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Dissapearing Shops


Guest KeithC

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Thanks for the picture of the ad Springsong. Can we have a copy in the Ludham archive?

I notice that the ad above is for the Ludham Butcher. Presumably, this is England's butchers. They were located to the left of Throwers where the car park now is. They had a lucky escape when an American plane crash landed in the alleyway between the shops.

Nigel

Ludham

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Ludham may seem to be a sleepy sort of place now, but it once had an RAF airfield and an army camp in it. Not surprisingly, it frequently came under attack and had a number of plane crashes.

The brief story of the incident between Throwers and the Butchers was that an American lightning was returning after some outing and it was damaged and tried to land at RAF Ludham. Unfortunately, it did not make it and crashed into the Village ending up in burning wreckage in the middle of the high street. Two locals were given medals for bravery when they rescued the pilot.

Nigel

Ludham

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That would indeed be a "lucky escape" for the premises concerned. By Lightning do you mean the British designed fighter / interceptor which was basically just a massive rocket with a bloke strapped to the top and wings sticking out the sides? These things used to practice over my house when I was little. I've included a picture taken at the museum at RAF Hendon last year.

2006londond215hendonrafmuseum7.jpg

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Thanks Barry

With reference to the plane crash, there is a booklet about it giving all the details. There is also this website http://www.station131.co.uk/55th/Pilots ... J%20Lt.htm

You will see the Lightning was a Lockheed P38.

Lt Goudelock was the pilot. He returned to Ludham on several occasions from his home in Canada and only died recently.

Nigel

Ludham

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  • 7 months later...

The wartime lightnings were twin boom, twin engine fighters. I know what you mean about the other type, what a racket , they used to be based at RAF Binbrook, near where I live. You couldn't hear the telly when the bloody things went over ! :shocked

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
Guest JARobinson
The wartime lightnings were twin boom, twin engine fighters. I know what you mean about the other type, what a racket , they used to be based at RAF Binbrook, near where I live. You couldn't hear the telly when the bloody things went over ! :shocked

P.38s right? They're pretty large fighter-bombers that carried surprisingly large payloads (such as for example, 2x1000lb bombs), and generally more fuel (possibly external tanks) and so one coming down in a street would have been a very catastrophic thing to happen indeed. Not that any aircraft would usually attempt landing without first dumping ordinance...

lockheed-p-38-lightning-1.jpg

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  • 8 months later...

hi,

does anyone remember the little shop at st olaves bridge? moored there once in the eighties in a hired miss moore 24 freeman, needed a box of matches. on entering the shop we were confronted by this old grumpy chap that preceeded to give us complete run down of every item in this little shop! He said in broad norfolk-We got,milk,eggs, sugar,jam tarts,white bread,brown bread,etc on and on he went..when we asked for sunblest bread, he got really angry saying-no! and we dont need no pretty pictures on it! we brought the matches.. :lol:

we had moored at the free 24 hour moorings near the shop and he kept coming down and looking in the windows!! :?:lol: reckon he was spying on our baked beans to see where theyd come from!!

ah happy days!

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Guest Chrismbooth

Two of the shops mentioned:- the one at Hickling I remember the chap who ran it in the late 50s-early 60s, he always word=e a cowboy type 'Sheriff' star shaped badge, and we always called him ' The sheriff'. the shop was called 'the Heath stores' from memory.

The one at St Olaves, in a different era, the 1980s I think, was 'Dusty' Miller, who like myself had a liking for early Motorcycles, one evening tied up on his mooring he helped me with a funnel to pour some oil into the engine of our hired 'Moorhen' The bike conversation got around to my love of Morgans, and he said he had an engine in his shed.

Before venturing into the shed, he picked up a gallon polly jar of Sherry and a couple of pint mugs, after half an hour of turning over much old motorcycle junk, he said " we need a drink now" and filled the 2 pint mugs with Sherry! after consuming his, and me sipping carefully, we found the engine, which I tried to buy from him, but to no avail. He showed me many more bits of old bike, and had another pint of Sherry, I just managed my first one, and staggered back to the "Moorhen". The next morning in the shop a customer was trying to buy some ham, Dusty seemed most reluctant to admit that he did not have any, and tried very hard to sell the customer some cheese. but the man wanted ham and was not going to be fobbed off with cheese, eventually Dustys wife came into the shop and served the man with the ham!

lots of old shops gone, how about the 'other' Curtis Brother at Thurne, he was a bit Grumpy too.

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.... The next morning in the shop a customer was trying to buy some ham, Dusty seemed most reluctant to admit that he did not have any, and tried very hard to sell the customer some cheese. but the man wanted ham and was not going to be fobbed off with cheese, eventually Dustys wife came into the shop and served the man with the ham!

lots of old shops gone, how about the 'other' Curtis Brother at Thurne, he was a bit Grumpy too.

Sounds more like Arkwright's Store to me! :lol:

What a great tale, a shame to have lost such characters!

Dan

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest DAYTONA-BILL

I remember the little shop at St Olaves in 77. My mate and i had a Seamaster 25 from Buccaneer boats of Brundall, and stopped at the moorings right beside the shop. I remember back then it had a lot of old vintage motorcycles in the back room, and you could see them as plain as day through the window. But i never checked it out in 79 when we stopped there. I wonder what became of the bikes. I don`t think the shop was still trading, but the bikes were very interresting. Regards ............ Neil.

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  • 4 months later...

How odd is that Carol ? When I saw your photo I thought I have that photo as well so here we are my mother and brother in 1962.

Just for good measure here are two of the store at St. Olaves the earlier one from 1939 the later I think early sixties. I think this store may still be open, perhaps one of you south river men/women will know.

post-133-136713774216_thumb.jpeg

post-133-136713774224_thumb.jpeg

post-133-136713774237_thumb.jpeg

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  • 2 months later...

Here's another one for you ... this was A.L.Parkinson's Yacht Provisions store and cafe which stood beside the river at Ludham Bridge, pictured c1930s ..... it looks rather different there today! I don't actually know anything about this place, or when it disappeared ..... maybe Nigel (Woodwose) can help?

post-500-136713791009_thumb.jpg

Carol

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Hi Carol

I will ask Mike Fuller next time I see him. I expect he will know. I wonder if it went when the bridge was fortified as part of the WWII defences?

The area round Ludham Bridge has changed a lot since those days. The public staithe was downstream of the bridge. When the new bridge was built it was on a different alignment and took part of the old staithe. The current staithe is in the area shown in the photograph.

Nigel

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi Carol

We discussed Parkinson's shop at the Ludham Archive Group meeting today. The feeling is that the shop was removed in the early 1950s, no later than 1952. One of our members has taken this away for further research and I will get back to you if this brings any results.

Nigel

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