Hounslow In The 1950's And 1960's

A Memory of Hounslow.

I am Rosemary Harris (now Davies) and I was born in Livingstone Road in 1943 and was christened at St Stephen’s Church. I attended Hounslow Town Infants and Juniors and then Bulstrode Girls School from 1955-1960, the Headmistress was Mrs Collins. As we lived opposite Inwood Park, it was the place where my sister and I always played in the playground that had swings, roundabouts, a slide and climbing bars. There was a park keeper in those days that kept us safe and administered plasters if we hurt ourselves. In the summer there was the paddling pool, boating lake and tennis courts. The park was always locked at night and the park keeper used to ring a bell to warn us that it was closing. I remember the murder that took place in the park late one night. It was a terrible shock that something like that could happen right on our doorstep. I often played a round of putting on the green in Lampton Park and bought an ice-cream cornet from Rossi’s on the way there. School Sports Days were also held in Lampton Park. My mum used to take my sister and I to Osterley Park where we used to picnic in the grounds of Osterley House, near the lake. It was one stop on the Piccadilly Line to Osterley and then a short walk. I was often an outpatient at Hounslow Cottage Hospital. If I walked past the hospital on fine summer days the children would be in their beds on the balcony enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. I also went to the ‘School Clinic’ in Bath Road for dental treatment and also for ultra violet light treatment that was supposed to help with my asthma. With my friends I used to go to Saturday morning pictures at the Regal Cinema. As I grew older I spent hours at the Library in Treaty Road. It was a red letter day when I was allowed to borrow books from the adult library. I went to Maswell Park Sunday School on Sunday afternoons and they used to arrange Christmas parties and coach outings in the summer. I often went to Rainbow’s for fish and chips for tea. It was a rare treat when mum decided we could sit inside to eat our fish and chips with bread and butter and a cup of tea. When I was old enough I went shopping for my mum to earn a few pennies pocket money. Mr Webb, the grocer was the shop at the top of Livingstone Road. There were two shops at the top of the next street, Stanley road. They were Mr Sendall, the butcher and Elbury’s the newsagent, where I bought sweets and my favourite comics, ‘The Girl’ and ‘School Friend.’ When I was a teenager I was sent further afield to the High Street to buy bread and cakes at Giltrow’s, fruit and vegetables at Quick Turnover and fish for our cat from Mac Fisheries. There used to be a Rag and Bone Merchant in Inwood Avenue where I used to take our old clothes. They were weighed and then I was handed a few coins that I was allowed to keep. I guess it would be called recycling today. My father used to work for Platt’s in the High Street and later at Firestone’s on the Great West Road.