Church of St John the Baptist, Coltishall
I've recently started following someone on Facebook - Growing Up in the UK. It all brings back so many memories of my childhood.
I was born in the West Norwich Hospital in the city of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, UK. I was born on 27th May 1960 to Bertie and Violet Money and I had a sister, Gillian, who was almost five years older than me.
I spent the first 26 years of my life living in the village of Coltishall which I still love to this day and my childhood was a happy one as was my sister's. Mum and Dad were the perfect parents. Sadly, Dad passed away from cancer in 2000 and Mum, bless her, is still with us but has dementia and no longer knows me or my sister.
But now, having all my memories stirred up again, I want to share the story of my life as well as the lives of Mum and Dad and my grandparents too.
Dad came from a relatively large but incredibly close and happy family in the small Norfolk village of Aldborough. He was born in November 1919 and, at the time he was born, he already had two older sisters; Stella and Beryl. Following his birth, Dad then found himself with another sister, Vera, and then, the youngest of the family, my Uncle Jack.
Dad was named Bertie Charles - Bertie after his uncle who went missing in the First World War, and Charles after his father. Charles was a longstanding family name and, if I'd been a boy, I was going to be christened Steven Charles.
Dad spent the first 20 years of his life living happily in Aldborough and he and my Uncle Jack played for the local cricket team on the village green. Dad then enlisted when war was declared in 1939 and Uncle Jack did the same a couple or so years later.
Cricket on Aldborough Green
The above old photo shows what the village green would have looked like when my dad was young and I can remember happy times attending the annual summer fair there during the 1960's and 1970's.
Poor Mum's childhood was nothing like Dad's. She was born in November 1929 to a maid in the service of a local manor house. Unfortunately, the maid wasn't married and it appears one of the sons of the manor was in fact her father. She was then 'fostered' by my grandma and granddad but it wasn't a happy home.
Granddad Money worked for the post office and Granny obviously had her hands full with her five children. However, I remember Dad telling me that none of the family ever went without. Both Granny and Granddad Money were Norfolk born and bred.
Mum's 'parents' were completely different. Grandma Barcham had been born in London and was the youngest of seven children. The family weren't poor so she had quite an easy life and, being the youngest, she was very spoilt.
Granddad Barcham was an only child and had a great childhood although his family weren't particularly wealthy. After leaving school he became a barber.
So, the Moneys and the Barchams had a very different upbringing and it wasn't until the late 1940's that Mum and Dad finally got to meet.
I'm going to stop here but hopefully I'll be able to tell you a little bit more about Dad and his family's early lives shortly. I'm also digging out some of my old family photos that I may be able to share with you.
