Gateacre & Belle Vale in Old Photographs

[mike]

Hello All,

A new book - 'Gateacre & Belle Vale' by Beryl Plent & Mike Chitty, ISBN 978 0 7524 5069 8 - has just been published by The History Press. Compiled on behalf of the Gateacre Society, it contains over 200 black-and-white images, complete with captions, covering Gateacre, Belle Vale, Netherley and Woolton Hill.

You can read all about the book on the special section of the Gateacre Society's website at
www.liverpool.ndo.co.uk/gatsoc/books/index.html

If you follow the 'View the Contents List' link, you'll find a list of all the buildings and people featured in the book. Or follow the 'Buy the Book' link for a list of stockists.

If you have any comments or questions about the book, please post them here.

Regards,

Mike

[chrisyoung]

Mike,

Quite honestly I don't know if I should be insulted (given your unpreparedness to answer eMails), disgusted (that you as an administrator have only made 2 posts) or impressed (that you should use the forum as an advertising vehicle for your book).

The concept of the Gateacre Forum is fantastic and it is clear that many people have been able to rediscover their families pasts and indeed re-establish contacts with old friends and neighbours via the site.

The down side of the site is that it would appear to be something created on a whim and not marketed to it's full potential. You have a potential audience of many thousands out there but if you don't put anything into the the project then you certainly won't get anything out of it.

I am moving back to UK from Germany this weekend and look forward to seeing the village again after a 25 year exile in Germany.

I will not, however, be looking to sponsor the hostelries which have used the forum as a form of free advertising. I want to meet once more those people who contributed to our being so happy in Gateacre, not those who would like to line their pockets.

[mike]

I have waited a few days before responding publicly to Chris’s post. I emailed him privately when his message first appeared, in the hope that he would be prepared to explain or modify his comments. But, as yet, I have not had a reply; possibly because he has been in the process of moving from Germany to the UK.

I would like to make the following points:

1. I have never received any emails from Chris Young. If anyone else has been emailing me without success, please let me know. (My contact details are given on the Gateacre Society website: www.gatsoc.org.uk ). Over the past 10 years I have dealt with Gateacre-related emails from many hundreds of people, either answering them myself or passing them on to others.

2. I have been maintaining the Gateacre Society’s website for the past 10 years, and editing its Newsletter for longer than that. The Gateacre Chat message board was added to the website about 5 years ago. It was not intended as a mouthpiece for the Society, but as a facility to enable Gateacre residents past and present to communicate. It was obvious from the emails I was receiving, up until that time, that lots of people wanted to make contact with old friends, share their childhood memories, etc.

3. I noted, last month, that questions were being asked about the book ‘Gateacre & Belle Vale’ on Gateacre Chat, and it therefore seemed sensible to direct people to the pages on our website where the details could be found. The book has been very much a community effort: the Acknowledgements page lists over 70 people who have contributed photographs, memories, etc. Beryl and I have spent a great deal of time producing it, on behalf of the Gateacre Society, over the past few years. It is the Society which will benefit financially from retail sales at our meetings, events, etc. The Gateacre Society is a registered charity and all of us who are involved with it are volunteers.

4. If anyone has any evidence of people abusing the message board, please let me know. And if you have any suggestions for improving or publicising Gateacre Chat, please send an email to the Gateacre Society - or post a message on the ‘General’ board.

Regards,

Mike

[ken]

Hello Mike,
It is a wonderful book, and many thanks to all involved; so much info and such a lot of pics I haven't seen before. I think this book, plus the Belle Vale book, and the few pics of old Lee Park held by the Record Office, form a really comprehensive portrait of old Gateacre area at long last. But I'm sure there are more pics out there!
I notice there are a number of copies of the new book now on Ebay, so any question of making money should perhaps be aimed in that direction.
I don't see how the society could be publicized any more than it is, because of its very nature. Anyone interested in Gateacre will find it on-line, and so many people have contributed memories and answers to questions. I have certainly learned more about my old stomping ground than I ever thought possible, thanks to Gateacre Chat and ex-pats around the world,

Regards,
Ken

[andrew]

I too am enjoying the book. I was very interested to learn that 8 Gateacre Brow ceased to be the residence of the minister of Gateacre Chapel in 1961 - my dad was therefore the last Minister to reside there, as we moved away in 1961 when I was 5!

I can't say that I remember Winnie McAndrew at the Post Office, but my parents often spoke of "The girls at the post office" - does anyone know how long Evelyn Dykin and Claire Crinnon had worked there? Winnie was Postmistress for 36 years when it closed in 1978, and I have a card somewhere sent to me when I was born in 1956, signed "The girls at the post office"

My parents knew the Davenports well, and kept in touch after we moved away, and I can remember them (the Davenports) visiting us in Bristol many years later - probably in the early 1970's. I recall that they had a disabled daughter called, I think, Betty...?

Do I recall correctly that the newsagents on the 'Brow next to no 8 was at one time called "Daily's" ? I remember that they had a cat when we lived at no 8, and i wanted one, but my parents said I would have to wait until we moved. They kept their promise and I had a cat for my 5th birthday, and have never been without at least one since.

[coxhead]

A nostalgic book, very interesting, enjoyed it immensely.

[brownie]

No pictures of Amestery Court School, disappointed I am.