Many thanks to Graham Price and his friend who sent this photo of a local family standing for a photo in front of the Spitfire that once stood on Market Street.
Spot the Esso sign on the garage signage …super logo that!
Hoylake News, Views and much more!
Many thanks to Graham Price and his friend who sent this photo of a local family standing for a photo in front of the Spitfire that once stood on Market Street.
Spot the Esso sign on the garage signage …super logo that!
The boy in the striped tee shirt and the the girl in the orange dress are my brother and sister Mark and Jayne Croxton, and I believe the other children are called Nathan and Sonia but I am not sure of their surname. Love this photo! Thank you Graham.
When I was seventeenthe prpriator of the gas station bunny brooks was an ex air frame machanic RAF and I think he rebuilt it and it was one of the few that could fly over inhabited areas the reason I know about it I used to pump gas on occasions for bunny and met my wife Pauline Hazelhurst while doing so
I used to work there about 50 years ago, puming gas. Full serve – “Can I check your oil, water and tires, sir?” – for every customer! Owner was initially Tony Parker. Bev and Keith the mechanic lived in the flat upstairs. Great times, lot of fun – ‘specially firing up the showroom cars and messing on the hydraulic lift when the boss was away!
Bunny Brooks was owner of the Esso garage. I lived next door to his petrol head pal Jack Price of Meols milk round fame. . They and others met at Jack’s farm once a week. In 1958 to 60 I was a Saturday butchers boy at Percy Harrops opposite. To Bunny’ s. garage. And on and off one of the many people who worked on Jack Prices open backed milk vans. ( Health and Safety didn’t exist in those days )
i remember the Spitfire, but not sure about the spotter plane. I also went on the milk round with Dolly, who let me go with her one day. We lived in Beachcrotf Road then and she delivered milk to us every day come rain, snow or fog. My Mum (Carrie Edwards) used to save bits of card to write notes to Dolly – cigarette packets, price tags, even tickets!..To this day in our family we call these odd bits of card, suitable for short messages, “No Milk Dolly”Cards”!
Yes, the spitfire(s) were eventually replaced by an Auster or similar “spotter” plane; also with its wings off.
I WILL STAND TO CORRECTED ,BUT BEFORE THE SPITFIIRE ,I SEEM TO REMENBER
THAT A EX. RAF SPOTER PLANE STOOD IN THE SAME PLACE
ARTHUR
iremember the planes and bunnys dodgy cars but they would be worth a fortune now i miss hoylake and will return soon
My late father was born in grew up in Alderley Rd, Hoylake, and used to take my mother, brother and I to visit relatives who still lived there back in the ’60’s. I remember the pale blue Spitfire on the garage forecourt like it was yesterday – it was the main reason I used to look forward to visiting Hoylake! I was only about 8 at the time. Does anyone remember exactly where on Market St ‘Bunny’ Brook’s garage was? I checked on Google Street View but it has changed so much I can’t find it anymore.
You’ll see a Sainsbury’s Local mini-supermarket …that was where the garage and spitfire where.
Thanks John.
I saw the Sainsbury’s Local on StreetView but didn’t realise it was the former site of the garage.
Incidentally, in addition to being born and raised in Alderley Rd, my dad was also an engine fitter in the RAF in WW2, but he worked on Hurricanes and Blenheims, not Spitfires. I can remember stopping to look at the restored Spitfire on the forecourt in Market St a number of times in the late 60’s.
I’ve just found some more history of the Hoylake Spitfire. Apparently, it has been restored. See http://www.warbirdregistry.org/spitregistry/spitfire-nh904.html
Fascinating to read what happened to the plane after it left Hoylake.
I googled SPITFIRE/NH904 and came up with this site (amongst others)
which adds more details to the early years.
http://www.sonsofdamien.co.uk/NH904.htm