Man used light to signal to loved one
SIFTING through photographs and then deciding which to use, is a weekly experience for me.
So often a picture can really tell a story, but that is not the purpose of these articles.
Particularly before the last war, the town was small enough for the prominent business people to be known to the majority of the residents, one of the common quips was: "why is Newhaven's High Street like a stair case?"
Answer: because it has Bannisters on both sides – and so it certainly did. The headquarters, eventually a most prominent building, was taken over to become our lost Woolworths so recently. Behind was the bakery and two more shops on that side and two more on the south side, with another at the far end of Bridge Street, where had also been a bakery with the shop displaying the boast Shipping Supplied.
Apart from the two shops on the south side of the High Street, venture into South Lane opposite the main branch and you came across the property building side of this large concern. The family son in charge of that side of the business was Clayton, an extremely pleasant fellow. The connection was made through wishing to interview is wife Frida, to record her memories of life at the Tidemills Beach Hospital, where she had been one of the pioneer nurses.
It has been said that at the time of their courtship Clayton was living in a large house in First Avenue, with a flat roof, to which there was access, so that with a bright light from there he could signal goodnight to his loved one and she would reply. This was possible for large trees and other houses were not a problem then.
They married and had a family and retired to a house at Barcombe and,
no surprise, it was named Meeching.
Sadly this is all just history now. As I recollect, Clayton had a bad time at Dunkirk, for which he was awarded the Military Cross.
Not surprisingly others of that ilk seemed to find each other, business or status and a Bannister married into the Towner family. Now this group had known their hey day before the first great war, they had been the brewers of the famous Tipper Ale. Their brewery had been behind the Bridge Hotel, at the bottom of the High Street and the main building not being demolished until the coming of the ring road North Way. There had been a partnership with George Stone, who's windmill had stood at the very top of Church Hill until this was sold to Chailey where it still stands and he opened a large steam flour mill in Bridge Street (and some will remember the Mill Cafe into the 1960s). Although the brewery had sold cart loads of its favoured liquor to the Royal Pavilion for many years, it still closed.
The Towner family had known great times and were most popular. Henry Arthur, known as HAT, had owned the first car in Newhaven, a Mercedes Benz – with tiller steering. There is a well known picture of this, with his wife to be, 16 1/2 year old Winifred Stone, posed at the controls. When HAT sadly died in the 1930s she kindly gave me his photographic outfit. At that time the family (four daughters) were running the sweet and tobacco shop, the Nutshell, next door to the High Street Cinema.
In photo No 1, left to right, H A Towner, H W Towner, Charles Bannister at a High Street procession, in another photo they are mounted on horse sin a vast procession with a date 1898/9, might it have been connected with Edward VII and Queen Alexandra?
Picture No 2. 1949, unveiling a plaque at the then Fort Road War Memorial, adding losses for 1939-45. From left: Mr Lapierre, council leader, previously school master, responsible for the remarkable boys school football team. Clayton Bannister and near (with medals) MP Mr Tufton Beamish.
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Weather for Lewes
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -5 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
