Frank Stocker sure led a busy Life

by Chris Owen of the NEWS

FARES PLEASE Frank Stocker, the conductor, with a team from the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway, about 1928 Frank Stocker had two main roles in life and both involved conducting. Here we see him as a conductor on the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway and also with the Frank Stocker Band which played in the Portsmouth area for more than 40 years. The pictures come from the collection of Brenda Fehrenbach, his daughter, who has lived at Cowplain all her life. They were submitted by her son John who said Frank lived at 61 London Road - a cottage in the middle of Cowplain - from the 1920s until his death in 1968. John said: `Frank was well known locally and these pictures show him in two of his roles. The tram car and crew are part of the Portsdown and Horndean Light Railway which ran from Horndean to Cosham, but only until the mid 1930s. Frank is the conductor on the right and my mother thinks it probably dates from about 1928. She cannot remember the names of the rest of tram crew though she thinks one of them had the nickname 'Fritz' and may have been Dan Bonner. I remember a few of the stories my grandfather told me about his time at the PHLR and he was particularly proud of the fact that he managed to get promoted from conductor to driver.' John said the tram is pictured outside the tram depot at Cowplain. `People of my generation will remember it from the 1950s as a large building with Foden written on it. The site is where Waitrose was built and where Lidl is today. He said the family home was Vine Cottage opposite the police station and they still have the rent books from the 1930s which show it cost eight shillings (40p) a week to live there. John added: `The other photo might stir more widespread memories as it features Frank Stocker's Band. Frank's band played at local dances and events for more than 40 years. From the late 1930s onwards they were a resident band at Warners Holiday Camps on Hayling Island, initially at Northney and then at Southleigh. The photo is pre-war and shows the band at the Heroes Waterlooville, where they played regularly. That's the old Heroes corner of the London and Hambledon Road before the centre of town was redeveloped. He said Frank's band played regularly at local dances including events at Cowplain Social Club, sometimes accompanied by by his young daughter, Brenda on the xylophone. He wonders if readers know what happened to them? They are from left to right Bill Cripps, drums and button accordion, Basil Fry, saxophones, Cyril Brown Saxophones and violin with Frank at the piano. Their `uniforms' were made by Frank's wife Gladys. The Frank Stocker Band, photograph taken at the Waterloo Hall, Waterlooville.

Return to the previous page