Page 2 - Frank Day's memories and Day Family article

FRANK DAY’S PERONAL MEMORIES OF HIS CHILHOOD AND AS
AN APPRENTICE BUTCHER IN WOKINGHAM DURING THE 1930S

Frank Day’s daughter- in-law Carol Day, who has transcribed her father-in-
law’s memories from the hand-written original, writes:

Frank Day (12 January 1922 ─ 20 December 2016) left Wokingham in 1947 to
marry June Lambdin and reside in Reading where, apart from two years in
Australia ,he lived for the remainder of his life. His five brothers also moved
out of the area but his mother Millicent Day continued to live in the family
home in Peach Street until her death in 1952.

He had four years' war service with the RAF, most notably, ground crew of
Bomber Command. After the war he became a well-known and respected
master butcher, an occupation in which he had immense pride and enjoyment,
serving customers and business until he retired at the age of 70.

Alas, he was never able to relocate to his beloved Wokingham. However, he
would often visit the town, especially St Paul's church where he had been a
choir boy, and take delight in reminiscing about his formative years to family
and friends.

I should like to thank those who produced the book on the 'History of Wokingham', but as a

man born and bred there, I should like to fill in the parts about the Wokingham that I knew
and the people whom I knew and liked, and will never forget.

My five brothers and I were all born in the same house, known as Crown Cottage (31a Peach
Street). This was in the alley which ran up the side of the pub, 'The Welcome Inn'. The alley

led to where the shops like Woolworths etc. were located. Mr Tuffin was the landlord of the
pub, and he was a very large gentleman, who always wore a bowler hat. I can now go back to

1926-27 when my younger brother was born; we were all delivered by the district nurse and
midwife, Nurse Hessey. She lived in the bungalow just past the churchyard down London

Road and was a lovely person, rather tall and very good looking. In front of our house and on

the main road, was a large house owned by a Mr George Townsend, who was our landlord.
Our rent was four shillings and eleven pence per week. Our landlord was very kind, as was

his wife, and many a time when we took the rent over to her, she would sign the book, and
say, “Give this back to your mother,” and she returned the rent money inside the book.

Next to the Townsends was a large furniture shop owned by a Mr Wold, and next door to that,