Ipswich

Crisswell / Hall family

I would like to ask whether anyone might be able to help me piece together a mystery. Five weeks ago, whilst walking through the local Derby countryside, my wife and I discovered a briefcase dumped in a brook. There were various items, including photographs, maps, documents etc, scattered all around. Curious, I collected as much as I could and took it home to dry out and investigate further.

The contents spanned around sixty years of a man's life and since the discovery my wife and I have been piecing together his history.
The briefcase belonged to a Mr J.B. Crisswell, who sadly passed away in 2003, but, thanks to the local media, I have had a fantastic ...read more here
Contributed by Tom Fulep

Ancient House

My Father in Law aka POP (Michael Halls) can remember the building on the right as Ancient House. This was a big book shop which is now Lakelands kitchen shop.
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls

TSB Bank

The building on the left, the old Post Office, is now the TSB Bank. My Father-in-Law can remember the trams travelling in front of these buildings....no shelters, so the poor old Teddy Boy got wet!!!!!
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls

A Dunking

The story of the family dunking.....Once upon time there was a naughty little boy aka POP, and he and his friends decided they fancied the bibles and candles from the local church, they decided to run for it, and he and his mates decided to finish the day by pushing out an old coal barge...just for a laugh, the powers above then made him fall straight into these docks...... this was followed by a good beating from the ladies in his neighbourhood once he returned home wet and cold...... that will teach them for taking something that wasn't theirs!!!!!!
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls

Marriages

This is where my husband's Uncle and Auntie got married, brother to Janet Halls nee Smith.
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls

St. Lawrence Street 1960s

Back in the 1960s there was a beautiful Magnolia tree oposite the church in front of a solicitor's office in St. Lawrence Street.
Forty years have passed and I live the other side of the world.
I wonder if that tree is still there.
Contributed by First name Last name

Bakery entrance

From the early 1900s to the mid 1960s my family, the Coopers, owned Thompsons Bakers, Confectioners and Restaurant at 34-36 Tavern Street.  If you turned left into St Lawrence churchyard - just where the person on the left of the photo is - and walked along the path beside the church, you would get to the stairs down to the bakehouse.
Contributed by Suzanne Dawes

Wedding bouquet

The building on the left with gable roof is where my Mum In Law got her bouquet for her wedding.
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls

The model shop in The Walk

Yes Tami, I remember The Walk very well. In 1959 there was a model shop just to the right of the photo. They had wonderful little steam engines and I saved up pennies and shillings from my paper round until I could buy one.
Some years later as a young man we would drink Cob Toppers at the local pubs and then when the pubs closed we would go to Chinese restaurant on the first floor of an entrance in The Walk to have a supper of fried rice with vegetables--it was the cheapest dish on the menu.
These days I can afford to go to good restaurants but I don't enjoy them as much as that food in those ...read more here
Contributed by First name Last name

Some stories from 50's

Pop was at it agin with his mates. To the front of this picure the Tudor faced building...THE BEEHIVE PUB, there was a fella called Stumpy (well known older gentleman). He was a gentleman with one leg, who propped himself up against the downpipe of the pub, and who would challenge anyone to put the money down on the path and try and kick his remaining leg from beneath him to win the pot.  As he then would give them a beating with his crutch ..... so in reality...you couldn't get near enough too kick his leg!!!!!  Crafty heh?
Contributed by Tami Cross-Halls