Onchan - People's Pictures

ONCHAN YOUTH CLUB - No 1

This photograph of Onchan Youth Club taken in their Elm Tree Road premises (built as a charabanc garage) was taken in 1960 and has been provided by Kenneth Walkington of Northampton who lived at that time in First Avenue, Onchan.  His family had come to the island from London during the Second World War.  He joined the army in 1961 but his home was Onchan until 1970.  His father Chris Walkington helped out with Onchan AFC in the late 1960s.  Virtually everyone on the picture has been identified except for one where only the top of the head is visible.  The following names have been divided into back, middle and front row although the people on the photograph are a little more spread out.  Additional descriptions should help a little.

Back row: Tony Holroyd of Hillberry (with flat cap); Brian Lancaster of Victoria Avenue; Mickey Newson of School Road; Martin "Dinger" Bell of Governors Road in behind; Ken Walkington of First Avenue; Victor Price (combing his hair) of Groudle Road; Stan "Otto" Hughes of Victoria Avenue; Dave Mather (with glasses) of Main Road above his dad's paper shop; Paul "Poppa" Kelly of Nursery Avenue; Ian "Shank" Quirk of Second Avenue; Melvin Quine of Onchan Park; George Lewin of School Road; Eddie King of Church Avenue; Charlie Conde (stand behind) of Barrule Drive.

Middle row:  Eddie Stone (helper) of Church Avenue; Tony "Zulu" Heaton of Groudle; Trevor Heaton (with head slightly down) his brother; Anne Cowin of Governors Road; Peter Coward (open necked shirt) of Barrule Drive; Kay Dobson of Victoria Avenue; Peter Walker of Harbour Road (behind); Trevor Mitchell of Nursery Avenue (Elvis fan); Rodney Castle of Sunningdale Drive; Jim Corrin of Victoria Avenue (helper at the youth club) whose father had a butcher's shop in Main Road; Bert Stacey another helper; Bobby Hanlon of Third Avenue; Bert Creer (Commissioner) of Royal Avenue; Ted Melling (a helper) of King Edward Road; ?? Top of head only; Jimmy Russell (peeping through) of School Road; Sergeant Jimmy Swindlehurst of Onchan Police Station; Bill Cain (edge of picture) holding his daughter.  He was the village barber and through the youth club founded the Onchan United Harriers, a race walking team.

Front row: Valerie Lewin (with dog) of Church Avenue; Christine Creer of Royal Avenue (Bert's daughter); Anne Skillicorn of Nursery Avenue; Gill Cain of Royal Avenue (wearing glasses); Betty Coward of Barrule Drive; Barbara Stacey of Victorian Avenue; John McKibbin of Mountfield Road (in duffel coat); Lawrie Howland of First Avenue; David Howland his brother; Irene Gelling of Royal Avenue (the cobbler's daughter); Pauline Jones of Nursery Avenue; Pamela O'Hare of Avondale Road.

Onchan Youth Club

From Lawrie Howland comes another 1960s photograph of Onchan Youth Club members.  Lawrie was a young person on the committee with many of the upstanding citizens of Onchan far older than him.  When the club was formed after the Second World War Sergeant Fred Faragher persuaded Mr Kane at The Howstrake Hotel that he didn't need as many snooker tables as he had and so one was given to the youth club along with one of those long benches found in snooker halls and public houses.  Here the bench is being put to good use.

Back row: Carol Lawton (her father was involved with Onchan AFC); Sandra Smith of Auburn Road; Dave Mather who lived above his father's newsagents shop on Main Road opposite Royal Avenue and was a member of one of the early pop groups on the island; possibly Trevor Mitchell or Brian Lancaster (with head down); Valerie Lewin of Church Avenue; Kay Dobson of Victoria Avenue; next comes three girls from Douglas where the youth club had closed at this time, Nancy Edge; Candy ??;  ??; Eric Hampton in the flat cap which seemed to be the in thing.

Front row: David Howland of First Avenue; Bill Cain the village barber who was later with Electrolux then commercial manager with Manx Radio, followed by the Palace Group and finally Manx Petroleums.  He was also an Onchan Village Commissioner from May 1968 to November 1969; Lawrie Howland who went on to be a police cadet, constable, sergeant and finally inspector in charge of Onchan; Helen Callow; Pete Walker of Harbour Road; Margaret Stacey of Victoria Avenue; Charlie Conde of Barrule Drive; Betty Coward also of Barrule Drive and finally another member wearing an Andy Capp - Ronnie Brew

Coronation Clebrations

In 1953 part of the celebrations in Onchan for Queen Elizabeth's Coronation was a fancy dress competition in the newly opened Onchan Stadium. 

This photograph has been provided by Dave Mather who appears on the left of the picture as a life guard.  Dave's family came to the island around 1947 when his father, Harry, who had been in the Wallasey Fire Brigade during the war, took over the newsagent and tobacconist shop in Main Road opposite the top of Royal Avenue.  It was in the house above the shop and the adjoining post office in the 1960s that Dave and his friends would practice in their pop group "The Vampires".  They appeared on Border Television's "Cock of the Borders" talent show and then turned professional as "The Manxmen" travelling around Britain. 

Next to Dave is Paul Kelly who was a very good golf player as a schoolboy and in his working life was also a very good joiner. 

Next to him is his young sister Rita.  In her working life Rita was a legal secretary.  The pair won the competition having dressed as Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay who on 29th May 1953, just a week before the Coronation, had become the first two to conquer Everest.  Shortly after this Rita took the part of The Queen when St Peter's Sunday School had a coronation in one of Jack Kaighin's fields where Birch Hill Avenue was built 16 years later. 

Then comes Mel Quine resplendent as one of the Queen's Heralds.  When he was older he joined the Onchan Youth Club where he took up snooker, becoming a member of the Isle of Man team and in 1981 became a professional referee for matches in the UK.  For many years he wrote a column in the local press on insular snooker.  In his working life he had a varied career starting as a weaver in the carpet factory at Hills Meadow, running his own fruit and veg shop at the top of Victoria Street, manager of Donald Lowey's "Savewell" discount food establishment in Derby Square before finally joining CIS insurance company. 

Dressed as a cannibal is thought to be Malcolm Davies of Nursery Avenue.  Many in Onchan will recall his mum Frances many years after this as Akela of the 2nd Onchan Cubs.  Finally we have a nurse but she is yet to be identified. 

In the background behind Mel is Jack Nivison, then 43, in flat cap and gabardine mack.  He is using a microphone no doubt to line up the contestants who paraded into the stadium for the rest of the afternoon's entertainment.

Miss Caine's First Class?

Moving to Alberta Drive with her family at a young age Miss Caine went on after school to teacher training college at Sheffield during the Second World War and from 1945 to 1947 taught in Birmingham.  In October 1947 she started teaching at Onchan Primary School where she remained for about 15 years before moving on to Laxey and finally Willaston from where she retired.  Miss Caine and her sister Mary were also well known in Girl Guiding circles both in Onchan and Island wide.  This photograph has been provided by Lawrie Howland who doesn't appear on the photograph and is a little younger than those who are.

Back row: (Left to right)  Geoff Bennett, John Clague, Catherine Corkill, Miss Celia Caine, Peter Coward, George Jolley, Dorothy Black and Rowena Evans.

Middle row: (l to r)  Trevor Burrows, Juan Gilmore, Keith Cleator, Jean Elkin, Pam Volante, Patricia Kinrade, Jean Winterbottom, ? and Ronnie Brew.

Front row: (l to r)  Brian Roach, John Christian, Bernard Jones, Jill Evans, May Kelly, Rosemary Callow, Betty Coward, Harley Corkill, James (Jay) Cowley, Eddie Smith.

The class are sitting on oval shaped coconut fibre mats and wooden forms in one of the school playgrounds.  There were two playgrounds, one for girls and infants and the other for boys.  There was also a large school field which is now greatly reduced in size due to continued expansion of the school buildings.  By the dress of the children it is probable that the photograph was taken in the Spring/Summer of 1948.

TT Racing in the Heart of Onchan

In 1954 the ultra lightweight TT was held on The Clypse Course which principally ran through the parish and village of Onchan.  The same year sidecar racing was reintroduced into the TT and this also ran around the 10.79 mile course.  The grandstand on Glencrutchery Road was used with the bikes turning right along Ballanard Road, up Johnny Watterson to Cronk-ny-Mona, onto the Hillberry Straight and up to Creg-na-Baa.  From there it was out the Creg-na-Baa Back Road, down past Conrhenny to the top of the Whitebridge, through Onchan Village turning up the side of the Manx Arms, past the Nursery Hotel to Signpost Corner, down to Governors Bridge and back to the grandstand.  In 1955 the lightweight (250cc) race was added to those on the Clypse Course.  Races on this circuit continued up to and including 1959.  Lead riders from the time included Carlo Ubbiali, Tarquinio Provini, Bill Lomas and Eric Oliver.  In the final year, 1959, Honda entered its first ever team of 125cc riders, gaining 6th and 7th place.  In 1955 the Clubman Race took place on the Clypse Course but who is the rider in this photograph, provided by an Onchan resident?

In the background is the Blue Dragon Café and Snack Bar in a building that at one time belonged to Henry Bloom Noble but which for many years was a grocers shop run by C. Dibb and Sons.  Just after the Second World War it was taken over by Harold Richmond who ran it as a milk bar.  The shop stretched across the front of the property with a servery at the Isle of Man Bank end and a kitchen in a lean-to outlet at the rear.

In October 1948 Harold Richmond had plans drawn up by J.P.Lomas the architect to greatly alter the premises.  This included a large two storey flat roofed extension at the rear in place of the lean-to outlet.  The outlet was to provide a kitchen, bathroom and lounge for a flat on the first floor and a proper commercial kitchen and scullery for the downstairs café.  The shop front was to remain as it had been, double fronted but with a solid stone wall and sliding sash window on that part of the frontage nearest to the Isle of Man Bank.  Work commenced but then Mr Richmond had a change of mind resulting in revised plans being submitted in February 1949.  This provided for all the existing front wall to be removed and replaced by a steel beam set on a cast iron column so the shop front could extend for the full frontage.  The café was also to be divided into two unequal parts, the larger occupying about two thirds of the frontage and the whole of the new outlet, whilst the narrower shop was to have a staircase leading up to the flat above.

This was carried out and after about six months work on the property Vincent Shimmin opened his haberdashery shop in the large unit and the narrower section became The Blue Dragon which was later tenanted by Joseph Brian Webb.  By 1954 Vincent Shimmin's shop had been taken over by Dennis Corrin who continued the business which included ladies clothing and "Ladybird" children's clothing.  In the mid 1970s when road widening was taking place on the other side of the road to make way for Elm Tree House, Wm. Quirk and Sons the bakers moved into Corrin's shop and the blue dragon was a dress shop called "Peg's Popin".  This building and its neighbour Kermode the baker's were both demolished with other properties to make way for Bounty House.

In this picture, Teresa who ran The Blue Dragon, which operated as much as a sweet and cigarette shop as much as a snack bar with limited seating, is sitting in the doorway on somebody's knee so consequentially it looks as if she has three legs.  This picture appeared in the local press with the query if anybody remembered Three legged Teresa.  Immediately behind her is George Clague of Auburn Road who used to play for Onchan AFC.  The tall man in the door recess is Ken Astill of Central Drive brother of Gordon Astill the bandmaster.  Can anybody recognise any of the other spectators either downstairs or in the bedrooms?  Names please to

ANYONE FOR TENNIS

From Allan Blackburn comes this view taken from a rear bedroom in a Royal Avenue West house.  It is looking over Onchan Park taken in the early 1960s prior to the construction of the boating lake.  When the park was laid out the area of the boating lake was a series of tennis courts.  Where the present tennis courts are located there were further tennis courts but these were privately owned. 

That area was part of the land purchased by Alex Gill from the Douglas Bay Estate Company and was intended for the continuation of the terraced houses in Belgravia Road. 

Having completed the houses in Royal Avenue West and then started in Belgravia Road he erected a wooden pavilion at  the top end of that road in 1911-1912 as a place of recreation for all his tenants in both these roads, Royal Terrace, Royal Avenue (red brick houses) and subsequently Falkland Terrace (now Drive); it was called The Royal Avenue Social Club.  During the Second World War it was requisitioned and used as part of the Onchan Camp for alien internees. 

In 1947 it was sold by Gill's Estate to Mr Taylor who added small extensions to the building to provide toilet accommodation.  The pavilion was in fact two separate buildings with a link corridor.  One had two table tennis tables and the other contained three full size snooker tables.  Within the extension was a small café which also served outside for those playing tennis or using the small putting green. 

For a while Mr Hanlon of Royal Avenue West acted as a sort of manager and the local lads referred to it as Hanlon's rather than Taylors.  When Onchan Park opened there was a duplication of facilities. The Royal Avenue Social Club built new premises for themselves in a corner of Onchan Park.  The building was named Pennington Hall after Mrs Pennington of Mount William, Summerhill who greatly assisted financially in its creation. 

In the mid 1960s the commissioners bought out Mrs Taylor's premises, built the boating lake on the site of their own tennis courts and created five new courts on the Belgravia Road site.

ONCHAN SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM

Another photograph from Allan Blackburn is of lads at Onchan School in the football team.  The lads were from the top two classes (Mr Cashin's and Miss Deverau's classes).  The school had two sets of football shirts, red and black and yellow and black.  The school playing fields was quite extensive but over the years building extensions and car parks have eaten into it.

Back row, left to right:  James Cowley, Reg Newton, Harley Corkill, Chris Price, Athol Binns and Terry Clough (not in kit).

Front row:  Lawrie Howland, John Clague, Allan Blackburn, Raymond Langley and Jeffrey Crellin elder brother of commissioner Derek Crellin.  At the time this photograph was taken Mr Wilkinson was the headmaster and he lived in the headmaster's house off The Butt (behind what is now Haydn Minay's Garage) now called The Rowans.  He was the last headmaster to live in the house which was built in 1860.

People's Photographs: Gallery 1 | Gallery 2 | Gallery 3 | Gallery 4 | Gallery 5 | Gallery 6