Comments on: Friday Photo: Sandhills Circa 1930

By: Donald (Don) Johnson

Donald (Don) Johnson — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:43:28 +0000

During the war and, at least until 1948, Sammy Cattells bike shop was in Lake Place just opposite the rear entrance to Hoylake Presbyterian Church Hall between Rudd Street and Walker Street. He also worked on some moor vehicles and was a great source of steel marbles, large sized ball bearings.

By: Ian P

Ian P — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:30:52 +0000

I remember helping my friend Terry from Manor Road wheel his dad’s bike past Catell’s up to Mr Shipman to have the cones tightened. I doubt that he could have made a living from the shack, and my uncle guessed he might have been partial to accepting the odd wager on four legged animals (which was frowned on by the law in those days). But that was of course hearsay and Mr S can no longer be given the oportunity to refute the allegation!

By: Graham Thwaite

Graham Thwaite — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:24:26 +0000

Another cycle repairer in Hoylake was Mr Shipman. Located in Lake Place, he had a tin roofed shack in which he kept a stack of rusty old bikes.

By: Lynda Williams nee Cooper

Lynda Williams nee Cooper — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:15:54 +0000

Albert Marchbank worked at Sammy Cattells. He went on to run the local undertakers. His funeral home was in our old infants school in school lane, very aptly at the back of the churchyard. He was the local undertaker until at least the 80′s, he did my dads funeral in 1984, but not sure when he retired.

By: Peter Wilson

Peter Wilson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:32:28 +0000

Yes, I loved this photo immediately when I saw it on e-bay. I would love to see sand dune formation encouraged to help tackle the blown sand problem especially in the Beach Road to King’s Gap area where the sand has really built up. It would be noice to have a more natural coastline again.

By: Sarah Briscoe

Sarah Briscoe — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:13:48 +0000

I love this photo and wish that it was still like this today – the sandhills have something over the wall that now dominates…..though I do realise that quite a few people would be homeless….

By: brian jones

brian jones — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:00:10 +0000

many thanks for your great website

i know it must take many hours of work

By: arthur roberts

arthur roberts — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:47:34 +0000

ref. sammy cattells bike shop ,one day when i was a littel kid in 1946/7 ,i was going past cattells as a young man came out of the shop pushing a brand new racing bike .5 mins. later i came back just as the same man pushing the same bike back in to the shop ,the front wheel was U shaped.!!!!!

my father once told me that pre-war sammy had worked at brookland race track ,and that he had taken a morgan 3 wheel sports car out for a test and had broken the track record for that class of car
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