Ruby May Hammond ( Polly) nee Allen.

Polly moved to a brand-new house at 40 Oak Hill in 1931 when she was 23 and had married Archibald (Snowy) Hammond where she lived for 77 years.  Her parents, Ernest & Louisa Allen had two children, Robert & Ruby. Moving from Lowestoft to Hull in 1912 aged 4, she lived through WW1.  Leaving Hull aged 15 after the death of her father from an old war wound, Ruby as chambermaid & mum as cook, worked in London, including two years for the Indian Commissioner.  In the roaring twenties, she enjoyed the current fashions for dancing, Charleston etc.

They had two children, Jean Louise and Robert.   She holidayed extensively in Europe with her friend Dora Cooke; they both had common interests in Whist, Bingo and holidays.   She passed away days short of her 100^th birthday.

 

Pam Hanmore.  nee Stevens.

Pam came to Wood Street in 1939 & lived in Graylings Bungalow until 1946, then 66 Pound Hill until 1958.   She attended Wood Street School from 1940 to 1946.   They lived next door to Mrs Crick, ( left hand side of Graylings Farm when facing it) the village post lady who had three sons, Stephen, David & Lawrence. Stephen was a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp.  David was in the RAF and came home safely and Lawrence was in the RAF & was killed during the war.

She recalls that cows roamed the common near the school & Mrs Crick had a goose and a gander that used to terrorize her on her way to school.  While at Wood Street School, it was common to carry a gas mask and spend time in an air raid shelter singing.  She recalls Sheila Spinks entertaining them in the air raid shelters with Poems. She recalls that her best friend, Beryl Cooper was Flower Queen in 1953, (later married to Simon Dee of Radio Caroline fame ). Flower Queens following that were Jean Barnard in 1954, then Julia Greaves.  Janet Jackson in 1959.   Bert Hammond and his wife Lou ran the village Fish & Chip shop in the 1950s.

Bonfires were held on the village green on 5^th November. Boys would carry Rook Scarers, throwing them into the fire. Jumping Jacks, now banned, were also a hazard.

She recalls Dr Moir being called out to see her mother & slipping on the icy path breaking his arm. Invited for a cup of tea while waiting for an ambulance, he said forget the tea, where’s the Whisky.

Elizabeth (Betty) Steele nee Hester

Betty was one five sisters, Doreen, Beryl, Joan, & Ethel & one brother, David,  Born to Harry Tom Hester and Ethel Coe. Harry was born in 1905 & Ethel born in 1903.   Harry & Ethel had moved to 1 Elm Tree Cottage where the daughters were born.  Harry worked at London Transport as head mechanic before leasing the village shop, Jubilee Stores. It was here that the four younger sisters delivered newspapers around the village prepared by Ethel.    They moved out of Elm Tree Cottage and into Jubilee Stores. The shop was then sold to a Mr Parsons & the family moved into their grandfather’s wooden black bungalow in 1947.  The children bagged coal & logs for delivery. David developed the cesspool tanker business building up to eight tankers that he converted from old Dennis dustcarts.

In 1953, Harry had a brick bungalow built on the site of the old wooden one next to the garage.  The petrol pumps were installed.    Hester’s yard was growing into a small industrial estate with a warehouse built by Arthur Woolgar with the help of Joan’s husband Brian Lunn.  Tom Chandlar had a lawn mower repair shop and Bill Crossman had a small factory.

Harry leased the garage to Jack Lyons & his son peter moved to Transport & Maintenance in 1968 but ceased selling petrol in 1997.  Harry had also bought Doreen’s Drapery which he sold as building land and flats were built.   Betty’s sister Joan was killed by an IRA bomb in Aldershot in 1972.

Harry was the son of Alfred Hester and Maude Brisk.  He was a wood merchant & they lived in at Farm View, in the 1930s, small wooden bungalow now the Wood Street Garage.  They had two daughters, Maude & Elizabeth (Lily) and one son Harry tom, detailed above.

 

Alfred’s wife Maude with daughters Maude & Elizabeth (Lily) and son Harry.

 

 

Betty’s memories of Wood Street December 1999.

During the war, Doodle Bugs were flying over Wood Street and the mums on the Village Green, Mrs Hester, Boynton, Boxall and Mrs Brown were all worried that one had hit the school – fortunately not. Toby Smith picked up an incendiary bomb near White Hart Lane and died from burns when it went off.   Canadian troops camped under canvas on the Village Green; they made wooden whistles for the children from the willow trees; gave the children chewing gum & chocolate.   Evacuees stayed with families around the Green.  The Flower Show was always a great event with Ken Hawkins organising Races with cash prizes. There was Swing Boats, Roll a Penny, Hoop La & lots more.

The Hewate family.

Refer to the Yellow Book for more information. This family lived at Littlefield manor for at least a century before 1664.

 

Fred Hill b 1922

Fred lived in Oak Cottage, next to the village school, from 1922. They moved to Hillbrow in the 1930s.  Fred recalls that his brother Charlie & friend Eric Langford used to put on magic Lantern shows in their shed at Oak Cottage. Entrance fee one old penny.  The lantern was powered by a mixture of Calcium Carbide and water producing acetylene gas – it burnt well with a very bright light but often known to catch fire.  Charlie worked at the Royal Oak on Saturday mornings crating empty bottles for six old pence an hour ( one new penny for four hours work).

An Indian Sheik would visit the village once a year selling coloured silks; an onion seller in black Berrie would visit, and the Muffin Man would visit regularly.

In 1938/9, Fred was elected captain of the Village Cricket Team at the age of 17.  Amongst the team were Freddie Cole, a carpenter foreman, Ron Brooker the local policeman, and Crosley Cooke, who kindly allowed us to use part of the blacksmiths shop as a changing room.

Fred had to take the Saturday morning off work to prepare the pitch for home games – a loss of wages of 16 old pence for the half day. He did get paid £3 by the Parish Council for cutting down rushes on the Village Green.

About this era, Mr Jim Lewis from Guildford formed a running club, Wood Street Harriers.  Fred was the only Wood Street member, but the club attracted national runners due to the Wood Street area being a great place for running events.  Accounts were recorded in the Sunday people newspaper.

 

Frank (Pop) Hawkins

Chairman & President of the Wood Street Horticultural Society and a friend of the whole village.   Frank & his wife celebrated their Golden Wedding in 1954.  Pictured with them is Miss Jeane Barnard the Wood Street Flower Queen.

 

Horace Henry Harding b 1890,.

Horace was married to Alice Eva nee Miles and they ran a smallholding at Range Farm and supplied and ran a milk round at Broad Street and Ryde’s Hill area by Horse and Cart.  He often visited local pubs on his way home but fortunately the horse knew the way home.  He used to collect his supplies, (feed etc.) for the smallholding from Rickford Mill.  He was a regular winner of awards for vegetables in the annual village show.

His father was Frederick Harding, born in 1860/1 in Worplesdon, married to Sarah Elizabeth b 1861/2.

Horace and Alice had three sons & two daughters.  One of the daughters, Eva, married Frank Morris. They had two sons & two daughters. Carole married Bruce Tester.  Carole born in 1962, lived in Range Farm until it was demolished in 1980.  She then lived in the Oval, Wood Street, and later Pitch Place in Worplesdon.  She was the Secretary of Wodd Street Cricket Club for many years and also the Clerk to Worplesdon Parish Council.  Bruce was a stalwart of the cricket club, playing at all levels from a boy to captaining the Saturday 1^st team.  He also spent many hours preparing the wickets, cutting the outfield, maintaining the pavilion and the bar.

Vera Hebbern.

Vera was born in 1918. Vera had five brothers and two sisters. They lived at Hook Farm, White Hart Lane, which was then two farm cottages. The family moved to 5 Elmfield Cottages, White Hart Lane, where  her parents bought and ran a smallholding and farmed with their sons. They supplied villagers with vegetables and home raised pork, pigs, cows, chickens & turkeys at Xmas.   Hook Farm had been sold to a family called Vickers who also farmed and had a milk round.  She left school at 14 and went to work at NALCO, a munitions factory, in Shalford.  After the war, moving to Post Office Telephones for 32 years, on the Accounts side.

One of Vera’s sisters was Winnie Taylor, nee Hebbern.  In 1993, Winnie was living at 45, Pound Court. She recalls that as a child there was only one wooden bungalow opposite the school, two wooden bungalows next to the shop where Mrs Crick the village post woman, lived and one wooden bungalow where the Hester’s lived – nothing else.

Winnie recalls there was no transport in the village but a Mr Hobbs who lived on the Green, would take people, shopping, to Guildford in his van on a Friday.  Then the yellow bus started running from Guildford to Camberley via Wood Stret.  Later, the Aldershot and District traction Company ran a bus from Wood Street Green to Guildford.

Cattle were allowed to roam freely on village green and commons, keeping the commons clear od shrubs.  The local policeman knew everyone by name and there was no trouble. They walked to Worplesdon to church every Sunday and had a bible class in a wooden hut in the Forge garden.

Winnie was in the choir in the old church Wood Street, when Captain and Mrs Wallace was the preacher. He lived in an old bungalow at Beckdale. The bungalow has since been demolished and a house built.

 

Mr Bill Hebburn:

lived in Elmfield Cottages since 1917?  He had seven children. He recalls the Green crowded with people for Maypole activities and Wood Street Band formed around 1900.  (Surrey Times 16^th December 1950).  The Maypole was based at the School, & every MayDay it was moved to the Green.

 

Mr G R Holloway.

Born in Wood Street in 1942, living in 2 Stedman’s Cottages, now Stedman’s Farm on Wood Street Green. He moved to 189 Frog Grove Lane in 1957 until 2004. He was at the village school from 1947 to 1959.

 

Frank & Doreen Hull

They lived at the far end of Frog Grove Lane, on the service road in a bungalow called ‘The Dell’ from 1952 to 1967 and later at Rydes Hill until 1981. During those 30 years the whole family worshipped at St. Albans church.  Their daughter Daphne used to teach in the Sunday school and sing in the choir. Frank was Honorary Treasurer for the parish of Worplesdon.  In those days, Daphne was not eligible to go to Wood Street School because they lived at the far end of Frog Grove Lane, so she went to school at Ryde’s Hill Convent. Doreen remembers watching the Kingfisher diving from the trees at the village pond, watching cricket on the village green and the flower shows & crowning of the flower queen.

Roy & Ella Hunt

They came to the Royal Oak in 1967 as landlords, taking over from Roy’s father, Ted Hunt, having a total time of 25 years at the pub.  In December 1982 they were part of a syndicate of six people based at the pub who won £388,000 on Littlewoods Pools. They received the cheque at a champagne reception at Grosvenor House in London.

 

 

 

David Hypher

David began his year in office as the High Sheriff of Surrey in 2005.  Born in India in 1941, he moved to Britain in 1950 settling in Surrey and attending Brooklands College.  He enjoyed a 40-year career in investment in the city.  He was chairman of Surrey Community Development Trust which provides housing and support for people with special needs.   David and his wife Pam have been active in Wood Street Community events and charities for many years.  They started in Tudor Cottage Frog Grove Lane, then lived for many years in the Forge on the Green before moving into a cottage on White Hart Lane.

 

Gary Hyldon

Gary (Edgar Wallace Hyldon) moved to the Police House, 41 Frog Grove Lane, Wood Street Village in 1958 as PC 597.  Born in Grimsby in 1919, He joined the Coldstream Guards , training at Caterham where her met & married Jane. At the start of World War II, he was drill sergeant in the Guards.  He saw action in North Africa and Italy.  After the war he joined the Railway Police, transferring to Surrey police in 1950.  Working in Wood Street he was recognised as highly regarded in the shooting world, he shot small arms in police competitions.   He continued this after his retirement being a firearms expert and deer stalker.  He received the Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal along with his army medals.  He was known as a local character, for his sense of humour, often known for his witty banter in the (now gone) Duke of Normandy Pub.  There is a tree planted at Wood Street Village Cricket Club, where he used to walk his dog.

 

 

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