Alan Dixon – Dare Devil

Hi Jean, Just two or three more friends stories to go !!! Continuing now with Alan and Gloria Dixon   Alan's nickname to us now as I remembered him, is "The Stunt Man" and Gloria was the more quieter,

Gloria’s 8th birthday.

a  girl that we didn't see much of, but we mixed in with various games and would see her often going out with Ron her father, in the car, which seemed to be the only vehicle on
the estate in those days.  The Dixon family lived at the opposite side of the green from us on the corner.

I can remember Ron having his photography business doing weddings and various other work, I cannot remember Mrs Dixon very well are they both still living?  - Sadly both have passed on – Vi several years ago but Ron fairly recently within the last 5 years or so I think.

Alan was always about doing things where ever the lads were

 

A good example of his DARING DO!

He may have been slightly older than myself but everyone joined in with the fun, the swimming sessions in the different rivers were  always sensational the locks above the waterfall behind the Horlick's Factory and further down river  going out of Ilminster over the top road leading to further locks and waterfalls, Alan would do things that us kids wouldn't attempt like diving into waterfalls and off the lock tops into the river below.

There were many more scary stunts in winter when it came to sledging he had the fastest and most well made sledge in Ilminster, that meant another exciting show of going down very steep inclines and through very narrow gaps in hedges, over humps and bumps where he would take off like
Evil Kenival, luckily he managed to always stay on and never come to a sticky end!!!. It was fantastic
to watch, but not for the faint hearted  like ourselves to even try there were so many more daring escapades, too many to mention, Alan stood out in my mind and to a lot of the more younger lads as a hero!

The last I saw of Alan was in Paignton where he had gone one step further and constructed a MONSTER MOTOR now he could drive, this special car which  looked like something out of the film Mad Max, very way out for those days, had been made out of various   models, it had a 6 cylinder engine, was a two seater, they called them hotrods in those days. He asked me  on several occasions if I would like a ride in it, but can't remember if I was brave enough, can only  remember going out in his more conventional car, a Standard Vanguard,

with friends, it had a bench seat  in the front and Alan was never short of a girl sat by his side in it, amazing what attraction bravery is!!
He was as they would say today, "so cool" but then " way out".
Alan, if you're still living, after what I remember of your daring past, get in touch and let us know
how you have been getting along. By the way, did you go to Ditton Street school like Peter and myself
or did you go to the Grammar  School in Ilminster?

That's all for now folks  best wishes DW.

My memories of Alan are -

1. He built a canoe in the passage of his house.
2. We all went to the river Isle and learned to role the canoe over.
3. Once when we went, there were loads of dead fish on the surface. Were we bovvered? Nah!
4. One day on the canal he shouted out there was a snake, I ran, got bogged down in the mud, lost a shoe and got a good hiding when I got home!
5. His Mum used to give him and Gloria Malt extract which I loved.
6. Pretty sure he went to the Grammar school.