Conway White has sent in photos of his father
Richard who trained aboard HMS Conway in 1933.
See the 1930s page.
You can also have a closer look at the famous
Okell's shop where mums used to buy all they
needed for their babies.
See the 1950s page.
You can
read the e-book
about the Bromborough Ju88 incident in 1940.
MEMORIES AND PHOTOS - 2000s
THE NFRAG SHOP, 39 BEBINGTON ROAD c.2001
When New
Ferry Regeneration Action Group first started in 1999, the group wanted
to find a way to consult with local people to ascertain what residents
and businesses thought about New Ferry and what they would like to see
happen. Founder member of NFRAG, Mel Roberts, volunteered to run
the shop which the group opened with funding given by Wirral Borough
Council.
The driving
force behind NFRAG was Mel, his colleague Arthur Waller (who became the
first chairman of NFRAG), local businessman Dave Gregory. They
were ably assisted by resident Marion Sloane and were given support by
local councillors Bob Moon (Lib) and Anna McLaughlin (Lab). South
Wirral MP Ben Chapman was also instrumental in helping NFRAG's first
major project win approval, the installation of CCTV cameras around the
shopping centre.
In the top
photo, Arthur Waller is seen posing outside the shop shortly after it
opened in 2001, whilst in the second picture below, both Arthur and Mel
can be seen at work on the community's behalf. The shop closed in
2004.
NFRAG was
Mel Roberts' passion. Not a native "Ferryite" (as he called them),
he spent over 25 happy years living in New Ferry, during the latter of
which he helped to set up the Butterfly Park and took pride in being
known locally as "The Butterfly Man". Mel died in November 2002,
whilst his close friend Dave Gregory - another NFRAG stalwart - also died 12 months later.
They are both a huge loss to this community.
ALDI STORE, BEBINGTON ROAD c.2004
When Aldi
first approached Wirral Council with their proposal to build a store in
New Ferry back in 2002, the design was the usual standard building
thrown up almost anywhere. However, because of the new store's
proximity to the architecturally sensitive Port Sunlight Village, Aldi
were forced to redraw the plans and produce a much more sympathetic
design befitting of such a location. The new design featured brick
and stone detailing to make it sympathetic to its important
surroundings. If only all developers could be forced to make such
concessions, then maybe we wouldn't be so critical of most modern
architecture.
THE GREAT EASTERN c.2005
A last look
at the Great Eastern pub before it closed down around 2007. The
building remained boarded up for several years, the last operators
having stripped out and sold off the last of the surviving relics
purchased from the breaking up of Brunel's SS Great Eastern on the shore
behind it in 1888/9; because the artefacts had all been removed, English
Heritage refused to list the building, which was eventually demolished
in 2010 by Worksharp Eco Homes who plan to build 10 semi-detached houses
on the site. As yet, they haven't done so - and this
important site is now a mass of overgrown weeds.
LAST DAYS OF THE TRAVELLERS REST PUBLIC HOUSE, NEW FERRY
ROAD October 2001
In 2006, the
former Travellers Rest pub, as seen on the
1910s page, was converted into a row of
new cottages (the existing building became three cottages, whilst two
new ones were built to the right). The pub had been empty and
boarded up for many years. Here it is seen in its final days
before the builders moved in to start work.
Unfortunately, the building work damaged the roots of the lovely tree
seen to the far right which was part of the small garden between New
Ferry Road and the garages. Within a year, the weakened tree
succumbed to the strong winds of the next winter and had to be cut down.
By late 2007, the Council also ripped out the rose bushes which had
grown infront of it. A shameful waste!
LAST DAYS OF THE DELL PRIMARY SCHOOL, Summer
2005
In 2007, the
former Dell Primary School was demolished to make way for new flats.
Many children from the north end of New Ferry went here rather than to
Grove Street. Here we see the school as it was in its final days
before a demolition team moved in to knock it down to make way for yet
more apartments.
NEW FERRY SNOWSTORM
February 2006
Text
and photos
submitted by Mark Anthony Craig, 20th October 2009
"It isn't
often that we get snow in New Ferry, being so close to the sea as we
are. However, February 2006 was an exception when a particularly
heavy blizzard hit (it was the one which the weight of snow sunk the
ferry landing stage at Liverpool's Pier Head). My daughter Shannon
immediately wanted to go out and build a snowman. However, we had
to walk to the postbox in New Ferry Road to post a letter - and in that
time the wind was so bitingly cold in our faces that Shannon quickly
changed her mind and opted to go back indoors by the warm fire. It
was during that trip to the postbox that I took the camera with me and
took these snaps between Shorefields and New Ferry Road."
TALL SHIPS VISIT THE RIVER MERSEY
21July
2008
Shorefields Nature Park is a fantastic location on the western bank
of the River Mersey. It is the largest, flattest area remaining next
to the river and has brilliant views of the river estuary across to
the city of Liverpool. The beach at this location is a designated
Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the importance of its
mudflats to a variety of wildfowl. This short video was filmed
from the cliff top at Shorefields.
LAST DAY OF WOOLWORTHS STORE 27
December 2008
It was a sad
day, not only for New Ferry, but the rest of the country as well when
our much beloved Woolworths stores all closed down for good. Many
people will remember the friendly store in New Ferry, and its helpful
staff. Whatever you needed, Woolies usually had it - and who can
forget having your young children drag you through the toy aisles in the
run up to christmas, and then the end of year sales when the store sold
all those end of lines items. Woolies, we miss you. Today
the shop is Heron Foods.
BROMBOROUGH LANDFILL FIRE
May 2009
In May 2009,
New Ferry and Bromborough residents had a bit of a scare one sunny
weekend afternoon when some extremely misguided local youths sneaked
onto the landfill site and set fire to some of the exposed bitumen
impregnated lining material which BIFFA use as a layer between the
tipped rubbish and clay/topsoil layer.
A massive
plume of black smoke billowed into the sky, temporarily making the
landfill mountain resemble a smoking volcano. The still photo to
the right was taken from the other side of the river at Otterspool.
One New
Ferry resident filmed the unwelcome spectacle from their bedroom window
(see below).
What is
worrying is that if the methane gas being produced by the rotting
rubbish underneath the fire had ignited, there would have been a just a
massive water-filled crater left where the landfill had once been.
There could have been fatalities in the surrounding community when the
tip could have exploded like a massively destructive bomb! And
many homes further afield would have been putting in insurance claims
for broken windows as the least of the damage caused.
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