Charlie Chaplin

In February 1931, Charlie Chaplin disembarked from the Mauretania in Plymouth and , at some point, was the guest of Nancy Astor at the Astor's residence at Elliot Terrace on the Hoe. The photo shows some of the other guests who were there at the same time including Amy Johnson and George Bernard Shaw.

The Times Newspaper covered the story and reported on the 20th February 1931:

Mr Charles Chaplin arrived in this country yesterday for the London opening at The Dominion Theatre of City Lights. The Mauretania, with which he had come from New York, dropped anchor in Plymouth Sound, just as day was breaking. A few hours later, Mr Chaplin was welcomed ashore by a swarm of admirers.

It went on to report:
For another hour, the observation-car, which the Great Western Railway Company had placed at the comedian's disposal on the boat-train to Paddington, was surrounded by hero worshippers and during that time nobody with the courage to thrust their head into the carriage was sent away empty handed.

Some people asked him for autographs while others just wanted to pass the time of day. He was said to be full of joy and polite to all that he met but as the carriage moved away and the cheers from his fans died away, his mood changed completely as his optimism turned to talk of economics. He was cheered up by the arrival of a tin of Devonshire Cream.
The train arrived at Paddington later that day and people turned out in their thousands to see him. He climbed onto the roof of the car that met him and waved enthusiastically to the crowd. He was given a police escort to the Carlton Hotel and he announced that he would be on holiday for the next 4 months and may even travel to Europe.
There's no mention in the newspaper report when Chaplin stayed with Nancy Astor but he was in the city again on the night of 16th November, 1931 when he wandered onto the stage of the Palace Theatre in Union Street to much applause.

A Childhood in the 1970s

The photo on the left shows me on my Spacehopper in our back garden in 1971 when I was about 10 years old. I was recently approached by The History Press to write a book entitled 'A Childhood in the 1970s'. So much happened in that decade and I'm finding it very enjoyable putting it all together. The chapters include things like the music, pastimes, toys, school etc.

Remember when kids all played conkers and marbles or built their own dens and go-karts? We always seemed to be out and about and up to something back then. There's so much to write about, the crazy fashions (I remember a girl at school falling off her platforms and breaking her ankle), glam rock (remember when the Bay City Rollers came to Plymouth?), the endless strikes and power cuts, the television (there were only three channels), decimalisation, Chopper bikes and all the wonderful toys you got back then like Rocket Racers, Action Man, Clackers, Slinkys and all the board games like Haunted House, Buckaroo (later copied with Jaws), Ker-plunk!, Subbuteo, Cluedo, Operation, Battleship, The Fastest Gun, Rebound, Escape From Colditz. Connect 4 and Haunted House.

It all seems such a long time ago but is still fresh in my mind. I've lots of photos to include in the book but I'm still looking for more. If anyone has any, and doesn't mind them being in the book, I'd love to include them. 

Union Street

I wonder what the two old men who are pictured in this photo were talking about? The picture was taken in Union Street in the early 1900s and the old railway arch can be seen in the background. The shop on the left is the 'New Penny Bazaar' and the sign on their window reads, ' Look around and see the goods - you will not be pressed to buy!'. Two ladies, one holding a small child, are looking in the window. It would be lovely to be able to see what all the items for sale were. Cheaper than today's 'pound shop', everything appears to cost just 1d. I suppose a penny went a lot further in those days! Marks and Spencers started up their 'Penny Bazaar' over 125 years ago and to celebrate this, offered many items for sale last year at just 1p. The older shops used to keep everything behind the counter and once a customer had asked to look at an item, they then felt obliged to buy it. The Penny Bazaar's sign tried to make people feel more comfortable about just browsing. The shop beside the bazaar advertises, 'Cricket, Football and Tennis Wear'. At one time, there were shops like these up and down Union Street. The tramway would have ran along the road to the right of the photo together with horses and carts, hand carts and bicycles. Much has changed over the years and a lot of the quaint, interesting shops have now disappeared either due to bombing in the Second World War or modernisation in the years after. Even in the 1970s, I remember many second hand shops along Union Street but these have been cleared away to leave wide open spaces or newer run-of-the mill buildings with little or no character. It's certainly changed a great deal even in my lifetime and, to me, seems to have lost a lot of the charm that it once had.

Spooners

Many people will remember the Spooners store on Royal Parade. The older photo shows Spooners as it was before it was totally destroyed by enemy bombing in 1941. Spooners was established in 1857. Spooners was founded by Joseph James Spooner and their original ornate building stretched from Bedford Street around the corner to Old Town Street. Spooners advertised themselves as house furnishers, drapers, milliners and cabinet makers. Before the war, Spooner's Corner, as it was known then, was a very popular meeting place. Like many other shops in the town, they had their own orchestra playing in their restaurant. The shop featured its own fashion department taking up a whole floor and it even had its own theatre to perform fashion parades. In 1902, Spooners was nearly totally destroyed by a fire when a shop assistant accidently set fire to a display commemorating the coronation of King Edward VII.

  

After the war, both Spooner's and Yeo's moved to adjacent buildings on Royal Parade. The new store was officially opened by Lady Astor on the 10th May, 1956 although it had been trading since October 1954. Both Yeo's and Spooner's were later taken over by Debenham's and the buildings still look much the same today as they did over 50 years ago.

The Pier at Plymouth Hoe

Here's a lovely photo of the old pier at Plymouth Hoe. Waiting in front of the entrance is a horse-drawn tram with adverts on the side for Spooner and Co. A man wearing a boater sits on the top deck and appears to be holding a long whip. Two other people also sit nearby including a woman completely dressed in black. The clock shows the time as 12.30pm and a sign just under the clock says, 'Concerts every afternoon and evening'. There are some interesting adverts on the pier itself including ones for 'Pickford and Co' and another for 'Giant Remedy Box's Pills'. Another sign is for 'Sunlight Soap' and there are many tin signs which, unfortunately, I'm unable to read. Above the main entrance are the names, 'Ferrari and Pizzotti'. The duo opened the Grand Swiss Cafe and Restaurant at 167 Union Street in 1884.

Apart from a few pedestrians, there seems little activity in the photo and all of West Hoe looks deserted.

It's hard to imagine today that this wonderful grand pier once stood where it did. It would be lovely if it was still there today.

Christmas Cheer 1955

I was reading the 1955 edition of the magazine 'Christmas Cheer'. Inside, were several adverts, the cheeriest being the one for E Dingle which advertised itself as the ideal place for Christmas shopping for everything 'from toys to televisions'. Dingles was in the same place then as it is today on Royal Parade although their store would have been relatively new with the rebuilding of the City Centre after the Second World War.

The second advert shows the ideal present to buy your wife in 1955 - a washing machine! Well, that's what the South West Electricity Board thought! I wonder how many wives who got a washing machine for Christmas eventually filed for divorce? I don't think it would go down too well today as a present for Christmas! Things have certainly changed. There was also an advert for a set of Christmas lights from Osram which then cost £1 a box. What's funny is that, almost 60 years later, you can still get them for the same price! The last advert shows 'the ideal Christmas gift' - a National Savings Gift Token which could be bought in multiples of 15 shillings (now 75p).

What fun it must have been on Christmas morning with mum unwrapping her new washing machine and the kids excitedly receiving their National Savings Gift Tokens. I wonder what dad got? There were no other Christmas adverts in the magazine but plenty of adverts for long forgotten companies such as Hatchards the book shop, Pophams, Charles Harding, the Magnet Restaurant , Beechwoods and Rediffusion. Also featured in the magazine were several quizzes. The Literary Quiz had a prize of a £10 book token, the Hilda Haddon Sporting Quiz had a first prize of a fireside chair and the Spot the Inn competition had a first prize of 3 bottles of Sherry, a bottle of Dimple Whisky, a bottle of Port and one dozen bottles of Golden Diamond. You would've needed to have been a very serious drinker to have been able to recognise all twelve of the pub interiors. The magazine also featured ghost stories, stories from the past and a joke featuring Santa and his reindeer covered in destination stickers. For one shilling, in a time when there were no Xboxes or Playstations, it seemed the ideal gift for dad!

Newlands at Saltash Passage

Here's a photo of 'Newlands' which was built by W E Elliot in 1860 after he reclaimed 120 acres of mud flats on the River Tamar. At the beginning of the 1900s, the building was bought by the trustees of the Mount Edgcumbe training ship and used as a cottage hospital and sick bay. It was eventually purchased by the Ministry of Defence and marked the entrance of their Ernesettle depot until it was demolished in 1922.

A couple of days ago, I thought that I would take a walk down to the 'top secret' armaments depot at Saltash Passage (it's so secret that it's signposted 'armaments depot'!) to see if anything remained of Newlands. At first glance, it appeared that nothing was left so I just enjoyed the walk and took some photos in the Autumn light. As I walked further along the

road however, I noticed several passing areas and the final one, unusually for a passing area, had a fireplace in it! I think that this must be all that remains of Newlands and probably today goes largely unnoticed. It's interesting to think of all the activity that must have taken place here when the Training Ship Mount Edgcumbe was moored close by. Nowadays, it's deadly quiet. I'm sure many people must work at the armaments depot but you certainly never see any of them and apart from the odd barge going up and down the river, it would be easy to imagine that the area has been abandoned.