|
|
||
|
|
I was born on 8th October 1951 at Oldchurch Hospital, Romford, which was then in the County of Essex; Romford is now part of the London Borough of Havering. I am married to Adele and we live in Lower Constantia which is situated in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. As with most people the memories of my pre-school years are a bit sketchy although I do know that when I was born my parents, Alan & Sylvia, were living with my maternal grandmother, Kate Walpole, at 138 Bush Elms Road, Hornchurch, Essex; my birth certificate tells me that my Dad was a ‘salesman’ at this time. I also recall living in an apartment in Elm Park during this period; the apartment was on either the first or second floor and was coal fired; I even remember the coalman having to carry the sacks up the stairs to each flat! Shortly before I started school my Dad got a job managing a newsagents shop for a firm called “Martins”; this had ‘live-on’ accommodation and was on Reede Road, Dagenham, not too far from the Ford Motor Company car plant. At age 5 I started school at the “Richard Alibon” school, Alibon Road, Dagenham, and believe it or not it is still their! (http://www.barking-dagenham.gov.uk/1-schools/primary/richard-alibon-primary.html). Between the ages of 5 to 8 we moved around a lot, alternating between the Romford Area and Blackpool; this was primarily due to my Dad finding it very difficult to settle after his RAF service. We eventually settled in Blackpool and after living in rented accommodation for a time my parents bought a house in the Layton Area in 1963; this remained the family home until 1972 when they bought a larger house on Garstang Road West, on the Blackpool/Poulton boundary. Having moved to Blackpool for the final time life became more settled. I was enrolled in Devonshire Primary school and stayed there until I was nearly 12. The original school was demolished after a fire a few years ago and was replaced by a more modern structure on the same site (the website of the new school can be found at: http://www.devonshire.blackpool.sch.uk/Home.html). In the early 1960’s the concept of “Comprehensive” secondary schools had not been introduced and at age 11 I therefore sat the “11 plus” examination to determine the type of secondary school I should attend. I passed the examination and in September 1963 I moved to the all male Blackpool Grammar School where I stayed until December 1968. The school still exists on the same site having changed guise twice since my time; it firstly joined with its sister school (Collegiate High School for Girls) and later made the transition into a Comprehensive School under the name Blackpool Collegiate High School. (The website is at: http://www.collegiateweb.co.uk/). I did sit my GCE ‘O’ Levels whilst at Blackpool Grammar Scholl and also started studying for my ‘A’ levels; however I realised that I would probably not be very successful at ‘A’ Level standard (wrong subjects chosen) and in December 1968 got my first job as a Junior Clerk at the Blackpool Council Housing Department. Looking back, I realise what a sheltered existence we lead whilst at school and although I only stayed with the Housing Department for 2 years the time made me appreciate the realities of the world outside and the problems people could encounter. This proved to be of great value in my future careers. I class myself as only having had 3 real jobs since leaving Blackpool Council and link these below to separate pages (I have included in these pages various other events in my life as they occurred). The 'links' to each of the pages will change from green to blue once the page concerned has been fully completed: RAF Police (completed 23 August 2010) United Kingdom Civil Service (completed 24 August 2010) Likewise my interests and hobbies appear on separate pages Royal Air Force Police Association International Police Association What of today? Well I am happily married to Adele and enjoying retirement in Cape Town. How did I end up in South Africa? Well watch this space and all will be explained once the rest of the website is completed.
|
|