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Matthew Guy Newman Windows, made his first class debut for Gloucestershire, the county his father captained, at the end of 1992. He was an established member of Gloucestershire's middle order, playing most of the games in the county's 2005 season. He scored more freely in the Totesport league, coming third in the county's batting averages for the competition.After impressive performances for England Under 19s, he made 71 on debut for the county and was retained for the following season.Considered a potential England player, Matthew was selected for the England A tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1998 and was named Gloucestershire's player of the year.Matthew enjoyed a benefit in 2006 but decided to retire at the end of that season. |
James Gale Windows was born in 1870 in Cowley, Oxfordshire. In his late teens he moved to Newcastle, boarding in Elswick, and working as a music seller’s assistant. In 1901 James moved to Heaton with his wife Maude and first son Maurice. At this time James was working as a pianoforte dealer’s assistant.In 1908 James opened his own shop in the Central Arcade (the current Newcastle store) selling musical instruments and recorded music. The Central Arcade itself was opened in 1906 inside the Central Exchange Buildings, which were built in 1837 as a corn exchange. The flagship store is set out over three floors in the Central Arcade, an elegant Edwardian shopping arcade in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne's city centre. The shop celebrated its one hundred year anniversary in 2008.James Gale Windows died in 1933 and his two sons took up the management of the company. |
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Frederick Lawrence Windows – Chas, served in the RAF as a cook during the 1950s and 1960s. His most memorable posting was to the Christmas Islands in the Pacific as part of the Nuclear Testing Programme.During this posting he watched two A-bombs and three larger H-bombs, he remarked that most people were aware of the dangers of radiation, but little was done to protect the service personnel. In fact, he tells me that during the detonations, they would put the kitchen cats in the steel ovens (switched off) to protect them !His health suffered for most of the rest of his life, however, the British Government denied and delayed such a link and the something like 17,000 out of 20,000 personnel died before their time. Still, at least some of them had a round-the-world cruise via Panama on the long way home – not much in compensation in hind-sight. |