Category Archives: My Coley

Some of my mother’s memories Dora Gaines/Griffin wrote this. Looking at all the troubles with the youngsters of today, then looking back through the years to my own school days I do worry where life went wrong for them. We … Continue reading →

Di Rayburn has sent me a scanned copy of a small document called More Talking of Coley. The  complete document is too big to upload as received so I have converted it into 4 PDF documents. Coley Talking 1   Coley … Continue reading →

If you can imagine me standing on the old black gas stove and looking down to draw this…see below…on the right is the coal hole which dad eventually turned into a shower room. The toilet remained outside. We had to … Continue reading →

Here are some gems – again from Di Rayburn.  If you wish you can view it as a slideshow but I suggest you ignore the {Show as slideshow} button and click on any photo thumbnail and it will take you … Continue reading →

I have just read Di Rayburn’s story about Coley School. I can vouch for the pain from Miss Whites pencil on the head. My sister never ever forgave her for that. I too used to be taken to school by … Continue reading →

The forefront of fashion in Coley. It made no difference that the hard working land girls of WW2 wore trousers. In our street, like wearing bright red nail varnish, it was still something we didn’t do, and it wasn’t until … Continue reading →

I am Di’s Daughter, living in the USA. Thank you so much for this website. Not only did I enjoy reading my Mothers memories of her childhood, many of which I remember my Grandmother and Grandfather Griffin telling me about, … Continue reading →

I’ve been blown away by the beautiful writings from Di Rayburn and although I only lived in Coley briefly as a baby, I can relate to many of the descriptions which remind me of grandma’s house at 151 Wolseley Street … Continue reading →

Cough Please. After asking how much, dad had barely extracted a five pound note from his wallet when the doctor leaned across, said, ‘That will do nicely’, and for something that had taken less than five minutes to carry out, … Continue reading →

Coley School – Part 1. Living almost opposite the school we were used to seeing the teachers pass by daily. They were always given lots of respect by both parents and pupils as they walked to the school gates. When … Continue reading →

Coley School – part 2 After Miss ClemMurphy, we went into Miss Inkley’s class. She was also what you could call Victorian. Short, dumpy, with white wispy hair and rosy red apple cheeks, she too was nearing retirement but whereas … Continue reading →

Coley School – part 3 and final part Mr Chandler had left that year to take over a new school at Southcote and our new headmistress was Miss Scoble. Miss Scoble was very fond of country dancing, and gave us … Continue reading →

I found something that may be of interest; …www.coleypark.com/cp_railways03.html – Coley Park and beyond.

Twirl the Baton Diane! Here is my Coronation Day story. In our street the mood was sombre on the day King George VI died, and the memory stands out because it was the only time a paperboy walked down the … Continue reading →

AA few odd notes on Wolseley Street. During the fifties Coley Boy’s Club was held in a hall at the bottom of Coley Hill, just before you crossed the road into Wolseley Street. I always knew it as the Mission … Continue reading →

The Josey’s live in Howard St. They were quite a big family. I remember Terry, who was blonde haired and stocky. He was a couple of years older than me. Margaret his sister was a year or two younger. She … Continue reading →

For those interested in Geoff Weller’s post below, here is that photo again.

I would just like to add to Dez’s comments about Di’s Articles about Coley.They are beautifully written and I can remember well all of those fond memories, about Charlie Martin the pig man, he used to live in Parnell Street … Continue reading →

John – they are lovely stories, beautifully written with such graphic detail. Although I never lived in Coley, the activities and neighbourliness described in the stories were typical of where we lived in West Reading (Mason Street) and later in … Continue reading →

It was Rock and Roll – Yeah!! In 1950 when I was six, a local girl Jeanette Mayo, who was a professional dancer started giving weekly lessons in the function room over the Blue Lion pub at the end of … Continue reading →