIR COXONE PART OF THE DJ SET UP THERE),SLEEPING IN THE CARRIAGES.ALL GOOD STUFF. SOME MORE NAMES FOR YOU,SAM SMALL,TREVOR HARDY,JOHN MAPLESTON,STEVE VINCE,TONY BRODERICK. ALL A LOT OLDER NOW AND HOPEFULLY WISER.

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: hello michelle i may remember some people of maidstone boxing club as i boxed for westree boxing club in maidstone and do know a lot of people in maidstone boxing fraternity

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: hello pete good to see you here how are you and tim?

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: (re john hakeman)hello john remember me my family lived in 17 devon road till mid 90s.years after we left i used to see your dad in waitroses and we would have a chat.i take my boy boxing and always come back through devon road have a look at the old green where bill kent used to sit and play guitar some good memories .good to see you here hope to, hear from you

Peter Smith Maidstone I remember it well: Maidstone I remember it well. I lived in Willington St in the 60s till I was ten. I remember Browns grocers and their pekinese and chow dogs, sledging on plastic sheets in Senacre Wood, and playing footy on the green on Northumberland Rd adjacent to Shepway school. I remember Shepway as a happy place and a good school. Mr Moore was the head.

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: hello peter my brother brian worked at browns in willington street he also worked at their cafe in mote park where he mainly run the candy floss stall. i remember our mates watching him serving up the candy floss and fighting off the wasps at same time we all thought it hillarious

John Amos Country: Italy Maidstone I remember it well: Opposite St. Francis primary school adjacent the Kent Messinger was a small sweet shop whereas on the corner was a fish & chips shop, De Marcos cafe, and then a barber's shop. Does anyone remember when the tower to St. Francis church fell down?

Hi John, I don't think it ever fell down it was unstable and when they altered the entrance to the rear of the church as opposed to the side it was pure economics that dictated the tower should go.

peggy musson Maidstone I remember it well: My dad used to cure the fish (bloaters and Haddock ) for sale in Bradford's fish shop I used to help sometimes although it was a very cold job as before fridges the fish were kept in a very cold bath filled with ice and a very smoky job as the fish were then put on a rack (through mouth and out of gills) in a smoke room to cure My mum also made Hassams sausages that were sold there

peggy musson Maidstone I remember it well: I remember the Zoo it was run by the tyrwhitt drake family (there is also a carriage museum in Maidstone ) we lived near penenden heath and we used to walk sundays over the field and through woods to ge there If you did.nt want to walk up the long drive you could take a ride from the road on the small steam railway up to the entrance A lot of the land of the old zoo is now a leisure area the old elephant house (for Gert and Daisy is still there They were named after Jack Warners sisters (of Dixon of Dock green fame) I remember a couple of lions and penny slot machines must have been more than that though

peggy musson Maidstone I remember it well: Does anyone else remember "Nanty Bill" he was an old man (with very long fingernails) who lived in a converted railway carriage in Granville road (an unmade road at that time) we used to call in to see him on way home from North Borough school He always had a roaring fire going vagualy remember him giving us a hot drink have always wondered who he was any information please!!

peggy musson Maidstone I remember it well: I remember Miss thomas and Miss price very well Did anyone else have to in the name of Domestic Science have to clean miss thomas.s flat in Sittingbourne road One day I was shaking a bottle of Min cream (thick white polish) when the top came off and went all over her light green carpet which I hastily wiped it off making things even worse To this day I am never quite sure if she will come after me for a ticking off I also remember her catching various buses home in the evenings to catch out the not very well behaved girls luckily she never came on my one

Neil Arnold Maidstone I remember it well: I've just a writen a book on Maidstone ghost stories called HAUNTED MAIDSTONE. Does anyone have any unusual stories they'd like to share ?

colin edwards Maidstone I remember it well: Does anybody remember the 50 mile walk.It used to start at midnight on a friday from dreamland in margate and the intention was to end up at maidstone barracks in sandling road.It was sponsored by the KM.Tried it twice 1964 /65 and got to canterbury both times.Back to maidstone in one of the army trucks.

Terry McKenna Maidstone I remember it well: Hi Colin. I do most certainly remember the JFK 50 mile walks from Margate via Ashford and then to Maidstone. I did all 3 and they used to go along Holland Road past my family shop/home Mac's Bakerie and I completed all 3. These walks were the brainchild of J.F.K. (U.S. President) to promote the young of the day in a better light to their peers!! And it worked. On one of these walks my then girlfriend and I Anita Whybrew, decided to walk OVER a huge roundabout in Ashford whilst everyone else walked round it. I hadn't realised how tired I was and promptly smashed my shins into the brickwork and bled all over the place. Anita laughed her socks off (but I forgave her!!) as we waited for the St. John ambulance. Nevertheless we still made it back, grinning from ear to ear as we passed some 12 hours after we'd set off. Great memories for me and my much missed girlfriend. My mum and dad gave out loads of the best jam doughnuts in Maidstone for FREE and t hen we enjoyed a "great" British breakfast at the Sandling Road barracks. Mind you in those days we walked everywhere didn't we!! AND we walked home after!!

Whatever happened to Anthony O'leary

PETER PIA Maidstone I remember it well: HOW CAN WE NOT REMEMBER MAIDSTONE. BRILLIANT PLACE AND GREAT TIMES AND MEMORYS. MY DAD HAD PIA'S COFFEE BAR DOWN BY THE GRANADA CINAMA,WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OLD FRIENDS.

You old rascal I bet you don't play the accordian any more. If you look at other pages you will see references to your dads coffee bar. Regards Peter Capon

Denise Grant Maidstone I remember it well: Allen street My gran lived in this house I live in now, and my mum grew up here with her brothers and sister, I rem many things about Allen steet as from when I was a kid in the 70s, now I am 3rd genaration living in Allen house.

Terry McKenna Maidstone I remember it well: Hi Denise. What was your family name in Allen Street then? I used to know a lot of families way back then. The largest family was the Higgins!!.. Hi to Peter Pia, like most of Maidstone I spent hours in your dads coffee bar. They didn't make money from our coffees we bought. They could last several hours!!

Peter Dean Maidstone I remember it well: saw maurice reynolds in Morrisons he used to play in the zephyrs. Does anyone remember a character called Jango who was around in the sixties.

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: ref peter pia hello peter how are you?I certainly remember your dads coffe bar an institution wasnt it.I also remember you from the old boxing club where some of us would meet up.Good to hear from you Pete

Sylvia Herbert Maidstone I remember it well: I went to the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Boxley Road from 1958/9 to 1963. At first, we got there from Charing station by steam train and trolley bus before moving to Bearsted. We got out uniforms from the store at the end of pudding Lane, and the money zinged along the wires up to the cashier's office.

I found this site by searching for 'The Rat Trap' Maidstone, and see comments above about that. It was rumoured to have mattresses in the cellar ... I used to go to the live shows at the cinema (Granada? saw Bobby Vee, the Crickets, Shadows etc while Dion had larangytis and couldn't sing that night). I remember going to the Star ballroom until it was closed down and the dance at the Corn Exchange started. My sisters and I helped out there, with me dancing on the balcony while the ultra violet light picked out the white zigzag stripes on my dress and the boys' white shirts. Roger 'Twiggy' Day DJ'd there (and he's back on the radio in Kent 40 or more years later!). Anyone remember the Gass Company? I also went to St Francis Youth Club.

I remember huddling in the Old palace Gardens with my boyfriend when snow was on the ground, and walking in Mote park, which had quiet, wild parts in those days, and in Barming woods. After it opened, we would jump in a mates car and drive to the motorway cafe at 2am, and pile into cars to go to parties near and far. We rowed an old rowing boat on the Medway at East Farleigh and baled all the time as it had a hole in the bottom ... Happy days. :-)

John Dunk Maidstone I remember it well: I recall the night the G Ranch opened in Maidstone. To kick it off Zoot Money and the Big Roll Band were to be there. I had seen them before and knew they were a great live band and so went along with a friend. When we got inside we were surprised at the diminutive size of the club - it was more like a broom cupboard than a music venue. It was a good thing that not many people turned up or they would have had to spill over into the Star Tap! The only music was recorded, with no sign of Zoot Money. There was only a GoGo dancer frenetically gyrating in a cage. Eventually a message informed us that Zoot was delayed ---- again ----- and again. Sometime after 10 pm a solitary Graham Bond of the Graham Bond Organisation turned up, set up his organ and played music that sounded as if he was making it up as he went along. Every time he seemed to be finishing a piece it carried on, and on, and on. A night to remember - but for all the wrong reasons! Next day there were photos of Eric Burdon's (The Animals) wedding in the newspaper - and who was right at the front with his top hat on very crooked and looking very much the worse-for-wear? Yes, Zoot Money. I never went to the G Ranch again.

Kirsty Manson

Country: Australia Maidstone I remember it well: Hi, I am researching family history of Waghorn and my great great grandfather William Waghorn was Chief Inspector of Police in Maidstone. On the 1901 census he was at 50a King St, Maidstone with his children and 2 ladies who were detained at the police station. Does this building still exist?? and does anyone have any photos?? also do the buildings/houses at these addresses of 29 Albion Place, 16 Marsham St still exist. Hoping someone can assist. Thanks very much Kirsty

The only Waghorns that I have known lived in Lenham Heath and were farmers. Is that any good

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: hello john i remember the sweet shop opposite st francis school it was run by mr and mrs gilbert

Are you sure Barry I thought Gilberts was the toy shop and bike shop

COLIN EDWARDS Maidstone I remember it well: Just read through some random entries on the site. Lots of memories,especially through the sixties and early seventies.Reminders of the teachers at Vinters boys (62 - 67) "Pop" Graham,"Taffy" Mathias (who threw a blackboard rubber the full length of the room at my mate trevor adams,and hit him)The same Trevor Adams who was sent home in the middle of assembly by Read and to come back when he had had his hair cut.The Small Faces had a lot to answer for.Huggins (metalwork) Judge (woodwork, i,ve still got my teapot stand somewhere) Messrs Robinson R & Q and what did "HORSA" playground mean? Miss Hollingsworth at the baths (She did appear in Health and Efficiency you know)Lets move on quickly.Saturday morning pictures,either a Granada Grenadier or an ABC Minor.First proper gig i went to,with my mum and dad,was Helen Shapiro,Jet Harris and Tony Meehan at the Granada about 1961.Lots of good and not so good local bands in the youth club era at the Howard De Walden,The Wesley,Shepway Manor.The Web Foundation,The Way,Mood Reaction all good,Erks Werks,not so good.Good dances also at the Corn Exchange even with its fluorescent lighting.Later on the G Ranch and the Savoy at snodland. Message for Joyce Masters (nee Hilt),How is Dudley.Didn't he marry Angela Povey?I am sure he remembers a caravan holiday in bournmouth in 1968.12 - 14 of us.Moggsy,Steve and Dave Vince,John Russell,Broders,Herbie Craddock. All a bit of a ramble i know,but as the Likely Lads theme tune says,"the only thing to look forward to is the past"

barry hynes Maidstone I remember it well: hello collin,lot of memories came back there! i was at rose yard where g ranch was and there was a plaque there in memory of g ranch ive never seen it before.As well as the local haunts do you remember alex the landlord of the ancient druids he used to serve us even though we were underage but he knew that we were all well behaved and he would rather we be safe in druids than anywhere else.Pity kids nowdays dont have same facilites we had.choice

trish small Maidstone I remember it well: hi colin,trever adams is my ex brother inlaw.I have just messaged his daughter to show him your memories.Joyce hilt is my manager at the lottery kiosk in the chequers centre maidstone

Jeremy Jarvis Country: Australia Maidstone I remember it well: The old Baths was where my mate Hamish and I taught ourselves to swim in the mid 60s. We both lived in Parkwood and caught the bus (trolley?) to the town on a Saturday morning. I recall that you went down some steps into the big pool area and I remember the chlorine smell and change cubicles! I was recently in the UK and visited Maidstone. We parked in the Fremlins Walk car park and had a walk around. I remember Week Street when it had traffic and the fishmongers at the top of Earl(?) Street. I worked in Medway Street at my first job and used to go to a cafe for lunch (can't recall the name). I remember catching the bus home at the top of the High Street when all the buses used to go down Gabriels Hill.