(Brian and Josephine Dallimore, Ted Briscoe, Stan Jones and Frank Havard in conversation with John Hanson, February 2000)
'I was the first of us to come here to Pinnocks Way - in 1956', says Ted
Briscoe. 'Yes, the estate was all finished and occupied then, apart from the
maisonettes and shop which came later.' All had been on the District
Council's waiting list and came with young families. Frank in Kennington and
Stan, who married a Botley girl, in West Oxford.
Brian came from Rose Hill and was working for Boycott Franklin when he met Josephine. They married ('Boycott laid on two cars for your wedding - that was his present to you') and lived with her parents until their growing family earned them a home in Pinnocks Way. Josephine felt 'it was like moving to Oxford'. The estate had street lamps. It was built c.1953.
'Pinnocks Way then was a close community'.
' People helped each other then. You knew everybody'.
'No foreigners then', adds Josephine. Many of the families had come from the
squatter camp of Nissen huts at Tubney. Most of the men worked at the Cowley
factories then. Brian had a job at Pressed Steel, setting out at 6.45am, and
some evenings he ran a hot dog stand at Amersham. Stephen Leavy drove coaches
and claimed he didn't have a day off for years. One had to work long hours to
care for a large family.
Boycott Franklin donated two Nissen huts from Farmoor to the estate. They housed the Sunday School, Youth Club, boxing club and a small library. Stan Jones and Fred Reed were both very active in the community then. There was Prize Bingo on Friday nights - but soft drinks only. In the 1970s a Social Club was built, including a bar. In recent years the Dallimore family has played a leading part in keeping the Club going.
Social life in the 1950s and up to 1969 centred on two Nissen huts brought from Hanney. They were used for whist drives and for dances on Saturday nights. 'You couldn't get a seat at the Saturday night dances,' says Stan. Several of the men dressed in drag at the Saturday dance and provided a skiffle band entertainment. 'On Sundays Roy Cheshire did haircuts there.' There was no licence till 1963/4 when William Palmer, wine retailer at the Parade and District Councillor, helped to gain one.
There was more social activity in those days. The community was more close-knit, closer in age, all families. 80% of the men worked at Pressed Steel or Morris Works at Cowley. They shared cars and a minibus. 'I cycled to Cowley for some years. There'd be thousands of pushbikes on the Cowley Road and at the Works rows and rows of cycle sheds.'
'We were always being called out on strike. It was the management's fault,' say Brian and Stan. Brian left and got a job at Hill End.
'It was a great place to live when it was first built,' says Frank. It was quite easy to mix,' -neighbour help neighbour.'
The new Social Club, now in financial difficulty, was built in July 1969 with the help of a Council grant. About 80 members came for dances and bingo. The club was helped by Bass Charrington. The local shop, run by Ron Lawrence, was built with the flats c.1970. Most shopping was done at the Co-op opposite the Parade in Botley.
There were a few memorable events over the years - the Queen's Silver Jubilee and Prince Charles's wedding. At the Jubilee the events included a wheelbarrow race round Pinnocks Way with half a dozen pit-stops for a bag of crisps and a bottle of fizzy lemonade.
'The community spirit is not what it was,' says Ted. 'Then, if you
said you were going to do something, the women would get together and make
cakes.' 'Too many bed-sits now,' says Stan, 'and more than half the
houses are privately owned.' New families were moved in. 'The youngsters
want something different now,' says Brian.