People 56 - 76 Ravenswood Avenue TN2 3SQ

Information about the children who lived at 56 to 76 Ravenswood Avenue between when it was built and the 1960s

If you lived at numbers 56 to 76 Ravenswood Avenue on the Ferndale Park Estate as a child between when it was built and the early 1960s, have you ever wondered what happened to the children you used to know and play with? This page may tell you because it contains information, and some pictures, about some of them. It has been compiled from information and memories from persons who used to live on the estate, and from my own memories and research. Since 1998, I have been interested in genealogy, researching my own PAGE family extensively throughout East Sussex, and my mother’s HARRIS family in the East-End of London. I have used the various genealogy websites, especially the General Record Office (GRO), Ancestry and Find my Past, to help find information about the children and their families who lived on the estate when I was a child. All my research on this page is information that is in the public domain.

The GRO references to Tonbridge is because between 1837 and 1980, Tonbridge was the registration district that covered Tunbridge Wells. Since then Tunbridge Wells has had its own district. The centralised registration of births, marriages, and deaths in England and Wales commenced on 1 July 1837. Indexes to the records are available for public inspection and are separated into birth, marriage and death indexes. Each index is divided into quarters for each year (January-March, April-June, July-September and October-December) and they are referred in the text by the year, followed by /1, /2, /3 or /4 to indicate the appropriate quarter, eg 1944/2 for my birth in June 1944. There are many references to items published in the Kent & Sussex Courier newspaper and these are referred to as just Courier.

The names of people are listed in address order. Some of the earlier built houses had names before they were numbered, and in those cases I have added the name to the address. Occasionally I have added text in italicised square brackets to information given to me from others for clarity.

Whilst I am very grateful to those who have given me information and pictures so far, I would love to have more, so if you know anything about any of the children who lived on the estate between when it was built and the early 1960s, then please get in touch with me so I can add it here. I also welcome any corrections or clarification of anything that has been written here so far – thanks (chris@g4bue.com).

56 Ravenswood Avenue, High Oaks – Stuart and Graham HEASMAN

Graham and his younger brother Stuart were two of the boys I regularly played with. The GRO has births at Tonbridge in 1946/4 for Graham M HEASMAN and 1947/4 for Stuart G HEASMAN, mother SHARKEY, and a marriage at Tonbridge in 1945/4 for Geoffrey G HEASMAN and Mary P SHARKEY. An Ancestry family tree shows Geoffrey George HEASMAN was born in 1914 at Tonbridge and died 25 November 1989 at Mudeford, Christchurch, Dorset. In 1938 he married Norah L MEADS before marrying Graham and Stuart’s mother.

The GRO shows Graham M HEASMAN married Jane SMALL in 1985 at Maidstone and Electoral Registers show them living in Surrenden Road, Tonbridge for 2002 and 2022.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr HEASMAN, whose parents and brother lived at number 42. They had two sons, Graham and Stewart.”

John HEASMAN (42 Ravenswood Avenue): “Graham and Stuart are my cousins. My Uncle Geoff built a bungalow in Cunningham Road, High Brooms, so Graham and Stuart moved there. Graham became captain of Skinners’ rugby team before leaving for university. He moved to Colchester where he worked for Weddels (meat dealers) as head of personnel. Stuart became a linguist, being particularly good at French. I don’t know much, but I know he travelled widely and is now living in France.”

The 9 February 1968 Courier featured an article about Stuart and his love of France, as mentioned by his cousin John HEASMAN. The article, under the heading ‘Entente Cordiale in Action’ said, ‘France has played an important role in the life of college student 20-year-old Stuart Heasman since he left Skinners’ School, Tunbridge Wells. There can be few young Engishmen with such a thorough first-hand knowledge of education in France. “Ever since I was about 12 years old”, says Stuart, “I dreamt of going to school in France and then, quite suddenly, my French pen-friend’s family invited me to spend a year with them and go to school at the same time. I made it clear from the start that I was a non-believer and fully expected daily attempts to convert me or, at the very least, a certain animosity towards me. But the French seem to admire outspokeness and exhibit considerable tolerance towards those of different beliefs. They just left me alone, hoping I would watch and listen. I was impressed and whereas I arrived in France an atheist, I came home an agnostic.”

‘English and French methods vary considerably. In France, says Stuart, there is the “etude” system in which everybody in the same year converge upon a “homework room”, where eight-page essays are the penalty for those who break the two-hour silence rule. Classes began at 8.30am and continued till 6.30pm, after which there was plenty of memory work to be done for tests the following day.

‘What especially amused Stuart was the fact that beer was served at the school lunches. “There were seven and eight-year-old’, he says, “putting away tumbler after tumbler of beer without turning a hair.” Now, Stuart goes back to France every summer. “It gets in one’s blood. You become magnetised by the country and the people.” Naturally, he is studying French in the college along with German, Russian and surprisingly, chemistry. “It may seem an odd mixture, languages with science,” says Stuart, “but eventually I hope to be a technical interpreter.” Definitely no rejection of the Entente Cordiale here.’

From address records in the USA, it appears Stuart spent some considerable time living there, including in Berkeley, California; Westcliffe, Colorado and Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. In 1985, the BBC, in one of their Whicker’s World television series on BBC1, featured a ‘series of ten films in which Alan Whicker talks to a wide range of enterprising Brits who’ve gone to live and work in the USA’. One of the programmes featured Dallas, Texas, and a short interview with a Stuart HEASMAN, during which he said, ‘I want to merge, to blend – but with my accent it’s impossible.’, see newspaper article right.

57 Ravenswood Avenue, Frensham – Joy WENHAM

The GRO has a birth at Tonbridge in 1924/2 for Joy D C WENHAM, mother ISARD, a marriage at Tonbridge in 1948/2 for Joy D C WENHAM and John E THORNTON and a birth at Tonbridge in 1951/2 for Richard I THORNTON, mother WENHAM. The GRO also has a marriage in 1922/3 for Arthur C WENHAM and Rosalie E ISARD and the 1939 Register shows Arthur born on 25 June 1892 working as cabinet maker, and Rosalie on 31 January 1896.

The 18 May 1934 Courier reports ‘Joy Wenham, aged 9, 69 Tunnel Road’ a new member of the Pea-Nut Club.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr and Mrs WENHAM had a daughter.”

58 Ravenswood Avenue, Mary Tavy – Mr and Mrs PENTECOST

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr Arthur PENTECOST was my uncle and in my early years a bus driver with Maidstone & District. However his health was not particularly good, so the latter part of his working life was spent with the Ministry of Works and the Land Registry. Molly, my aunt, in common with many wives at the time, never worked but she did undertake various voluntary tasks. During WW2 she was a Fire Watcher from the top of tall buildings, typically along Mountt Ephraim. After the war she acted as a local collector for National Savings and was also involved with various activities at St Courier Church. Also living with them were my paternal grandparents William and Emma DANE.”

I remember Mr and Mrs PENTECOST but not Alan’s grandparents. They lived just along the road from us and Mr PENTECOST owned a motor-cycle with an enclosed sidecar in which his wife sat when they regular went out riding past our house.

60 Ravenswood Avenue, Ivydene – Mr and Mrs PEARSON

I remember Mr PEARSON because he was a good friend of my dad, who called him ‘Shafe’ or a similar sounding name. Like my dad. he was also a gardener and I think that is how they became friends.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Bill PEARSON worked for the Gas Company (an office job I believe). His wife Ivy kept chickens in a run lower down their garden towards the woods. She appeared to be an excitable lady always rushing about. Her loud voice could often be heard emanating from ‘next door’ when I visited my relations (aunt, uncle, granny and granddad) next door at 58.”

65 Ravenswood Avenue – Julia, Elena and David MANTZ

1946 electoral registers for the City of London show Raymond Henry MANTZ living at 17 St Helen’s Place, London EC3, meaning the family moved to Ravenswood Avenue between then and 1948 when ‘Raymond Hy Mantz’ is first shown in street directories at 65 Ravenswood Avenue. The family remained there until at least 1965.

Julia MANTZ had a sister Elena and a brother David, but I can only find a GRO birth at Tonbridge in 1957/2 for Elena J MANTZ, mother PAUL. Their parents were Raymond H MANTZ and Mary A F PAUL and the GRO has a marriage at London City in 1942/1 for them. An Ancestry family tree shows Raymond Henry MANTZ was born on 28 October 1912 at St Marylebone, Middlesex and Mary Ann Florence PAUL on 12 January 1914 at Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The tree shows Raymond is descended from John MANTZ, born 1713 at Rheinland, Prussia, Germany, who came to England and died in February 1765 at Whitechapel, Middlesex.

The GRO has a marriage at Tonbridge in 1971/2 for Julia M MANTZ and Tommy SMITH but I don’t know what happened to them after that. The GRO has another marriage at Tonbridge in 1982/3 for David R MANTZ and Gillian E BOORMAN and a birth at Tonbridge in 1982/3 for Suzanne Elizabeth MANTZ. Electoral registers for 2002-06 show David Robert MANTZ living in Gimble Way, Tunbridge Wells.

The 9 October 1981 Courier published a picture (right) and reported the Speldhurst Round table gave £250 towards the cost of a new radio microphone for Pembury Hospital Radio. Under the picture, it said, ‘Members of Speldhurst Round table are shown the new radio microphone by engineer Mickey Morris (right). Pictured from left are David Mantz, Paul Boorman, Tim Dack, Peter Smith and chairman Bob Crance.’ Paul BOORMAN is probably Davis MANTZ’s wife Gillian’s older brother.

In 1962, Raymond MANTZ was footpaths secretary of the Tunbridge Wells Rambling Club and the 2 & 30 January 1976 Courier has an advert for ‘Spirella Corsetry & Tailoring. Mary Mantz, 29 Scotts Way, Tunbridge Wells, Tel: Tun Wells 22843.’ In the Deaths column of the 9 November 1989 Courier, ‘Pacefully after a short illness, Raymond Henry Mantz, age 77 years, the much loved husband of Mary and father of David, Julia and Elena and grandfather of Suzanne.’, and in the the 6 January 1994 Sevenoaks Chronicle, ‘Peacefully on January 1st 1994, Mary Mantz, widow of Raymond, the dearly loved mother of David, Julia and Elena and grandma of Suzanne....’

In July 2023, Julia MANTZ told me, “We used to live at 65 Ravenswood Avenue. I lived there from 1953 till I was 14 years old, then the family moved to Scotts Way, Tunbridge Wells. My sister lives in Australia.”

Carol CAMPBELL nee SMITH (78 Ravenswood Avenue): “When I was five, I remember an occasion when I was playing with Julia MANTZ in her front garden. They had crazy paving stone steps leading from the house down the front garden which looked very nice, but were lethal. I tripped and fell down them, putting my front teeth through my lip. There was blood everywhere and adults panicking. No other damage fortunately, but I still have a residual lump on the inside of my lip.”

66 Ravenswood Avenue, Ravensdale – Mr and Mrs RANCE

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr RANCE was a postman. His son followed in the Post Office tradition as a counter clerk.

67 Ravenswood Avenue, Beverley – Barry MEOPHAM

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr and Mrs MEOPHAM had two sons. Later, the residents changed to WATERMAN who had a son Barry.”

68 Ravenswood Avenue, Sunny-side – Bob and David JOY

The 1939 Register shows Nelson A JOY, born 28 September 1888 and working as a bricklayer, and Ethel JOY, born 31 October 1892 living at 68 Ravenswood Avenue. The GRO has a marriage at Maidstone in 1913/3 for Nelson A JOY and Ethel SKINNER and the following births at Tonbridge, mother SKINNER: 1915/2 Ivy M JOY, 1918/3 Ronald W A JOY and 1924/4 Peter E JOY. The 1921 Census shows the family living at 16 Meadow Road, Southborough.

The 7 September 1945 Courier reported, ‘The wedding took place recently at Holy Trinity Church, Shaftsbury, Dorset of Miss Doris Hawkins, daughter of Mr and Mrs S Hawkins of 35 Binport Street, Shaftsbury and Mr Ronald Joy, son of Mr and Mrs N A Joy of 68 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells...She was attended by Miss Ivy Joy (sister of the bridegroom)...’

The 17 September 1946 Courier reported, ‘The marriage will take place at St James Church, Tunbridge Wells, on October 8 at 12 noon, between Reginald Tribbeck of Chandlers Ford, Hants and Ivy Joy of 68 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells,’ and the 11 October 1946 Courier reported, ‘Miss Ivy May Joy, daughter of Mr and Mrs N A Joy of 68 Ravenswood Avenue, was at St James Church on Tuesday married to Mr Arthur Reginald Tribbeck, only son of Mr and Mrs A W Tribbeck of Eastleigh, Hants...’

The 16 August 1963 Courier reported, ‘Childhood sweethearts Mr and Mrs Albert Joy of 68 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells celebrated their golden wedding on Saturday evening with a party at their home. Mr and Mrs Joy’s son David, an officer in the RASC in Germany and peter, who is living in New Zealand, were unable to be present...’

An Ancestry family tree traces the JOY line back to George JOY (1619-1669) of Brenchley. The GRO has a death at Tonbridge in 1979/1 for Nelson Albert JOY aged 90, and the tree shows he was cremated on 26 February 1979.

In September 2015, Clive STACE (104 Ravenswood Avenue) said David JOY was born on 17 May 1938 (although I cannot find a GRO record for him), and his younger brother Bob McBRIDE was adopted to keep him company. Clive also said, “The history of Charity Farm is not a subject that has interested me much, but it does/did interest David JOY a lot. He went to Judds, and after the age of about 11 I hardly ever saw him, and not at all after we were about 18 (1956). By a strange chance I met up with him about 30-40 years later and we have kept in frequent contact ever since. He lives in Scotland. He is always sending me stuff about old Tunbridge Wells. He has particularly been trying to find out more about Charity Farm, but without success. The bad news is that David has dementia (both Alzheimers and Parkinsons poor chap). The motor cycle era that you remember was well after my association with them. David became amateur fly-weight boxing champion of Kent, and later travelled the world.”

The 22 March 1957 Courier pictured David (right) and reported, ‘David, 18, who lives in Ravenswood avenue, Tunbridge Wells, has a fine record in boxing. This season he has won 15 of his 21 fights. He began boxing at Judd School, Tonbridge under the able directions of the gym master and joined the Wells Club in November 1955. Six months later he became secretary....David, who is a curtain material salesman at Noakes...has weight difficulties. He weighs around nine stone and to fight at flyweight he has to work off six or seven pounds.’

The 22 February 1957 Courier reported David JOY, Kent flyweight champion, beat D Anscombe, who was the 1956 Southern Counties flyweight champion, and was presented with the Pek Trophy. The 1 November 1957 Courier reported David was doing National Service with the RAF and had become champion of his new division, albeit at the heavier bantam-weight. He was due to be posted to Aden with the RAF.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr Nelson JOY was a self-employed jobbing builder. He did not own or indeed drive a vehicle but used a handcart to carry his tools and ladders. Their son David and adopted/fostered son Bob McBRIDE were living with them. They had other children, Bill, Peter and Ivy, all of whom had ‘flown the nest’ so were somewhat older than David and Bob. Most recently Bob McBRIDE aka JOY passed away. His brother David used to correspond from time to time but informed me a couple of years ago that he was in the early stages of Alzheimers.”

The 29 September 1969 Courier, under the heading ‘Recognise Anyone?’, published the picture right, and reported, ‘If you recognise yourself in the picture, Mr N A Joy of 68 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells would like to meet you. For Mr Joy could have been your friend, 65 years ago, at the old school in Paddock Wood. Third from the right, second row up, Mr Joy looks shyly at the camera. Now, just a few days from his 79th birthday, he is asking those friends he sat with to come forward. Mr Joy, who is partially blind, says he feels lonely now, and would like to chat with old friends again. Mr Joy has many memories to talk about. He remembers that 40 years ago he helped to pull down the wall that ran almost to the station down Mount Pleasant. Coming from a family of 11, Mr Joy is used to having people around, and though a widower now, he had 55 years of happy married life.’

In August 2022, David’s son Peter JOY, who lives at Highgate, London, said, “My father David’s family – Nelson and Ethel Joy, and children Ivy, Ronald (Bill), Peter, David and Bob – lived in Ravenswood Avenue from c1930 until Nelson’s death in 1980. Bill spent the war in the Coldstream Guards, surviving the Battle of France and the North West Europe campaign of 1944-45 and living till nearly 100, while Peter was in the Far East in the RAF and then emigrated to New Zealand, dying last year aged 95. Bob – as Bob McBride (he was adopted by the Joys) was well known, I believe, as a local rugby referee. David, my father, was born in 1938 and was well known locally as an amateur fly and bantamweight boxer. He went to Judd School and was also active in the Air Cadets. He lived there till 1957, when he went off to do his National Service with the RAF, two years spent mainly in Aden. Then he was back in Ravenswood Avenue for a year or so 1959-60, working as a sales rep for a local fabrics business and running a rather dashing Royal Enfield Super Meteor motorbike, before joining the Army in 1960, then emigrating to Australia in 1964 and meeting my mother. They came back to Britain in 1968 and spent the rest of their lives in Scotland, Mum dying in 1989 and Dad, three years ago in 2019, aged 80. I think I met Clive Stace, possibly at Dad’s wedding to Maureen on Skye in 2004.”

Regarding his grandfather, Bob and David’s father Nelson JOY, Peter said, “We also visited Meadow Road, Southborough, where Nelson, Ethel and the little Ivy and Ron (Bill) were living in 1921 when they took the census. Nelson, then 32, is listed as an apprentice bricklayer. Dad told me he used to call the firm from a public phone box to find out where he was wanted, then get on his bike and pedal off to the site, often many miles away. Walking round town with him when Dad was little, ‘Old Timer’ would point to buildings and say ‘I built that!’.”

Peter later added, “Dad had vivid memories of the war. He described once watching a dogfight about 10,000 feet overhead with Nelson – ‘It’s one of ours! No, it’s one of theirs!!’ – and Nelson climbing up on a box to get a better view, placing him all of 18 inches nearer the action, which even at the age of four or five struck Dad as comical.”

David was born in 1938 and Peter says, “Dad’s birth was registered as Brian David JOY, but he disliked the name Brian and swapped it round to David Brian JOY. Dad was actually Ivy’s son, Bill and Peter were really his uncles and Ethel and Nelson were his grandparents. Apparently Ivy had become pregnant as a result of a love affair while ‘in service’ somewhere down in Sussex. (The father, she told Dad, was a chap called John Burns, who – she told him – had then been killed in the war; this Dad confided in me quite late in life.) This being 1937-38 and Ivy was swiftly packed off to London where Dad was born. No father’s name on the birth certificate. Dad was then brought up (a common enough solution in those days) as a fourth child of Nelson and Ethel. I don’t know whether or not even Uncle Bill or Uncle Peter ever knew. Ivy later married Reg TRIBBECK, who worked as an engine fitter at the Supermarine factory at Eastleigh. From what he said, Dad used to spent a fair bit of time with them as a boy, with Reg taking him to Southampton Football Club games and being a good part-time step-dad. Ivy and Reg later had a son of their own, Nigel.

“Anyhow, seeing that the JOYs now had an infant boy, a chap from the local council came round to ask if they could take another of the same age. This was Bob McBRIDE, whose mother had found herself in a similar situation to Ivy but with no family to fall back on. And so the JOYs adopted Bob as well and, again, brought him up as one of theirs. From what Dad told me, it wasn’t until Bob was ten that Ethel got round to telling either of them that Bob was adopted. This came as a hell of a shock to young Bob. In later life he changed his surname back to McBRIDE. Bob – I think – went into a trade (building, sparks, I’m not sure) and also served – as Dad had done in 1959 between the RAF National Service and the regular Army – as a signaller with 21 SAS (the TA battalion). Bob went on to be a popular local amateur rugby referee. He died about ten years ago now. I remember Bob and Dad used to write back in the 1970s and 1980s, but sadly (unlike Bill, Ivy and Peter) I can’t recall ever meeting him in person. Being all the way up in Scotland, we saw Dad’s family only on rare visits south, though I remember Uncle Peter coming to visit from New Zealand. Anyway, Ivy was my grandmother, although I never knew it until after she had died. The last I remember of Ivy is her sending me, in 1986, an original black and white 1910 postcard of Halley’s comet (it had come round again and is next due in 2061). I still have it somewhere.”

Exactly the same thing happened in my own family! My paternal grandmother, the eldest of her nine siblings, had a brother Frederick who made a girl pregnant in 1909 and the family brought up the baby, Margaret, making out she was the daughter of my grandmother's mother. The difference between my family and the JOYs is that mine never told Margaret the truth and it wasn't until she went to get married in 1930, and needed her birth certificate, that she discovered the truth! I cannot imagine how she must have felt at the age of 21 to discover her brother was actually her father, her other siblings were her aunts and uncles, and her parents were actually her grandparents. Families were so hard in those times, selfishly thinking more about the reputation of the family than the effect of what they were doing could have on their daughters. It is even more sad when you consider what society now accepts in the way of family relationships!

70 Ravenswood Avenue, Aden – Alan and Brian DANE

The GRO has a birth at Tonbridge in 1940/4 for Alan K DANE, mother YOUNG, a marriage at Tonbridge in 1961/1 for Alan K DANE and Sandra A CORDEN and a birth at Tonbridge in 1964/2 for Sharon DANE, mother CORDEN. The GRO has a birth at Tonbridge in 1945/4 for Brian K DANE, mother YOUNG, a marriage at Tonbridge in 1966/4 for Alan K DANE and Sally A PILBEAM and births at Tonbridge in 1972/1 for Joanna DANE and 1974/2 for Clare DANE. Electoral registers for 2002-16 show Brian and Sally living at Lower Platts, Wadhurst.

The 5 February 1959 Courier reported, ‘DANE–CORDEN – The engagement is announed between Alan of 70 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells and Sandra of 61 Montgomery Road, Tunbridge Wells.’ Alan told me in May 2016 he lived at 70 Ravenswood Avenue from when he was born in 1940 to 1960 and, although he was a bit older than me, I remember him well. His memory of growing up on the estate is amazing and I am very indebted to him for sharing his memories with us.

Alan wrote, “My mother was Olive, father Kenneth and brother Brian. I left Ravenswood in 1960 but my mother continued living at number 70 until she passed away in 2006. My father had died earlier in 1991. The entirety of my career was spent working for BT and its earlier manifestation Post Office Telephones. This took me from Tunbridge Wells to Bletchley Park, London, Swindon and finally back to Kent in 1972 and for the last 32 years in Tonbridge. My father was a toolmaker but also a very accomplished self-taught carpenter/joiner. Indeed, every item of furniture in our home was made by him”. Alan’s wonderful childhood memories of the people living on the state are scattered throughout these pages and on the ‘Memories’ page.

The 1939 Register shows Alan’s parents: Kenneth J DANE, born 17 January 1912, a carpenter and joiner, and Olive E DANE, born 4 March 1913 living at 70 ravenswood Avenue. Kenneth was baptised at Rusthall on 5 May 1912, the son of Emma and William John DANE, a gardener of 10 Kent Villas, Southwood Road, Rusthall and the 1921 Census shows him aged nine and at school, living with his family at Blackhurst Cottage, Tonbridge. The census also shows Olive Emily YOUNG, aged eight at schoold, living with her family at 33 Napier Road, Tunbridge Wells. The GRO has a marriage at Tonbridge in 1938/2 for Kenneth J DANE and Olive E YOUNG.

An Ancestry family tree shows Alan and Brian are descended from William DANE (1776-1860) of Maidstone. The tree also shows Kenneth died on 30 October 1991 at Tunbridge Wells and Olive on 9 December 2006 at Speldhurst.

71 Ravenswood Avenue, Alnsdale – Mr and Mrs KING

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr and Mrs KING were retired and were the parents of Mrs STILL at 80 Ravenswood Avenue.”

72 Ravenswood Avenue, Chanak – Mr and Mrs MATHEWS

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr Jim MATHEWS, prior to retirement, worked at Haywards, the large ironmongers / hardware shop in Good Station Road. Mr MATHEWS had a chicken-run and what then seemed to be an enormous chicken house. As a small boy, I used to delight at collecting eggs from the laying boxes. The MATHEWS has a son Jim who lived at Oxted with his wife and two sons. Mrs MATHEWS, also known as Maff, became a great friend of our family and in fact a stand-in mother to me, especially during my brother’s early years. At one time the MATHEWS had two dogs – a Sealyham named Rex but known by children as Rekker. Their other dog was a Dachshund named Timmy, an appropriate name as he seemed rather timid and not particularly fond of noisy, boisterous children”.

73 Ravenswood Avenue, Cambria – Maurice INGERFIELD

The GRO has a birth at Tonbridge in 1931/4 for Maurica A INGERFIELD, mother GIBSON, and a marriage at Tonbridge in 1956/1 for Maurice G SKINNER and Pauline M SKINNER. The 8 Janury 1954 Courier reported, ‘The engagement is announced for Maurice Albert, only son of Mr and Mrs Albert G Ingerfield of 73 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells and Pauline Mary, only daughter of Mr and Mrs Ernest Skinner of “The Rose and Crown”, Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells.’

An Ancestry family tree shows Maurice’s father was Albert George INGERFIELD, born 24 July 1897, baptised 28 November 1897 at Wadhurst, the son of Mary Elizabeth and George INGERFIELD (the youngest of 12 children) of Wadhurst, and died on 27 March 1989 while living at 73 Ravenswood Avenue. The tree shows his mother was Lilian Edith Amy GIBSON, born 16 July 1902 at Witley, Surrey and died 1980/2 Eastbourne. The 18 April 1980 Courier reported, ‘On 8 April 1980, peacefully in hospital, Lilian Ingerfield aged 77 years of 73 Ravenswood Avenue...’ The tree shows Maurice is descended from John INGERFIELD (1809-1856) of Lamberhurst.

The 3 May 1929 Courier reported, ‘The wedding took place at Langton Green church on Saturday of Miss Lilian E A Gibson of The Lodge, Rust Hall House, and Mr Albert G Ingerfield, son of Mr and Mrs G Ingerfield of 150 St James Road, Tunbridge Wells...’

The 7 September 1962 Courier reported Albert’s retirement (picture right) ‘Mr Albert Ingerfield of 73 Ravenswood Avenue has now retired after 49 years with the Maidstone & District bus company and its predecessor the Autocar Company. He started in 1913 when the buses were still pulled by horses and the fare from Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells was a penny. The Autocar Company had the monopoly with its five little buses in Woodbury Park Road; soon it was locked in rivalry with the new Red Car and Victor companies. Mr Ingerfield can remember exciting races round the town to pick up each other’s customers at the bus stop – “Grand fun,” he says. But then buses were unreliable. Twelve MPH was a good average speed, with free-wheeling going down all the hills and always the chance that the propellor shaft would burst up through the floor. Shortly before all the companies were incorporated in the Maidstone and District group, Mr Ingerfield gave up driving to become assistant crew foreman at the garage. He has been crew foreman for the last few years.’

The 4 May 1979 Courier pictured Albert and Lilian (right) and reported, ‘A meeting on a bus more than 50 years ago for the driver and a passenger was celebrated on Saturday at a surprise golden wedding party for Albert and Lilian Ingerfield of 73 Ravenswood Avenue. Mrs Ingerfield, 77, was a short-hand typist for the Courier. After a two and a half year courtship, they married at Langton church on April 27...’

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr and Mrs Bert Englefield had a son whose name escapes me. Bert was a bus driver for the Maidstone & District Bus Company.

74 Ravenswood Avenue, Woodview – Jean TAYLOR

The 1939 Register shows Jean M TAYLOR was born on 9 April 1932 and the 24 March 1933 Courier shows, ‘Jean Mary Taylor, Upper Stone Street, Tunbridge Wells, aged 10 months.’ a new member of the Pea-Nut Club. The only Jean Mary TAYLOR birth at the GRO in 1932/2 is at West Bromwich, Staffordshire, mother EVANS.

The GRO has a marriage at Tonbridge in 1955/2 for Jean M TAYLOR and Frank PACKHAM, and PACKHAM births, mother TAYLOR, at Tonbridge in 1957/2 for Sandra J, 1959/2 for Linda M and 1961/3 for Amanda E PACKHAM.

The 15 April 1955 Courier reported, ‘St Barnabas Scouts formed a guard of honour on Monday when their Scoutmaster, Mr Frank Packham, son of Mr and Mrs E F Packham of Lower Flat, 4 Sandock Road, Tunbridge Wells married Miss Jean Mary Taylor, daughter of Mr and Mrs S C Taylor of 74 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells at St Barnabas Church...Mr Anthony WHITEHORN was best man.’

The 22 August 1975 Courier reported, ‘The wedding took place on Saturday at the Baptist Tabernacle, Tunbridge Wells of Miss Sandra Packham, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs F Packham of 1 Rossdale, Tunbridge Wells, and Mr Robert Marshall, eldest son of Mr and Mrs L Marshall of Riverdale House, Chartham...In attendance were....and Linda and Amanda Packham (sisters of the bride)...’, (picture right).

The 1939 Register shows Jean’s father Arthur C TAYLOR, born on 3 February 1898 (working as a ‘letterpress printer’s machinist minder’, and her mother Alice K TAYLOR born 10 September 1887, but I cannot find a GRO record of their marriage. The 1921 Census shows Arthur, single, aged 23 years, living with his parents at 8 Rochdale Road, Tunbridge Wells and working as a ‘printer’s machinist (letterpress cylinder and platn)’ for Albion Press, Funell Road, Tunbridge Wells. The 31 May 1957 Courier announced in the Deaths column, ‘TAYLOR – On May 26th, Arthur Charles, beloved husband of “Kit” of 74 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, aged 59.’ The GRO has a death at Maidstone in 1970/3 for Alice Kathleen TAYLOR, born 10 September 1886 (the 1939 register says 10 September 1887).

The 24 November 1967 Courier advertised 74 Ravesnwood Avenue being sold by auction on 3 December.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr and Mrs TAYLOR and their daughter Jean, Bert worked in ‘The Print’.

76 Ravenswood Avenue – Pat, Don and Gordon BROWN

The GRO has births at Tonbridge in 1933/3 for Patricia Ann Margaret BROWN, and her older brothers, in 1922/1 for Donald C I BROWN and 1929/4 for Gordon D A BROWN, mother GREEN.

The 10 July 1953 Courier reported, ‘The wedding of Mr Gordon David Arthur Brown, son of Mr and Mrs W Brown of 76 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells and Miss Gwendoline Anne Norman, daughter of Mr and Mrs E E Norman of 14 Farncombe Road, Tunbridge Wells, was at Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells on Saturday...Her attendants, Miss Christine Norman and Miss Pat B rown...Best man was Mr D Brown.’

The 23 April 1954 Courier reported, ‘The engagement is announced between Anthony, only son of Mr and Mrs Whitehorn, 30 Auckland Road, Tunbridge Wells, and Patricia, daughter of Mr and Mrs Brown, 76 Ravenswood Avenue, Tunbridge Wells.’ The GRO has a marriage at Tonbridge in 1956/3 for Patricia A M BROWN and Anthony H WHITEHORN, and a birth at Tonbridge in 1963/3 for Lisa H WHITEHORN, mother BROWN.

The 8 June 1979 Courier reported the visit of the BBC’s Radio One Roadshow to the town on 7 June. Disc-jockey Simon Bates. Disc-jockey Simon Bates presented the two and a half-hour programme from the Calverley Grounds, and the paper published this picture of Pat Brown’s daughter Lisa Whitehorn of Coniston Avenue, Tunbridge Wells, asking Simon Bates for a request for friends and relatives.

Electoral registers for 2002-2018 show Patricia A M and Anthony WHITEHORN living at 24 Leneda Drive, Tunbridge Wells and for 2018-2022, Anthony living there on his own.

Alan DANE (70 Ravenswood Avenue): “Mr Bill Brown & Mrs. Also a daughter Pat.”

Stuart Heasman, 56 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured in the 9 February 1968 Courier when he was the subject of an article about his love of France (above right), click on the image for a full-page display – photo thanks Courier.

Extract from the TV page of the 28 September 1985 Nottingham Evening Post mentioning Stuart Heasman (56 Ravenswood Avenue), appearing in one of Alan Whicker’s programs about Brits who have emigrated to the USA

Julia Mantz, 65 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured in the summer of 1963 – photo thanks Carol Campbell nee Smith.

The 9 October 1981 Courier published this picture above the caption, ‘Members of Speldhurst Round table are shown the new radio microphone by engineer Mickey Morris (right). Pictured from left are David Mantz, Paul Boorman, Tim Dack, Peter Smith and chairman Bob Crance.’. See text for story – photo thanks Courier.

The ‘Four Rascals’ pictured about 1949 (l to r) David Joy, 68 Ravenswood Avenue, Christopher Stace and Clive Stace, 104 Ravenswood Avenue, and Bob Joy, 68 Ravenswood Avenue – photo thanks Clive Stace.

David Joy, 68 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured in the 22 March 1957 Courier, see text – photo thanks Courier.

The 29 September 1969 Courier, under the heading ‘Recognise Anyone?’, published this picture of Paddock Wood School about 1904. Nelson Joy, 68 Ravenswood Avenue, is third from the right in the second row up. See text for story, (click on the photo for a full page display) – photo thanks Courier.

Alan Dane, 70 Ravenswood Avenue, aged 13 in 1953 (left) and his brother Brian aged 10 in 1955, as I remember them! – photos thanks Alan Dane.

Albert Ingerfield, 73 Ravenswood Avenue, and Lilian Gibson wedding – photo thanks Courier.

The 7 September 1962 Courier reported the retirement of Albert Ingerfield, 73 Ravenswood Avenue, with this picture, see text – photo thanks Courier.

Albert and Lilian Ingerfield, 73 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured in the 4 May 1979 Courier that reported their golden wedding party – photo thanks Courier.

Sandra Packham, daughter of Jean Taylor, 74 Ravenswood Avenue, and Robert Marshall wedding – photo thanks Courier.

Lisa Whitehorn, daughter of Patricia Brown, 76 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured in the 8 June 1979 Courier with disc-jockey Simon Bates when the BBC’s Radio One Roadshow visited the town on 7 June, see text – photo thanks Courier.

(l to r) Ricky McCarthey, Western Road; Stuart Heasman, 56 Ravenswood Avenue; Tim Page, 40 Ravenswood Avenue and Rodney ? in Grosvenor Park about 1956.

Bob Joy (McBride) (top) and David Joy (top right), 68 Ravenswood Avenue, pictured when they were young, and (right) about 1944, and (above) in their military cadet uniforms with two smaller boys – does anyone recognise them. The picture was taken by the side of their house showing next door 70 Ravenswood Avenue with the original chestnut paling fence between, and (probably) 59 Ravenswood Avenue in the background – photos thanks Peter Joy. Right: David Joy in the top class at St Barnabas Primary School in 1949 – photo thanks Clive Stace.

Bob McBride (Joy) with his motor-cycle (top) and outside 68 Ravenswood Avenue in SAS uniform in the 1980s – photo Peter Joy.

Nelson and Ethel Joy outside 68 Ravenswood Avenue in the mid-1960s with two of their grandsons, probably their son Bills son’s. You can see 13 and 14 (now 1 and 2) Lipscombe Road behind them on the right and 78 Ravenswood Avenue on the left – photo thanks Peter Joy.