OLD WISBECH

Kevin Rogers & his slide show of old Wisbech brought back many memories to those members who had lived in & around the town all their lives.
Not only was he able to show many photos of the really old scenes of Wisbech, but he brought the Wisbech of our youth back to mind. The Wisbech of the war years & later, including our school years, brought back the most memories, if the comments from the audience were anything to go by, with some of the older shops in their original form, before modernisation: the Onyx cinema; the Octogaon Church, both now long demolished.
St. Peter’s School, The Horsefair with the Fire Station, & old cottages, even a circus there: the cannon, all of which were part of the bus route that most of the out of town school children knew so well, whether they travelled by Eastern Counties, Bluebell or Fowlers buses.
Also seen were slides of the Upwell to Wisbech tram, especially the lines crossing the road at Elm Road and the Blacksmiths Arms – how many people got their cycle wheels caught in the lines where they crossed the road, especially in the wet or Icy weather?
Not only were the photos of historical interest, but the stories Kevin told about the people connected with some of them brought the pictures alive, and many were the names which we remembered from the past.
To me at least & I’m sure to many others, it was a nostalgic evening of lovely memories which I will remember with pleasure.
The February meeting is about the Nonconformists of the Fens by our ever popular speaker Brian Jones.
[Judy Green]