Fairview Avenue

In the second half of the 1930s, a youn Francis Maddick moved with his parents into a new bungalow in Fairview Avenuew, Laira. And what a "fair view" it had - and still does. High above the Plym on Embankment Road, it looks out across to Saltram Park, and the amphitheatre is directly opposite.

Further down the river mouth Francis remembers, as a boy, watching the Sunderland flying boats making their sweep into Mount Batten.

Once, standing watching with his father, they saw what they at first thought was a Sunderland but soon realised it was a German Dornier about to drop explosives on Cattedown.

Sadly, Francis' father died in the house - he slipped, possibly fter fainting, on the stairs and suffered a fatal blow to the head.

The family moved to Cornwall soon afterwards. At that time there was no Efford Estate on the top of the hill, lower down Kiel Place, Dunclair Park and the bottom of Manor Lane had all been completed. The road for Darwin Crescent had been roughly laid out but building had not yet begun.

EH 25 May 1999