RAYMOND WILKES - MY CONNECTION WITH NEWHAVEN
The Parker Pen Company prior to it closing
Raymond Wilkes
Newhaven Harbour 1st November 2008
Raymond Wilkes
Street Furniture in Newhaven
Raymond Wilkes
The town I love so Well.
By Raymond Wilkes
My Connection with Newhaven is through my Mother who is French. Her Mother & Son, my Uncle worked on the ferries for years. My Uncle Raymond Denis still lives in Dieppe. In the early 50s my Mother & Father were going to move to Newhaven to be nearer Dieppe, my Dad was to get a job at the Parker Pen Company in Newhaven. But sadly my Grandmother on my Dad's side passed away and none of those things materialized. I often wondered how my life would have been had we uprooted and made the travel South from Birmingham. My Grandad on my mother's side was also a seaman all his life, and his father was a Captain on a tall ship. My Grandfather was actually born on a tall ship in Canada, and had dual nationality. I must say I have a love for Newhaven, every time I come to the town I remember the times as a Kid arriving on the Boat Train late in the night watching the twinkle of the tinny lights from the carriage window to board the Lisieux or the Londres. In later years as a teenager I used to drive Mom & Dad down in the 1961 Ford Consul I had. I have fond memories of Newhaven, I know the Ring road they built was justified but it took something away from the town. But on the good side the little shops in the town centre kept their individuality. In more recent years I visit more to take hundreds of pictures of the town I love so well. I still would like to live in Newhaven.