Not that long ago
by Robin Gill
Sixty years ago in Malden, it is easy to say life was different. But how much more different could it be? On Saturday 20th July that year, our Prime Minister told a meeting in Bedford “Most of our people have never had it so good” In the same speech, he also referred to production being the answer to the “$64,000 question” of combatting inflation. Wartime rationing had ended three years earlier, although there was rationing on petrol for a short while in 1957 due to the Suez crisis. A recent survey in the Daily Mail reported that 1957 is regarded as the happiest year of the last century! Even though, only 20% of households had a washing machine, and 5% a fridge. Most still had outside toilets, and there was little central heating. You could purchase a decent house for around £2,000, but with wages on average paying £7.50 per week it was still difficult to get on the property ladder.
Quiz of the week
The $64,000 reference came from a television programme which had started in the United States as a quiz show, but had become a popular programme on Saturday nights as well in Britain two years after the start of commercial television in this country. Of course, these fledgling companies could not afford prize money of $64,000 let alone £64,000, so the original prize here was 64,000 sixpences (£1,600) which was raised to 64,000 shillings (£3,200) later in the programme’s run (1956-58). It is unclear whether they had this pile of coins in the studio, and whether they paid the winners in tanners! The most popular television programme in 1957 started in February that year. Emergency Ward 10 (between 2-3 million viewers) can rightly be regarded as one of the first soap operas broadcasted, predating EastEnders and even Coronation Street.
Of course, television wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and great excitement gripped Malden when it was announced that an episode of the Gardeners Question Time radio programme was to be recorded in the Council Chamber in October. The chance to meet Freddie Grisewood , Alan Gemmell, Fred Loads, and Bill Sowerbutts was thrilling for the gardeners of the borough. The episode was broadcast on the Home Service (radio 4) on November 10th.
Housing problems
Early in the year there was a dispute with the council who wanted to compulsory purchase 800 square yards of land at the Fountain for a public convenience, open space, ornamental garden, footpath, and service road. This was the site of numbers 1 and 3 Kingston Road which had been hit by a flying bomb in August 1944 which killed one of the occupants. Malden Council had built over 850 houses since the end of the war, but more were still needed to replace those destroyed, and plans were in the pipeline to build nearly 100 in 1957. The council were also considering the compulsory purchase of land at the junctions of Cleveland Road/Kingston Road and Acacia Grove/Coombe Road with a view to building flats, maisonettes, and shops.
Malden Old People’s Welfare Association were converting the property at 32 Poplar Grove into ten flats for elderly able bodied people which was bought for £2,800. They had achieved something similar at Newitt House in Chestnut Grove back in 1955.Together with the help of a large mortgage from the council, who also agreed to meet half the cost of converting the property. Any person or organisation who were able to make a donation of at least £75, had the opportunity to name one of the ten rooms. Mrs Cicely Hobkirk the chairman of the association reminded the council “All the doors open for our old people must be kept open, if we relax, even for one year, one of those will close. ” The property was name Maeldune as a compliment to Malden Council. Malden was regarded as “a good place to be old in”.
Another house being renovated was Winchester House which stood off Kingston Hill (now Winchester Close). The property was being refurbished by members of Birkbeck College (London University) to accommodate thirty Hungarian refugees, who had escaped from their country after invasion by the Soviet Union.
People power was alive and well, especially in Coombe Gardens where several of the residents obtained a cut in their rates due to complaints about the noise and smell emanating from the several breakers yard which stood in Blagdon Road which were also infested with rats. A reduction was also achieved by a resident of Woodlands Avenue, after it was found that a previously unknown underground stream had caused dampness in her property, involving her in “constant redecoration” and the repairs of gates and fences.
Movies not moving
The public were reassured when the Rank Organisation and Decca denied that the Odeon at Shannon Corner (Malden’s only cinema) was to be sold by the former company to the latter. The cinema which opened in 1938 with 1500 seats was closed in January 1960, converted into offices by Decca, and demolished in 1985.
High street hazards
Changes were also afoot at the railway station where the British Transport Commission changed the name of the stop from Malden to New Malden on 16th September. A small change, but all the signage and tickets had to be altered. Considering it had only been called Malden (For Coombe) for two years, it does show a lack of forward planning. Its previous name had been Coombe for Malden (1912-1955).
A problem with traffic in Malden Road (High Street) made the council consider “unilateral parking”. This involved parking on only one side of the road one day, and the other side the following day. There was also a free car park in Blagdon Road. The only other alternatives were a “no waiting” scheme, or to ban parking altogether, but councillors felt “motorists were also ratepayers, and required equal consideration as pedestrians and cyclists”. At the same council meeting, councillors voted to spend £900 on a replacement Mayoral car, as the existing one was eleven years old, and had covered 67,000 miles. The no waiting scheme came into force on 1st January 1958.
If you think the High Street looks untidy today, back in 1957 there were no litter bins in the whole stretch of Malden Road shops, in fact there were only five in the whole borough. Because of this, the council decided to invest in 25 metal plates with the slogan “Keep Britain Tidy”, at 7/9 (40 pence) each. But the question of buying 50 or more litter baskets to satisfy the whole borough would cost about £175. This could be paid by outside firms provided they could advertise on them.
Comings and goings
1957 also saw the arrival of the RACS (Royal Arsenal Co-Operative Society in New Malden opening a store at 69-73 Malden Road (now occupied by McDonalds and The Salvation Army) but formerly the site of the Malden Picture Palace which became the Malden Plaza and burnt down in December 1936. The RACS occupied two floors and sold everything from electrics to clothes to hardware, in an open plan showroom. Item could be purchased over two years on HP with interest at 5%, or by 9 monthly instalments. Special offers on opening day were pillow cases (Housewife style?) at 2/- (10 pence), table lamps (complete with shade) 17/11 (90 pence) and a three-piece suite at £19 15/- (£19.75).
A departure from the area was by a company called Pytram Limited of Dunbar Road who had been trading in Malden since 1913. Started by Sidney Benjamin Marshall of Dukes Avenue, they were specialisers in advertising display models, but started by making electrical fittings from laminated paper. During World War One they were approached by a firm of pen makers asking them to make a paper model of their trademark. With the help of Paul Typke a chemical manufacturer from Sycamore Grove, the company was set up, the model made, and 250 sold. The finished product was of such a high standard that soon other orders were taken up. The company moved from its original premises in Cambridge Road to a larger factory in Dunbar Road soon after the war. In 1937 the company were asked to experiment with paper in the manufacture of aircraft parts and during the Second World War, made petrol tanks for planes and other parts. In 1955 the company was taken over and expanded their range to include products manufactured from fibre glass, rubber, and plastic. They also diversed into anatomical and medical models for training purposes, and boasted that they could reproduce anything “from a pea to an elephant”. Their display models are still found today on auction websites where they are very popular.
Times past but nothing changes
Malden’s Youth Committee took over Barton Green Pavilion. During daytime, it was to be used as a classroom for the new Clarence Avenue Primary School. Otherwise it was to be used by the various youth clubs of the area. The pavilion had been bought by the corporation in 1946 to be used as a meeting place for the town. It was underused and sold to Surrey County Council in 1956 who rented it out to the Committee.
Finally, to show that everything comes around. The council refused to allow the display of three advertising panels under the railway bridge at Malden Road Plough Green as they felt they would be a distraction to road users, which has echoes of the display signs under the New Malden underpass on the A3 currently causing much discussion.
by Robin Gill
Sixty years ago in Malden, it is easy to say life was different. But how much more different could it be? On Saturday 20th July that year, our Prime Minister told a meeting in Bedford “Most of our people have never had it so good” In the same speech, he also referred to production being the answer to the “$64,000 question” of combatting inflation. Wartime rationing had ended three years earlier, although there was rationing on petrol for a short while in 1957 due to the Suez crisis. A recent survey in the Daily Mail reported that 1957 is regarded as the happiest year of the last century! Even though, only 20% of households had a washing machine, and 5% a fridge. Most still had outside toilets, and there was little central heating. You could purchase a decent house for around £2,000, but with wages on average paying £7.50 per week it was still difficult to get on the property ladder.
Quiz of the week
The $64,000 reference came from a television programme which had started in the United States as a quiz show, but had become a popular programme on Saturday nights as well in Britain two years after the start of commercial television in this country. Of course, these fledgling companies could not afford prize money of $64,000 let alone £64,000, so the original prize here was 64,000 sixpences (£1,600) which was raised to 64,000 shillings (£3,200) later in the programme’s run (1956-58). It is unclear whether they had this pile of coins in the studio, and whether they paid the winners in tanners! The most popular television programme in 1957 started in February that year. Emergency Ward 10 (between 2-3 million viewers) can rightly be regarded as one of the first soap operas broadcasted, predating EastEnders and even Coronation Street.
Of course, television wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and great excitement gripped Malden when it was announced that an episode of the Gardeners Question Time radio programme was to be recorded in the Council Chamber in October. The chance to meet Freddie Grisewood , Alan Gemmell, Fred Loads, and Bill Sowerbutts was thrilling for the gardeners of the borough. The episode was broadcast on the Home Service (radio 4) on November 10th.
Housing problems
Early in the year there was a dispute with the council who wanted to compulsory purchase 800 square yards of land at the Fountain for a public convenience, open space, ornamental garden, footpath, and service road. This was the site of numbers 1 and 3 Kingston Road which had been hit by a flying bomb in August 1944 which killed one of the occupants. Malden Council had built over 850 houses since the end of the war, but more were still needed to replace those destroyed, and plans were in the pipeline to build nearly 100 in 1957. The council were also considering the compulsory purchase of land at the junctions of Cleveland Road/Kingston Road and Acacia Grove/Coombe Road with a view to building flats, maisonettes, and shops.
Malden Old People’s Welfare Association were converting the property at 32 Poplar Grove into ten flats for elderly able bodied people which was bought for £2,800. They had achieved something similar at Newitt House in Chestnut Grove back in 1955.Together with the help of a large mortgage from the council, who also agreed to meet half the cost of converting the property. Any person or organisation who were able to make a donation of at least £75, had the opportunity to name one of the ten rooms. Mrs Cicely Hobkirk the chairman of the association reminded the council “All the doors open for our old people must be kept open, if we relax, even for one year, one of those will close. ” The property was name Maeldune as a compliment to Malden Council. Malden was regarded as “a good place to be old in”.
Another house being renovated was Winchester House which stood off Kingston Hill (now Winchester Close). The property was being refurbished by members of Birkbeck College (London University) to accommodate thirty Hungarian refugees, who had escaped from their country after invasion by the Soviet Union.
People power was alive and well, especially in Coombe Gardens where several of the residents obtained a cut in their rates due to complaints about the noise and smell emanating from the several breakers yard which stood in Blagdon Road which were also infested with rats. A reduction was also achieved by a resident of Woodlands Avenue, after it was found that a previously unknown underground stream had caused dampness in her property, involving her in “constant redecoration” and the repairs of gates and fences.
Movies not moving
The public were reassured when the Rank Organisation and Decca denied that the Odeon at Shannon Corner (Malden’s only cinema) was to be sold by the former company to the latter. The cinema which opened in 1938 with 1500 seats was closed in January 1960, converted into offices by Decca, and demolished in 1985.
High street hazards
Changes were also afoot at the railway station where the British Transport Commission changed the name of the stop from Malden to New Malden on 16th September. A small change, but all the signage and tickets had to be altered. Considering it had only been called Malden (For Coombe) for two years, it does show a lack of forward planning. Its previous name had been Coombe for Malden (1912-1955).
A problem with traffic in Malden Road (High Street) made the council consider “unilateral parking”. This involved parking on only one side of the road one day, and the other side the following day. There was also a free car park in Blagdon Road. The only other alternatives were a “no waiting” scheme, or to ban parking altogether, but councillors felt “motorists were also ratepayers, and required equal consideration as pedestrians and cyclists”. At the same council meeting, councillors voted to spend £900 on a replacement Mayoral car, as the existing one was eleven years old, and had covered 67,000 miles. The no waiting scheme came into force on 1st January 1958.
If you think the High Street looks untidy today, back in 1957 there were no litter bins in the whole stretch of Malden Road shops, in fact there were only five in the whole borough. Because of this, the council decided to invest in 25 metal plates with the slogan “Keep Britain Tidy”, at 7/9 (40 pence) each. But the question of buying 50 or more litter baskets to satisfy the whole borough would cost about £175. This could be paid by outside firms provided they could advertise on them.
Comings and goings
1957 also saw the arrival of the RACS (Royal Arsenal Co-Operative Society in New Malden opening a store at 69-73 Malden Road (now occupied by McDonalds and The Salvation Army) but formerly the site of the Malden Picture Palace which became the Malden Plaza and burnt down in December 1936. The RACS occupied two floors and sold everything from electrics to clothes to hardware, in an open plan showroom. Item could be purchased over two years on HP with interest at 5%, or by 9 monthly instalments. Special offers on opening day were pillow cases (Housewife style?) at 2/- (10 pence), table lamps (complete with shade) 17/11 (90 pence) and a three-piece suite at £19 15/- (£19.75).
A departure from the area was by a company called Pytram Limited of Dunbar Road who had been trading in Malden since 1913. Started by Sidney Benjamin Marshall of Dukes Avenue, they were specialisers in advertising display models, but started by making electrical fittings from laminated paper. During World War One they were approached by a firm of pen makers asking them to make a paper model of their trademark. With the help of Paul Typke a chemical manufacturer from Sycamore Grove, the company was set up, the model made, and 250 sold. The finished product was of such a high standard that soon other orders were taken up. The company moved from its original premises in Cambridge Road to a larger factory in Dunbar Road soon after the war. In 1937 the company were asked to experiment with paper in the manufacture of aircraft parts and during the Second World War, made petrol tanks for planes and other parts. In 1955 the company was taken over and expanded their range to include products manufactured from fibre glass, rubber, and plastic. They also diversed into anatomical and medical models for training purposes, and boasted that they could reproduce anything “from a pea to an elephant”. Their display models are still found today on auction websites where they are very popular.
Times past but nothing changes
Malden’s Youth Committee took over Barton Green Pavilion. During daytime, it was to be used as a classroom for the new Clarence Avenue Primary School. Otherwise it was to be used by the various youth clubs of the area. The pavilion had been bought by the corporation in 1946 to be used as a meeting place for the town. It was underused and sold to Surrey County Council in 1956 who rented it out to the Committee.
Finally, to show that everything comes around. The council refused to allow the display of three advertising panels under the railway bridge at Malden Road Plough Green as they felt they would be a distraction to road users, which has echoes of the display signs under the New Malden underpass on the A3 currently causing much discussion.
