ONCHAN IN THE SIXTIES - Part 2

June 1964

Manx Radio was born in Onchan with test broadcasts going out in early June which was just music then in TT Week it was linked to Colebourn's TT commentary system and became the first live broadcast.

The first official broadcast was on 29th June when the station manager and sole announcer John Grierson took to the airwaves.

Here a specially equipped caravan provided by Pye of Cambridgeshire sits in a field where the Ballachurry Park Housing Estate now stands. The small shed was used to house the generator which the announcer had to start up each morning before broadcasting began.

June 1964

Jack Nivison addresses the crowd assembled in Onchan Park for the opening of the motorboats and lake. The site had previously been occupied by tarmacadam tennis courts but the commissioners managed to buy Mr Taylor's establishment at the top of Belgravia Road which paved the way for building the pool. Mr Taylor operated what had at one time been the Royal Avenue Recreation Club which was established by Alex Gill the builder for his tenants in Belgravia Road, Royal Avenue, Royal Avenue West, Royal Terrace and Falkland Drive.

It comprised two pavilions, one was the recreation hut and the second was built by the military during the war when the area was part of the Onchan Internment Camp.

Inside there were three snooker tables and two table tennis tables whilst outside there were four tennis courts and a small eighteen hole putting green. The commissioners cleared all this away and provided five brand new tennis courts on the site.

June 1964

Chairman of the Works Committee Bob Skillicorn is driven around the new lake by Jack Nivison in one of the motorboats.

The tennis courts had a concrete slab cast on them and then the reinforced shuttered concrete walls were built up to form the pool which incorporated two islands in the centre. A.M. Grimshaws were the builders and the construction works cost £8,780.

At first the islands were built out of a skin of concrete blocks filled with soil into which palm trees were transplanted. Unfortunately one of the islands began to collapse so they had to be rebuilt in a solid manner without the palms.

The motorboats were built by T. Mann and Sons of Southport with the smaller boats costing £197-10-0 each and the large boats £275-0-0 each. A comparison with the same view today will show the extent to which the trees have grown around the stadium.

July 1964

Lined up in front of the grandstand are the "midget racing cars" which were go-karts with a fibreglass body manufactured by Peel Engineering the firm who made the world famous P50 - the smallest car in the world.

When they first commenced Ernie Leece was the youthful attendant, he was well known as he travelled to work in his home-made car. It was an open topped vehicle built up from a Riley chassis. It didn't have curved body panels - they were all squared flat, the paint work was red and yellow panels with Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear painted on the panels. It had a bench seat in the front and a narrow space in the rear which Ernie said could accommodate four children without legs.

July 1964

He may be hard to recognise behind the dark glasses but behind the wheel is Freddie Garrity of Freddie and the Dreamers.

They were appearing that summer live at the Crescent Cinema which actually had a stage in behind the screen. Freddie lived at Cleveland Court in Woodbourne Road in Douglas whilst he was on the island. The previous photograph may well contain some of his group and other artistes from the show.

January 1966

A sight not to be seen again is this view of the lake at Onchan Park frozen over. Children have obviously been throwing bricks and sticks onto the ice to melt it but with no avail. After this experience it was decided to empty the pool each winter as children could be tempted to walk on the ice with terrible consequences.

November 1966

On 11th November 1966 His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor Sir Peter Stallard paid an official visit to the Village of Onchan accompanied by Lady Stallard. Here His Excellency is being introduced to members of the Onchan Village Commissioners in the Methodist Hall on Main Road. From left to right: Bob Skillicorn (Chairman), His Excellency, Lady Stallard, Jack Nivison, Mrs Audrey Nivison, Arnold Callin, Mrs Joan Callin and Bert Creer.

November 1966

An illuminated address is presented to His Excellency by Commissioners Chairman Bob Skillicorn. Watching from the platform party is Peter Hulme, Private Secretary to His Excellency and Henry Quine who became a Village Commissioner at a bye-election the month before.

The address told of how Onchan was the second highest rated area after Douglas and that the commissioners had been complimented on their energy and foresight in initiating development works for the improvement not only of Onchan but for the benefit of the island as a whole.

The address also pointed out that the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor had been in Onchan since 1903 but this was wrong - Bemahague had been Government House since 1863!

November 1966

The audience at the Civic Reception included representatives from many groups in Onchan and music was provided by Onchan Silver Band of which the junior members can be seen in the right hand corner of the picture.

Familiar faces in the audience include Joan Callin, Audrey Nivison, Philip Summerscale, Beryl Kelly, Bert Cain (architect), May Corkill, Frances Corkill, Bert Corkill (Corkills Garage), Bob Kinvig, Mildred Kinvig, Eric Faragher (undertaker), Phyllis Faragher, Brian Pearson, Syd Kelly (choirmaster St Peters), Harold Quayle (warden St Peters), Catherine Stone (St John Ambulance) and Ces Wilkinson (Director of Education).

November 1966

Another view of the audience including Wendy McDowell, Phyllis Byrne, Father McGrath, Canon Duffield, Bill Quayle MHK, H.S. Cain, Tom Goldsmith, Katie and Brenda Kelly, Celia Caine (Girl Guides), Ian Fenn (Cubs).

November 1966

As part of his tour of Onchan His Excellency visited the new factory of Dowty's in School Road where he was accompanied by the directors including Bob Dowty on the right. Unfortunately the photographer captured His Excellency at a moment when he didn't appear to be too interested in the electro plating process.

November 1966

The factory replaced a series of different buildings at Castle Hill in Douglas that the company had previously used. Originally the buildings were used by the family photographic business but during the Second World War it was changed over to aero engineering and was visited by the King and Queen in 1945. Moving to Onchan gave them a modern factory with everything under one roof.

November 1966

Examples of parts made by Dowty's (trading as Iloman Engineering Ltd) are out on display for His Excellency to inspect following the tour.