Memories of Lancing

I found your web site by accident, it was such a delight it was to read everyones memories, that I thought I would write some of my own.

Just the word Lancing conjures up pictures of my childhood.
I was born in Tower Road at No.84 moving to No.80 (the one with the steps) in 1967. My first school was South Lancing Infants in North Rd in 1958, the classroom with the veranda, must take a photo of it one day before it disappears. I can remember the air raid shelters - as remembered by Paul Bridle and woe betide anyone who went hear them. I believe the headmistress was a Miss Birch, she had a large jar of sweets in her room, don't know how I know that one! We were told one day that we had to move schools, so we packed up our books and pencils and walked up to The Unit, which is now Boundstone Nursery school. Mr teacher was a Mr Juleff. We soon settled there until we did the same thing again and walked round to Irene Avenue for our last term before Boundstone.

I spent many a happy playtimes in those schools, playing marbles etc. Does anyone remember standing tea/gum cards against the wall and flicking other cards to knock them down, winner takes all? We had lovely tea parties at Christmas in the school hall, food provided by our parents. We also had a Beatles club there when I was older, it cost 3d, and we received a small daisy shape badge made of felt!

School holidays were filled with trips up the downs, playing in the chalk pit, plenty of room to use a child's imagination; you could be anything up there. other times spent on the beach, building the proverbial sandcastles with moats, drinking orange squash and cheese and sand sandwiches!

I remeber Brooklands paddling pool opening. There were lots of animal shaped pools for us to play in and rocks to climb, what fun. Fishing under the bridge that led into brooklands for sticklebacks and minnows. Someone told us that there was an eel living under the bridge, hidden in an old mine, that was buried there. You believe anything when you are young.

My friend Sheila Haite, who lived next door and I used to go tto the Luxor together to see Walt Disney and Cliff Richard films, the first film I saw was Bambi it cost 9d. We used to look for which films were on, on posters in Sompting Rd, just outside the knitting wool shop, which was next to a grocers shop owned by the Street family, then owned by the Brown family. This was next to Mr Jones the chemist. I remember Paul Bridle's grandparents shop on the corner of Myrtle Rd, my mum Lilian Wingfield used to shop in there, but worked in the other grocers shop. She later went to work at Woolworths. My dad Reginald worked in the railway works, but left in 1963 before it closed, to go to Solarbo in Commerce Way. I remember Dr Alexander he was my dads doctor, but us children saw Dr Whiting, he was a lovely man.

I could go on forever, but will stop my parents and sister still live in Lancing and although I only live in Rustington, I still think of Lancing as my home.

Karen Foster nee Wingfield.