Welcome Roy Retro

[PETER CRAIG]

Welcome to the Bootle forum Roy Retro,
Peter.

[Roy Retro]

Thanks Peter, what a great site, I've spent hours looking at all the old photo's and reading the stories of past times and has brought back some good memories.
I lived at 27 Marmion Avenue from 1958 to 1976 and went to Roberts school from 1963 to 1970 and then on to Warwick Bolam until 1976.
I spent all of my childhood playing on the "back field" behind our house (known then as Roberts Place)and have many fond memories of playing for hours with "me mates"
I remember the Prefabs that were there until they were demolished in the late 60's and have seen them mentioned on here a few times so if anyone can share any memories of them please do.
I stumbled onto this site because I was trying to find out what was originally built on the site of Roberts place and also the site at the back of Pennington Avenue where the dinner centre for Roberts School was (which I'm assuming was a later addition to the school) and up to now have drawn a blank.
Going back through the old photo's here I come across an old aerial photo of the area from about the 30's when it was first being developed and they show that there was nothing being built there. It puzzles me why they left two large areas in the middle of a new housing development as wasteland when they were using every available inch of land for housing. I have mentioned the Prefabs but they must have been built there at the end of the war so if anyone could throw any light on the subject let me know and if anyone remembers me give me a shout

Roy Nixon

[EdMcDonald]

Thanks Peter, what a great site, I've spent hours looking at all the old photo's and reading the stories of past times and has brought back some good memories.
I lived at 27 Marmion Avenue from 1958 to 1976 and went to Roberts school from 1963 to 1970 and then on to Warwick Bolam until 1976.
I spent all of my childhood playing on the "back field" behind our house (known then as Roberts Place)and have many fond memories of playing for hours with "me mates"
I remember the Prefabs that were there until they were demolished in the late 60's and have seen them mentioned on here a few times so if anyone can share any memories of them please do.
I stumbled onto this site because I was trying to find out what was originally built on the site of Roberts place and also the site at the back of Pennington Avenue where the dinner centre for Roberts School was (which I'm assuming was a later addition to the school) and up to now have drawn a blank.
Going back through the old photo's here I come across and old aerial photo of the area from about the 30's when it was first being developed and they show that there was nothing being built there. It puzzles me why they left two large areas in the middle of a new housing development as wasteland when they were using every available inch of land for housing. I have mentioned the Prefabs but they must have been built there at the end of the war so if anyone could throw any light on the subject let me know and if anyone remembers me give me a shout

Roy Nixon

Originally the site, where the dinner centre was, was a big air raid and bomb shelter. Our house used to back onto it. There was also a lone prefab on the ground. The Hughes family lived there.

[BOBHAMO]

Hi Roy and welcome my dad and nan lived in number 24 marmion ave
marmion ave was built 1923 , penningtonave 1925
roberts place after 1945 prefab i remember going there with my sister had a mate who lived there

before that it was just called the acres
the land must have been stubbs farm, park lane farm
bobhamo

[Roy Retro]

Hi Roy and welcome my dad and nan lived in number 27 marmion ave
marmion ave was built 1923 , penningtonave 1925
roberts place after 1945 prefab i remember going there with my sister had a mate who lived there

before that it was just called the acres
the land must have been stubbs farm, park lane farm
bobhamo

Wow, thanks for that Bob, what years did your dad and nan live there?

[BOBHAMO]

hi Roy my nan moved to marion way about 1963
my dadlived there from 1920s till the war married and moved to altcar road
my grandfather died young and nan remarried hilton was her new name
from the early 50s every sunday i went to my nans in marmion ave
thought it was miles away
then went over the bridge to orrel pleasure
so much for kids to do
iam a bit before your time
bobhamo

[Roy Retro]

Thanks Peter, what a great site, I've spent hours looking at all the old photo's and reading the stories of past times and has brought back some good memories.
I lived at 27 Marmion Avenue from 1958 to 1976 and went to Roberts school from 1963 to 1970 and then on to Warwick Bolam until 1976.
I spent all of my childhood playing on the "back field" behind our house (known then as Roberts Place)and have many fond memories of playing for hours with "me mates"
I remember the Prefabs that were there until they were demolished in the late 60's and have seen them mentioned on here a few times so if anyone can share any memories of them please do.
I stumbled onto this site because I was trying to find out what was originally built on the site of Roberts place and also the site at the back of Pennington Avenue where the dinner centre for Roberts School was (which I'm assuming was a later addition to the school) and up to now have drawn a blank.
Going back through the old photo's here I come across and old aerial photo of the area from about the 30's when it was first being developed and they show that there was nothing being built there. It puzzles me why they left two large areas in the middle of a new housing development as wasteland when they were using every available inch of land for housing. I have mentioned the Prefabs but they must have been built there at the end of the war so if anyone could throw any light on the subject let me know and if anyone remembers me give me a shout

Roy Nixon

Originally the site, where the dinner centre was, was a big air raid and bomb shelter. Our house used to back onto it. There was also a lone prefab on the ground. The Hughes family lived there.

Thanks for replying Ed, that would fill in some missing years, the air raid shelter and prefab would mean they were built post 1939 which begs the question what was there before that

[EdMcDonald]

I think ,as Bob says, it was just and open ground. That would be before Bailey Drive was built. Deffo pre war.

[Roy Retro]

hi Roy my nan moved to marion way about 1963
my dadlived there from 1920s till the war married and moved to altcar road
my grandfather died young and nan remarried hilton was her new name
from the early 50s every sunday i went to my nans in marmion ave
thought it was miles away
then went over the bridge to orrel pleasure
so much for kids to do
iam a bit before your time
bobhamo

I used to go to orrel pleasure too, before the Giro was built
I remember stories that Marmion was bombed during the war, do you remember anything about that Bob?

[Mack]

Welcome aboard Roy

Great to see you are getting helpful advice from our brilliant members in our "Chat About Anything" section from our Bootle members. I have also move this over to our "Looking For" section for you too for more replies.

Mack

[Elaine Goulding]

Hello Roy, a warm welcome to our great site.
Elaine

[bob. b]

Welcome Roy some fantastic people on this site. Bob

[BOBHAMO]

Sorry Roy not that old
the war had finnished by a few years
there are a few photos of roberts school on the site
bobhamo

[EdMcDonald]

hi Roy my nan moved to marion way about 1963
my dadlived there from 1920s till the war married and moved to altcar road
my grandfather died young and nan remarried hilton was her new name
from the early 50s every sunday i went to my nans in marmion ave
thought it was miles away
then went over the bridge to orrel pleasure
so much for kids to do
iam a bit before your time
bobhamo

I used to go to orrel pleasure too, before the Giro was built
I remember stories that Marmion was bombed during the war, do you remember anything about that Bob?

My sister, she's 82 now, reckons that Moss Lane and Park lane were bombed. She can't remember Marmion Ave though.

[Roy Retro]

Some great info from everyone and thanks for taking time to reply

[BOBHAMO]

I think no 27 was damaged and can remember it was not in good condition
i had a look a few years ago and it was knocked down and another house built there
Jan had a list of bomb damage
bobhamo

[ALAMO2008]

My Nan & Grandad lived at 13 Park Lane which is where I presume I was conceived in 1949 when my Mum & Dad lived with his widowed Mum there till 1953 when we were allocated a Council House in Randall Drive off Sterrix Lane down the side of Bootle Golf Course.
I remember as a kid playing in the Air Raid shelter at the bottom of the rear garden of 13 Park Lane, which was up the top end on the right near the now dual carriageway junction over the bridge.
Remember there being a ticket office & sweet shop on the Orrell Station Bridge which was then Single Carriageway over a narrow humpback bridge. My Dad's Asphalting Firm - Limmer & Trinidad made the Dual Carriageway in the 60's he used to borrow my school bike to ride to work there and leave it all day lying unchained at the side of the roadworks.
Played football at Orrell leisure fields and from 1968 to 1974 I worked at the Giro
Our Primary School in Sterrix Lane were Ex Army Nissan Huts with Air Raid Shelter and the Anti Aircraft Mounds were still on Bootle Golf Course next door.
Remember playing footy for our school against Roberts, we lost nearly every game against all the schools about Ten NiL

[BOBHAMO]

Hi Alamo some great memories we all remember the hut on the bridge
orrell pleasure was a day out there where a couple of ponds to play by
the golf course pond by the pathway was the beginning of all my mates to start fishing
loads of perch and ducking the golf balls
most of the kids around your area patrolled the greens looking for golf balls
and useing baskets with ropes on to get them out of the pond
when i got married and moved from bootle i lived in ford and took both of my sons to the golf course to go fishing
next time i am up there will take some photos
bobhamo

[EdMcDonald]

Hi Alamo some great memories we all remember the hut on the bridge
orrell pleasure was a day out there where a couple of ponds to play by
the golf course pond by the pathway was the beginning of all my mates to start fishing
loads of perch and ducking the golf balls
most of the kids around your area patrolled the greens looking for golf balls
and useing baskets with ropes on to get them out of the pond
when i got married and moved from bootle i lived in ford and took both of my sons to the golf course to go fishing
next time i am up there will take some photos
bobhamo

Hi Bob. The hut on the bridge was called "Dollies". The ponds were known as the seven ponds. I can still remember electric trains running past Ford Station on Grand National Day. Looking forward to your photos.
Nice memories hey.

[ALAMO2008]

I remember Dollies being broken into once in the 1950's and the Cigarettes and Sweets stolen and for some reason the burglar made his way through the rear garden of 13 Park Lane leaving a trail of stolen items mostly sweets.
Grandma Chapman lived at number 13 from 1939 to about 1979 we she went into Connolly House in Balliol Rd which I think was number 47 Balliol Rd, She died there in 1981 now its under the new Hugh Baird College.
I was conceived in 13 Park Lane, but my recent application for my full birth certificate shows I was actually born in 1949 at 51 Balliol Rd the other side of Stanley Rd.
Probably it was Bootle Maternity Hospital, now under the first Hugh Baird College Small world. How weird is that ?

Anyway, back to the Dollies story,
Grandma called the police and showed them the trail of items left across her rear garden.
They took the evidence away.
Cries from my brother and me "Oh Grandma, why didn't you keep some of the sweets" - when we heard of the event, was met with:-
" Just open the kitchen drawer ! "

[Elaine Goulding]

Alamo, had to laugh when you asked Grandma Chapman about the stolen sweets thinking they had all been returned and she told you some were in the kitchen draw. Now that is typical scouse, she sounds like a real character!!! I love to read stories like that.

[25marmion]

Thanks Peter, what a great site, I've spent hours looking at all the old photo's and reading the stories of past times and has brought back some good memories.
I lived at 27 Marmion Avenue from 1958 to 1976 and went to Roberts school from 1963 to 1970 and then on to Warwick Bolam until 1976.
I spent all of my childhood playing on the "back field" behind our house (known then as Roberts Place)and have many fond memories of playing for hours with "me mates"
I remember the Prefabs that were there until they were demolished in the late 60's and have seen them mentioned on here a few times so if anyone can share any memories of them please do.
I stumbled onto this site because I was trying to find out what was originally built on the site of Roberts place and also the site at the back of Pennington Avenue where the dinner centre for Roberts School was (which I'm assuming was a later addition to the school) and up to now have drawn a blank.
Going back through the old photo's here I come across and old aerial photo of the area from about the 30's when it was first being developed and they show that there was nothing being built there. It puzzles me why they left two large areas in the middle of a new housing development as wasteland when they were using every available inch of land for housing. I have mentioned the Prefabs but they must have been built there at the end of the war so if anyone could throw any light on the subject let me know and if anyone remembers me give me a shout

Roy Nixon

Originally the site, where the dinner centre was, was a big air raid and bomb shelter. Our house used to back onto it. There was also a lone prefab on the ground. The Hughes family lived there.

Thanks for replying Ed, that would fill in some missing years, the air raid shelter and prefab would mean they were built post 1939 which begs the question what was there before that

My grandparents and dad lived at 25 Marmion Ave from the 1920s until 1979. My gran, Mildred Gough, moved there with her parents in the 1920s. She later married my grandad, David Main, and my dad, Jim, was born in the 30’s. My dad left when he joined the RAF in the 50’s. I remember visiting for summer holidays in the 60’s and 70’s and playing the old prefabs behind 25. I remember them talking about 27 being bomb damaged in WW2.