I moved to Bletchley at age 11 from London in March of 1955
when summer came most people headed for the old gravel pit on the Watling St.There were always warnings about it not being clean or safe, even threats of contracting Polio.None of these things worried me or my young pals and we all had great fun times there .There was talk too for what seemed like years about a new swimming pool being built and it did finally open in 1958.We did begin to use it right away, even in very cold conditions and enjoyed it too .. however it did not stop us from using the Gravel pit.We had been vaccinated against Polio at school by then .I guess our usage of both places was about 50-50.During cooler months 3 of us teenage boys would go by train to Northampton to a large indoor pool there.Our dads all worked at Bletchley station and got us quarter fares.We also were taken by coach one morning per week from Wilton to a private school that had a 25 yard indoor pool with some good diving boards.My family went to Butlins once a year also and they typically had indoor and outdoor pools.So swimming featured quite a lot during my 6 years in Bletchley.A nice lady Mrs. Burchell from the next street to mine . Arundel Grove was a life guard at the town pool .We liked that the pool was right behind The Studio Cinema and next to a putting green in the park .so we could do several things on the same day.Our funds were very limited so we went around the building sites on the newer estates and gathered up empty wire toppef Corona bottles that the workmen had left behind…they brought a Tanner each.Thankfully admission to the pool and the other things were very reasonable back then.I just remembered we once found a knothole in the wood of the ladies changing room at the pool but we made so much noise arguing over who got to look through it that we got caught and chased off.We were waiting in line to enter at the time…we went to the gravel pits instead that day
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Spent Hours and hours in this swimming pool in the early 1960s
I moved to Bletchley at age 11 from London in March of 1955
when summer came most people headed for the old gravel pit on the Watling St.There were always warnings about it not being clean or safe, even threats of contracting Polio.None of these things worried me or my young pals and we all had great fun times there .There was talk too for what seemed like years about a new swimming pool being built and it did finally open in 1958.We did begin to use it right away, even in very cold conditions and enjoyed it too .. however it did not stop us from using the Gravel pit.We had been vaccinated against Polio at school by then .I guess our usage of both places was about 50-50.During cooler months 3 of us teenage boys would go by train to Northampton to a large indoor pool there.Our dads all worked at Bletchley station and got us quarter fares.We also were taken by coach one morning per week from Wilton to a private school that had a 25 yard indoor pool with some good diving boards.My family went to Butlins once a year also and they typically had indoor and outdoor pools.So swimming featured quite a lot during my 6 years in Bletchley.A nice lady Mrs. Burchell from the next street to mine . Arundel Grove was a life guard at the town pool .We liked that the pool was right behind The Studio Cinema and next to a putting green in the park .so we could do several things on the same day.Our funds were very limited so we went around the building sites on the newer estates and gathered up empty wire toppef Corona bottles that the workmen had left behind…they brought a Tanner each.Thankfully admission to the pool and the other things were very reasonable back then.I just remembered we once found a knothole in the wood of the ladies changing room at the pool but we made so much noise arguing over who got to look through it that we got caught and chased off.We were waiting in line to enter at the time…we went to the gravel pits instead that day
I spent many happy hours in that pool, not only in summer but towards winter as well, John Lloyd
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