A recent example concerns Patricia Gibbs (neé Mitchell) who is today in Sharnford near Hinckley in Leicestershire. Pat has sent me her recollections of Castle Street East during the 1940s and 1950s following moves from Duke Street in Grimsbury – where she was born – and later from Middle Barton.

At the tender age of two, her family decided to return to Banbury and occupy part of 41 Castle Street East where her grandmother Lily Marshall was already a resident.

The new home was a terraced house fronted by railings with a cellar, front room and living room characterised by a black-leaded grate and oven. Stairs led to two first-floor bedrooms and there was also an attic room. Each of the bedrooms had a fireplace.

On the ground floor there was a scullery with a sink, a brick boiler and a gas cooker. A rear door led to a yard with outside toilet and small garden area. Opposite this back door and supported by a hook was a tin bath with which she became familiar on a weekly basis.

This part of Banbury had the great advantage of being close to the town centre. The rear gate provided a quick way of reaching Castle Street West close to Hogben's watch and clock shop and the jitty (thought by some to be an original tchure) to Cornhill near the Vine public house and the St John's Ambulance Hall.

A year on from coming to live with her grandmother, Pat began her school days at St Mary's School in Southam Road. The best route from the house to school was by way of Black Ditch and across a footbridge. To the right of the ditch were allotments where it was not uncommon to find pigs in huts.

Further on and the marshes were reached, fields adjacent to river and canal. Periodically floodwaters were encountered and Pat and her friends enjoyed the opportunity to paddle.

The reception class at St Mary's had both girls and boys who were required to have a nap every afternoon. Rush mats provided an appropriate surface for this. St Mary's was typical of its time in having an external toilet block and huts for school meals.

As I have remarked in previous articles, Banbury was something of a safe haven during the Second World War. However, one of Pat's most vivid early memories is of German bombers flying so low that she could see the pilots and spot the swastika emblems. Realising that a raid was imminent, her mother pushed Pat and her brother under the dining room table. This was a testing time for the family as father was in the Merchant Navy.

One positive advantage of Castle Street East in the early 1940s was the large number of children. Typical girls' games were hopscotch, skipping, hide and seek, various ball games and activities that made use of cardboard milk bottle tops. In place of bicycles and scooters there were carts made out of old pram wheels and wood.

November 5 was very special; a guy would be made and displayed to raise money for fireworks. As for a bonfire, the site was the middle of the entrance to Alcock's builders' yard. Here and with the fireworks display over, fire embers were good enough to bake potatoes.

Under the austere conditions of rationing great use was made of local shops, especially Killpacks bakery at the end of Castle Street, and Adkins grocery store opposite Alcock's entrance. How right Pat is when she says: "It was not a materialistic society then as everyone struggled to make ends meet."

Even in the early 1950s large families meant sharing the good things such as Rocky Leach's sweets.

Looking back on her time in Banbury, Pat remembers the Castle Street area as offering a very friendly environment where no-one locked doors day or night.

The spirit of the age was also evident in the application of skills learnt from parents or teachers. With stone floors in the houses, which might be covered with linoleum, a common pursuit in Castle Street was the making of peg rugs. These made use of old clothes that were worked into a hessian backing with a hook.

Pat Gibbs has strong recollections of the street parties, which marked the end of the war and celebrated the Coronation of our present queen. In 1945 Castle Street itself was the focus of activity. Trestle tables groaned under quantities of food and in the evening there was dancing to sound provided by Mr Buzzard of Parsons Street. The second of the street parties was held in Compton Street and a fancy dress competition and races for all age groups also marked the occasion.

After her early education at St Mary's School, Pat was successful in securing a place at Banbury Grammar. Sport featured strongly in her life there especially hockey. As a result of this involvement she had the opportunity to meet girls from elsewhere in the county.

Hockey notes for the January 1957 edition of the Banburian magazine includes the following account of an away game at Milham Ford in Oxford: "The forwards were playing much better and Pat Mitchell shot a lovely goal in the second half."

Down the years memories of Banbury and especially Castle Street have remained clear. As Pat says in her letter to me: "It is gratifying to know that some friendships formed earlier are still in my life today."
These include her time as a Girl Guide but that's another story to be revealed in my forthcoming celebration of the movement's centenary.

- My thanks to Patricia Gibbs for her memories and photograph.

FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT: Pat Mitchell – now Gibbs – in her Girl Guide uniform. Pat lived in Castle Street, left, in the 1940s and '50s