The Little Books 2

St Albans has an assortment of small format books dedicated to the presentation of photographs.  The images were taken at a range of times, usually up to the mid-1930s, although later if being compared with a historically early photograph of the same location taken from the same spot.  

In 1991 Beryl Carrington and James Corbett published a little book St Albans in Camera (ISBN 0860233855) published by Quotes, Buckingham; 80 landscape format pages.  The copy in my possession is hardbound, being an ex library copy.  At present one copy is listed for sale at www.abebooks.co.uk.

The contents lay out mainly one image per page with short descriptive narratives for each one.  All images are black and white.  A list of 19 acknowledgements suggests where the images have been sourced, although it is not specified which are the owners of any individual picture.

In contrast to St Albans' Past & Present, St Albans in Camera contains many groups among its collection: the Easter Youth Pilgrimage, the Mummers, an archaeology group at Gentle's Yard, a May Day dance, country dance festival, and many others; there is therefore a lively vibrance to many of the pages.

Not forgetting my intention in browsing this collection of little books: to discover whether the city's eastern districts are  appropriately represented within the collection's 80 pages?

The Stone family outside their general store at Primrose Cottage.  A different building, the Rats' 
Castle PH now occupies the site.

We kick off with the lovely study of Primrose Cottage, undoubtedly the first completed building in Fleetville in 1897 and immediately turned into a shop.  Because it is the only image of the house, and was taken after 1903 when Hector Stone and family lived there to run the shop, it is often assumed, incorrectly, that it was he who had the structure built and he who launched the business.  And he had no connection with the transformation of the premises into the Rats' Castle a full quarter century later. And it was a quite different building anyway. But it is great to see the Stone family welcoming us to their shop!

William Wilkins and his mule-drawn cart of greengrocery somewhere in Fleetville.
Courtesy members of Mr Wilkins' family.

On the following page is a posed photo of William Wilkins "in Fleetville".  It is difficult to place the location but could be near an end of one of one of Fleetville's parallel roads.  He may have managed or worked for a greengrocery shop in the district, or perhaps been an early mobile shop trader.  Thanks to members of Mr Wilkins' family for sharing this scene with us.

Football team representing the Rubber Works.

A team photograph seems to have a connection with Camp, as it shows a typical team picture of the Inter Rubber Works Football team.  We know that the Rubber Works at Camp Hill had its own pitch next to the works, close to Cell Barnes Lane, although the background suggests it had been an away match. The houses of Sanders Close were built on the field, which were also used for growing dahlias.

Sutton Road.  The crowd is close to the end of Castle Road; the photographer is not far from
Campfield Road.  Whether wellington boots or bathing costumes children would always enjoy
this impromptu opportunity for a little fun.

If anyone needs to demonstrate a typical Fleetville scene in pre-war days, show a photo of what was known as "Sutton Lakes", the fifty yards or so either side of the old railway bridge in Sutton Road.  It was guaranteed to attract a number of children, and they, in turn, attracted a photographer or two!

A sandbagged hole in the ground which was used for Home Guard training.  Many locations
were used, including where the houses of Hazelwood Drive south were later built. But since the
location was not annotated we can only guess.

The "secret location" of another picture, might have been near Beaumonts Farm – but it could have been almost anywhere else, and it is possible even the photographer had little idea where he was!  This was a Home Guard training site on spare ground, possibly between Woodland Drive and Beaumont School.  Any alternative suggestions?

As in the previous book, the cover shows a Clock Tower/Market Place market scene.  As to the East End, three inside images are confirmed, with two more possible locations, out of 84 laid out in the book.  It is certainly true that book compilers have a challenging task in locating historical photographs representing the wide geographical spread in  and around the city.  But yet another image of the Cathedral or the Clock Tower, St Peter's Church or the market, an appealing classroom shot at an elementary school or a city centre parade, are all too easy to include.

In next week's title perhaps parts of the city beyond the houses may come to light.  Let's hope so.

Only Waste Ground

There are plenty of accounts and recollections of a piece of development ground – probably enough for up to ten semi-detached homes.  It ceased to become farmland in 1929 and was nominally reserved as a site for a future church between Central, Woodland and Hazelwood drives.  During the 1930s there was, of course plenty of open space for children to play on, but by the mid 1940s when housebuilding began again "the field" became a centre of attention for a new generation of children; their very own  adventure space.

However, the field, much larger then because fewer homes had been built, was used between 1940 and 1943 by the Home Guard for training – they even had a meeting hut nearby.  One or two trenches were dug for exercises and only filled in later when house foundations were laid out in 1947.

The ground was far from level; grasses and nettles grew tall, and hiding was all part of the fun in playing adventure games.  Two badly mauled trees, previously next to the farm house which straddled Woodland Drive at that point, became their own centre of attention for climbing and swinging .  Between these trees traced the usual rough and worn path which enabled anyone to take a short cut towards, well anywhere really.

An informal game of football on the field not yet built on in Central Drive.

Out went the idea of a church; Benskin's acquired the site for a future public house, and erected a large sign to inform the world the land belonged to them.  Children saw an opportunity and used it for target practice – stones, mud, footballs.  Nearby, almost no-one noticed a square of heavy concrete which told of a former well, used by the farm.

In 1953 when just about everyone celebrated the Queen's Coronation, Woodland Drive held a street party on a part of the field where Oakwood School now stands, and in the evening the adventure field was the location for a giant bonfire and a fireworks display – this time it was the turn of the grownups to have some fun.

Team lineup with the the Central Drive shops behind.

Soon after 1960 St Albans Council's policy of making shopping more convenient for those living in residential areas, came to Central Drive and part of the field was developed for a parade of convenience shops with maisonettes above.  In time this brought a post box, and public telephone kiosk tucked around the corner of the righthand-most shop.  Not forgetting children's play, the council levelled the remaining field, and for the first time children could organise their own football games.  The worn path was still there, although foreshortened where the shops had been built.  Probably with safety in mind the Council erected one of those chestnut paling fences around the edge.  The success of the fence is doubtful, as footballs regularly soared over the top  into the roadspace, necessitating an inevitable indirect walk to the gateway to recover the escaped ball, which may have ended up in a garden, or under the only car then parked by the roadside opposite.

Irene Stebbings House replaces the open play space.

All good things come to an end sometime, and that end came with the 1970s building of the flats of Irene Stebbings House.  Today, the two trees have gone, so has the fencing intended to keep the footballs in.  There are no more opportunities for youngsters to engage in adventure games or get thrown into the stinging nettles or  ride their bikes over the uneven ground of little hills and hollows.

It was great while it lasted.

Platoon ... As You Were!

Readers can always detect when life becomes extra busy for local historians, whatever they are doing: the number of blogs per month falls.  This September has been one of the busiest on many fronts, and only one blog has so far been posted.  So just in time I am able to sneak in another one!

The previous post revealed previously unseen photos of the Home Guard, submitted by reader Tony, whose grandfather featured in the images.

You will recall that we were left with a few questions; namely, the identity of the unit, the particular event, the location of the urban space with the bus stop, and of the more rural one with the avenue of trees in the background.

de Havilland's Home Guard unit at Hatfield Park.
COURTESY ANTHONY MEYRICK

Thanks to Tony's uncle, who has now also seen the pictures, we  have answers to all four queries.  The event was the occasion of the final disbandment ceremony for the Home Guard in 1945.  No doubt these ceremonies occurred in most districts – there was certainly one in Market Square, St Albans.  Hatfield held its  ceremony in Hatfield Park; it is believed the units of the town  marched past the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire.  This gives our clue to one photograph.  Crowds of people are lining a wide path watching the Home Guard units march past.  Those with an intimate knowledge of the park may well identify the avenue of trees.

de Havilland Home Guard unit at Hatfield Station.
COURTESY ANTHONY MEYRICK

Following the march-past this particular unit arrived at the forecourt of Hatfield Rail Station.  A map of the time reveals this was the site occupied by the present, and pleasant, modern station building and car park alongside Great North Road.  No wonder I did not recognise it with its little buildings around the open space.

Finally, Tony had let us know his grandfather had worked at de Havilland's during the Second World War.  That was the final clue, for it was indeed the de Havilland Home Guard detachment.

The discovery of these photos and the background knowledge is important.  Few HG official records remain, and almost no  members of the HG are now around.  So whatever memories they shared are now our responsibility to record and share.

Platoon ... Halt!

Let's face it, most of us are quite willing to give up an unspecified amount of time to volunteer for what we believe is a good cause.  Even this week a railway company is asking for volunteers to become Station Ambassadors at a few of its otherwise unstaffed stations.  In the 2012 Olympics there were 70,000 games makers without whose dedication the Games would not have been possible in the planned form.  Most major events since then have also seen large numbers of smiling volunteers.

It's not a new concept; volunteering has a noble and ancient history, often borne from loyalty, from protection and security, and from expectation.

The call also went out by Secretary of State Anthony Eden in May 1940.  The country needed volunteers to help defend the Home Front; he eventually got well over a million members of the Local Defence Volunteers, later known as the Home Guard.

The remaining numbers who served are so few now, and most of the accounts of their training, duties and encounters have now either been told or lost; and the official logs and other records of membership and service have long since been destroyed.  But with such a large active volunteer sector, most families resident in Britain at the time and since can count at least one, and possible many, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents who were for various reasons unable to become part of the regular fighting Services, but who were proud members of 'Dad's Army', as it was nicknamed.

Children's parade in Wynchlands Crescent, possibly 1945 and possibly linked to a street party.

One of those remarkable discoveries occurred recently when regular SAOEE site visitor Tony uncovered 1940s photographs which included his grandfather with his platoon.  A platoon group shot is accompanied by others of the group on parade.  There are bystanding crowds and we therefore assume the occasion might be either on establishment, or when the HG stood down at the end of 1944, or perhaps when finally disbanded in December 1945.  We know that Tony's grandfather lived at Oaklands, and there is also a wonderfully happy photo of a children's parade in Wynchlands Crescent, with two of their number holding a 'God Save the King' banner.

We have not yet identified the location of the parade – but it was clearly on a bus route!

There were many HG units in St Albans, but it does seem likely that this was one based in or near Oaklands, or perhaps a works unit for de Havilland's, where Tony's grandfather worked.  Still a mystery are the locations of these parades, especially the urban open space with advertisements and a bus stop (above).  If anyone recognises the place, even though it may no longer exist, we would welcome your input.  And there is just a chance that you might recognise a 'private on parade' or a junior in Wynchlands Avenue.

Was this part of the same parade? With so many spectators it was a popular open space.

Assuming everyone was present this is the complete platoon.  These pictures were often taken at a HG training hut,
but we don't yet know where this one was.  Any ideas?

It is a great little collection which can fortunately now be shared with a wider audience.