Life And Times Of Suzanne Knight In New Haw.

A Memory of New Haw.

I lived at 5 Manor Drive with my 3 sisters, Kathleen, Elizabeth and Mary. I was born in the house at 1am on a snowy night in 1954 and was delivered by my dad and Dr Poles, while Mary slept and Kathleen and Elizabeth were shipped across the road to spend the night with Stuart Yates. And I lived there until 1972.
In the early years. whilst my sisters were at school, my mum would sit me in my little pillion chair on her bike and she used to ride down the cage walk, up Rowtown Hill and into Liberty Lane to see my Nanny. A warm welcome there: a jam tart and a cup of tea and we'd head home along New Haw Road, past the White Heart Pub, the New Haw lock, Woodham Church and then turn right up Grange Road. She used to sing all the way home: a little Frank, Dean,and songs from My Fair Lady...Thus we had riden in a full circle around New Haw, Woodham and Addlestone.
At 4 and a half, I was looked after Mrs. Hall in the Avenue when mum started work, and played with her son Phillip. Later I went to The Grange School with Hazel Richards, Jackie Malcome, Gillian Lapwood, Veronica Wheelen, Nancy Tavares and Linda Petly but without doubt, Nigel Stevens from Woodham Park Way. (he was a bit posh with a swimming pool and an orchard.) was my best friend. I was a bit of a 'Tomboy' and I used to go and play with him and Ian O'Driscoll nearly every day and at 5 years old I used to walk home alone or ride my little pink bike, "Come home before it gets dark!" and I'd arrive home for tea at 5 o'clock. No worries at all. It was indeed a safe time and place to live. One night though, it got dark, there was a violent thunderstorm by the time I got to the top of Nigel's road. I was afraid. So I knocked on the O'Driscoll's door and his siter Nora started to walk me home. I saw my mum, on her bike coming along St. Mary's Drive, to look for me...
At about 10 I was earning 9d. old pennies for doing Auntie Nelly- next door's shopping on a Saturday morning, which included going to Mr Child's farm at the end of The Avenue for a dozen eggs, a job I inheirited from my sister Liz.
My mum had the shoe shop on the Broadway, sandwiched between the hairdressers (David Chandler's dad owned it) and The Calton sweet shop. 3d. worth of anything from those large glass jars put in a little white paper bag was a daily treat after I bought my mums 'cigs' 1/9d for 10 Weights. You might remember mum, Mrs Knight sadly, she contracted MS and had to give up the shop as she went into a wheelchair.
The kids that I remeber playing with in Manor Drive were: Pauline and Tony Hatch, Marylyn and Martin Vandell, Susan and Pamela Morris, Kevin Thompson, Marilyn Lawrence, Barbara, David Everest. "Release-ee-o!" "Hide-'n-Seek" Also we used to put on plays in Susan Morris's garden and invite the kids from the bottom of Manor Drive to come and watch.
At about the age of 13 I fell in love with Eddie Specman down the road. He was the first guy to wear Levis (that little red tag!) Ben Sherman shirt and Dr Martin boots, but he wasn't a skin head like Sid Howard from The Avenue. Eddie was my own 'James Dean' with leather jacket and all. I used to sit on the wall waiting for him to walk past on his way home from Vikkers. Plucking up the courage to say " Hi" - later he had on old Jag. A few years later my a little fantasy came true. He took me for a drink up St Annes Hills and we remembered shooting water rats, lying on our bellies on the banks of The Bourne river, down the cage walk. I was the kid who fell in the Bourne on the rope swing Tony Hatch and his mates fixed up one summer! Yes, rollerskating down Manor Drive, Grange Road and hopefully running into Jeremy Renolds-another 'bad-boy' and secret heart throbs. I actually dated him too when I was about 18. ( I was working part time in the Black Prince - in the saloon bar of course!)
We had many visitors daily to our kitchen. The Vicar from Woodham Chuch, Dr Poles, Charlie the Milkman, Derek the coalman, Uncle Perce - the co-op diviy man, even Mrs Riely, the Jehover Witness with her Watch Tower Mag.,not to mention, Betty Hatch, Auntie Mary next door-all used to like to pop in, make a cup of tea and have a chat with my mum.
Fullbrook School was a good experience for me. It was a good education if not highly academic. ( I was a late learner anyway) And I remember Mrs Moult/RE
& music teacher, Mr Bean-Head Master, Mr Payne. art teacher, and Mr Armstrong, the boys' PE teacher and the eccentric Mr Elverage, Geography teacher.
What a full life we had in New Haw. I did a paper round for the shop on The Broadway, went to Addlestone dance every other Friday in the community center. Brownies, country dancing ran by Mrs Tide the vicar's wife in the hall behind All Saints, Woodham Church,(the one in the picture on this site) Horse Rangers in Shepperton, St John's Ambalance Brigade down Parkside. . I am happy to say that recently I came back to England and meet up with The Grange and Fullbrook Girls and we had the panoramic photograph from our school days.