Inspired by ‘a very full life’ Redditch man Roger Henry Lippett has written a book on his life which began living on the Batchley Estate. He went on to serve in the Royal Navy and wants to share his story.
He was born on January 30 1939 on the council estate, with his dad’s name Henry, being given to him as his middle name.
Here he sheds light on his life family and friends as a social record of sorts that may be of interest to his children, grandchildren and the people of Redditch.
Although he said he had never achieved great wealth or fame he felt his life had moments worth recounting.
In his words: “I now live in the beautiful city of Plymouth in Devon but I will always be a Batchley boy.
“Far have I traveled, and much have I seen and this is my story, serialised in the Redditch Standard.”
Part 6
One day I was walking back to the dormitory from the workshop with my friend Brian Pickering when he informed me he was going to ‘Berg’ on Saturday to meet his girlfriend and he asked me if I fancied making it a foursome by going on a blind date with a friend of his girlfriend.
I agreed and, as it turned out, that was to be the most important decision of my life as this girl I was to meet was to become my wife.
We got off the train at Waverley and walked up the long flight of steps to Princess Street.
We waited for a few minutes then Brian’s girlfriend Nan Benn, accompanied by her friend Rose McNeill and we were introduced to each other.
I liked Rose straight away. I thought she was pretty and, although we were a little bit awkward at first, we seemed to get on well together.
It was a lovely day and we walked through the famous Princess Street gardens and then caught the bus to Crammond where we walked along the beach.
At the end of the day I asked her if I could see her again to which she agreed and so we came to ‘go steady’.
I usually met Rose in Edinburgh at the weekends, although some weekends I would still go with my mates on the ‘mountain club’.
We would often go to the pictures or meet up with my mates and their girlfriends where we would frequent our favouite pubs, Fairleys, and the Imperial where we could dance.
A few of my close mates in the dorm had motorbikes and we talked a lot about bikes.
My best friend Andy Anderton had an AJS and another friend, Bunny Edwards had a Triumph Tiger 500.
I decided I would buy a bike too. Andy came on leave with me to Redditch and together we went to a dealer in Birmingham and he helped me choose a bike.
It was a Royal Enfield 350cc single cylinder and capable of high speeds. It was in lovely condition and I was so proud of my new means of transport.
It would open up a new field of possibilities and also make it easier to get out to Tranent to visit Rose. Pity I didn`t know how to ride it.
Andy rode it home to Redditch for me and gave me some lessons up and down Ash Tree Road and I slowly got the hang of it which was just as well as we were to ride to Andy’s house the next day which was the other side of Ipswich – a distance of 150 miles.
We set off the next day and Andy zoomed away as he was anxious to get to his home to see his mother. I trailed behind doing about 20mph. much to Andy’s frustration.
Slowly I gained more confidence and managed to get going and stay closer to Andy.
But then I managed to lose another of my six lives. At the bottom of a very steep downhill, there was a sharp hairpin bend which I took wide as I didn’t have the experience to control the bike correctly and I ended up on the wrong side of the road.
Coming down the hill towards me was a huge lorry and I was on a collision course. Somehow I managed to swerve aside at the last second with the lorry driver understandably shouting at me from his cab
So that was my second lucky escape – the madness of youth.
