Drake Circus in the 1970s

I love this photo from the 1970s showing the area in front of Marks and Spencers. At the time, many people met up in the spot after shopping or for a chat as can be seen on the right of the photo. The benches were a good place to sit and watch the world go by. Occasionally, buskers would set up in the area often raising money for charity. Nearby, the Salvation Army Band would play at Christmas.
In the background is the old Drake Circus with C&A on the ground and first floors. Up the escalator was Arcadia which was a newsagents as well as a seller of toys, stationery and those wonderful Pace posters that you used to get in the 1970s featuring your favourite pop and television stars.
Today, the area in this photograph is hard to recognise and has been replaced with the new, always busy, Drake Mall.
I sort of miss the way the town once was and it seems like it was a far more relaxing place to sit, have your lunch or just have a rest from shopping.
I think the photographer of this photo is probably Steve Johnson (Cyberheritage) who took some excellent photos of the town in the 1970s.


Colin Preston

Keen fans of the rock group Queen will know the name Colin Preston who lived all his life in Plymouth. A story on the fansite 'Queenpedia.com' (which is wrong, by the way) reads:

"Keep Smilin'" was written for Colin Preston, a young Queen fan who considered himself a Freddie look-alike. Colin was involved in a car accident and slipped into a coma, and Colin's parents asked if Freddie could visit their son. Instead, the vocalist took opportunity of studio time and wrote and recorded a song especially for Colin, then sent the tape to his family, who reported back that it made a difference; sadly, Colin died shortly afterward, and the family reassured Freddie that the tape would be buried with him so that no one could make a copy.
I knew Colin when I was about 10 years old (in 1971) and we both went to Knowle Primary School in West Park. For a while, we were best friends and would spend evenings searching for conkers and in the day, playing marbles, building dens and playing cowboys and Indians. He lived with his gran at the bottom of the road behind the fish and chip shop at West Park and I'd call for him on some days after school and we'd go out exploring the area (as kids did in those days). We ocassionally got into trouble like the time some lads set upon us while we were cutting through Honicknowle School. I had a bleeding nose so we went back to Colin's house and his gran then blamed me!
It's odd, when the school decided that, because my birthday fell in the summer holidays, that I'd be moved up a year, we were no longer in the same class and, from then on, hardly hung around with each other. I soon left for Southway Comprehensive ( which was dire to say the least) and I never saw Colin again. It's funny, when you're a kid, you can be such good friends with someone and then just move on.

Anyway, in about 1986, I had been seriously ill in hospital and when I came out, I read about Colin in the paper soon after and his battle with cancer (he hadn't been in a car crash as mentioned on many Queen sites on the net). I read in the Plymouth Star that pool and darts players at the Victory Inn had raised £580 for him. I looked in future papers for more news but never saw anything and assumed that he'd recovered. It wasn't until about 2010 that I'd heard that he died. He was certainly a great kid and a lot of fun and, even though I hadn't seen him for a very long time, I was upset to hear the news.

Recently his brother, Philip, kindly sent me the photos, shown here, as well as the newspaper story that I remembered reading all those years ago. Colin would have been about 26 when he died and not a boy as reported on some sites. Although it was also reported that Colin had the only version of 'Keep Smilin' the song can be heard on YouTube and elsewhere.

Finally, here's a photo of me and Colin Preston in Mr Thompson's class in about 1970. I'm fourth from the right in the back row and Colin is second from the right. The flame-haired Mr Thompson had a fiery temper to match but he looks quite harmless in this photo!

Universal Book Stores, Frankfort Gate

After my article about the various shops at the bottom end of town in the 1960s and 1970s, Mike Evans, the owner of Universal Book Stores, kindly wrote to me. I loved the bookstore when I was a boy but, for some reason, in my article, I mistakenly called it 'Bonus Books.'
Mike wrote:
'I've always enjoyed reading your articles in the Shopper newspaper but I must bring to your attention the second-hand bookshop you mentioned. The only bookshop in Frankfort Gate was Universal Book Stores which was owned by my father and myself.

My father opened his shop there in 1960, and I joined him in 1969, and we dealt in all kinds of second hand books. By the middle of the 1970s, we were selling new remainder and last of run books as well as second-hand. Sadly my father passed away in 1990 and I carried on with the business until 1997.The rent and rates had escalated so much by then that I had no choice but to finish with the business.

My father started the business in 1947 in Tin Pan Alley in Plymouth, wheeling his books down there every day from his basement flat, eventually finding shops to run his business from. The shop he was mostly known for was in York Street. I can remember, in the early 1950s, working as his Saturday boy and people would be queueing outside the door for opening time at 8.30am.

Most of his stock came from service and merchant navy personnel returning home from abroad, hence the American comics and science fiction magazines, which are now collectors pieces.'

Mike kindly sent me some lovely photos which are shown here. I'm sure that many Plymothians will recognise both him and his father.
An article about the shop appeared in the Evening Herald of Christmas 1989 under the heading 'Heading for the Record Books.' It read:

A long established Plymouth shop proprietor is Peter Evans of Universal Book Stores who started his business during the dark days of World War Two.
He remembers the make-shift shops erected after most of Plymouth's city centre was bombed out in the blitz.
'I started a book stall in Tin Pan Alley (called Drake Street before the blitz). It led though from the bottom of Saltash Street to the old Plymouth Pannier Market.' he said. 'I used to wheel the books down in a couple of tin trucks and wheel them home again every night. The stalls in Tin Pan Alley were constructed out of sheets of galvanised steel, the same as was used for making air-raid shelters. As there was no covering to protect the stalls, everyone erected their own canvas awnings strung across the alley which gave pedestrians and stall holders a little protection from the rain. I used to advertise even then and always bought the Evening Herald. I used to buy my stock for the stall and eventually saved up for a car to collect my stock from houses. After several years and various shops (including many years at 30 York Street), due to the construction of Western Approach, I received a compulsory purchase order to move but luckily was offered a shop in Frankfort Gate. This was in December 1960. Business was fairly quiet for several years.
My son joined me in 1969 and through those last 20 years we have built up a really good selection of remainders and second-hand paperbacks.

Unfortunately, Peter died three months after the article appeared but Mike carried on with the shop for another seven years with the help of his wife.
Incidentally, I'd forgotten about the shop next door which sold remote controlled helicopters and planes, which can just be seen in the photo from the 1980s. My dad always wanted one back in the 1970s but they were hundreds of pounds which seemed a fortune back then (he never got one!).
I'm really pleased the Mike took the time to write to me and it was a a great reminder of the many happy times I'd spent visiting the shop, first as a boy buying comics and annuals and, later, buying photography and movie books in the 1970s and 1980s.

David Soul's appearance in Plymouth in 1977

Nowadays, it's hard to imagine  the excitement that took place in Plymouth when David Soul turned up one evening at a boxing match in the city early in 1977. The story was exclusively revealed in the following day's Sunday Independent. At the time, Starsky and Hutch was incredibly popular on the tv and any programme that featured David Soul or Paul Michael Glaser was watched by millions. The seventies was a time when thousands of fans would turn out at airports and bring everything to a standstill. Other acts who'd experienced this during the 1970s included the Osmonds, David Cassidy and, of course, the Bay City Rollers (who also appeared in Plymouth).
David was soon interviewed by Westward Television and it was revealed that he was in the city to make a movie, which was originally called 'Mud.' He was so popular at the time that it had to be kept secret where he was staying but, as Westward had interviewed him in his hotel room, it soon became apparent to many that he was staying at the Holiday Inn and soon the area was deluged by fans. He was quickly moved and stayed at the Devon Tors Hotel, just by the roundabout at Yelverton.
I was at school at the time and many kids said that their dads had been drinking at the Moorland Links Hotel in the evening and David had been there and had a chat with them and even sung a couple of songs.
The local papers were full of stories about the film and the Sunday Independent regular featured photos, one of which showed David skinny-dipping at Denham Bridge. Soon after, he contracted pneumonia and the story was reported in the Times of 20th May 1977. It read:
'Actor and singer David Soul, co-star of the television series Starsky and Hutch, has been admitted to a London hospital after suffering from pneumonia.
Work on the motion picture 'Mud,' in which the blonde actor is starring, came to a halt when he was taken from the film's South Devon location to London on Thursday.
Soul had been feeling ill throughout the week but said he thought he had been suffering only from influenza. On Wednesday he flew to Glasgow to top the bill in the Scottish Jubilee Royal Variety show attended by Queen Elizabeth.'
One newspaper story reported how a girl from Plymouth had begged her parents to take her to Hollywood and the set of Starsky and Hutch to hopefully meet her heroes. However, when they arrived, they discovered that Soul was filming just ten miles away from her home.
At the time, I would have loved to have seen the filming taking place. One day, I was out with my parents in our car and there was the film crew gathered near the cricket club at Yelverton. My dad wouldn't stop the car, so that's all I saw. The next day, I decided to catch the bus and travel to the same spot to see if filming was still taking place. There was nothing going on, so I stayed on the bus. A few seats away from me was the actor, 

Tony Melody. I recognised him from comedies on the television but, at the time, had no idea that he was also in the film. He got off the bus at Dousland presumably to continue filming and I missed my chance to see the film in production. From the newspaper reports, it appeared that shooting was taking place at Maristow, so I walked from Yelverton to Lopwell Dam, which seemed endless. I saw nothing, realised there was no bus service and had to walk all the way back home! It was certainly a long day.

Westward Television showed occasional clips from the movie, most of which showed David slipping up in cow manure!

As far as I remember, the movie had its premier in Plymouth the following year. By then, its name had been changed from 'Mud' to 'The Stick-Up.' Unfortunately, the movie was panned by critics and seemed to be hardly shown anywhere afterwards. I still have never seen it and, unusually, it's never been shown on tv in the 37 years since! I see recently, however, copies of the DVD, previously unavailable in the UK, have been popping up on ebay so perhaps, one day, I'll get around to watching it.

I never did get to meet David Soul but a few months later, my mum gave me a copy of his album which had been signed by him. The Music Box at St Budeaux had managed to get copies of his LP signed at the Moorland Links for various customers but several never picked them up for some reason. My copy said 'to Julie' but that never really bothered me! Like most things I had in the 1970s, it's long since disappeared!

Robert Lenkiewicz, a treasure hunt and a forgotten cannonball

I recently walked down to the Barbican to look at Robert Lenkiewicz's quickly deterioring mural, located close to the premises of the South West Image Bank. It seems a shame that the council didn't preserve the artwork or allow it to be restored while Lenkiewicz was still alive.

I met Robert Lenkiewicz only twice and he was a man of a few words and was always accompanied by a girlfriend decades younger than himself. One meeting was in the queue for the ABC cinema in about 1989. It was evening and he was dressed in his familiar black smock and red scarf, complete with young girlfriend. I think the movie showing was John Cleese's 'Clockwise' (which was awful).
The first time I met him, though, involves a far more interesting (and ridiculous) story. It was about 1981 and I was still in my teens. My brother worked as a black cab taxi driver and said that he had had someone in his cab who was a film director. He was making a film, supposedly, about a treasure hunt featured in a booklet and, apparently, the clues led to Plymouth. He asked my brother if he knew anyone with a metal detector and he remembered that I had one so, without telling me, he sent him around to my parent's house. Anyway, an overweight man, with straggly grey hair and beard, a nylon mustard-coloured polo neck jumper, and a huge gold medallion around his neck, arrived in a clapped-out Mini. He looked all the part of a film director and, after he had a cup of coffee (with six sugars), I located my metal detector and we set off to the Barbican. Of course, now, with hindsight, I can see it would have been better to tell him that I was too busy! So, we drove towards the Barbican and he told me about the book and how the author had hidden buried treasure somewhere in the British Isles. He also told me that his company had filmed Mari Wilson's (long forgotten) first video. So, we arrived on the Barbican and parked by Lenkiewicz's mural (you could park anywhere, free, in those days). The film director (I don't think he ever did tell me his name) explained that the clues suggested that one of the characters in the painting pointed to the location of the treasure which, in this case, was the flower bed directly in front of the mural. At this point, Robert Lenkiewicz appeared (complete with young girlfriend) and it became apparent that he and the film director had some sort of history. As their conversation progressed, I learned that the film director had been digging in the flower bed the previous night, someone had called the police and he had ended up spending the night in a cell. Lenkiewicz thought that this was great fun, although he said little else. So, I was asked to turn on the metal detector and I waved it over the flower bed. Straightaway, I got a very loud signal and clearing away the dirt, discovered a cannon ball which measured about 4 inches in diameter. It was obviously hundreds of years old and must have been in the soil when the flower bed was first constructed (the flower bed appeared to have been built some time in the 1950s or 1960s). It would have been good to keep but the director 'bagged' it for himself and said that it would make a good paper weight for his desk back in London. By now, Lenkiewicz had got bored and had gone back to his studio. I was bored too but the director wanted to try one more location which was in the flower beds in Frankfort Gate. I refused to metal detect in the middle of the town but went with him anyway. He happily dug around one of the trees and some kids laughed as they went by and shouted, 'Look, it's Percy Thrower!'
After that, he dropped me home and set off to London in a Mini that didn't look like it would complete its journey. It seemed a very long day and I was very relieved to return back.
I never heard anymore about the director, the proposed treasure hunt film, or the cannon ball, and didn't meet Lenkiewicz again until I was behind him in the cinema queue in 1989.
This story is certainly ludicrous and I'm not sure how many people will find it interesting but it's the only Lenkiewicz related story I have!
Incidentally, I'm sure someone with a metal detector will think that the flower bed in front of Lenkiewicz's mural is worth checking out. I never went back to it and I'm sure no-one else, apart from a council gardener, has ever dug further than a few inches. Of course, I wouldn't suggest digging up council property so any secrets therein will, probably, remain hidden.
The moral of this story is, of course, never talk to strangers (especially if they tell you they're a film director).

The Sweeney comes to Plymouth

In the 1970s, one of the coolest programmes on British television was 'The Sweeney' starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. Both stars came to Plymouth in the 1980s. John Thaw filmed, mainly at Cawsand, a long-forgotten film from Westward Television about Francis Drake.
In the early 1980s, Dennis Waterman came to Plymouth, along with Rula Lenska, to take part in the poppy day remembrance ceremony during November. For some reason, the ceremony was held at the bottom of the escalator beside C&A's in the old Drake Circus shopping centre. I went along to see it all and there was quite a crowd of people waiting. I don't remember much about the day except that Rula looked very friendly and Dennis

looked a bit stern. Maybe he was just being sombre for the event. I took many photos which I've just found recently so here they are! I think that maybe they were both appearing at the Theatre Royal at the time so it should be easy to track down the exact date. 

           

Footnote: It appears that Dennis and Rula appeared in Cinderella in Plymouth in 1985 alongside Peter Purves.

The Santa Claus Ship 1914

In November 1914, America sent a ship full of Christmas gifts for war orphans in Plymouth. American newspapers reported on 26th November that the 'Santa Claus Ship' was met with much joy and that Plymouth and Devonport had been festooned with decorations to welcome the Americans. Huge crowds gathered to greet the Jason as warships directed it into the harbour. Lord Kitchener sent a message expressing the army's gratitude which was read at a banquet to the ship's officers. America, at the time, were still neutral and the Christmas gifts were supplied to orphaned children of all troops, on both sides. The ship was loaded with 8,000 tons of gifts comprising of 5,000,000 separate articles which had been donated by American children and were destined for British, Belgian, French, German and Austrian children whose fathers were away fighting in the war. The ship was officially welcomed by Earl Beauchamp, the president of the council, on behalf of the government. He was accompanied by Mr F D Acland, the Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, together with a large gathering of naval and military officers. Among the greetings awaiting the ship was one from the Queen to the wife of the American Ambassador. In her letter, the Queen wrote: ‘I am anxious to express, through you, my warm appreciation of this touching proof of generosity and sympathy and to ask you to be so kind as to convey my heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed towards these presents, which will, I am sure, be gladly welcomed by the children for whom they are intended and received with gratitude by their parents.' The scheme was initiated by the Chicago Herald and a Mr O'Loughlin, who represented the journal, stated that 200 other newspapers throughout the United States had assisted in the project. As well as an enormous collection of toys, gifts also included shoes, boots, clothing, sweaters and stockings. So much was collected that 100,000 tons of presents had to be left behind. While the Jason was at Plymouth, gifts were left for British and Belgian children before the ship carried on its journey to Marsailles to deliver presents to

German children. It then continued on to Genoa to distribute gifts to further German and Austrian children. Gifts heading for Russia were loaded on to a different vessel. This story and many others can be found in my new book, 'Plymouth in the Great War,' which is available at all good bookshops.

Mary Newman and Saltash Passage

There's no evidence whatsoever that Mary Newman, the wife of Sir Francis Drake, ever lived in Saltash and almost certainly didn't live in the house known as 'Mary Newman's Cottage.' Her connections with St Budeaux are well known and she was married to Drake at the church at Higher St Budeaux on 4th July, 1569. Perhaps an article in the Western Morning News of Friday 24th May 1935 offers a more plausible answer to where Mary Newman might have lived. Reverend T.A. Hancock, the then vicar at Higher St Budeaux, was interviewed for the article about forthcoming celebrations connected with Drake. Part of the article reads:
'As far as I know, there is no real evidence of the fact that Mary Newman was residing at Saltash at the time of her marriage, he added, and pointed out that in Mr Bracken's 'History of Plymouth' it states that 'the frequent occurrence of the name Newman in the registers indicates that her family were natives of St Budeaux, and accounts for her marriage in her own parish church.'
'My own personal opinion,' said Mr Hancock, 'is that Saltash in connection with Mary Newman, has been confused with Saltash Passage. Saltash Passage was in the ecclesiastical parish of St Budeaux, but in the civil parish of St Stephens-by-Saltash and in the county of Cornwall. Not only was Mary Newman married in St Budeaux Church but also her sister.'
There are two buildings that come to mind that date to this period. One is the Ferry House Inn, which was built in 1575(six years after her wedding) and the other is the old barn off Normandy Hill (shown in photo). Whether Mary Newman ever stayed at either will probably never be known as records relating to her life are generally sparse.

The Fair at Plymouth

Regular fairground attractions appear on Plymouth Hoe every year especially during the school holidays. The fair has been visiting this part of the city for well over 100 years. The original site was at West Hoe and popular rides back then included the Helter Skelter, the motor car switchback, the carousel and the swing boats. There were also rifle ranges, a coconut shy and stalls where you could throw a ball to win prizes. Many of the photos shown here come from Hancock's Fair which was touring in the late 1800s onwards. Hancock's Fair of 1910 included side-shows, roundabouts, switchbacks and competitions including a beauty show, a baby show and a wrestling match. Also appearing that year was Professor Bianchi who was described as 'the greatest foot equilibrist in the world.'

The fairground was destroyed by fire during 1913 as suffragettes protested against the arrest of Mrs Pankhurst. The Western Gazette of Friday 9th December 1913 reported:

'A large timber yard in Richmond Walk, Devonport, was totally destroyed by fire on Monday morning and great damage was done to property adjoining belonging to Hancock's World Fair. Suffragettes literature was found on the scene of the outbreak, which is the place where Mrs Drummond and other militants recently awaited the landing of Mrs Pankhurst from America, not knowing that she had already been arrested.

Some of the occupants of the World's Fair's vans had narrow escapes. Miss Hancock was in great distress on Monday. 'We are completely ruined,' she tearfully told a press representative. 'About £3,500 worth has gone and we have not a penny of insurance. Times have been very bad lately and we thought we might save the premiums. When the suffragettes were here to rescue Mrs Pankhurst, I said they were brave women and I got into trouble for it. I think now that they are only cruel, selfish women.'

Hancock's Fair must have recovered from their plight as reports in local papers show them still touring in the 1920s.

By the 1930s, the fair had a new venue but not all were in favour. In June 1935, the council deliberated about allowing the fair on the main part of the Hoe during Regatta week.
Alderman G Scoble stated: 'I have had a good experience of fairs and I have reached the conclusion that the public desires these fairs. Much of the sting of the old complaints has been removed. Instead of blaring trumpets, we will have the sweet music of amplifiers. There will be no nuisance except chip-potato paper and a few things like that. Seeing that we have a Lord Mayor now, we should celebrate the occasion properly with a fair on the Hoe. Nothing would be more enjoyable than to see members of this council on the hobby horses. If the fair is a necessary evil, let us have it on the Hoe.'

However, Alderman Cornish was less than happy with the proposal. He stated: 'If you have any sense of decency, you will not allow this orgy to be perpetrated on what visitors call one of the finest places in the world. An alternative would be to have the fair in the Guildhall Square.'

Alderman G P Dymond also objected stating: 'I remember the last time this fair was held on top of the Hoe, it was said 'Never again!' The disfigurement lasted so long that people were disgusted to think that we allowed the fair to take place on the Hoe at all.'
Other councillors protested about the 'hooliganism and loose play' at the fair on previous years but it was suggested that there should be full police supervision.

After listening to all of the arguments, the council, in its wisdom, decided to allow the fair to take place.
Over the years, the fair has lost none of its appeal and the rides featured are many and varied. Throughout the 1970s, one of the most popular touring fairs was Whiteleggs which will be remembered fondly by many.
As a kid I loved such rides as the dodgems, the cyclone, the waltzers, the big wheel and the big dipper but it would take a lot to get me on one of them nowadays!

Plymouth's Great War by Chris Robinson

My own book about Plymouth in the Great War came out recently and is now available in Waterstones, WH Smiths etc if you want to get a copy. It is also available at Amazon here.
In a day or so, Chris Robinson's book about the First World War, which is called 'Plymouth's Great War - The Three Towns in Conflict' is released and looks a stunning publication. It's packed with photos of Plymouth, the troops and the people of the city. Many of the photos haven't been seen in print before and, like all of Chris's books, it looks an incredible read.

I haven't seen a picture of the cover anywhere, so here's an exclusive. The book is 272 pages and will be published by Pen & Ink Publishing  on October 28, 2014, ISBN 978-0956985873.
I'm pleased to see another book, other than mine, about Plymouth and the First World War and I'm looking forward to reading it very much.


Stanley Gibbon's postal origins

I recently received a very interesting email from Jonathan Hill in Exeter. Although it's known that Stanley Gibbons was from Plymouth, little seems to be known about the origins of his stamp collecting business although it's recorded that his father, William, owned a chemist shop in Treville Street and that Stanley had an interest in stamps from when he was a boy and joined his father's business after the death of his eldest brother. His father encouraged his stamp collecting hobby and a stamp desk was set up within the chemist's shop.
Jonathan's email adds to the story:
'Hello Derek,
I was very interested to read your information about Stanley Gibbons
on your blog (http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/stanley-gibbons.html).
My father Geoffrey Hill, who was born in Plymouth in 1903, used to tell
me about the family's pawn broker's shop they had in Devonport. I
recall my father's grandfather (my great grandfather) was in partnership in the business with a man called Stanley Gibbons, when one day in the 1870s
a sailor came in through the door and threw a canvas kit bag onto the
counter. It was full of Cape triangular stamps. My great grandfather,
being only interested in jewellery, silver and similar antiques,
wasn't impressed, but Gibbons was. He bought the lot from the sailor,
eventually splitting from the business and going to London to set up
as a stamp dealer. I've never read this anywhere else. I haven't got
immediate access to the family tree (it's in storage somewhere), so I
can't say what my great grandfather's name was. I have no reason to suspect my father made this up and hope that one day I'll find out (and prove)
more! The family were antique dealers and pawn brokers in Plymouth
from Victorian times until the Blitz (where the family shop was totally destroyed!).
Best wishes, Jonathan Hill (Exeter).'

Frankfort Gate

The area of Frankfort Gate, together with the nearby premises, was once a bustling shopping area for all the family. Today, it has been 're-branded' as the West End (probably by the same committee that re-branded Plymouth as 'the Ocean City') but was previously just called the 'bottom end of town' by many people. It's still reasonably busy but not so much as it once was.
In the late 1970s, the area, where Toys R Us stands today, was just cleared land which was used as an open car park for most of the time and on certain days, as an open air market. It sold a variety of items such as household wares, shoes, clothes, prints and mirrors featuring the images of Elvis, the Fonz or Starsky and Hutch or, if you were more classy, Southern Comfort. I'm sure that Chris Dawson had a stall there selling items from a large lorry.
Walking across the stretch of land led you to the Odeon Cinema in Union Street which, at the time, had a huge mural of Marilyn Monroe on its side (I wish I had a photo of it). The cinema was hugely popular together with the Drake and the ABC by Derry's Cross.

A zebra crossing took you across the road from the car park to Jack Cohen's Joke Shop. Every boy loved the shop which sold itching powder, stink bombs, inky soap and a variety of other practical jokes and pranks which were played on teachers and parents daily by naughty schoolboys. Jack served in the shop and was lovely to everyone. Further down the street was the Green Shield Stamp shop. Green Shield stamps were given away with everything including shopping and petrol. These were then stuck in a booklet and when you had enough, you could redeem an item from the shop which included things like garden gnomes, clock radios and teasmades as well as many larger items such as lawn mowers. The Co-op also issued stamps which could be redeemed for cash (50p for each book filled).

At the bottom of Frankfort Gate, was a shop selling collectable stamps which stood there for many years. Boys were very keen to collect stamps, as were adults, and apart from stamps the shop also sold albums and other related items. Shops selling collectable coins also traded in the area. Many of the common hobbies of the 1960s and 1970s have now long since died off.

Nearby was Universal Book Stores . They sold second-hand books but also took your old ones in part exchange for others. The great draw for kids was that they had many annuals as well as comics, including endless American ones, which featured superheroes such as Spiderman and Superman.
Then there was the Poster Shop which always seemed to have a poster of Debbie Harry in the window. As well as posters, they sold badges featuring the names of all the latest bands as well as various other stuff, some relating to the cartoon dog, Snoopy. The shop was open for many years. Many shops sold posters at the time and Pace Posters, now long forgotten, were very popular. These could be found in newsagents everywhere and adorned all kids' bedroom walls.
Further up was the London Camera exchange where you could sell or trade-in your old camera for a better one or exchange it for various lenses or other equipment. They also sold films, developed photos and sold other camera accessories. The shop was always full of camera enthusiasts, as was the nearby Wightman photography shop in Market Avenue.
On the corner, nearest the market, was the only charity shop I can remember in town at the time. Oxfam wasn't quite like it is today. It sold clothes as they were donated, none were washed, and the shop had its own peculiar pong. For people who enjoyed visiting, it was easy to find items or clothing dating, sometimes, back to wartime. The whiff of someone's old clothes was always a givaway on the bus back home which mixed with the smell of endless cigarette smoke (sometimes from the driver).
On the other side of the street, as in Union Street, there were various second-hand shops selling things like old televisions, reel-to-reel tape recorders, cine projectors and records and record players. All redundant now due to the digital age.

Across the way, was the indoor market which was always incredibly busy and sold fruit and veg, clothes, pets, jewellery, collectables and knic-knacs. Many kids had a rabbit, hamster or budgie as a pet in the 1970s and the market was the place to get them. The second-hand record stall was very popular and records could be bought or traded in. The stall was there for at least thirty years and had a huge 'wanted' poster, featuring a cowboy and gun, requesting your old records.

Leaving the back door into Cornwall Street, a short walk took you to Woolworth's. Many items seemed to cost 6/6d and they sold everything you needed as well as paintings, one of the most popular being seagulls flying over a Cornish coast (only seen in doctor's waiting rooms nowadays!) I was reminded recently that Woolworth's also had its own photo booth and for 20p you could get a strip of four photos. There was always a queue for the machine but people weren't getting their photos taken for driving licences or passports, it was just the novelty of having your photo taken and seeing it instantly. The photo booth at Bretonside was equally as popular.
Leaving Woolworth's and heading back down to Frankfort Gate, there was just time to pop into Dewdney's to get a pasty. They came in one flavour (meat and potato) and there was always a cat sat in the window. A huge queue would lead out of the shop, which was always packed. It was one of the few fast-food shops of its day. It's just as popular today although the cat's long since gone.
Of course, the area has changed greatly over the years and many of the shops that were once there in the 1970s have gone forever. Today, there's more tattoo shops, takeaways, phone and computer shops and all the things needed for a modern life. Times change but many of the old shops are still fondly remembered.

Derry's Clock and car park in the 1970s

Here's an interesting photo of the open-air car park beside Derry's Clock in about 1971. It's interesting to see all the old cars (all would now be classics) including Ford Prefects and Escorts, Morris Minors, Austin 1100s, Minis and many more.

It's interesting that the wrought iron entrance to the old underground toilets (or pissoirs as they were originally called) still survive in the photo even though they were bombed in the Blitz.

On the left can be seen Derry's Clock and, on the right, is the brick building housing the popular picture house, the ABC. The concrete wall in the middle of the photo was where the queues would form for the cinema when ever a popular film was on. The queue would stretch right back and around the corner. When I was a boy, I remember joining these queues several times to watch Roger Moore in Live and Let Die, Gary Glitter in Remember Me This Way and Clint Eastwood in Every Which Way Was Loose. Most were great films apart from the Gary Glitter one which was awful and my visit to see it is mentioned in my book, A 1970s Childhood.

Of course, the area today is under the Theatre Royal and its adjacent car park although it doesn't seem too long, to me, that it was all just like this. The older you get, the nearer the past seems!

Memories of Glenn Miller

Deryk Maker kindly wrote to me recently with his memories of seeing Glenn Miller in Plymouth in 1944. I wrote about Glenn's visit to the city in a previous blog which can be found here:
http://plymouthlocalhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/glenn-miller.html
I enjoyed reading Deryk's memories very much and I've reproduced his email here so everyone can enjoy reading them:

Hello Derek,
As it is now 70 years since I was lucky enough to attend the Glenn Miller concert at the Odeon Cinema in Plymouth on the 28th August 1944 you might be interested in my recollection of the occasion. At the time I was on a Engineering Cadetship course at the then Plymouth Devonport Technical College, prior to entering the Navy.
I had heard that the concert was open to armed services personnel
only, so rather in hope than expectation I donned my Home Guard
uniform and cycled from my 'digs' in Milehouse down to Frankfort
Street where I was fortunate to not only gain entry to the cinema
packed mainly with US soldiers and sailors but also to stand against a
side wall close to the stage and with an uninterrupted view.
After so many years my memory of the whole programme is now rather
vague but it was my first unforgettable experience of seeing a really
big and famous band in action. I believe the band's lead singer Johnny
Desmond and close harmony singers The Modernaires or an equivalent
group appeared, and at least one of my favourite numbers Tuxedo
Junction, featuring the unison, bite and precision of the brass
section was played, while the distinctive mellow harmony of the saxes
and clarinet was also well in evidence, but whether that good example
of the latter sound, At Last was included I can't recall. The whole
atmosphere was electrifying and the capacity audience clapped, stamped and roared their approval.
The concert finished in the early hours and I emerged from the cinema
to find that my bike had been stolen! - No matter! As I wearily
trudged my way back to Milehouse I reflected on the musical thrill of
a lifetime that I had experienced. I often wonder whether any other
civilians managed to attend too!
Kind Regards,
Deryk Maker.

Smeaton's Tower's colour scheme



When the idea was first suggested to move the lighthouse from the Eddystone Reef to Plymouth Hoe, it wasn't popular with everyone. Many felt that it would ruin the look of the area and a obelisk already stood on the proposed site. The council turned down the idea three times but finally gave into the wishes of the people and the Trinity Board headed by the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Duke laid the foundation stone on the Hoe on 20th October 1882 and the lighthouse was opened to the public on Wednesday 24th September 1884.
Once on the Hoe, Smeaton's Tower was painted in the colours we see today, with a red lantern and red banded stripes. This colour scheme lasted until 1937, when it was decided a new paint scheme would be adopted to coincide with the coronation of George VI.

The Western Morning News of Tuesday 13th April 1937 reported on a council meeting discussing the matter:

Criticism of the plan to paint Smeaton Lighthouse green and stone colour was made by Mr Harry Taylor. Mr Taylor said the present colours of the lighthouse were known to thousands throughout the world and to paint it green and stone colour would alter the entire appearance of the tower. Mrs J Pook seconded. 'With all the alterations proposed on the Hoe, we shall hardly know the place presently,' she said. Mr P Ross defended the proposal and said the new colours would make it look more like a lighthouse. Mr Leatherby said at the moment the lighthouse looked more like a barber's pole.
A voice: 'Take it away, then.'
Mr Leatherby: 'I would, willingly, and I would take away a good many other monuments if I had my way.'

Mr Leatherby said the colours recommended would be more artistic.

The new colour scheme was adopted and lasted into the 1960s when the tower was repainted white with the lantern part painted red, some time during or before 1962. A black band was painted around the base of the lighthouse. This colour scheme lasted until the late 1970s but by 1980 (probably for the Drake 400 celebrations), the original red and white banded colour scheme, which we see today, was once more adopted.

Elephant swims the River Tamar

Here's an interesting photo from the Western Morning News of Monday 9th July 1923.
Under the headline 'Elephant swims Tamar' is the caption 'Julia, of Bostwick and Wombwell's menagerie, prior to swimming the Tamar, assisted in getting wagons on the ferry at Torpoint.'
It sounds an intriguing story. I'll try to find out more.
Update:
Searching through the newspaper archives, I've managed to find the story that goes with the photo and it's an interesting and comical one:
Western Morning News - Monday 9th July 1923.
JULIA'S BATHE.
ELEPHANT LEAPS FROM TORPOINT FERRY.
During the transportation of Bostock and Wombwell's Menagerie across the Hamoaze on Saturday, Julia, a fine female elephant, suddenly snapped her tether, and smashing through the gates of the ferry plunged into the water. She sank deep and for fully a minute and a half, there was no sign of her. The ferry proceeded on its way and just when hope had been given up, Julia's head appeared and she was seen swimming bravely for Torpoint.
When 20 yards from the shore, she heard her keeper's voice and, obedient to the call, turned and swam back towards the ferry. The tide was running strongly and Julia, battling with the current, seemed in danger of being carried away and drowned.
The aid of a steam pinnace was invoked but the captain, apparently misunderstanding what was required, tried to head Julia back to the Cornish shore. Nothing could persuade her to seek her own safety against the urgent call of her keeper, however, and the pinnace steamed to the ferry and took the menagerie on board.
The elephant refused all assistance but at length the keeper succeeded in lassoing her with a chain and the pinnace stood by.
Julia, never heeding, continued her swim and arrived at the Devonport shore apparently little the worse for her bathe.

A man and his son by the pier on Plymouth Hoe

This photo is another ebay bargain and shows a man with his son, pictured with the pier at Plymouth Hoe in the background. The photo must date from between 1937 and 1941 and the clues are all there. Up until 1937, the lighthouse was painted with red bands, much as it is today. However, in 1937, to celebrate the coronation of King George VI, the lighthouse was repainted green and stone, as it is in the background of this photo. The pier, of course, was destroyed in 1941 so it gives a good estimate as to when this photo was taken.
The pier in the background appears quite empty and it had been in decline for some time with much of its popularity being in the earlier part of the century.
It's a pity that it no longer exists. Some people would like to see it replaced but, of course, the project would be too costly so will probably, unfortunately, never happen.
There are many more photos like this one on my Flickr pages at https://www.flickr.com/photos/derektaitoldphotos