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For the purpose of simplicity I will include Camden Terrace in with Camden Road.
Camden Road, in those halcyon days, had a number of young people who became my friends. The great love of my young life was Elizabeth. Strictly speaking Elizabeth was not part of Camden Road but spent a great deal of her time in a house opposite ours. So, by adoption she became part of the Camden Road scene.
Elizabeth was Mr Rogers the Builder's only child and attended Mount Street School and I was deeply in love with her, even more deeply than with Misses Davis and Armstrong, my teachers. She was breathtakingly lovely and treated my adoration with total disdain for the next 6 or 7 years until our paths diverged. Her mother, fortunately for me, thought I was a nice boy and a good influence for her headstrong and rather spoiled little girl. She held the most wonderful Christmas parties for Elizabeth every year and I was invited. Parties were unknown, indeed forbidden, in our family and the Rogers Parties lasted until midnight, well after 9.30pm, my required bedtime. My father had to be heavily persuaded to allow me to go to what he considered little short of the work of the devil; a task that pushed even my mother's legendary diplomacy to the limit. Mrs. Rogers engaged clowns, entertainers and magicians for these parties and organised exciting games and great food.
Directly across the road from us lived a family of Joneses with a daughter Sian and a son Richard. Sian was Elizabeth's best friend, thank God. Richard and I were close friends so naturally the four of us spent a lot of time together as children. My affection for Elizabeth was pretty obvious to all, but totally rejected, indeed ignored, by the one person that mattered.
Many years later I shared a bus journey with Elizabeth, both travelling home for Christmas, she a rather sad, disillusioned and unemployed actress and I in my final year at Medical School. For the first and only time we talked freely about our childhood. She had been, it seemed, fonder of me than I imagined and regretted the callous way she had treated me, expressing the wish that it would be nice to be friends again. However, our paths were never to cross again.
A boy from Camden Road that had a great deal of influence on me was Gwyn Williams. Gwyn was about 2 years older than I and was a natural sportsman as well as being a very good student. He excelled at rugby, at which he later captained Christ College, and cricket, at which he not only captained his school but went on to play for Glamorgan. He could better us all at soccer, tennis, table tennis or anything it seemed, even music, for he played piano (self taught) for a jazz band. His family came from Kidwelly and Gwyn was always known as "Kid" or "Gelly from Kidwelly" (his initials G.L.).
His sporting prowess and enthusiasm lifted us up and carried us along with him, though I suspect that his attitude upset some within the Camden Road circle. He organised street games of cricket and football and generally was a dynamic person. and a good friend for many years.
Other friends from Camden Road were Richard Jones, already mentioned, Richard Lewis the Bank Manager's son and "Moocher" Thomas who all became doctors. Sian became a University lecturer. Richard Hill was a close friend and fine fly fisherman who expressed a wish to become a doctor long before anyone else and we called him "Sawbones Hill" but it was not to be and instead he became a bank manager.
A very close friend from my earliest days in Mount Street School was Tony Williams but unfortunately he missed out on the 11 Plus and was never able to get a good secondary education. He became a policeman and a very good one. Tony always looked clean and tidy, even after getting dirty playing, whereas I always looked scruffy and grubby. My mother held up Tony to me as a model and compared me unfavourably, much to Tony's delight.
Between the Jones' house and the Williams' house opposite us lived the Leonards. Mr. Leonard was prominent in Town Administration. Bill, Peter and his twin Sheila while older than I and closer to my older brothers, nevertheless played an active role in my young life. I have been privileged to spend a few happy hours with Sheila and Peter on a visit to Australia, reminiscing about our shared memories.
One of the great characters of Camden Road was Emeritus Prof. John Evans. He had taught my father in his Theological College days. Prof. John survived to a great age, 105 I believe. When my father died in 1957, Prof. John was 103 and delivered a Eulogy in his shrill, high pitched voice that
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