Gary, a pastor at a church in Basingstoke Town Centre was born in Essex and moved to Basingstoke with his parents when his father got a job locally with the Civil Service in the 70s. He grew up in Kempshott.

“I have great memories of going to infant and junior school. I grew up in an era where we’d say to mum I’ll be back at tea time, and go off and play with friends all day.”

He has fond memories of exploring the area where Hatchwarren is now and going into town on the bus to “go around the record shops and spend pocket money.”

His parents were part of the Basingstoke Square Dancing Group and “me and my sister used to go along.”

We asked Gary about what it was like growing up in the area and what he did for entertainment. He recalls the roller disco at Richard Aldworth School and the cinema opening at the Leisure Park. “When it first opened I was like, wow we are on the map here. 10 screens in Basingstoke! The nightclub in town, Martines had a college night.”

He also recalls using the old ABC Cinema for church and taking his drums in there to play in the music group. Whilst at QMC Gary was in quite a few bands.

Gary also told us of his memories of Basingstoke Carnival.

“Thursday night was procession night. It would start at Eastrop and end up in War Memorial and we’d go and watch it. They’d be giving out balloons and sweets. Some of the floats were amazing. We started doing it as a church with the band on the back.”

Gary got married in St Marks in Kempshott and all three of his children were born in Basingstoke. He enjoys running around town and tackling the “’Big Dipper’ hill and seeing the beaustiful countryside in different seasons”. One of the things he discovered during COVID were many churches in the area, which he described as “historical but also beautiful”. He tells us about the great relationships between the churches in town today and the services that they offer like Street Pastors, Foodbanks and the Night Light Winter Shelter. “That to me is often unseen but if it stopped it would be noticed.”

As we chat Gary shows us some old photographs which trigger some other memories. He tells us “The Church offices were in the old provincial bank. When I first came on staff my office was in the vault.”

It’s clear that Gary loves this town “I think it’s a really welcoming town. I think it’s a safe town. I love it, I think it’s great. As it grows I hope we keep the community together”.

January 2025