I live in the USA, but was originally from Southampton. I have attached a photo of my mum and brother.
Now I have what I think is the exact area that the photo was taken some 60 odd years later.
The original photo was taken at the Hutments back in the mid 1950s. I believe it is near Hook Road and Hursley Road.
I am coming to the UK in May of this year and would love to find an approximate area where the Hutments were and take some photos for the family book. What would be the best way to start this?
Related posts:
The Hutments: Could You Help Find Old Neighbours in Chandler’s Ford?
Hi John …
Although not personally connected with The Hutments, my parents had friends who lived there (Helen & Fred Stone), Fred working for Vicker’s Armstrong in Hursley and later, Helen and my mother at ‘Hendy’s’, assembling Spifire parts …
You are correct, in as much that The Hutments were in Hursley Road, between Beechwood Crescent and Hook Road … there was a pedestrian walkway off Hursley Road, which, looking at a current map of Chandler’s Ford, was roughly where Hocombe Wood Road is now … from memory, there was vehicle access from Hook Road, and possibly even from Beechwood Crescent, although that may only have been another walkway …
Doug Clews
As a matter of History, The Hutments were not actually in Chandler’s Ford, as the whole of the western side of Hursley Road and including the northern side of Baddesley Road, Beechwood Crescent and Hook Road were in the Parish of Ampfield … further reading can be found at this link … The Village of Ampfield in which Vickers Armstrong and The Hutments get a mention in the section relating to WW2.
Doug Clews
In support of this, here is the address of a resident of The Hutments …
DIAPER of 38 The Hutments, Hook-road, Ampfield, Hampshire
Doug
I spent my childhood in Hiltingbury Road, and I live in the same house no (no.27). I had a friend Ian Cawte, who lived with his parents at “The Hutments”. I remember it well, and recall it every time I go past. I would gladly take you there in May.
Barry Goater
I remember the hutments when I was very young. I remember singing nightingales and my first ever nightjar and picking lots of raspberries.
Hello John Rolfe,
Lynne (Lynette) Baker here, now known as Lynette King. I also remember the Hutments very well. So good to know you are around. Where do you live now? How can I get in touch with you? Is it ok to give you my email address?
Lynette King
Hello John,
I’m Peter Russell and my family lived at No.42 on the south service road, 1947-1955 (see my earlier postings). That’s a lovely black-and-white photo you posted. I reckon the location is the entry from Hook Road at the NW corner of the estate. The service road rose slightly towards Hook Road and that seems evident in the photo. If that’s correct: (1) the shadows suggest an early morning in summer, (2) I can remember messing around in the roadside ditch that was to the left of your brother! I think this road entry point is one of the few remaining recognisable features in the modern estate that replaced the hutments. As far as I recall, there was no direct road entry from Hursley Road onto the southern service road, which stopped just short of the main road. I only remember climbing over a wooded bank at that point.
Do you remember your hutment number? I am trying to find an estate layout plan that shows all the hutment numbers, so I can match the names of tenants to the numbers, but no luck so far. My 96-year-old mother can remember about one quarter to one third of the names of hutment families and keeps recalling more.
Peter Russell
Do you remember the Miller family, we lived at 43. .Your name rings a bell.
My husband lived with his family in a house in Pine Road, facing down Park Road. His father ran an egg packing station which was behind the house, and the Polish Camp was behind there. Hiltingbury Junior School is on land that was part of the camp site. See map
If you go to Google Maps Google Maps, the house is the cream painted one on the right, behind the telegraph pole. The house is an interesting one; although the only external clue to its age now is in the chimneys, it was once “Cuckoo Bushes Farmhouse,” and a map I once saw, dating from the late 17th century, shows it as one of only about 3 buildings in the Chandlers Ford area. My husband tells me they once had to have a hole drilled through the external ground floor wall, and it was several feet thick! It’s a much older and more interesting house than the casual passer by would assume.
Hi Gill Bullen …
I too remember when it was an Egg Packing Station … in my day, it was run by the Arnolds who had 2 sons, Michael, the elder, with whom I was at school, and Christopher … at that time, it was the Co-op Egg Packing Station.
Doug Clews
Hi Terry, and yes, I do remember your parents. Your dad was incredibly neat and chided we children in Canada if we messed up his car. I do not recall the street address in the Hutments. You are correct my mothers name was Jean and you have the rest of the information correct. We did move from England to Newmarket, Canada in June of 1959 and lived there for several years. My dad got a job in the states with Boeing in Media, Pennsylvania and we then immigrated .. Both of my parents have long since passed and my brother Martin passed some years ago. I currently live in Wilmington Delaware as a retired Delaware State Troper and Gregg lives in southern Florida. Sorry it took this long to get back with you, I would like very much to hear from you. My email is tpr3575@comcast.net Tale care… John
I worked at the egg packing station during school holidays when I was 16. £9 per week. Lots of happy memories and lovely co-workers.
Hello John Rolfe,
This is Terry Jones writing, you will remember my father and mother, Leslie and Jean Jones. I was recently doing some research on the Hutments and had a few e-mail exchanges with Peter Russell, about his knowledge of my father and mother. He was asking the number of our home, which I do not know and was wondering if you did. I mentioned my parents knew the Rolfe and Baker families also from the Hutments. If I recall your wife’s name was also Jean and you had 3 sons, Gregory, John and Martin. Didn’t you live in Newmarket for a short while. I can’t remember when you moved to the states. I asked Peter how to post a picture to this website and he didn’t know but indicated you were able to somehow in your most recent post. Where did you and the Baker family live in comparison to our home. Where in the US are you living? I do have a photo of our old home with 2 cars in the driveway, but have no idea as what year and model they were, perhaps you may remember? It would be nice to hear back from you.
Regards,
Terry
Hi Terry Jones …
The only way to get a picture posted on this site is to e-mail to Janet Williams, together with the information about the picture you would like to appear with it and also tell her where you would like the picture to appear … her e-mail address is: janet@chandlersfordtoday.co.uk (see site contact details for further info) …
Keep smiling and keep the posts re the Hutments coming
Doug Clews
Thanks – yes Doug and Terry Jones, you could send me info and / or pictures of the hutments and I’m happy to post them for you. We could link all these hutments posts together. These discussions are beautiful stories with fond memories. Thank you all of the people who have commented and lots of readers truly enjoy reading them.
Keep the stories coming.
Don’t miss this wonderful series: Hook Road Hutments and My Family by Peter Russell: https://chandlersfordtoday.co.uk/hook-road-hutments-and-my-family-by-peter-russell-part-1/
I’m Scott Miller, we lived at no 43
Many thanks for your comment, Scott. Yours is the first comment for many months. If you look at the link by Janet Williams, above, to my three-part posting on the history of the hutments, you’ll see my attempt to map the site layout and attach family names to hutment numbers. I gauged that your No.43 was in the SW corner, but I still need confirmation of positions from original inhabitants. It would also be nice to know your family names for completeness – father, mother and siblings. I can’t say I can recall your family, although we lived just across the service road at No.42, but my mother Ruth Russell would surely have remembered. She told me about one quarter of the estate families but she died two years ago. Did your father work for Vickers in Hursley Park?
Regards,
Peter Russell