Radford

Any of you from Radford aged 70+ lived there between 1955 to 1960 and played on that field you may have known my wife "Irene Cottom" from Daimler Road

Hi. The glacial erratic you refer to was in the St Nicholas churchyard close to the church. According to my mother it disappeared on the night of 14th November blitz along with the church. She was born in Beech Road and lived in Engleton Road, and was a frequent visitor to the churchyard before the blitz since her brother was buried there in 1929. My grandparents also visited the grave a lot.

The sweet shop opposite the common was called Thurlys l believe

Is this it possibly?

At KHVIII in the 60s I was in the same class as Alan Turner who lived in Burnaby Road

Hi Dreamtime. Radford Baptist Church was built in 1931, It has since been added to and then rebuilt so it looks nothing like the Church we remember, I used to go to Sunday School there in the early 50's but then I went to St Nicholas when the new church was built there. I am not very religious but I think I just liked the singing! The library which was made of the army buildings is next door to the church. There is a triangular island opposite at the junction of Lawrence Saunders Road and Moseley Avenue that I can remember used to have a phone box and a police box. I think it is just recycling bins now. Here is a picture of the library, you can still see that it is the original "temporary" building made of army huts but still looks quite smart. You can just see the new church behind it. I have also found a picture of the old church. I seem to remember a pool which was covered when not in use that they obviously did the baptisms in. I never saw one. Did you live in Radford then Dreamtime? What era? I went to the youth club at the Congregational church on the Radford Road. Radford Baptist Church. Now called Lawrence Saunders Road Baptist Church Radford Library I have added the clipping, you can clearly see they are the same huts. Post copied from topic City Libraries on 16th Oct 2018 6:32 pm

Evening Anne, Yes, I remember the baptismal font/pool, it was up on the stage area and I did attend just one baptism there, one member of our youth group, that would have been around middle 50's but we left the area the late 50's. We lived in Batsford Road, just behind the Holyhead pub. Moseley Ave School was further up on the way to the shopping centre. Later when we moved to Beake Ave in Radford I was able to walk to the Rialto Casino Saturday night for some dancing. My memory box is spinning around just at the moment - wonderful.

I too went to the Baptist Church Sunday School in the early 50's - we lived in Tomson Avenue and it was lovely seeing your pictures of it - so many happy memories too of the Library, it was my second home almost and I know my love of reading was confirmed from the age of 7 within its walls - I went to Moseley Avenue Primary School but I cannot find any pictures of the old school? Many thanks for bringing back so many happy memories with your pictures!

Radford about 1900 A mock election chairing took place at this village, of a man of the name of Sammons who was a parish pauper, and who they pretended had been returned member for Radford. This mock chairing brought together a very large number of persons, estimated at over a thousand, most violent and disorderly. Sammons was chaired from one end of the village to the other, the mob shouting "As long as Radford brook shall swim a duck, cobbler Sammons shall be a member for Radford". In the evening they went to Coventry with drums and fifes playing, they beat up opposition electors. A detachment from the barracks succeeded in quieting the riot. Again in 1830 a handbill was circulated as the address of 'Cobbler Sammons' to the electors, dated from Radford Castle. At some period of his life he used to go round the town collecting night-soil, once carrying a tub filled with the soil along the street, when he was asked to execute some work by a person meeting him, which he agreed to do. He had a saying that "he never undertook a job unless he went through it", having repeated it, by accident the bottom gave way and Sammons went through the tub, smothered head to foot in the material.

It was the end of an era today in what I'd call the Heart of Radford (Jubilee Crescent), as the newsagents that has stood in the Crescent for as long as I can remember sadly closed its doors for the last time late this afternoon! One member of staff has worked in the shop for 50 years now, so that alone gives you an idea of just how long this newsagent's has been there and no doubt even longer than that? Known as "McColls" in later years, it was previously known as "Forbuoys" and "NSS" before that!!! I took this photo just over an hour before the shop sadly closed for the final time!

Hi CKV 1D. Sad to see. I grew up in Radford - Middlemarch Rd - and if I remember correctly back in the early 1960s it was Sharman's.

You're dead right there, Belushi, and it certainly is sad to see it close, as the shop has been there all my life, although from what I gather, it has had a few name changes over the years? ("Sharman's" as you mentioned, with "NSS" being another one and possibly "Hall's" as well?). I posted the photo's on some of the Coventry Facebook pages as well and it's amazed me how just the very sight of this shop has evoked so many memories for so many people! Whether it be from their time working there, doing a newspaper round from there, or just going in there regularly to buy their cigarettes, the Telegraph, the Pink (for all the sports gossip!), speedway magazine etc, etc. The response I've had has been truly amazing, but obviously as well, a lot of people are genuinely really sad to hear of its closure!!!

I'm glad you've confirmed my memories CKV 1D. I went to Hill Farm School with a Christine Sharman, though I don't think she was in my class, and it was her parents who owned the shop. There was a Hall's newsagents on Cheveral Avenue. In 1963 it was managed by the Maitlands, and my mother worked there part-time.

We lived in the Baginton Hostel until I was about four and then we hit the jackpot and moved to Beake Avenue - about 1952. We were there for the Coronation festivities and we had a wonderful fancy dress parade. Mums could make anything then. Mine made a crinoline out of waxed bread wrappers and a chef's hat to match. I loved it there, kids in every house playing marbles on the street and tig until dark. We drove the caretaker of Hill Farm School crazy, playing on the big field at the back of the houses. I went to Christ the King and walked myself to school crossing the main road(!) where I might pick up a few more Catholics to walk with. We used to go to St. Francis on Links Road to see old movies on Saturday morning but my main joy was going to the library, again alone, in Jubilee Crescent. We moved to Coundon in 1959 but there wasn't the wild fun we had on Beake Avenue.

Sorry to see the shop close after all this time. We used to go when it was Forbuoys, my mum used to buy birthday cards there. Who lives in those flats upstairs? That side of Jubilee was where we shopped at Perks. Mum collected the stamps and we got a lovey dinner service - square plates with flowers and a yellow border. The bags of broken biscuits were good too.