Your Memories of Bexhill-on-Sea
Dedicated to your memories of Bexhill-on-Sea. If you would like to share your memories of Bexhill, please use my contact form. For all other messages and comments about this website or about Bexhill, please see the message board. All messages posted on this page appear in date order, with the most recent at the top.
Almost Christmas and right away my thoughts return to my childhood spent in Bexhill. I was brought up for nine years in Nazareth House a convent in Wrestwood Road and in spite of false memories, half truths and lies that have been written, I do have some very good memories of the place, especially at Christmas time. A lot of these memories are due to the kindness of the people of Bexhill.After putting up our decorations made entirely by the children, we would wait for the delivery of an enormous tree which, every year, would be donated by a local firm. I\'m ashamed to admit that I cannot remember the name of this firm. Soon after, a lorry would arrive with Savages written on the side. It would deliver packages and parcels from pupils of The Down Schools who donated gifts to us of books and toys, enough for every child to receive one. These parcels were put onto the tree and on Christmas day, the Mayor of Bexhill would come and hand out these presents.The local Brownies and Girl Guides would invite a few of the children out for tea and games and the cinema managers would invite some to go to the pictures. But the biggest thrill would be the yearly invitation to The De La Warr Pavilion to see the pantomime. Of course only a certain number could go and we were always on our best behaviour in case we were not one of the chosen ones. Oh, the anticipation was hardly bearable.
In 1953 we were sent out to be educated at St Mary Magdalen\'s School which was by the church opposite the station. We soon made friends with the pupils who were very good to us, as was Mr Noonan the headmaster and Mrs Perry and Miss Morgan. Later that year tragedy struck when two of our girls were drowned at Glyne Gap. We were inundated with toys and messages of sympathy from the people of the town.
I am 70 years old now but can look back with fondness of my time in Bexhill. I owe the people of Bexhill my gratitude for giving me such happy memories. Thank you one and all.
What a lovely way to be able to say thank you after 20 years to my former host families from Bexhill for putting up with me. I came to Bexhill with the EF language school. Bexhill was occupied by hundreds of EF students in summer then. And I enjoyed the dolce vita as an EF leisure leader. I will never get a job with EF after I confessed that....I sort of organized day trips and sport events and the like and in the evening we went out with the local leaders and those from other countries for pub crawls or disco disco (downstairs at the Continental in Sea Road). I remember walking back to Top Cross Road, Pebsham from the night club at the Marina at 4 o'clock in the morning. I must have been in a state of trance Once I even spent the night in a telephone box somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Hastings and Bexhill with nothing in my pockets but a penny or two. I tried to phone Bobs Cabs. Anyway, not surprisingly, Bob was asleep I guess and didn't want get up to pick up some crazy EF leader.... The next day I was shattered, but .. we were young and wild.
O.k., thanks Liz and Pete Anderson for being my lovely host family at my first stay in Bexhill. Thanks Jo, Sid, Keith and Simon Rodway for being my family for a while. It is actually a crazy time to remember. But anytime I drink black tea with sugar and milk I go on a time trip back into your kitchen, Jo. I loved the cake you made, filled with chocolate icing. I tried to make that myself but never managed. Take care XXXX Dagmar
We moved to Bexhill in 1954 after the great smog in London that affected my Dad's health. I went to the Downs Infants' School, then to the Junior School and the Grammar School. Things I remember about those days... playing inside the gorse bushes on the Downs during lunch hours; having to use outside toilets,(imagine making children do that now..there'd be outcry, but I don't remember it as a terrible burden, although it was cold in Winter). The infants school still had a maypole and we had a May Day, doing all those plaiting dances round the Maypole. It seems extraordinary now that we managed it...we were only 6 and 7 and in classes of 40 plus. In my last year at the Infants School, I was May Queen, Richard Menhinnick was May King, and Lawrence Hope was the Chimney Sweep. Don\'t remember any others! Other names from those days..Richard Putland, who still lives and works in Bexhill, Graham Hooker, Susan Apps, Elizabeth Ayling, Jacqueline Parker, Fern Moynan, Roger Pratt, Teddy Barnes, (now a psychiatrist, I gather).
We lived in Amherst Road, and I used to walk to school past Warburton's on Belle Hill, with the smell of grain always catching you on the way past. There were shops on Belle Hill...Martin's the small sweetshop and tobacconist, with Mr. Luck behind the counter. Then Bird's, a bigger grocery shop. Opposite, was a bicycle repair shop. The cross roads at the bottom of the hill was manned by (I think) a Mr. Pittock, who was the crossing guard there for years. He directed us all across all those crossings without a lollipop, just by watching traffic and beckoning us over. Living in Amherst Road then meant that when the fire siren went, some of the firemen would hurtle past us on their bikes to get to the fire station which was at the bottom of the road. I remember roller skating along the promenade, and round the semicircle on the front by the Pavilion. (Current residents take note... children skating on the sea front isn't new!)!
We used to play sometimes in a wood opposite Penland Road,where the housing estate now is; I don't remember the name of it. When I was at the Grammar School I used to cycle home past the Windmill near Glenleigh Park, and sometimes we would buy buns at the bakery there. Was it called Hoad's? My Dad taught French at the Boys' Grammar School (Doug Shott, anyone remember him) and my Mum also taught French, for many years at Ancaster Gate, then at the Girls' Grammar School. She still lives in Bexhill, now 93 and a fund of memories if she can be persuaded to talk about them. Sadly, we don't live anywhere near...we emigrated to the US over 20 years ago and now live in a small town in Pennsylvania. I come home every now and again and always enjoy my visits, although I regret some of the changes. The loss of the Post Office in the Old Town, and the loss of convenient parking in front of the General Post Office don't seem like good ideas, but lots of things seem pretty much unchanged and I still like it. Last thing... anyone who was at the Downs Infants and Junior between 1954 and 1960, or the Grammar School between 1960 and 1067...feel free to e-mail me. carosmith49AThotmail.com (replace AT with @). I'd like to feel there's still a connection to Bexhill!
My family lived in Bexhill for the first fifteen years of my life. My father (a serving soldier in the Canadian artillery) died in the landings at Salerno, Italy, two weeks before I was born and my mother and I lived with my grandfather and his wife in Hever crescent. My grandfather (George Goodsell) was something of a local character. One of his many escapades occured when, during the war, he came home somewhat "tired and emotional" and, seeing that the searchlights had trapped a german bomber, rushed into the house, got his shotgun and his alloted supply of cartridges, and, laying on his back, proceeded to use the lot firing upwards at the bomber! He was a very active man and had a variety of part-time jobs, including scene shifting at the De la Warr pavilion, caretaking at the police station in Cantelupe Rd, and gardening for a gentleman whose surname was, I think, Starkey. Other activities included shrimping and poaching! For the latter he had a partner in crime who was a retired police inspector who lived next to the Bull Inn in Bexhill Rd, St Leonards. He took me as well and I enjoyed it hugely. It was a great childhood until my mother Joan remarried. Other childhood memories include the wreck of a "doodle bug" in a field at the back of Sidley.
I went to school at Downs Infants, Juniors, and Seniors. Some masters I remember were Mrs Short (gardening and science), Bruchs (art), Thomas (P.T), Arnold "Jeff" (music) and Salter "Rex" (English). I owe the last two gentleman a debt that can never be repaid. "Jeff Arnold" awakened in me a love of classical music which I still have, and "Rex Salter" gave me a love for reading which has never died. The headmaster at Downs Senior was a Mr Nicholls who always smelt of whisky after lunch! In closing I would ask any former pupils of Downs Senior who remember me (Mick Upton), to get in touch.
The first school that I went to in England was Sandown School. I think it was in the in 1961. I played on the cricket team. I have a bill that my father gave me dated August 1961 for one term at a cost of L98:19:6d. I have fond memories. One night I drove there & it was a housing estate the only thing left was the old grass tennis court with construction equipment in it... that must have been about 1968. Tony Sulman was the headmaster and his sister was Peggy. Some family members called May were from Nottingham and wanted to sell the land.
Fantastic memories from the the summer of 1977. I was over from Sweden for three weeks in Bexhill-on-sea staying with a local family. Everything was fantastic and different. I have loads of great memories, but as hard as I've tried, I can not put a name to any of the places I remember. I've been checking on Google Earth trying to track the street where I stayed and the school I attended in daytime as well as the Pub with a grand beer-garden the family went to on occasions. But to no avail.
I remember buying chips on a fish and chip shop on the seafront every single day. Searching supermarkets for all kinds of weird fizzy drinks as I collected the empty cans and the exictement to be able to bring these back home was beyond comprehension.
Posing with the Mayor in full regalia in front of Town Hall.
Doing forbidden daytrips by train to Hastings and walking back on the beach. Throwing peebles. visiting Beachy head. Trying to understand who Peter Ward was and just could not fathom the rules in cricket that was on telly everyday for hours on end it seemed.
Spent nearly all my money on Subbuteo-paraphenelia and Chelsea souvenirs. Believe it or not but as I recollect the sun shone for all my stay...
Food in the house was "different". Chips and ravioli first night and Weetabix and milk for breakfast every morning...
Got bullied by locals if in the wrong spot at the wrong time but even that seemed to add to the fun.
Strangely enough I've not been back since eventhough I must have spent a least a year of my life in England since.
Thanks for the memories!
And if by any chance the young couple with a sweet young daughter who put me and my friend up by some chance reads this. It was some of the best days of my life.
Just came across your site and memories flooded back to 1938 when as a weedy cockney boy I was sent for two weeks to a convalescent home at Bexhill. Had my 8th birthday in there, our beds out on a freezing balcony all night in late October - crazy! Often wondered where that was and if it is still there?
I remember being in a group of small boys being taken into the town, going into a sweet shop where an older lad asked for a penny packet of stationery. Me, not knowing what stationery was, asked for the same, thinking it something nice to eat, only to discover a few sheets of notepaper with envelopes - never trusted anybody since!!.
I was born in Bexhill in 1946. Therefore I am now 60! I went to school at Hadley Bourne School and my grandfather and grandmother Mr and Mrs Merritt, ran a Shoe makers and repairers at 37 Sackville Rd called Merrit & Truan. I think it is now a funeral parlour!
I remember a Barry Henderson from Bexhill and a Norma Goff (as she was then called) when we lived in St Georges Rd. Would love to hear from them.
I was Lynda Smith in those days and my parents were Leslie and Joan Smith.
Lyn Edwards
I was born in Cornwall Road near Egerton Park in 1951. We moved to Calgary Road Sidley about 3 years later. When I was 13/14 we moved to a flat in Knole Road.
I went to St Mary Magdalene\'s when it was in the Church Hall (opp the station) with just a hinged partition wall dividing infants from juniors. I think the seniors were in a nissan style hut on the edge of the field where St Richards School was built. Near the gasworks - I used to love the smell they gave off.
The infant/junior teachers then were Miss Morgan and Miss Lawes who became Mrs Barber. There was quite a kerfuffle about her returning after she had a baby - it wasn't quite the done thing then.
Miss Morgan was always saying "Stop doing that. You give me the willies" and we all used to collapse in giggles - such innocent times. She never seemed to know why we were laughing.
I think Mr Noonan was headmaster when I first started. I remember he was bald and had a split leather strap which he was quite prepared to use. Mr Connearn (?) took over from him a few years after I started school and his first action was to put the strap in the bin.
When I started Juniors we were moved up to Nazareth House where some of the teachers were nuns. Sister John used to hitch up her skirts and referee the football matches. She was also keen on throwing blackboard dusters at anyone not paying attention and caught me by mistake. She just said "That's for next time you do something".
I went on to the Downs Secondary School when Miss Wilkins was Headmistress and what an intimidating lady she was! Being sent to her office was terrifying but I always got the giggles from sheer nerves and it drove her to distraction. Most of us got a pretty good education all things considered; you didn't dare do anything else.
I also used to go to the ABC Minors on Saturday mornings. At that time there were only two cinemas left as far as I remember. I went to Brownies in a hut on the London Road and ballet first in one of the roads off the sea front, then in Sidley Place (??) and next in a basement near the Amusement Arcade.
The Amusement Arcade was known as Aggies and was strictly off limits as far as my Dad was concerned. A real den of iniquity. He worked in the Marina Garage opposite and I can remember practically crawling along the path trying to get in to the Arcade without being spotted. Amazing how much more exciting a place is when it is forbidden.
Offa Way always looks very alien when we return to visit family.
Sheila Varian
As a 70-year old now living in Macau (China) I still retain the warmest memories of Bexhill in the 1950s. At that time I was a National Serviceman stationed at RAF Wartling (Upper Barnhorn, Little Common) and courting a local Bexhill girl who lived in Downlands Avenue.
My most vivid memories relate to our regular attandance at many performances by the Penguin Players at both the De La Warr Pavilion and the little theatre in Egerton Park. Many residents will remember that Richard (Dicky) Burnett and his wife Peggy Paige managed the company and acted in these weekly productions. The company also included many other actors and actresses, some of whom went on later to become familiar faces in TV dramas. I recall the players in the 1950s (1956-58) included James Irwin, Honora Burke, Adele Strong, Pilton Wilson, Anthony Cornish, Ron Pember, Edgar Metcalf, Clyde Pollit, Richard Simpson. The very first play we attended was "Captain Carvello", followed later by "The Amazing Dr Clitterhouse", "Separate Tables", "Certain Joy". ...and many many others.
I also remember the summer variety show (was it called "Starlight Rendezvous"?) with Freddie Frinton as the host and star.
After I left the RAF I attended teachers' college in London but returned regularly to Bexhill in 1957-58. One Christmas (probably 1957) I took a part-time job as a mail sorter at Bexhill post office; and the following summer I was employed as a waiter at the Eastcliff (?) Hotel, owned and operated then by a Mrs McCoy and her husband.
During my time in Bexhill I attended services with my girlfriend at the Beulah Baptist Church. At that time the pastor was Rev Edmund Heddle.
Having lived overseas for many years I visited Bexhill again for the first time in 1999. Many things were much the same as in the 50s, but there had been some significant changes too. I had expected to arrive by train at the Bexhill West Station, but then discovered that it no longer exists. The building was still there (now an antique shop or something of the sort) but the rails have gone. Gone too was the little theatre in Egerton Park. At the time (1999) the De La Warr Pavilion appeared to be very rundown and neglected; but I believe that recently it has been refurbished. I looked for, but could not find, the Thalia School of Speech and Drama, run in the 1950s by the Portch family. I was at teachers' college with the daughter Yvonne Portch.
I left England permanently in 1974 to work and live in Australia. More recently I was teaching at the University of Hong Kong, but retired from there in 2004. I still retain the fondest memories of Bexhill.
Peter Westwood
Macau, 2007
G'Day, I was born in Bexhill in 1940, my family migrated to Australia in 1950 prior to that I attended St Mary Magdalen's School which then was opposite the Bexhill Station. I lived at No 10 Pembury Grove Sidley. I came back to Bexhill in 2000 and just spent the day there bringing back memories, I intend to revisit Bexhill in July 2007, I was wondering if anybody remembers me or my family I had a cousin called Michael Bishop.
Following up from Barry's post (below) - I was an ABC minor and went to the Ritz also the Savoy.
I was born in Bexhill, in 1945, was married there, and lived, and was a regular visitor until mine, and my wife's parents died some 10 years ago. Anyway, your info about Sidley Station is wrong. I believe that it was closed at around the same time as Bexhill West Station. I travelled on the penultimate train, on a Sunday night, from Bexhill West, and, when they had steam trains running on the line, used to train spot on Sidley Station. A bit of a waste of time, as there were only a couple of different locomotives, and an 'Austerity' goods locomotive.
Perhaps you could include the goods yard, where Beeching Way now stands. It was a large concern in it's time, but it fell into disuse before the station went. Strange that I remember this, as I am not a train buff! I went to school at the Down Junior School (now King Offa's) and learnt to swim in 'the Baths' as they were called.
Out of interest, I only got on to your site because of a programme on Radio 4 this morning about Children's Matinees (at cinemas). There used to be one at the Ritz, which was part of the ABC chain (the attendees were known as the ABC Minors), and I became curious to see whether there was any record of it. Thinking of other things on your site, I remember the Gaiety cinema, or at least the remains of it, and the Metropole Hotel - ditto. Thinking back, the shells of these buildings were allowed to remain in place for several years. Much longer than would be allowed now. I also noted that Belle Hill has been renamed King Offa Way. Bit odd, really. As I recall, King Offa never got a mention in Bexhill during my childhood/youth, until the Downs Junior/Infant School was renamed.
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