"Burglar Bill" and other old tales of Radford

Hi Freeman, Well that one certainly caught my attention, well done, hope you have some more tales to tell us. Sounds as if we have another larikin on the forum as well as Colin. I too only visited the Robbins's house once, Jennifer was off work one Friday and as I lived in Beake Avenue I called in to take her wages and her father kindly took me home on his motorbike and I was absolutely terrified. I clung on to him like a leech. I would add Michael was a perfect gentleman on our one and only date. (I can see the patch in your trousers !)

I would like to add another a couple of memories to these pages, relating this time to the Savoy. Going back to be about eleven or twelve year of age., I was a frequent visitor to the Savoy. If there was an A film showing, you had to get someone to take you in. This meant standing outside waiting for someone who was willing to buy your ticket after giving them the money, a shilling then (5p in new money) to go in. Once in side you could then go and sit where you liked. On one visit, I started to get very warm, and started to scratch and itch, when I got home, I told my Mum, I felt something on my neck. Mum looked and straight away I was whisked outside and all my clothes where stripped off me. I was crawling all over with lice. I was given a thorough wash all over, (we had no bath in the cottage), and I was given a spray with Flit, a pest killer kept in most households at that time. Next day, down to the Savoy, saw the manager, explained what had happened. Went down and pointed out the seat I sat in and found a hole in the seat which was alive with the lice. The manager had the seat removed and the whole area was fumigated. A couple of years later I and my friends, one which was Bill, regularly went to see films at the Savoy, and came the period when rock and roll came in to its own. Bill Haley and the Comets doing the rounds of the cinemas and all the kids were going wild, dancing in the aisles and being noisy. On this particular night the manager came down and picked us out and told us the leave the cinema. Bill was not pleased about this as we felt we were not part of the upsetting crowd that were there. Bill refused to leave so the manager grabbed him by the collar and the seat of his pants and ran him towards the entrance doors. Unfortunately the door he picked was still bolted and Bill hit the glass with both hands and went through it. He took a wound to his stomach and a laceration up his arm. After being stitched up I think the police took a statement and some action was taken against the manager, I can't remember what, Bill's jacket which was cut to ribbons, was replaced, the irony was that we were all banned from the Savoy. This did not last very long, because we still kept going, but went in separately. If it had been in today's light, Bill would have been in line for a fortune, as it was it was soon forgotten. I hope this adds to all who are interested in this page on Radford, more to follow.

Hello Freeman, Well nothing stopped you Radford boys did it. Interesting little story. I well remember the Flit guns, as you say most households had one. Big Bill the handyman used one every morning in the winter in the offices just as we clocked in with our 'germs' . Thank you for bringing your memories to life Freeman.

I would like to respond to this bit of question, but will do so later, having just joined up to writing in these pages. So follow on to 12. Freeman.

Hi Dreamtime, Following your question to Colin, I remember having to go to Waste Lane for sports during my time at Barker Butts. Does anybody remember those days. We were taken up there by bus but left to make our own way home. the two sport teachers were Taffy Watts, and Bob Coward. Taffy was a great character, but Mr. Coward was very liberal with the cane, and could hit very hard. I attended Barkers from 1949 until I left Easter 1953, The Queen and I both started work about the same time 1953. The headmaster was Mr Howe, who also left to retire at the same time I left. My teachers through my years started with Mr. Allchurch, with his shaven head we all thought he was a German. Then I had Mr Locke, then I went to Mr Turner, who did not use the cane so much but used to throw the blackboard wiper at you if he thought you were talking etc. We could not work out how he knew who to aim at, when he was writing on the blackboard, until we realised he was using the reflection of his glasses to see behind him. My final teacher was Mr Eaves, again a very good teacher who could hit very hard. The worst of all was T.O.D. Davies, he was banned from hitting on the hand, so you had to have the cane on the backside. Not very pleasant because sometimes he hit so hard you went flying forward on all fours. Other teachers I remember were Mr Greenaway who wrote the school song and Mr Price for music, Mr Lewis for Biology, Mr Rushworth for stories on Biggles, Mr Brown deputy head, Pop Griffin, and Mr Griffiths. We were boys only then and the girls headmistress was Miss Butlin. Do ex-boys remember the trips down the Centaur Road school for xrays for TB, following which a new vaccine was tried out on us, which eventually led the wiping out TB in England. Several other schools must have been part of this, so it is sad to see it coming back again after all that effort. Any boys, now men from that era, please post, love to hear.

Hi Freeman not sure if you've seen this, it also mentions the school song

Hello Morgana, Thank you for that page, most interesting. I have not seen that before. The two male teachers at the back of the photo group are Bob Coward, on the left, and T.O.D. Davies. I remember them after all these years and the bruises that went with them, it never did me any harm though. Freeman.

My brother Jim Glad to see you are on this fantastic site, Freeman (Jim), you may remember this tale as it was not that long ago we were chatting about it. It's was great having an older brother back then when we were growing up, he was seven years older than me (and still is) lol. It had its rewards and sometimes it had a down side, "if you have to tag along with me then you do as you are told" well I did tag along with him quite a lot mostly under orders from my Mum, Jim must have took so many slaps round the ears for me, you would not believe, Jim has just reminded me of one instance involving some house bricks. From recollection Jim had this plan to bomb a so called village, he had made a few tracks in the dirt under an old oak tree that we used to climb the tracks represented roads and he then made dirt houses, from up the tree it looked like a village Now to bomb the village he needed to climb the tree armed with some stones and half house bricks, only problem was he had to climb down every time to reload, "I have a great idea" he said, why don't we make a crane, I can pull up the bricks and you can load them" now this sounded a great idea to me as I was going to get involved by helping my big brother, so Jim shot off to get some rope and I found some half house bricks and a wooden board to sit them on, he returned with the rope and began to tie the rope around the middle of the board, once he had done this he began to instruct me on how to load the board. If you put a half house on one side then you have to balance the other side with another brick the same size, "I can do that easy" was my reply so with the instruction sunk in he began to climb the tree, after loading the bricks onto the board I shouted "pull away" to which he did, very slowly I held the board to keep it steady until it was out of reach bearing in mind I was now stood under the board, (I think you can guess what's coming) as the board ascended the corner of the board snagged on a branch causing the board to tip and thereby knocking off one of the half house brick, this did no more than to hit me square on the top of my head, I then covered my head with my arms as I guessed what was going to happen next. The board now being unbalanced started to tip the rest of the bricks on my head (not being able to get out of the way quick enough) one by one in quick succession the bricks began to rain down, having covered my head with my arms now i was able to fend off most of the bricks using my arms as shield. Poor ol Jim, he knew he was in for a slap, I have to say at this point I cannot remember the outcome or if I was badly hurt, but it must have had an long lasting memory for Jim as he was the one who reminded me of the incident. Good ol Jim, I know he did not do it on purpose, or did he? Lol. Colin.

I seem to recall someone mentioning Wilmot Evans being the garage on the Radford Road, opposite the church. I do not believe this was so. In my time the garage was the Blue Star garage, and I kept my first car in rental garages there. Wilmot Evans was at the bottom of Wyley Road on the right just before you came to the shops. If I am wrong perhaps I will see a correction come along. Freeman |

You're welcome, Freeman, not nice memories though to carry through life. I notice your Mr Howe is on one of those pages on that link too. Have you tried typing into google 'Friends Reunited Barker Butts Coventry', I'm sure you will find someone you know on there.

Yes, the Ace Garage in Wyley Road, later run by another speedway star, the late Les Owen

Many stories you have read of Colin's exploits, but I must tell you that it is very fortunate that he is here to tell those tales. There is seven years difference between us, so has he has already explained, I had the take him with me wherever I went. Colin would have been about six or seven at the time. In those days, both parents had to go out to work, and so school holidays, we spent mostly outdoors doing things that boys did then. We paid many visits to the Nauls Mill . The Nauls Mill as you may remember it was circled by a low wall, which you leaned over to see tiddlers nosed up to the wall, so we could catch them. Needless to say, Colin lent over too far, and in he went. It'snot very deep so we soon got him out, but didn't I cop it for that one. But hang on and be patient, more is yet to come, on another visit to the pool, we walked around the pool with Colin dragging along behind. To the side of the pool is an overflow, built into the side and the path. We heard a clang, looked round and Colin had gone. Fortunately as my memory serves me, a man saw what happened, and Colin walking along stepped on the iron cover and it opened up and he fell through. He was about seven to eight foot down in the rubbish from the pool, having missed the outfall pipe, but what a blessing that the iron cover did not follow him down. He would surely had taken it full force, having no room to manoeuvre. I don't think I caught for that one as we were relieved that he survived, and Mum and Dad blamed the fact that the cover was so dangerous. Just a little snippet to add to Colin's memoirs.

Hi Freeman, It is so obvious you are brother's when reading between the lines. I don't suppose you realised the responsibility you held looking after your little brother and from all accounts not an easy task, but the freedom you had in those days forged the tales you are able to relate to us today. Take care Freeman.

I want to awaken a few more memories here. Does anyone remember the twentyfourers in Northbrook Road, where as kids we used to go conkering, supposedly so named because you could get them to last and beat all the others. Also remember the Dace Pit in Staircase Lane, another place were time was spent fishing for tiddlers, etc.? Another place we used to frequent for adventure was Beynon's. These were playing fields you got to from Scots Lane. It was adjacent to what we always thought were Bablake playing fields. There was also a pond in these fields as well, not very deep but quite muddy on the bottom. A good place for catching frogs. Its reputation was tarnished around our time there by the drowning of a boy from Barkers Butts School, in the same year I was in, but a grade below me. He lived in Three Spires Avenue, and he had a younger brother. The boy who drowned was named John but I cannot remember his second name, But I do remember he was a very likeable lad and everyone in the school was shocked on his passing. At the Beynon's was my first and only attempt at motor cycle riding. My mate, Bill Whittington, had bought a small motor bike I remember with a JAP engine. As he couldn't tax and insure it, he would push it up to the Beynon's. On this day I went with him he said I could have go, so willingly I mounted the bike, Bill told me how to move off, clutch and throttle and put it in first gear. That was it, off I went, round and round the field in first gear. However what he did not tell me was how to stop it. The consequence was I had to ride it into a hedge before I could stop the thing. I never ever got on a motor bike again. All these things happened in and around Radford, what a place to grow up in, the freedom to roam, places to play in, friends to remember. Kids growing up today with there Ipods and Xboxes, mobile phones and television, have missed the best part of being kids.

Hi Freeman, Yes, I couldn't agree more. I don't think we realised how lucky we were at the time. If I ever find the Tardis I will let you know, then we can all take a trip back. Incidentally, did you ever soak your conkers in vinegar or was that cheating?