We came across a receipt booklet which we think dates back to the late 1940s or early 1950s for a shop called C B Boswell that operated in West Street. Clifford Brendon Boswell was born in 1915 and went to work for Willshire’s, a fishmonger, poulterer and licenced game dealer in West Street. At some stage he went to visit America, and after returning to Midhurst, he took over the business and renamed it after himself.
What caught our eye, though, was his telephone number – Midhurst 19. And this got us wondering about the low telephone numbers that some of the early adopters of this new-fangled technology might have had. We’ve done quite well with our list but can’t find who had number 3. Any suggestions would be very welcome!
1 King Edward VII Sanatorium
2 Albery and Lucas, Solicitors, St Ann’s Hill
3 Unknown
4 Barclays Bank, North Street
5 Blackistons, Butchers, West Street
6 Bailey and Lush, Doctors, The Surgery, North Street
7 International Stores, Rumbolds Hill
8 H Duncan
9 Stents (later Duttons), Coal, Corn, Seed, Cake and Manure merchant, Haulage Contractor and Builders Merchant Station Road.
10 The Spread Eagle, South Street
11 Goldring and Sons, Seedsmen, Nurserymen, Florists and Fruiterers, West Street
12 Johnson and Clarence, Solicitors, Market Place