Andy Dean
We are endebtted to Andy Dean for all of the following fantastic information:
"I was born at my grandparents house 14 Nutley Lane in 1931. I left there in 1933 to move to Portsmouth where Dad was in the navy. We moved back to 14 Nutley Lane in 1939 and subsequently moved to No 14 Nutley Grove [see below] ... this was a tall house at the very end of the Grove ... by this time my grandparents had moved to No. 1 Nutley Lane. Later still, after I had left the nest, my parents moved to 110 Nutley lane. My Grandparents were Edward and Agnes Hurst, their children were Lena, Sue,Will, and Ted. Lena was my mother who married George [Bert] Dean and they lived at 110 Nutley Lane [see below] after the war until they died, they sometimes attended St Phillips church."
 My maternal grandparents, Edward and Agnes Hurst, with sons Will and Ted and daughters Lena [my Mum] and Sue. |
 My parents George [Bert] and Lena Dean [nee; Hurst] taken in the garden of # 110 in 1973 |
Margaret Mills told the Nutley Lane Project about the an air attack by German fighter plane in the war. Andy remembers this well - "I also witnessed that incident ... from the house next door! In fact, only the wall would have separated me from Margaret Howland at that moment because I was living with my grandparents in No 1." Andy recounted the story in the 'Second World War - Memories' section of the excellent Reigate History website from bvp (burnley video productions):
"On another occasion [also when no alert had sounded] I happened to glance down grandmother's garden from the living room of Number 1 Nutley Lane where she had re-located, just as a Messerschmidt 110 fighter-bomber flew by extremely low, ...hedge-hopping we called it...I saw the swastika insignia and the pilot quite distinctly. He then circled and flew over the railway lines with machine-guns and cannons firing at a train. A close friend had a near-miss when one of the cannon shells penetrated the window and lodged in the arm of an easy chair he was sitting in at the time."
Andy also sent us the following photos:
"In the photo of the rear aspect of 14 Nutley Grove - top right area in the distance, is the end of the Parish School which I attended. There was a fence with gaps back of the school nearest home and during the war when the air raid siren sounded I would sometimes flee home through one of those gaps instead of lining up and marching across to the Castle grounds with the rest of the class to take shelter in the Baron's Caves as we usually did - as young as I was I considered it a bit foolish to make the long march from the school down the school steps, along the street to the steps up to the castle grounds, then along to the entrance to the caves ... with German aircraft sometimes passing overhead. Quicker to go home!"
"My father George Albert [Bert] Dean and Mom, Selina Kate [Lena] Dean (nee Hurst) rented 14 Nutley Grove from 1940 until 1949 and, of course, I lived there at that time as I was born in 1931 at number 14 in Nutley LANE. The upper storey front is my bedroom window. Mom and Dad bought 110 Nutley Lane November 11th, 1949 ... for £975! It was sold it April 1986 for nearly £50,000. It's interesting that the buyers were Nick and Lorraine HURST - which was Mum's maiden name!"
Andy has also sent some other photos from Nutley Lane and of the Church. Andy remembers Joyce Covey ... if anyone knows where she is now, or what became of her, he would love to find out.
We are really grateful to Andy (who now lives in Canada) for everything that he has sent in to the Nutley Lane Project.