Page 10 - Frank Day's memories and Day Family article

more or less emptied the church within a month and after having twenty-four boys and

twenty men the choir finished with twelve boys and three men. About twelve months later
he was taken ill and died in Greenfields Home in Reading, and about a week later his wife

killed herself - she was young and very beautiful woman. I recently visited St. Paul's church ,
and found it to be very active. The choir sang very well and the congregation was quite large.

It is a beautiful church and is a great memorial to the Walter family who built it. My

grandfather on my mother's side was head gardener at Bearwood, and he always spoke very
highly of the whole family.

Back to the town centre and Market Place where Doctors Curle and Rose had their surgery

adjoining the Wokingham Club. Dr. Smith's surgery was the old Tudor house in Broad Street.

Mr Drinkwater's sweet shop used to be opposite the International Stores, where Tesco is now.
Mrs Cummins had her haberdashery shop next door, and then Brants the photographer, and

next was Ernie Hawkins who was an undertaker. Jack Till had his cycle shop there and we
could hire a cycle for threepence a day.

Stan Perkins also had a cycle repair shop in Denmark Street; he was the brother of Frank

Perkins who had a garage in Broad Street. Close to Shute End, Superintendent Goddard, the

Police Chief, lived opposite the Police Station in Rectory Road. He was always walking
around the town keeping an eye on things and he was very well respected. Mr Ham had a

bakers shop in
Finchampstead Road close to the Two Poplars pub and in the butchers where I worked he

delivered all his stale bread for making sausages. That was a messy job as all the bread was

soaked in a big bath, and when ready to be mixed with the meat, had to be squeezed out dry,
and mixed with the meat and pepper and salt etc., and that's the way we made sausages in

those days. It was hard work as we had no electric gadgets or fridges. Where Norreys Estate
is now, used to be Shephard's Meadows. The entrance was a farm gate next to All Saints'

Churchyard and we could walk right the way through to the Warren House. At the end of the

summer dozens of the residents used to go blackberry picking there. I got many a bowlful.
My mother used to make a lot of berry and apple jam and pies.

Wokingham always had a carnival. Mr Dick Giles was one of the organisers. He was a

puppeteer and clown and he amused all of us children, all day and every day during the week.
He lived in Gypsy Lane.