Focus on Fred Holloway - the man who unknowingly helped Josef say 'Goodbye' to the tax man! |
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I was born
Walthamstow London, and when the war started sent away as a evacuee to High Ongar Essex.
My father worked for the Government in Customs & Excise. When the bombs started the
firm was removed from London and sent off to Blackpool,as this seemed to be a safer area.
Once my family had got settled I was sent for, from my foster home, to rejoin my family. I
left school at 14 and became a pointboy for the Blackpool Transport; I found this to be a
very cold job in the winter, stuck in a sort of sentry box waiting for a tram to come
along so that I could change the Points and overhead wire to allow the tram to go on a
different route. I left there and went to be a trainee projectionist (much warmer) It was in the Hippodrome where my training started and this is where during the season of summer shows persons such as Jewell & Wariss performed the Coconut Grove show. As my memory serves me I saw Julie Andrews for the first time.Her parents would ask for any young person out of the audience to help them in a singing act,and this young girl, Julie would jump up and join them. When conscription beckoned I joined the Airforce and became a driver for the R.A.F. bomb disposal unit. After my two years I went back to my projectionist job at the Hippodrome. Then I was offered the Chief Projectionist position at a NEWLY made News Cinema ,this was in Church St Blackpool.(Sadly no longer) now a furniture store I'm told. With the coming of TV moss cinemas were closing in Blackpool,so took a job at the Hawker Hunter factory but after about a year that too was closed,and it’s here that I got a job at the Ocean Garage in charge of the forecourt plus as I had mentioned cars for Stars appearing in season shows in Blackpool. The person at the Wurlitzer is my wife. This organ is still in very good working  order and is at the Southward Car Museum
in the North Island at Paraparaumu. My wife has been to play this organ now 4 times. We
live quite a distance from this location but it’s well worth the trip to hear my wife
play it.The photo with a person sat at the base of the organ is Robert Drage an ex dancer who had his own act, Drage Vivian & Irene. He has also been on the same bill as Josef Locke at different times during his days of performing. Fred has the only drive-in cinema
in N.Z. and says "we enjoy having people to come, some for the first time and
children get some pleasure sitting outside in the open on a nice evening." |
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