The dogsbody who guarded this Portsmouth shop against organised crime

Cadmans, a landmark shop in Arundel Street, Landport, Portsmouth.

Rod, from Waterlooville, said the shop was bought from Arthur Cadman by Wally Errington and his wife Pat.

He says: ‘They retained the name and ran the shop until it was compulsorily purchased by Portsmouth City Council about 1970.

‘Although I was a schoolboy, and latterly, a Dockyard apprentice, I worked for Wally as a mechanic and general dogsbody on Saturdays from 1961 to 1965.

The Gisborne family of 30, Wimborne Road, Southsea, a father, bottom right, and four sons who all did their bit in the Second World War.

‘One of my jobs was to stand by the door and keep watch if a group of young lads came in. The reason for this was that organised thieving was a common occurrence at that time.’

Rod recalls that the chief mechanic was Ted Trice ‘who was a highly skilled builder of racing bike wheels’.

He adds: ‘Wally was well known as a successful local track and time trial cyclist who, I believe, represented the UK in the Commonwealth Games.’

Rod says the picture shows the windows of the shop next door boarded up.

Last Friday I asked if anyone could name this much-loved bread delivery man and the location of the picture. Several of you e-mailed saying you knew him as Dennis, but nobody seemed to know a surname. As for the place, former postman Dave Gowing guesses its the junction of Winter Road and Highland Road just down from the old Gravediggers pub.

‘The reason for this was that all other shops in the street had been compulsorily purchased by the council to allow the widening of Arundel Street.

‘Cadman’s occupied large premises and had recently been converted to include two flats in the upper storeys.

‘Wally and Pat, being rather astute business people, held out for the best deal before selling and retiring to a waterfront bungalow on Hayling Island.’

•Colleague Bob Hind published the second picture here last week in the belief that the family at war was called Gibson. It turns out the family name was Gisborne.

HMS Vanguard, with her innovative flat stern, tied up at South Railway Jetty in the dockyard on a summers day. Unfortunately theres no date on this postcard, but the clothes suggest the 1950s.

The picture shows a father and his four sons who all served in the Second World War in one form or another.

Bob has heard from Mike Gisborne, the son of one of the men in the picture.

His father, Walter Cecil Gisborne, is the soldier, top right.

Of the other brothers: Walter, a plumber, and Robert, a gas fitter, were evacuated from Dunkirk and for the rest of their time never spoke of it.

As Royal Engineers they were more involved with building bridges, repairing roads and restoring facilities.

Harold was in the field as unexploded bomb personnel. I am glad to say they all survived the war. There were another brother and two sisters in the family.