Thursday 25 August 2011

Old photographs and a bit of history

The other day, a rather lovely retired gentleman came into the shop where I work , clutching an old photograph - John the butcher has sent me down to see you - he said........he thought you might be interested in this photograph ! It took me all of two seconds to recognize Andrew [ front row second from the left ] Looking at it - I think it was taken in the early 1970`s , when Andrew would have been around twenty ! [ you can correct me tomorrow if I`m wrong bro ! ] Andrew played in The Prestatyn Con Club- Sunday league team- Looking at it I can identify quite a few well known local faces-can any of you ? If you can name more than 3 faces [not including Andrews of course ] -You win yourself a free MND awareness band !!

The Prestatyn Cons club was founded in 1894-when Prestatyn and Meliden combined supported a population of only 650 people ! The high street then was merely a cart track-dusty in summer and a quagmire in winter,no pavements or street lighting and very few shops. The original club was located on the high street and it wasn`t till 1926 that the club moved to its current site, prior to 1926 the only licence they had was to sell tobacco ! I found this old photograph taken at the re-opening of the club in 1927-Love the hats and the fur coats-weren`t the ladies elegant in those days ?

I have just got back from visiting Andrew- and I stand corrected !! Andrew reckons he was around 16- 17 years of age in that photograph-he also reeled off every single persons name -what a memory- and I struggle to remember what I ate for tea some nights .

15 comments:

Angus said...

What a sweet post . How kind and thoughtful people can be .

Diane said...

Not got a clue who the 3 famous people were - were they only famous in Prestatyn? xxxxxxx

Janet said...

Well known locals -not famous at all !! sorry x

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Hello Janet! I'm afraid I can't help with with finding out who the people are ;) but I love the photo! Love the 1926 one too...I love nostalgia. I need to get over to Johns other blog and look around a bit. Andrew looks cute in his uniform ;)
I hope your day has been a good one!
Maura :)

Sharon said...

Oh, how cool and wasn't it nice for that man to bring you that picture! Aah, the hair of the 70's!

That old photo of the "elegants", wow, does it get that cold there? Check out the fur collars and long coats! Oh and nearly bare feet! Everyone dressed to the nines! Great picture, that's a long time ago!

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Great pictures. Those people from 1927 look so formal. What a difference from the way people dress today.

ted and bunny said...

I echo the first comment- people are so thoughtful aren't they.

Love the 20s photo- love the cloche hats!

Have a good weekend
x

judy said...

Hi Janet onl three with Andrew some look familar but not sure xxx

judy said...

Hi Janet only recognise three counting Andrew some familar but not sure xxx

John Going Gently said...

Trevor (gretas son)top right in strip
middle top looks like mrs merton

Terry said...

I love old photos. The ladies and the men were so well dressed.

Jim said...

That's the 70's alright Janet! What a great gesture and a walk down memory lane for you all.
Thanks for dropping by today, always good to hear from you.
Jim

fromsophiesview said...

Memory...huh...what memory!!

Trevor Hartley-Williams said...

Hi, Just seen the pictue of the football team. It was indeed the Prestatyn Conservative Club and I would guess that the year was 1968/69 as the picture was taken at the Prestatyn FC ground. In the 70's the ground was no longer available to the Rhyl and District Sunday League, so the Cons home ground became the Coronation Gardens in Rhyl.
As far as I can remember when this picture was taken Andrew was in his last year at Prestatyn High.
The team members are Back Row left to right: Barry Hughes, Doug Mortimer,Vincent Jones, John Jones,John Otley, Trevor Hartley-Willams and David Owens.
Front Row left to right : Trefor Hughes, Andrew Gray, Glyn Breeze-Jones, Isfryn Williams and Peter Rees.
Regards, Trevor

Janet said...

Well done Trevor ! you are the only person to have been able to name everyone [except for Andrew of course]x