Early Days in Watford

The 60s

By Chris Bonnick

Born in Ganders Ash, 1950. Moved to Farmers Close, then to Longspring. Went to Callow Land Boys, now a doctors surgery.

Started work at Leggatts Way school a week after leaving in 66. i was the groundsman for about 3 years.  I also worked at the Top Rank, the Meridan social club, the Blaw Knox social club, the Coach & horses in the high st. i also worked at the Total service station in St Albans Road opposite Leavesden Road where we gave Green Shield Stamps.

My dad had the shoe repairers in the High Street and repaired footwear for the Palace Theatre.

I remember lots of snippets from this site, so interesting.

This page was added on 23/01/2014.

Comments about this page

  • i remember Buck’s, i believe that a sports shop that sold football gear was below. Worked at Caters on Friday nights and Saturday mornings around 1965-66.

    By David Allen (14/05/2015)
  • I guess you may be the Chris Bonnick that joined with us in our 4th yr domestic science class with the elegant Mrs McGarry I think you fitted in rather well to a class full of girls at Leggatts Way. I grew up on the same estate in Hope Green, and I think that after I got married for the first time I lived next door to your sister Sue and her husband at the time on the High View Mobile Home Park in Bedmond, I always wondered If you became a chef! Remembering the early days in Watford, does anyone remember Bucks, a kind of posh tea house, all the waitresses wore black with white aprons, and at the top of the town Claridges at Faircross house, all posh frocks etc. used to overlook the town hall the staff there too had style, black twin sets tight pencil skirts and the ubiquitous double row of pearls. I remember Caters/Fine Fare too don’t know which came first but my father was working for Fine Fare after leaving the Co op, and started there, and on the Parade a bit lower down. Does anyone remember Jax which later became Paige Fashions where I was employed as a window dresser,I don’t think that that was gonna last long much as I enjoyed the job, as a keen dancer I had to keep my Saturdays free for competition dancing, and I think my parents were even keener than I, because they, amongst other dance teachers were busy teaching half of Watford to dance in all the halls in all the schools in Watford,[yeah may have exaggerated that a tiny bit] but it was every night of the week at some school or other. Does anyone have any parents elderly enough to even remotely recollect being taught Old Time/Modern sequence dancing?

    By Trish Woods nee Slade (22/07/2014)

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