1930's White Family

Ivor - In his own words

"South Lodge"

The Battle Abbey Estate became my chilhood playground, and among the fields, lakes, ponds and trees of a bygone world, I grew up to follow in the family's footsteps. My Father, Grandfather, and brother all worked as Gardeners in the Kitchen Garden and all answered to the name of "White" when addressed by their employers, but . . . as the very youngest member of "the Abbey family" I was on first-name terms with Evelyn Harbord and Margaret Jacoby who leased the Abbey and the world famous School for Girls.

Educated at Battle and Langton School, I trudged up and down this Lower Lake twice a day from the age of five until I left school at the age of 14. Half way up on the left were Sutton's the Butchers, White's the Tailors, and Oliver's the Printers. Working for Mr Sutton I did a Saturday morning butcher's round with a huge Tradesman's bicycle full to the brim with meat orders which I delivered to as far as Telham southwards, and Netherfield to the north, and all points in between, for 1s/6d (and occasionally a pound of Sausages, if there were any left over at the end of my round.)

"Lower Lake" from a postcard collection by Ken Clarke On the other side of the road was Mr Stace's Grocery Shop where one could buy sherbert dabs, changing balls, and liquorice bootlaces, and on certain days very cheap bags of "broken biscuits".

The Bus fare for children from Battle to Hastings, Wellington Square was four old-pennies each way, or three old-pennies to Silverhill, so my One Shilling and Six Old Pennies got me to a choice of the six Cinemas in Hastings, and there was enough change for an Ice Cream and a packet of Crisps in the Interval. Sometimes I would visit two Cinemas, and walk home.

I loved going to the Cinemas. Hence my first real job . . Projectionist at the Senlac Cinema, Battle, East Sussex Of course I had to spend many weeks just re-winding films before I was allowed to operate a projector, but after a year I was able to run the whole show un-aided, and often did, during those dark dangerous days of 1941-44. While my Chief Operator Mr.Cyril Parslow was carrying out his Royal Observer Corps duties at Pevensey, spotting, identifying, plotting and reporting enemy plane positions to local airfields where our Spitfires and Hurricanes were waiting to intercept them, I would hold the fort at the Senlac during weekdays, and on every second Sunday I would fill in for him at the Winter Garden Cinema in Eastbourne.