Grangemouth Road / Cheveral Avenue

I was born in 1944 and spent the first eleven years of my life in Grangemouth Road, the part between Capmartin Road and Owenford Road. Between Grangemouth and Cheveral there was a long entry in which all the kids who lived in these houses played. I would love to hear from any of them who were about during this period - by the way I lived in the house which had the last gate on the right into the entry. Regards.

Jubilee Cres and Grangemouth Road, 1938

This was about the time my mum and dad moved in. Thanks for taking the time to find this photo and posting it, it is much appreciated. Regards.

I know Martin Pruette, Carole Archer, Shirley Patterson - all lived down that way.

Thanks for your reply morgana. The name Pruette does ring a bell but at this point I am more interested in the kids I use to mix with on a regular basis all those years ago. Many thanks.

I thought Pruette would ring a bell yes I understand you're interested the kids you played with, I knew a lad whose name was Argie Moore, I'm sure he lived around that end too, he would be your age as my sister used to hang around with him, we lived then in Telfer Road.

Hi Morgana I knew the Pruettes well, we lived next door to them in Middlemarch Road for 20 years. There was Arthur the dad who was Welsh, he was a jack of all trades and could fix anything, I think he worked at Jaguar for a while at Kingfield Road where they carried out rectification, later on he was in the building trade and I did a bit of labouring for him during the school holidays, he was a real good bloke. Iris was the mum and she was the boss, she always wore her hair in a beehive and wore a pinny/overall, her house was spotlessly clean. There were four kids but they were very much older than me. Carole who I only knew by sight, she lived in Coundon. Terry who was a postman and lived in Telfer Road. Martin who was in the building trade and lived in the new houses in Grangemouth Road behind Woolworths, I also did a bit of labouring for him. Then the youngest was Steve who was the same age as my brother. A real nice family. Our row of houses were 1950's built council semis and they were between Capmartin Road and Owenford Road, we were down toward the Owenford Road end. 332 Middlemarch Rd The Pruette Family (not sure if this was the correct spelling) 334 Middlemarch Rd The Toulson Family. 336 Middlemarch Rd The Smith Family. 338 Middlemarch Rd The Carbury Family. 340 Middlemarch Rd The Duffy Family. 342 Middlemarch Rd The Coleman Family. 344 Middlemarch Rd The Davies Family. 346 Middlemarch Rd ? Can't remember as it was the only house in the block without kids. The corner of Grangemouth Road and Owenford Road was a bit of waste ground, directly behind Woolworths, this was where we had our bonfire on Nov 5th. When they built the new houses there it moved to where the Kwiksave was in Jubilee Crescent. The last house in Grangemouth Road before the new houses was a police house, the lad that lived there was Stewart Damsel, he was an excellent footballer, he and his family later moved to Middlemarch Road. All the kids in the road went to Hill Farm School in Foster Road.

Hi CV6, yes like my dad Welsh, and both my dad and mum worked at the Jag, also my dad could fix anything as Mr Pruette, and my dad used to drink at the Jag and Pilot. Mr Pruette always game for a laugh too even as an oap, last time I seen him on the Crescent and his wife both shopping. Yes she was boss. I know them well, last I heard Martin is on New Road caravan site, Ash Green. Steven used to play with my younger twin sisters. Martin use to hang round with one of my older sisters. Yes we always had bonefire night on the ground where Kwiksave, now Asda, is, prior to that it was where Tesco is now on the Crescent before Tesco and the community centre was built. Yes we all attended Hill Farm. I recall a Michael Duffy going to Hill Farm too. I recall the waste ground on Grangemouth Road back of Woolworths prior to new houses being built and the bonfire. We all used to play together different streets over Radford area as bottom of Owenford Rd was a games field with a hut the field side of Joseph Cash School. It used to hire stilts, clubs, bats, balls etc. On certain nights on cold nights the man in charge would have a large metal barrel with a fire going in it so we could get warm.

CV6, I remember the police house, I think it was the last in the row of the pre war houses to be built on that side of Grangemouth, if I remember correctly there was a gap of about 12 ft before the start of the new houses. I also remember an old school friend of mine, Colin Purser, who died of tetanus when he was about ten, he lived about ten or twelve houses from the police house. Regards.

Hi Morgana Do you mean Radford aerodrome, we used to go through a gap in the houses in the corner of Blackwatch Rd and Owenford Rd, the hut was on the right hand side, this was also our route to Livingstone baths, we cut across the field to the Black Pad and over the bridge to Lockhurst Lane, after our swim we would get a hot chocolate from the vending machine in the showroom of the Parkside Garage (I later did my apprenticeship with them) before our long walk home. We played in the entries and on the Crescent, if we were lucky enough to get a full book of Green Shield stamps we could get an orange hard plastic "Wembley" football which would last us all summer. I went for a trial at the Standard boxing club on the bend in Capmartin Rd, to see if it suited me. I got punched on the nose and decided to retire. We also used to sneak onto the Jaguar sports pitches to play football or cricket but had to be quick on our feet as the groundsman would chase us off. Do you remember Gerry who used to join in with the kids playing football on the Crscent, we never new his age but he was severely burnt and was childlike, his speech was very limited, I think he lived above the shops. To this day I'm proud to say no one ever mistreated him even though he could playfully run off with your ball in the middle of the game.

Hi Crete That's the one, I was at Hill Farm with the lad, his dad was a policeman

Hi CV6 yes the small field / aerodrome, the hut was just on the corner of the field when we used to go at the entrance. I didn't know Gerry, might do by sight. The boxing building, corner on the bend of Capmartin Rd, if it's the same wooden hut building I recall that was used as the Jag and Daimler club when the original club burnt down until the new club was built which lasted until recently moving. The old club was wood too, the bar was straight in front as you walked into the large room, stage to the right, to the left sectioned off with half glass was a billiard room. The little door man was Frank, there a photo of a man called Bill on here, he has a moustache, to do with a factory he used to drink with my dad at the Jag & Daimler too. The steward and stewardess lived in the house right side of the entry coming out from the new club.

The Daimler football pitch and the long wooden hut was used by Hill Farm Junior School for football between 1948-50. Mr Levy was games master at the time.

Hi, please can anyone help me? I am looking for any information on Grangemouth Road, Coventry, for my mum Iris. According to her birth Certificate she was born in Municipal Hospital, Coventry, during or at the end of WW2. My nan (her mum, Lily Jones) came to work in Coventry from Wrexham, Wales, during the war as a stores assistant in a motor works, we are not sure where this was. They lived in 220 Grangemouth Road. Please can anyone tell us if these houses are the same ones that are there today. My mum's older brother was also born there also - Harold. Does anyone remember them? Any information on this area during this time would be fantastic. Thank you.

Hello & welcome to our forum Charliegirl Let's hope that from the info that you have given, someone has some notion of your mum. Before the war, my mum & dad lived at 18 Grangemouth Rd, which is the Daimler end, but that was ten years before I was born.