Francis Laker

I think it was better than what it is now. You'd got more shops to go in, as I say...you'd got more grocery shops, you got...Winnie Ballards at the bottom of Castle Street. She'd got two shops there. You'd got the 50 bob (£2.50) tailors, you'd got Burtons, you'd go in and get measured for a suit and if you hadn't got the money they used to pay so much a week until it was paid for. Same as the old pawn shop that used to be there - take your things in on a Monday, fetch them back on a Friday.

Castle Street, from the bottom

There was Hall's where we used to get the clothes from - that was a gent's outfit and they made ladies as well - there was Gilders, that was a tailor's. Pridmores at the bottom of Castle with all the old-fashioned bottles in the window - a chemist...The Maypole, you'd got Currys, you'd got Caves - that was a fruit and veg and they sold seeds there. Yoxalls cake shop - that was two windows. Used to have a policeman on duty at the bottom of 

Castle Street. It used to be packed years ago if you wanted to go into Woolworth's, you couldn't get in the door. You could buy anything you wanted - screws, nails, hair clips.

You used to watch what was in Winnie Ballard's window, you know, this was the fashion shop. I remember an orange dress I had, it was beautiful. It was square neck and it'd got a brown sash with it. Oh and it was nice. I used to go to the dance in that.

Whistling Willie - I don't know what his proper name was. He was a little man and he always used to whistle, and he lived in the Outwoods. There was Squeaker - he'd got a squeaky voice. It was him that came into the air-raid shelter with us and there was a lady in there, a Mrs. Payne, kept the paper shop, and he sat down - he was scruffy oh yes, - 'Oh dear, I don't want you against me' - that sort of thing, and he turned round and he took his shoes and socks off and he said, 'Missus, I'm as clean underneath as what you are. My clothes might be dirty but I'm as clean as what you are!' Oh, she didn't know where to put her face.

Then there was a man, I can't remember what they call him, he used to sell the papers at the bottom of Castle Street, sit on a chair, and he, when he died, he'd got no end of money in the house, and Squeaker had. He used to live in one of the dug-outs that they had on the golf-course. They used to have the guards there, you know, with a little slot for the gun, not that I could see them going down there, but they did. He furnished it inside, had a bed in there.