Middlegate area, Great Yarmouth

When the Middlegate area was being rebuilt there were two major biulding firms who had the contract for the work. H.A.Holmes and W.Ames, my father was a driver for Holmes and I age 16yrs worked for Ames. I started at the Norfolk plant hire based in the old tramways building at the bottom of Gorleston high street. We were the only building firm on Middlegate who had a tall lifting crane this gave us the speed to finish the flats and masionettes quicker than H.A.Holmes. My next job was building water towers and laying water pipe lines all around Suffolk. We did small jobs of work around Yarmouth. One building we worked on was opposite the general post office on the Quay opposite the Townhall I think it was a bank? My last job for Ames was on flats and houses near the technical school in Gorleston, I then had my call up papers for national service but thats another story.

Colin – have only just picked up that you worked for W. Ames but you’ve triggered some incredible memories thanks. My father was a Manager for W.Ames in Deneside when Tony Beaumont was MD and a couple of Plattern (?) brothers worked there. Another lovely guy was Jack or Eric (?) Wright. H.A Homes was further down towards the Methodist Church end . We lived at No 1 next door to BHS Goods Entrance. We were quite enterprising .and our backyard became a circus (our terrier dog Pat was a lion) a vet surgery (Pat was our first ‘victim’) a boxing tournament (Pat was a nuisance wanting to join in) a Tarzen show (re-enter Pat the Lion!) and a Football Match. Where necessary, our gang (my brother Brian, Ralph Lloyd, Terry Churchyard, Mickie Warnes and I ) doubled a number of roles. We used to put handwritten signs outside the front advertising today’s activity and would wait for Ames’ staff at lunchtime and entice them in for each from which we would always pick up a few pence for the entertainment. Our biggest fan was a Mr McFaddion - even after my brother Brian gave him a black eye during a boxing bout! Next door to us was a delapidated building also owned by Ames and which had an upper door opening overlooking our backyard. I can still see a tall scrawny young Ames’ carpenter named Teddy Head watching some of our shows for free through his heavily magnified specs. But he did generously egg us on when we were (frequently) playing footie, making us believe we were as good as Stanley Matthews!! I worked for Ames on the Woodbridge/Bentwaters USAF housing contract until my father gave me the sack because I was ( ‘obsessed’ – his words) passionate about becoming a musician – the best thing he ever did for me.