Noel Godman and his father, uncles and brother were talented engineers. His father worked at Mercers Chronometers where he was supervisor, and one of his roles was to check the master clocks on some of the famous ships of the… More about ‘Working as a precision engineer – Noel Godman’»
At the beginning of the 20th century Cottonmill Lane was still little more than a than a dirt track. In front of the ruins was a scrap yard run by the Pearce family. Kathy Sinfield describes parts of the lane… More about ‘Cottonmill Lane – Kathy Sinfield’»
Russ Bowman describes what life was like for his family living in the prefab in Lee Lane in the late 1940s and 1950s. he remembers his mother budgeting for the week on pay day and the family making rugs out… More about ‘Life in the 1940s and 1950s – Russ Bowman’»
Russ Bowman’s father worked in the retail trade as a pork butcher working mainly for Sainsbury’s and Saxby’s. Russ was also offered an apprenticeship as a pork butcher but declined in favour of working in the GPO as an engineer.… More about ‘Working life in St Albans – Russ Bowman’»
Russ Bowman, born 1944, started at St Peter’s school and when Mandeville was built in 1951, he moved there. He recalls his teachers from both schools and talks about the differences in the learning conditions. Interview date: 27 August 2013.… More about ‘Postwar school days – Russ Bowman’»
Many remember the kennels at Sopwell Mill Farm run by the Blowers sisters. Russ Bowman’s dog went there to stay and loved it so much he didn’t want to go back to Russ. Russ recalls the wildlife pond next to… More about ‘Memories of Sopwell Mill – Russ Bowman’»
Russ Bowman recalls living in Lee Lane in one of the new prefabs. Lee Lane no longer exists. Russ explains exactly where it used to be in Holyrood Crescent. He talks about living in the prefabs, the surrounding area and… More about ‘Prefabs in Lee lane – Russ Bowman’»
Bill Mackenzie recalls the trains from Watford and Hatfield coming into the Abbey station. He describes the procedure for making sure the trains did not collide. He talks about a cattle food storage yard at the City station and the… More about ‘Steam train memories – Bill Mackenzie’»
Up until about 40 years ago, children had freedom to roam everywhere. There were many places to explore in Sopwell and further afield. Here is Bill Mackenzie talking about how he and his mates used to walk along the Watford… More about ‘Walking to Park Street – Bill Mackenzie’»
On the golf course, near Sopwell Gate Lodge, there is a spinney where residents recall that there used to be some kind of brick building. This fascinated the children who played there. It appears to have been a brick built… More about ‘Ice house on the golf course – Bill Mackenzie’»
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