Snippets of Tonbridge Past

I received an email from a resident who has lived in Tonbridge all her life.  Some of the information is really interesting and throws a light on what life was like in the 1950's/1960's for those living in the town.  I especially found the paragraph about Warders Surgery fascinating as it shows how booking an appointment to see a doctor, and the waiting room experience has really moved on. I loved the idea of having to save up for a chicken at Christmas. No factory farming then.  How times have changed!!!! 

"We used to have Carnival queens, I think they held the beauty contests in Lyons Crescent (YMCA?) and the winner was paraded on a float in the carnival. There was also a river carnival for a couple of years.

You can just see a carnival queen on a float passing the old Fisher Hall in Lyons Cresent

When Higham Lane was built they were blowing up tree stumps for weeks and chickens were running about the fields.

When the town flooded Gunners had to sell all their stock that hadn't got wet, but had been in the shop, I had a lovely time rumaging and bought what had been a very expensive brolly for 1s.6d.

The delivery tradesmen:

Blakeley's delivered our beef joint every saturday.

We also had the milkman, baker, fishman, knife and scissor sharpener, greengrocer, rag and boneman in his horse and cart, and then the 'modern' rag and bone man, who came in a big van, he weighed your bundle of rags and gave you a gift depending on the weight of your rags. we all hankered after the ear-rings and necklace set in a presentation case, all gold and 'glittery', but I think we would have had to have had a shop full of clothes for that! 

Beef was the normal sunday roast and you saved up for a chicken for christmas!

I remember seeing the old guy whose photo is in the doctor's (Warders in East Street), riding around the town delivering medicine. The surgery was over the bank in East Street. We would start queuing about 8am to get an early number and then have to sit on hard chairs for hours, asking everyone who was leaving what number they were.

The 'private' patients had their own waiting room along the corridor, it was smaller, just as dark and depressing, but better chairs, I think they had arms!"