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1967 The Riots and Marriage

1960 The beginning

New Years Day 1960 was a Friday. So I must have worked a short Thursday at NSW in Soho and as usual   rode my Peugeot 150 scooter down to my parents house in Worthing on the Sussex coast. It was probably cold and damp and most of the trip would have been in the dark through mostly country roads that are now bypassed although the exit from London through Putney to the Kingston Bypass and turning off at the Ace of Spades towards Leatherhead is still almost the same as it was then. It says something for the resilience of youth that I made this gruelling 2 to 3 hour trip down and then back, often in the dark, wet and cold, almost every week for over 2 years. There was no hint of the life changing event that was about to happen.

How it all began

Its a funny thing but some events from years and years ago seem very fresh, almost as though they happened last year and that is how I remember the late 50's in London.

I was working for NSW Napper Stinton Woolley, a medium sized, modern ad agency located in their own new, 5 or 6 floor building in Great Chapel St in Soho - a sort of half street between Dean St and Wardour St and off Oxford St roughly half way between Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus. As far as I know it is still there as I have seen it over the years, seems that NSW faded from the scene sometime in the seventies (maybe merged) and I think the building became a government office of some kind. Whenever I am in London I try to visit the Star cafe which was right next to the office and where I had countless meals and coffees over the 4 years I worked in NSW Soho, the owner Pop passed the cafe over to Mario his son and it has featured as a place to eat in London guides I have seen online. When I spoke to Mario a few years ago he recalled clearly the days of NSW.

Names from my time there - Mick Braham the account director I first worked for, Rodney Harris whose job I took over when he moved to media/research, Ken Astrop and Barry Threadgold 2 creative guys, Mrs Ross traffic, Mack Latto a creative director, Mrs Jay reception, Mike Salter my boss when I left - I'll probably add names later but its getting to be a bit of a laundry list.

As I said I was at NSW for nearly 4 years and it was over time to move on, not the easiest of tasks even in those days with advertising getting more and more the trendy thing to do -- even at my first agency Crawfords we had a Lord and a Hon member of Princess Margarets set working briefly in the production department.

The old gang - rooftop Princes Building c 1962

When I first arrived in Hong Kong in June 1960 Cathay was located in old Princes Bldg. but after less than a year we had to move out to Alexandra House just over the road in Ice House Street. We were still in Alex when this first and only staff picture was taken in 62 or 63 I think. If anyone who was in this pic actually stumbles across this blog maybe they can confirm the date.

Princes Bldg. was then newly completed and after many facelifts is still a class building in Central connected with all other key central buildings by a network of airconditioned walkways.

The second row from left Martin Pollard Art Director, Peter Campbell, Geoff Seebeck, Phil Clegg all account service, Peter Jameson MD, Elma Kelly founder of Cathay, Ron Wood Studio Manager, blogger Jerry Green, Geoff Bezer and Graham Durward all account service. I'll try and list all those whose names I still remember after all these years, a row at a time in the days or weeks to come so bear with me. But now I'll go back to the very start of my Hong Kong adventure.