Memories of Alphington and St.Thomas
By Ian Hopkins
The late 1930s
I was born in 1938, and for the first eighteen months of my life, lived with my parents, in Wardrew Road, with my father’s mother, a 1st World War widow.
In mid 1939, my father enlisted in the RAF, and my mother and I moved to her father’s house, in Wellington Road.
The biggest change for us was moving from a house with electricity, and an indoor bathroom, to a house with gas lighting on the ground floor, and oil lamps and candles in the bedrooms. No bathroom, or inside toilet.
My grandfather, a widower, was employed at Willeys, in the Meter Shop. My mother’s brother, and one of her sisters husbands had also been employed at Willeys, although one of them moved to Derby, at the start of the war, to work for Rolls Royce.
The 1940s
In 1941, or early in 1942, my mother started work as a secretary, at the Atco works, in Chudleigh Road. This had been taken over by the MoD, to service motor cycles for the army. As a result I attended Alphington School for about 12 months.
My mother and I would walk from Wellington Road, each morning, me being left at the school, my mother continuing to work. After school, I would walk to the Atco works, walking home after she finished work.
My friends at that time were Maurice Woodgates, Roger Simms, and Anthea Slugget, all who lived in Chudleigh Road.
Time marching on
Eventually, my grandfather, had to give up work due the health and age, and I was moved to Union Street Infants, thence to John Stocker Junior School, then Hele’s School.
I cannot recall any evidence of trams in Alphington Road, but up until the1960’s the double decker ‘A’ used to turn at the Marsh Barton Road junction, the other terminus being at Widgery Road. When we moved to Alphington in 1982, the ‘A’ bus terminus was in Shillingford Road, just past Smith Field Road
Alphington and Exeter were separate entities, until the late sixties. On the right hand side going out, where the High School is now, was an orchard, owned by the Physicks. Between Walterloo Road, and Stone Lane, was a market garden run by , I believe, a Mr. Selleck. There was a market garden in Wellington Road, I can’t recall who owned this one, but it was a favourite spot to pinch root crops.
Within half a mile, there were six corner shops, a butcher, a shoe repairer and two dairies. My grandfather, had a wireless, run by an accumulator, and it was my job to carry it to Woods Western Garage to be recharged, on a regular basis.
Mr. James, from the Dairy in Ebrington Road, pushed a three wheeled handcart, to deliver milk, which was ladled from the churns into our jug.
Once a week, greengroceries were brought door-to-door on a horse and cart. As far as I know, all the vegetables were produced locally.
More war-time memories
During the war, everything was rationed, with the exception of greengroceries, fruit, and bread, although bread was rationed at some stage. Beef , and other meat was in short supply, but being close to the country, there always seem to be an ample supply of pork, I think pigs must have been accident prone.
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