Portsmouth History - Portsmouth Now and Then - nowpompey.com
   
         
 
Express FM History Show
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

D-Day on the beaches of Normandy
 
 
 

Naturally D-Day came under this week's spotlight, with help from ex-RAOC soldier Colin Keith, who was there on the day, and from Military History Officer Andrew Whitmarsh of the D-Day Museum.

Local cinemas historian Dave Barber took us back in his mind's-eye to the long-gone Apollo cinema in Albert Road in Southsea.

Mike Orton evoked memories of the 1950's with Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee and Joan Clark of Old Portsmouth continued spilling the beans about her secret war work in the Dockyard sixty years ago.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Carlton cinema and Kimbell's Cafe in Cosham
 
 
 
Chicklet with Becky James
 
 
 
Inside looking out - Portsmouth Dockyard between the wars - security would tighten up before long ...

Not for the first time, we revisited the old cinema-going experience in Portsmouth in general, this time in the company of Tony Thatcher of Cosham, as well as later with our regular local cinema historian Dave Barber.

This week Dave recalled the Gaiety in Albert Road. Then we caught a bus home, metaphorically speaking of course, with ex-Portsmouth bus drivers Alan Venton of Southsea and John Brien of Anchorage Park.

The answer to last week's local history Quiz question revealed Chicklet to have been a glove puppet of a seagull chick in the now sadly defunct Portsmouth TV's childrens' programme of the same name, with Becky James.

We then posed the new question: who was Daisy Dampwash? Clean replies only, please, should have been the cry!

Tying-in with our weekly report of the air raids over the city this past week 68 years ago, we were pleased to introduce Joan Clark of Old Portsmouth with her vivid recollections of a wartime secret she needed to keep in 1940, when she worked at the Dockyard!
HMS Verity - part of the Portsmouth Destroyer Flotilla at the outbreak of war
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Portsmouth Airport in the 1930s

Retired rocker and double bassist in the 1950's local groups Mick Glover & his Rock'n'Rollers and later Barry Barron & the Live Five, Mike Orton brought us examples of his own compositions along with his story of his brother, the late Peter Orton, who found world-wide fame with his successful international TV programme distribution company, which was responsible for introducing the world to a host of household names in kids television shows.

Newcomer to the History Show this week was local writer and poet Les Thomas, who supplied this week's local history Quiz question for us: who or what was Chicklet?

Tony Thatcher returned this week, recalling the Pompey football experience of the past (for him!) whilst Betty Marshall and Bob Adderley returned with more about their stories of several quite different local history connections with Portsmouth Airport.

 
 
 

The Belmont Castle residential home
 
 
 
 
 
Southsea Odeon

We had an urgent appeal for information about the history of the grand old house on Portsdown Hill at Bedhampton, that today is the Belmont Castle Residential Home - please help if you know anything about it!

We opened the lid on the history of post war housing in our area, heard more about author Neville Shute, a local lady's involvement in his airplane company and Airspeed's silent success of World War II, the Horsa glider.

We then moved on to another famous contemporary aeroplane - the iconic Spitfire - and its connections for another local lass.

We heard about the 1950s Portsmouth dance hall scene and went inside the long-demolished Odeon Southsea cinema.
 
 
 

The Spitfire - this one is still flying today!
 
 
 
 
Horsa troop-carrying glider

Michael Orton told of his early life in this area as a bassist for the groups Mick Glover And His Rock & Rollers and later Barry Baron And The Live Five!

Having twice signed at some time the Official Secrets Act, Stella Rutter at last spilled the beans about her work on helping designing the Spitfire.

Alan Venton returned, along with John Brien, this week to take us aboard our old local bus services, and Betty Marshall highlighted the background to the stunning success of the locally built Horsa Glider in the D-Day landings.