Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History A Child In Birkenhead. WW2 Memories

Bringing back memories there Cools,I too remember the "Posh" toilet paper, San Izal,it looked like tracing paper and was about as absorbent as lino.

As Ludwigvan said, bringing back memories. I remember being told to take the San Izal sheets and scrunch it up to make it less abrasive, it never worked for me! Remember the other british institution of carbolic soap? I used to love that smell. I remember our tin bath being hung on the wall just outside the back door and on a windy night roared like thunder which was frightening as a kid running out to the carsey. I agree that kids don't realise how lucky they are with their lcd tvs, playstations and ipods but in the days before such items existed did we really have it so bad? I have very fond memories of a by-gone era without the aid of rose tinted specs.

Hi GeeMeister, yes I well remember the bars of red carbolic soap. When I worked in Vauxhall's in the early 70's there was one chap who spent his lunch break using a cheese grater to shred big bars of it in the washroom to use in his washing machine at home, I don't know how effective it was but he always smelled of the stuff. Many a mickle makes a muckle eh?

Indeed Ludwigvan, there will always be penny pinchers lol. I was wondering, as you were in Vauxhall's in the early 70's, do you remember Eric Burns on security at the gates?

No, sorry GeeMeister the name doesn't ring any bells.

No problem, it was a long shot with it being like a small village in the 70's, thanks.

My dad used to take me to the Roxy in the late 40s, bung me inside, upstairs, give the doorman a back hander to keep his eye on me, and go to the Park Hotel opposite, popping back every other pint to make sure I was still there , you couldn't do it now, you'd be prosecuted for child neglect, if my Mother had found out he'd have been more than prosecuted, I was quite happy sitting there in peace with an ice cream and some sweets.
I tried explaining recently to one of my granddaughters who's 28, what life was like in the 40s, hens in the back yard, they used to chase you to the outside loo, tin bath on the wall, only a cold water tap in the kitchen, newspaper squares on a piece of string, the Isal stuff was only for the rich, the shiny side was no good anyway, gas fired copper in the kitchen for the washing on a Monday and a big old fashioned mangle in the back yard, no central heating, etc, my granddaughter was horrified, I think she thought I was winding her up.

Sweets were rationed until 1953, the day the sweet rationing finished I went to school in the morning with 6d (2.4P) and went in the Mecca sweet shop, (corner of Park Rd East and Claughton Rd) and spent it all in one go, happy days.

Underneath the Roxy cinema was a Billiard Hall, we used to poke our heads in and get told to go away in no uncertain terms.

Packet of crisps and a bottle of pop to keep you quiet - luxury
I remember moving to our first house with internal bathroom plumbing in 1964. It felt like moving into a palace. The following year we got one of those luxury goods, you know, a telly. It was all down hill from there. The end of conversation as we knew it. Hells bells im sounding old!