Margaret (Dennis) Pipe

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I was born at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester on the 21st June 1947 to John and Phyllis Dennis, a year before the NHS was created.

Mum said it was also the longest day in another way. When I was born she was 38 years old and had to travel about 20 miles from Testwood to Winchester by taxi which broke down along the journey to hospital with mum in labour.

I was brought up in Sutton Road, Testwood by my mum and dad. My dad died in February 1955. I went to Lydlynch Infants School, mum used to take me to school on her bike which had a seat fitted on the back. In 1952 we were given a Coronation spoon, which I still have. I then went onto Ringwood Road Junior School and while I was there it changed it’s name to Abbotswood, then in 1958, onto Testwood Secondary Modern School in Testwood Lane.

In 1959 mum decided we should move to Caerphilly in Wales where her family lived, she had been in contact with her younger sister Olwen who wanted mum to run her hotel (the Greenhill) - we left Testwood on June 9th 1959. Aunty Olwen had bought a newsagent/tobacconist shop in the Ely area of Cardiff on Cowbridge Road West.

In September 1959 I went to Gwindy Girls School, Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly, starting again in year one as the school set-up was different in Wales..

As far as I can remember we lived there for about 18 months and then when a cousin left her rented cottage in Quarry Street, Nantgarw in 1961, to move up to the council estate mum took over the cottage, which meant I had to move to a school on Stow Hill, Treforest, Pontypridd, and that’s where I stayed until I left school in 1963.

After leaving school in 1963 I went for a few interviews and got a job in E. G. Howell Chemist in Taff’s Well. The pharmacist was a Mr Williams and his wife, a part time lady called Mrs Lant and another assistant Gillian, she was a bit of a bully.

One day I took Mrs Lant home with me at dinner time, I don’t know what was said between her and mum, but a week or so later mum visited the chemist and went to talk to Mr and Mrs Williams. After mum left Gillian, the other assistant, was called into the pharmacy section, the door closed and I think she was read the riot act, I didn’t have any trouble from her after that.

Very often we would get a visit from the brothers Deryck and Malcolm Howell, they also had a factory which was called BCB (Brown’s Cough Bottle) Ltd., which I think was on the Newport Road side of Cardiff, and they had another pharmacy shop in Queen Street.

Mum arranged for me to go to a Commercial College in Cardiff so I left the chemist and went to study shorthand and typing. One day I went into the Cardiff shop and Mr Deryck happened to be there, he asked me if I was working then offered me a Saturday job until I left college.

I went to work at the Glove Factory on Pontygwindy Road, Caerphilly then to the Wales Gas Conversion Unit at Cherry Orchard, Cefn Onn, a job which consisted of me driving to the gas shops filling out forms stating the address, the appliances they had and entering the appliance codes. I travelled all over South Wales until about May 1971 when I left.

From 1974 to 1983 I had various jobs until I moved back to Southampton in 1983 got a job with Hampshire Constabulary and was with them until I retired in 2009.