Ashtead, 1904

Photo ref: 52583

My brothers and I watched the Queen Elizabeth's Coronation with a neighbour; the screen was so small they added a special magnifying glass. Even in black and white I thought it was wonderful. It was a cold day so felt chilly as being a teenager I wanted to show off my summer dress. In the evening I joined local youngsters by the bonfire on Ashtead Common. One lad lived in one side of a pair of nearby old ...see more

I spent my childhood in Ashtead in the 1950s and 60s and I went to Ashtead Primary School in Barnett Wood Lane. One of the teachers was a lovely lady called Miss Portlock and she used to bring her dog to school with her. There was no canteen at the school, so at lunchtime we children were marched about half a mile over the railway bridge to a canteen near Ashtead railway station and close to the top of ...see more

My Grandfather Henry Weller ran his rose nursery here and brought up his eight children. As a young boy in the 1940’s I used to go and fish in the lake and play in the brickworks behind the house. The path leading to the house I remember being red from crushed bricks with an archway of roses and roses all around on both sides, it really was a beautiful sight. If I was good I was given some sweets from the shop ...see more

My father's parents (my grandparents) moved from Carshalton to Ashtead in early 1950s to a bungalow at 72 Chaffers Mead. We used to visit regularly from our home in Redhill by rail; a steam train to Deepdene, a run down to Dorking North and an electric train to Ashtead. When we moved to Godalming the journey was even more torturous, with two changes of train, until my father was given a car and we drove. I ...see more