Memories & Photos: 1940-1949

My name is Ron McVey and I live in London, Ontario. I was born at the maternity home at Poulton-cum-Spital. I was illegitimate and I have no idea who my father was.  My mother was Winifred McVey.

From 1929 until 1946 I lived at 22 Napier Road, New Ferry and went to Grove Street and to New Chester Road secondary schools. Later, I served my time as a maintenance engineer at Stork Margarine works known to most people then as Planters. 

During WW2 my grandmother and I were the only ones that lived at 22 Napier Road.  My mother had married and moved to Birmingham, and my uncle Tom married and moved to Bromborough Pool. My uncle Jim was called up to the army, but spent most of his time in a  sanitarium for TB patients. I was 11 and a half in October 1940 and I had a half day off school so I took a bus to Eastham Woods to look for conkers in order to soak them in vinegar to help harden them up and hopefully win a game of conkers. There were few decent ones to be found so I returned home. As I was getting off the bus at the toll bar the bus conductor told all the exiting passengers to hurry home as he had heard a plane droning in the clouds all afternoon and he was sure it was German. Sure enough, not long after I got off the bus, the air raid sirens were screaming away. I hurried down New Ferry Road, and I was half way up  Napier Road and saw a woman pushing a pram on the opposite side with a small child holding on to it's side. We both heard the rat-tat-tat of gun fire and the woman ran screaming up the street while I looked up and saw a Hurricane fighter plane on the tail of a Junkers 88.  The German plane seemed to be just skimming the chimney pots on Merseybank Road, heading south.  It may even have crashed into the river. About a minute later I saw the Hurricane do a Victory Roll.

My mother used to take in washing for gypsies and others who had their caravans on the waste land by Wallace Pit, from time to time.  I also remember seeing an elephant being walked down New Ferry Road - I think the circus was visiting the area.

My mother worked at several jobs at New Ferry Swimming Baths and was a Walls ice cream salesperson at times.

Going towards the Toll Bar from Napier Road, was a dairy with what I thought was a large yard, then a builders yard known by everyone as Putty Hugh's. I was sent there for nails and putty whenever our windows needed fixing. A little further up before Hope Hall lived a very kind Missionary lady who would play an organ in her front room. If anyone in the neighbourhood got sick she would send them fruit.

My Great Grandfather had a boat yard on the Pool by the ancient Courthouse.  My Grandfather, who I cannot remember, died young from eating poisoned shellfish from the Mersey.

After having an argument with my uncle I went to live with an aunt in Brownlow Road for a few weeks; then I lived with Uncle Tom, his wife Cis and daughter Anne at 2 South View Bromborough Pool (long demolished). I lived there for about three years, then was a boarder at a couple of places before I married a Rock Ferry girl and moved to Canada in March 1952 where I have lived ever since.