TWO former 'residents' of Lytham Hall took a trip down memory lane.
Bill Henney, 92, and Jim Maguire, 66, were overwhelmed with nostalgic memories as they visited the historic hall.
Bill was an ex-Second World War soldier who spent a fortnight’s convalescence in 1945 at the hall, which was requisitioned for wounde
d military personnel.
Jim grew up on the estate, living in Watchwood Lodge and the main entrance gatehouses in Ballam Road.
By coincidence, they both now live in Moughland Lane, Runcorn, as does retired GP, Dr Peter Vardy, who drove the pair over to Lytham.
Jim’s parents, George and Gladys, used to work for the Clifton Family, for centuries the Squires of Lytham until the 1960s, when the estate was sold. George was a jockey for the family in his earlier days, later working on the estate farmlands.
Jim was educated in Lytham, firstly at the old St John’s Primary School, from where he went on to King Edward VII school.
It was Bill’s first visit to Lytham since 1945. He reminisced about how the convalescing soldiers used to play croquet on the hall’s front lawn.
The men would often walk into Lytham, and visit the old American “Doughnut dugout” in Bath Street, where they would enjoy some transatlantic hospitality. Visits to Blackpool theatres were also an enjoyable feature.
The pair were shown around by Ann Pinder, the Lytham Hall archivist and historian, and lifelong friend of Peter Vardy, Alan Turner, a Lytham Hall executive member appointed by Lytham Town Trust which owns the hall.
