Totley in the 50s and 60s

[sharrovian 10]

I'm sure the new building will be a new dental practice and a few recollections as follows Dr Rees-Jones began his tenure in Totley in the premises that used to be Purdy's and he then went to the bungalow which is now being altered to take over from Dr Mukherjee I believe.

[Bellers 10]

Hi Dreb,

 

Sorry I've not been on for a while. Thanks for the note about pictures of the prefabs. I've been on the picture website before, but they must have been added since. The captions are not necessarily correct. The first says 'probably' Aldam Way and I can can confirm that it is. My wife (came From Rowan Tree Dell) was friends with Barbara Lidster who lived there and is still (occasionally) in touch with her. I think her prefab is in the photo. The second is not Aldam Way, although there is a sign showing it in the photo. It was actually Aldam Road and the picture must have been taken from number 67. My friend John Laughton lived at 65 (the lamp post outside!).

 

Not only do I remember Wesleys, but my sister has a photograph of it being renovated recently and you can see the original name. I'll ask my wife for more people on Rowan Tree Dell. I know she knew Gillian Mangles, Viv Glentworth (as did I) Mick Lindley (me too) and David Diggins.

 

I'll see whether I can find the names of all the people who lived in the prefabs that are in the pictures!

 

---------- Post added 09-08-2013 at 09:51 ----------

 

Hi Ping,

 

I well remember the train crash (picture S22600) to which you refer. My friend lived at the bottom of Bushey Wood Road and heard a tremendous bang. Apparently trucks were seen to be hurled into the air. We all went to have a good look, and the diesel was completely derailed. It was reported in the Sheffield Star that evening and I seem to remember that the guard was killed.

 

The diesel hauled goods train had apparently been unable to stop as it came out of Totley Tunnel. Shortly after passing under Baslow Road it ran into the rear of another goods train. The accident happened just before reaching the footbridge which goes up to Queen Victoria Road.

 

It is odd that I can't find any reference to this accident on the rail archive websites. The diesel number appears to be D6883 but this was allocated to Swansea? The date must have been between November 1963 (loco new) and November 1968 (letter D removed from number).

 

---------- Post added 09-08-2013 at 12:13 ----------

 

Names of some people on Aldam Road born in 40s / 50s : 75 Steven and Angela Turner, 73 Ian and Kay Morris then Jennifer and Judith Crookes, 71 Clive and Paul and Lynn Bellamy, 69 Brian Johnson, 67 Susan and Jennifer Kibble, 65 Barbara and Pat and John Laughton, 63 two girls (names?) Woofinden

Edited August 9, 2013 by Bellers
Mis-spelled name

[Dreb48 35]

Hi Bellers.

Thanks for the stuff you've posted.

I think I'd realised that some of the photos hadnt been labelled correctly. I was just delighted to find them on there.

I've since found some transparencies taken by my dad of various members of the family stood by assorted vehicles outside our house. You can see the prefabs around ours and those at the top of Green Oak Drive. Amazingly apart from ours there's not a single car on any of them as far as the eye can see.

Of the names you mention. The only one ive seen recently is Mick Lindley who was working at Morrisons about a year or so ago.

Am on holiday at the moment. Ill post more when I get back

[2496 10]

hello just read through these postings, they have managed to revive a few brain cells which I thought were totally dormant. Many of the comments I can relate to, and it is difficult to know where to start; so here goes.

Dobcroft road youth club, went there with a bunch of lads many times, remember the place quite well, bit of a hut really, main hall with table tennis etc. stage at one end then behind the stage the music room and a small kitchen where the hi-fi system was, well record player anyway, lights were usually dimmed and many a clandestine liaison took place or well it seemed so at the time . I remember dances there at weekends occasionally, all in all had a good time there.

Only time I got nicked for speeding on my motorbike was going there, about opposite abbydale hamlet, cost me a fiver which at that time as an apprentice was about a week and a half's wages.

a few names to throw into the mix Bob Goodwin aldam road, Brian and tom turner lemont road Chris Taylor laverdene ave. bye for now

[Dreb48 35]

hello just read through these postings, they have managed to revive a few brain cells which I thought were totally dormant. Many of the comments I can relate to, and it is difficult to know where to start; so here goes.

Dobcroft road youth club, went there with a bunch of lads many times, remember the place quite well, bit of a hut really, main hall with table tennis etc. stage at one end then behind the stage the music room and a small kitchen where the hi-fi system was, well record player anyway, lights were usually dimmed and many a clandestine liaison took place or well it seemed so at the time . I remember dances there at weekends occasionally, all in all had a good time there.

Only time I got nicked for speeding on my motorbike was going there, about opposite abbydale hamlet, cost me a fiver which at that time as an apprentice was about a week and a half's wages.

a few names to throw into the mix Bob Goodwin aldam road, Brian and tom turner lemont road Chris Taylor laverdene ave. bye for now

 

Hi 2496

My memories of Dobcroft would probably be from round '63 to '68. Is that anywhere near the time you're talking about ? You described it exactly as I remember it.

You mention going there on your motorbike which sparks the memory of me going on my scooter.

Went there one wintry Sunday night when I'd probably have been better off going on the bus. Coming back down Dobcroft Rd after club had finished I hit the brakes near the bottom and just carried on going. Went straight across Abbeydale Rd South to the other side. If there'd been any other traffic I'd have been wiped out. Sold it shortly after !

Unfortunately I can't place any of the names you mention from around Laverdene and Aldam. I may be wrong but one of them may have been name checked in an earlier post somewhere in this thread.

 

---------- Post added 19-08-2013 at 09:35 ----------

 

Hi Bellers

I realise now there were loads of people of a similar age strolling round Totley who I knew by sight but had no idea of their names !

I think I knew everybody who was in our class at school , neighbours and friends of friends.

Your memory is obviously far better than mine as you keep coming up with names and events that had been lost to me in the mists of time.

I'd forgotten David Diggins lived on Rowan Tree Dell and John Laughton lived near you.

Talking of Wesleys, there's a piece on Totley History Groups website that's really interesting. I've contributed a few bits and have mentioned this thread with the hope of getting more people from our era to post

[2496 10]

Re dobcroft youth club sometimes it’s the daftist things you remember ,one particular record, not for its musical value but for its effect. Bits and pieces by the Dave Clark Five and the stamping of peoples feet in time to the beat and sound as though the floor could give way at any time.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 23:45 ----------

 

Vance Arnold and the avengers later to become Joe Cocker and his grease band mentioned in an earlier post and the associated motor cycle crowd ,one of the bikes would have been mine, brings to mind the rather unhappy evening when one of that crowd on his way home crashed at the bottom of totley rise and died, he wasn’t from totley but was quite well regarded amongst the local lads. It made us all think!

[Dreb48 35]

Re dobcroft youth club sometimes it’s the daftist things you remember ,one particular record, not for its musical value but for its effect. Bits and pieces by the Dave Clark Five and the stamping of peoples feet in time to the beat and sound as though the floor could give way at any time.

 

---------- Post added 20-08-2013 at 23:45 ----------

 

Vance Arnold and the avengers later to become Joe Cocker and his grease band mentioned in an earlier post and the associated motor cycle crowd ,one of the bikes would have been mine, brings to mind the rather unhappy evening when one of that crowd on his way home crashed at the bottom of totley rise and died, he wasn’t from totley but was quite well regarded amongst the local lads. It made us all think!

 

The song that sticks with me is that awful ' I'm Enery the Eighth, I am '

It seems to have been played at every church hall dance I went to in the 60s.

 

Regarding the bike accident you mention. Was it one of Chris Staintons crowd ? When I left Totley for Abbey Lane in the late 60s. The Staintons lived nearby. Chris and his friends were always tearing around on bikes

[2496 10]

hello

I don't remember the name of the fellow involved in the totley rise accident only the bike he was riding namely a B.S.A gold star probably the DBD34 model.

 

---------- Post added 26-08-2013 at 23:38 ----------

 

Hello,

Now for something different, during the 60’s totley had its share of characters. .Around 1965 I was going home from Pond Street on the 45 bus, must have been at tech. college I imagine, the bus at that time left pond street went along Shoram Street and cut through to eyre street heading towards bramhall lane. This particular evening the road it took from Shoram St. to Eyre St. was closed due to road works so the bus was diverted up a parallel street. When the bus got to the end of eyre st. there used to be a large brick built bus stop which served a number of routes, about where Decathlon sports shop is now . Arriving there the bus stopped to pick up passengers as usual, at this point the conductor made a grave mistake, realising the bus had missed one of the stops he decided to run back and fetch the missed passengers. At this point in steps our totley friend ,let’s call him “Mr K”, on seeing the passengers desperate to get home after a long day’s work took it upon himself to act as conductor and rung the bell. So on the bus went, the driver oblivious to what was happening, on we went stop after stop people alighted and boarded all the way to totley. The good people of totley tut tutted a bit but the desire to get home over rode their moral dilemma about the situation.

I left the bus at Glover road so don’t know how this storey finished our protagonist in this act would have alighted at mickley lane, so who informed the driver and what happened to the conductor is anybody’s guess, mind you I did find it quite amusing.

[Areffty 10]

hello

I don't remember the name of the fellow involved in the totley rise accident only the bike he was riding namely a B.S.A gold star probably the DBD34 model.

 

I was in Totley around 1967, and rode a motor bike around that time! I seem to remember that there were two lads killed on a bike that finished up on the pavement near the end of Grove Road. Same accident?

 

On the train crash subject, I was working at Totley Bridge Garage that evening, and phoned the emergency services. As I recall, a diesel electric loco travelling on its own, came out of the tunnel with brake failure and collided with the rear of a stationary goods train near West View Farm. The loco driver had been sounding his horn from coming out of the tunnel until shortly before the collision, He jumped off the loco at the last minute and was badly injured but AFAIK survived, The goods train guard saw (and heard) the loco coming and jumped off and ran up the bank. His guards van was wrecked in the collision. The boss of Totley Bridge Garage (Roger Thorpe) ran up West View Lane and would probably have been first on the scene of the accident.

 

Incidentally, I've been trying to find a photo of Totley Bridge Garage from the fifties or sixties, but haven't come across one yet. Can anyone help with that?

[sedith 19]

Does anyone remember the Woolhouse and Bellamy families, lived in the semi's at the top of Green Oak Road

[pennina 10]

The only person I recall is a Jeremy Woolhouse who was in the same junior and infants at Totley C of E School. about 1953 to 1959ish.

[sedith 19]

The only person I recall is a Jeremy Woolhouse who was in the same junior and infants at Totley C of E School. about 1953 to 1959ish.

Could be the same family, the father was a policeman called Ted?