Derek Dougan, Cooper's News, West Park 1972

Back in the 1970s, Derek Dougan was a huge star so it was a bit of a surprise when my mum came home from the shop where she worked and said that he would be signing copies of his new book there. The shop was Cooper's News at West Park (formerly Eastabrooks) which was a small newsagents, now long gone. I wqas at junior school then, at the nearby Knowle Primary, where one of the playtime pastimes involved swapping football cards (we all had a collection).
The book was called 'The Sash He Never Wore' and the year was 1972. Derek appeared at the shop at 7pm at night and there was a crowd of kids (mainly boys) waiting for him. For some reason, I didn't go but the manager of the shop, Clive Thomas (who was a lovely bloke), kindly got me his autograph (which I still have) and a signed copy of his book (which unfortunately disappeared years ago). I was pleased to have them.
Years later, I wonder if anyone else remembers Derek's visit to West Park, even then it seemed an odd venue for him to sign his books.

Tom Baker at Dingles in Plymouth on 21 June, 1976

This interesting photo of Tom Baker, appearing at Dingles on 21st June 1976, appeared in the Herald recently.

I was at the event all those years ago and there's a photo, that I took on the day, further back on my blog. I remember getting there for 9am and Tom arrived soon after. All the children were very excited at Tom came up the escalator, dressed as Dr Who, and we all queued for his autograph. He had his trademark multi-coloured scarf on, which reached the ground. He was lovely to everyone and happily signed copies of the Dr Who Monster book. He also signed posters and gave out Target badges (Target was the publisher of the book). I had the signed book and poster for many years after but it's long since disappeared. I've still got the badge though and a signed photo.

Last year, the Herald contacted me and asked what it was like to meet Tom Baker and asked if they could use the photo I'd taken in an article celebrating 50 years of Dr Who. I told them that they already had photos of Tom's appearance but they said that they no longer existed and there was no record of the event. So I was amazed to see this photo in the Herald a few days ago together with the exact date of the event!
My memory has played tricks with me though because I originally thought that the signing had taken place in 1975 at Debenhams. Anyhow, it's good to see a clear picture of the event (unlike mine!) and Tom was a great bloke, by the way...

Autographs of American soldiers stationed in Saltash Passage in 1944

Bryan Watts kindly wrote to me recently telling me that he had several autographs from the American soldiers that were stationed in Saltash Passage in 1944.
Tristan Nichols hopes to write a piece up for the Herald very shortly. Meanwhile, here's Bryan's letter:
Dear Derek,
In 1944 I was aged nine and lived half way up Normandy Hill, as it is now, at that time it was called Vicarage Road. I sat in my front window and watched as the American troops marched down the hill to board the boats and landing craft moored there. Myself and other children in the area had been down to Saltash Passage many times to look at the craft vehicles there.

I remember being chased off by the guards and the threats of painful consequences if caught.

But I also met four of these soldiers at St Budeaux Baptist Church and on 26th March 1944, these four men wrote in my autograph book which I still have.
I have recently been trying to find out if there is any way of discovering what happened to them. Although I have their names and rank, the stumbling block in any enquiry seems to be

that I haven’t got their serial numbers. I wondered if you would interested in seeing a copy of the pages from my book. I also wondered if there was anyone else who was in that area then remembers going to the Christmas Party in the camp in December 1943. My ultimate aim is to try to send these messages to their descendants as a piece of family history.

Hoping you may find this of interest,
Yours sincerely,
Bryan Watts.

Bryan's email address is bryan.watts935@btinternet.com if anyone has any information that might help.

Jack Cohen's Joke Shop

I'm sure that many people in Plymouth will have happy memories of visiting Jack Cohen's Joke Shop in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. It was the haunt of many kids and some of the jokes stocked included itching powder, stink bombs (very popular), whoopee cushions and much more. I knew a kid at school called Nicholas Rich who loved playing practical jokes and I'm sure much of his pocket money must have been spent in there. Jack was always lovely to all the kids that came in the shop. I remember buying a cheap imitation Action Man, made in China, and he told me not to forget to feed him! He was always larking around. Jokes and magic tricks seemed to go out of favour sometime in the 1980s and Jack eventually sold the shop. It ran for a while longer, keeping the same name, but eventually closed in the 1990s and ended up in a unit in Lovejoys in the Barbican.
This photo is interesting because it shows Warnes, the newsagents, to the left of Jack Cohen's. I'm sure when I was a kid, that Jack Cohen's was on the left and Warnes was on the right, so they must have changed over at some point.
Further down the street was the Green Shield Stamp Shop where you could exchange the stamps that you got free with your shopping for gifts. The only thing that I can remember us ever getting was a garden gnome!

Footage of American troops at Saltash Passage in 1944

Until today, I hadn't realised that there was extensive footage of the American troops who left Saltash Passage for D Day in 1944. Here are two films which show all and they prove very interesting viewing.
The area is instantly recognisable although some buildings have disappeared over the years.
Chimneys are smoking in one film and a steam train can be seen crossing Coombe Viaduct. The films feature on YouTube but can be bought in high definition from a company called Critical Past.





I know that there is also colour footage of the troops although this is short. I'll try and locate it later.

A letter from an American soldier

With the recent commemoration of D Day, I was reminded of a letter that I received from an American soldier, who was a member of the 29th division. Back in 2006, I was researching a book about D Day so I wrote to the 29er magazine. John J Sommers of Fort Lauderdale, Florida kindly wrote back to me and sent some photos. I thought it would be interesting to share the letter and photos here. The letter read:
'Dec 9, 2005
Dear Sir,
I read your letter in the 29er magazine asking for photos for your book about Plymouth. I was stationed in Plymouth from September 1943 until D-Day June 1944 as a member of the 111th F. A Btn, C Battery, 29th Infantry Division. It was a very familiar name for me because I lived a few miles from Plymouth, Massachusetts in the States and spent many days visiting there. My unit was billeted in a very beautiful place that was a British training center for Army soldiers. It wasn't very far from the center of Plymouth because we could walk into town. We used to visit 'The Hoe', the dock where the Pilgrims left from and there was an indoor amusement center that was very popular. When we left town, we would take a road to the right that led into a gate into our quarters. There was a guardhouse to the left and a large school house looking building, on the left, once inside the gate. Across from the building was a parade ground. Past there was the Spider Barracks that had heat, wonderful heat.

I suppose that all those places are gone now, but, I'm trying to remember the name of the place. Was Okehampton the name of the area we trained in?
Enclosed find two photos of me and my friend, I was eighteen at the time when I arrived in England. Turned nineteen in January, 1944. I am going to phone another 29er and ask him to send his photo to you, he was a First Sgt. and the youngest at 22 in the division, maybe the Ninth Army.
Good luck with your book and I hope it's a best seller and let me know if I can be of any help.
John J. Somers.'
I wrote back to John but never heard any more. I've several other letters from D Day soldiers which I hope to find soon and which I'll put on this blog at a later date.

A 1950s Childhood

I recently wrote a book for Amberley Publishing called '1950s Childhood'. It would be hard for a child of today to imagine life for a child back in the 1950s. There was no internet, mobile phones (most homes didn't even have a landline) or any type of digital camera, digital music player or many of the other appliances that we take for granted nowadays. Few homes had televisions and the ones that did could only watch in black and white with only two television channels available. Their screens were tiny and it wasn't unusual, if one person had a tv in the street, for their neighbours to come in and watch it too. Music came from a gramophone player with heavy shellac records, usually playing at 78 rpm. Later, when more modern vinyl records came in, pop records were available, playing at 45 rpm. Indoor entertainment mostly came from reading books or listening to the radio. Gathering around the radio to listen to the latest serials, dramas, comedies and news was something a family all did together.
Outdoors, children played in the streets either kicking a can or football around, playing hopscotch, skipping or playing 'it' (tag). If it was spring or summer, children would play marbles or if it was autumn, they'd all find the nearest horse chestnut tree to play conkers.
Children with a bit of know-how (and help from their dads) would build wooden go-karts using discarded bike or pram wheels and any wood that they could find. Roaring downhill on a home-made go-kart was a hairy experience although many had makeshift brakes.
There were few cars about then, especially in the back streets, so it was quite safe to have a game of football in the street without coming to any harm.
Many more people talked to their neighbours and many left their doors open. Everyone knew theirlocal 'bobby', by name, and he would patrol the beat (on foot) looking out for any misdemeanours. Kids could be brought home (sometimes by the ear) by the local policeman for crimes such as cherry knocking (knocking on doors and running away), scrumping (pinching apples) or even for running across the road. Schools were more strict places and anyone who stepped out of line could get the cane, strap or be given lines. There'd be no talking in class and the teachers would expect to be called 'Sir' or 'Miss' as would all adults. Spelling, multiplication tables and fractions were all taught parrot fashion and would be expected to be learnt by the time the teacher gave a spontaneous test. The cane could be given for talking in class, not working fast enough, bad handwriting, running in the corridor, back-chat or numerous other minor offences.
More children played outside and either pretended to be cowboys and Indians, Robin Hood and his Merry Men or war heroes. It wasn’t unusual to see gangs of boys playing war games in the street and pretending to machine gun each other. If there were woods nearby, they'd also be climbing trees or building dens. Bomb sites also made an ideal playing ground and there was much to find such as discarded guns, hand grenades and various other items. There was no health and safety in those days!
Of course, with the Blitz, Plymouth changed greatly over the 1950s as much was rebuilt. Rebuilding started soon after the end of the war but continued well into the 1960s. Plymouth was seen as a modern city back then but would still seem like an alien planet to most children of today who are used to the digital world. There was something special about a childhood back then which seems to have been lost over the years. Perhaps it's just me, I am getting older!