Danny Windever interview transcript
Speke to Australia
"I was born in Fazakerley in Liverpool in 1946 and at 2 years of age the family moved to Speke and we lived in a temporary housing prefab house at 24 Appledore Road. We were there for a few years and then we moved to a brand new house at 128 Alderfield Drive which was on a new part of the Speke estate.
I lived there with my mum and dad and 2 brothers and 6 sisters. I was there until I was 15 years and 11 months old, when I emigrated to Australia with the 'Little Brotherhood Scheme'. That was a scheme that allowed children under 16 to go to Australia without their parents being with them."
one huge adventure
"Living in Alderfield Drive was one huge adventure with the Mill Wood and the Alder Wood bordering open fields. It was in walking distance to Hale Village and its lighthouse to the Oglet shore and the Old Hutte. There was Speke Hall, it was all within walking distance of where we were, and it just gave us, me, an opportunity to have such a fantastic childhood.
There was something to do with every season of the year you know. In the spring, we'd go collecting primroses and bluebells in the Mill Wood and we would, in the autumn time, go and do blackberry picking all through the hedgerows all around the Speke district. We'd also collect conkers from the Mill Wood and also hazelnuts.
Almost every house in that estate had kids that were all round about the same age, so we were able to make long and lasting friendships there, and attended many of the schools."
school days
"Going to school in Speke during the 1950s was certainly a fantastic time as well. I started off at Stockton Wood Primary School for a little while, while I lived in the prefabs. I then moved on to a brand new school at Greenway Road, it was Millwood Primary School and then on to Alderwood Primary School and then, after the 11 plusexaminations, went to Speke Secondary Modern School for Boys at Stapleton Avenue, and I attended this school for just on 4 years.
Naturally, I have some great and fond memories of those years. One of my favourite things was the sports afternoons, and I elected to do the swimming. The reason was, that it didn't matter what the weather was, no matter what the season of the year was, you got to get out of school for the afternoon. You'd leave school and catch the bus into Garston, and go to the Garston Baths. That stood right by the Garston Gas Works, which was really something else with the horrific smell that used to come from there! But, it gave us this break from school and also a bit of adventure."
don't you rock me daddy-o
"We boys were in the schoolyard talking about this and that, when Smithy piped up asking "Have you heard Lonnie Donegan and his skiffle group singing and playing 'Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O'?" Of course we'd heard the song, it was on radio non-stop and everyone in school was singing it. Smithy went on,"Well, Lonnie Donegan is my mum's cousin and he is coming to our house in 2 weeks time to see us". We all laughed. Johnno said his dad, who was a sailor, met up with Elvis every 6 weeks when he was in New York, and had invited him back to Liverpool in a couple of months. Tommo jumped in saying Cliff Richard was his dad's cousin, and he was going to visit his family very soon. Then Jimmy Fitzo went one better, when he told us the Queen was coming to his house next September. Well! We looked at him and said "in your dreams Fitzo, the Queen won't come to Speke in Liverpool; she's too busy ruling England - fool!"
Well, two uneventful weeks went past. The Monday morning assembly was in full swing as 'Harry the mad Manxman' - the Headmaster, gave the news. We heard about the need to collect as much silver paper as we could, and bring it to school for the blind people. How the footy team had played over the weekend, that those who didn't have a school badge for their blazer should get one right away. If any boy didn't do as he was told this week, he would get the cane. It was the same boring stuff week in, week out.
But this week we were stunned, the mad Manxman told us Lonnie Donegan was coming to Speke to visit Smithy's house. On Wednesday morning, we would all be going out of the school to line up along Stapleton Avenue to wave to him as he drove past. Smithy was telling the truth. Lonnie Donegan was coming to Speke!
Well, Wednesday took an age to come, and there we were all lined up along the kerb. With lots of shoving and laughing, with boys saying he would be riding a horse or he'd be on the back of a coal truck or something else. Suddenly, the teachers called "hush here he comes". We looked in wonder, as this great big American car came slowly down Stapleton Avenue, with Lonnie Donegan in the driver's seat. He drove with one hand on the wheel and waved with the other one. He had a smile on his face, and we all waved back and cheered him, giving him the thumbs up and singing out 'Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O'. It was over in a flash, so back to class we all went.
The teacher Mr Nicko Nicholson told us that Lonnie Donegan's music was only a passing phase. We knew he was wrong, skiffle and rock 'n' roll were here forever, so Mr Nicko shouldn't rock us daddy-o!
Well, just as school finished for that day, Smithy invited half a dozen of us to come to his place and see Lonnie Donegan, face to face, on our way home. So off we went with a run and stood at Smithy's gate, while he went in to get Lonnie Donegan to come out. Well, Lonnie came out with his hat on and a banjo in his hand, followed by Smithy wearing the world's biggest grin and carrying a chair. He put the chair on the path and Lonnie sat down and then played his banjo and sang 'Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O', Every neighbour in the street came out, Lonnie sang a few more songs and then waved at us and went inside.
What a day! Smithy was our hero. No-one was going to top this day, - or were they?"
Nicko's home - fit for a queen
"One month later, things were settling down. Lonnie Donegan had been and gone. The Monday morning assembly was in progress as usual. Harry the mad Manxman was berating us for having our hair like Tony Curtis, we were warned hair is to be cut and combed in short back and sides style, with a part just above your left ear. All those boys without a school badge on their blazer should get one immediately, and we needed to collect more silver paper for the blind people.
Then a gasp came from the crowd. Harry announced that in September, the Queen was coming to Speke and was going to drive past our school, so every boy must have a school badge by then. We should all be very proud of Jimmy Fitzo and his family because she, Her Majesty the Queen of England, was going to visit his house. Fitzo went from being the biggest skiter in school to being a hero immediately. He was in the newspapers. The Queen was on her way. Maps were printed showing the best places to see her as she went past and they told how a couple of houses had been picked on the Speke estate for her to visit and see how we lived on this new Liverpool housing estate. We all went round to Nicko's house, but his mum said we couldn't come inside the house, because it was being furnished with new furniture so it would be fit for a Queen to visit.
The day arrived. We all lined Stapleton Avenue, every one of us with a school badge on our blazer and the Union Jack flag on a small stick. Harry the mad Manxman stood in the middle of the avenue, and then a big voice said, "Be on your best behaviour boys, and wave your flag when Her Majesty drives by". Someone shouted "Here she comes, and she's going to ride right over Harry, he'll be a squashed kipper". Well, Harry's face went red. The veins in his neck stood out, and then he declared, "The boy who said that will be at my office after this event, if no one owns up, I'll cane the lot of you" and then someone whispered, "I wonder how long it will take him to cane 650 of us - I bags going last". There were sniggers and laughs.
Then the call came, "All right boys, here comes Her Majesty. Wave your flags". A big black Austin Princess car drove slowly by, but it wasn't the Queen, it was a false alarm. It was her Lady in Waiting, with a couple of dogs. Then a shimmering black Rolls Royce drove by, with the Union Jack flying from its bonnet, and a red crown fixed to its grill. The Queen waved at us all and we cheered, waving our flags like mad. What a day it was! Well Nicko missed the drive-past; he had to be at home to show the Queen his bedroom, while his Mum and Dad showed her the rest of the house.
Well the next day, Jimmy Nicko was our hero. His picture was on the front page of the papers, with his Mum and Dad greeting the Queen at their front door. The story said the Queen had like their house and the Speke estate. We asked Nicko a thousand questions. "What was she like?", "Did she like the look of your bed?" and most important of all, "Did she happen to have any silver paper to give him to bring to school to help the blind?"
Well time went by, the Lonnie Donegan visit was put away in memory banks and the Queen's visit went the same way. We all looked at each other and said, "Oh well, when's Elvis coming to Johnno's place? It's pretty boring around here, Eh"?"
Danny Windever | Back to the top