The Elite, in Warrior Square, was bombed twice in the war and its fate was sealed on Monday, June 23, 1947, when it caught fire. Before she worked at the Elite, Gladys worked in The Creamery at 23 Robertson Street, now Waterfalls, as a teenager. She also worked in the old shack on the corner of the seafront and High Street, selling ice creams and rock. Gareth’s parents, John Ernest Brown and Gladys Edith Brown, were married at Emmanuel Church on September 10, 1939, and soon after, his father was sent as part of the British Expeditionary Force into France, eventually being evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk. Gareth said: “He was wounded and my mother received the dreaded telegram telling her my father was ‘Missing Presumed Dead’. Thankfully, he was recovering in hospital and returned home safely. However, it was not to last, as he was sent to El Alamein in 1942.” Gareth has lived in Bognor Regis for three years, having been born in Hastings and lived there most of my life.
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Gladys Brown's autograph book featuring signatures from the world of music hall and film in the 1930s, including Billy Cotton
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Gladys Brown's autograph book featuring signatures from the world of music hall and film in the 1930s, including Billy Cotton
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Gladys Brown's autograph book featuring signatures from the world of music hall and film in the 1930s, including Billy Cotton
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Gladys Brown's autograph book featuring signatures from the world of music hall and film in the 1930s, including Billy Cotton