Purton to Berkeley to Framlingham
The Mears Family Bio
Gloucester To Suffolk
This Website is currently under construction
Welcome to our Mears family story, spanning over seven decades. It all began in Purton, Gloucestershire, in 1953, my wife to be was also born the same year but was Berkeley girl.
In 1975, we married and I moved to Berkeley, we bought our first family home and raising two boys. In 1990, a forced career move as Berkeley Power Station was shut down and that took us to Framlingham, Suffolk. Framlingham was similar to Berkeley, a small friendly town with a castle and ssurrounded by history and nature.
This website is a celebration of our experiences, milestones, and memories from Gloucestershire to Suffolk, and beyond. Join us as we reflect on our past and share the journey that continues to shape our lives.
Our Family Story: A Journey Across Time
Gloucestershire
The small village of Purton in Gloucestershire was where it started for me living in a terraced house right on the banks of the Sharpness to Gloucester canal. My childhood was filled with adventure. As children we were never home with time spent exploring the country side, swimming in the River Severn and the Sharpness to Gloucester canal. Star attraction though was playing fox and hounds on the hulks that were strategically placed, and holed to never move again, on the banks of the river severn to protect the erosion of the river banks.
This landscape all changed on the night of 25th October in 1960 when tragedy struck. I was just 7 but remember being woken at night by the explosion and the resultant fire hauntingly lit skies. Two petrol tankers, the Arkendale H and Wastdale H unknowingly drifting up river, unknowingly by the crew members due to thick fog and collided with a bridge’s pillar that brought down spans from the bridge above that intern fell across the two tankers below. Sadly lives were lost and the tankers remain in their resting place to become a haunting reminder for us all.
Suffolk
The landscape of Suffolk differs from Gloucestershire’s rolling hills, replaced by flat fields and expansive skies. While you lose the hills, you gain the beauty of Suffolk’s coastline, with beaches like Southwold, Aldeburgh, and Felixstowe offering coastal charm and scenic views. Southwold’s colourful beach huts and Aldeburgh’s artistic heritage make the beaches a peaceful retreat.
Moving to market town of Framlingham in 1990 we have the iconic castle on the hill, immortalised by Ed Sheeran’s with his hit song Castle on the Hill. The surrounding area is steeped in heritage, with local theatres and places like the Aldeburgh Festival and Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds.
Suffolk’s blend of flat countryside, coastal beauty, and cultural landmarks creates a unique, tranquil environment. While the hills of Gloucestershire are missing, the Suffolk coastline, market towns, and historical sites offer a compelling charm all their own, making it a wonderful place to live and visit.
As we develope the Website there will be much more to add of the times and experiences of our family, I have loads of photos to share and we hope it will be of interest to family, friends and visitors to Gloucester and Framlingham.
As children we lived a much different life to the youth of today. We were free to roam the countryside without fear, we were never at home and with a close network of friends in the village we spent hours at a time away from the eyes of Mum and Dad!
This I suppose if an ‘old life’ crisis on my part as I feel the need to redcord our adventures as kids and have them recorded. The difference between now and then is of a magnitude that is off the scale and I feel needs to be recorded.
We hope you have enjoyed your glimpse of what is to come and will come back soon. If you have any comments please send us a message using the form on this page. Most photo’s included are my own but the one featuring Gloucrester Dock and the Gloucester Countryside are from ‘pixabay’