On the occasion of our parish fiftieth anniversary it was suggested that it would be
good to remember how the parish of Christ the King was formed, to remember our
past history and the wonderful example we received from our first parish priest and
those who followed him. The Foundation Stone was laid on 25th October 1958 by
Archbishop John Henry King and the opening of the church and the first Mass and
consecration took place on 6th December 1959. In remembering we must positively
These are my own memories and impressions of how the parish as we know it today came about. There may be parishioners who have other memories which we can include in this little history.
In 1945 I remember Fr Thomas Lane from St James asking my mother if she knew of a building which might be hired and used as a Mass Centre on Whitley Estate where most of the catholic community lived. My mother suggested the Scout Hut in Callington Road and that was used until that became too small for the ever growing congregration.
It was in January 1946 that Fr Patrick Collins, an Irish man from Curry in County Sligo, came to Whitley to be
the first parish priest. Prior to this we were served by the priests from St James in Reading, who came to say Mass in the old hut in Shinfield Road, which since 1928 had been our Mass Centre.
I remember Fr Collins as a rather rotund, shortish, dark-haired man with twinkling Irish eyes. A man of great strength of character, determination, vitality, sense of fun and courage especially as he grew older and suffered a great deal of ill health.
We must remember that the Whitley Fr Collins came to was a vastly different district to the one of today. I recall that Northumberland Avenue from the roundabout to Whitley Wood Road was a country lane which we locals knew as Muddy Lane The roundabout itself was still home to a huge anti-aircraft gun.
On the site of South Reading Leisure Centre there were huts which were home to the army personnel who manned the gun battery. When the Army vacated the camp the huts were taken over by the squatters These families were homeless often from other areas where they had been bombed out of their homes and living with relatives in overcrowded conditions. The huts were home to them for some time until they could be re-housed in the new developments which were sprouting up all over Whitley. There was no Madjeski Academy in those days and the surrounding area was just fields and scrub land.
At this time we had to walk by way of a narrow footpath, which is now Hartland Road, to Christ the King Church on Shinfield Road. The church was situated in the grounds of an old house which we knew as Colonel Bill land. It was an old army hut which was donated to us by the Parish of English Martyrs after they had built their new church. Time had taken its toll and it had become a dilapidated building which leaked when it rained. The only lighting was by smoky oil lamps and the heating was totally inadequate with equally smoky paraffin stoves. As children we got absolutely filthy just going to Mass! Just after World War Two there were no cars and hardly any bicycles and for most it meant a long walk through unlit country lanes hard to imagine in this day and age. The new Mass Centre in Callington Road in the heart of Whitley where most of the parishioners lived was a godsend, but could only be used on a Sunday morning.
Christ the King Church in Shinfield Road became alive with the coming of our own parish priest. Mass was said each morning as well as on Sundays with Benediction, catechism classes and choir practice. During May we held our processions around the woods which encircled the church. We used both Shinfield Road and Callington Road for some time.
Fr Collins first home in his new parish was two rooms in the house known as The Lighthouse. This was the home of a parishioner so called because of a miniature lighthouse set in the front garden. The house was situated almost opposite to the turning into Foxhays Road. It was while he as at The Lighthouse that Fr Collins earmarked the surrounding waste ground for possible sites for our permanent church, presbytery and primary school. The Lighthouse was eventually demolished to make way for the extension of Northumberland Avenue, Hartland Road and Whitley Wood Road. The roads were built by the German prisoners of war who were housed in Shinfield Park in Whitley Wood Road just near to Woodside Way. These prisoners of war were awaiting repatriation to Germany.
When The Lighthouse was demolished Fr Collins moved into Northcourt Avenue where he had lodgings in another parishioner home for three years.
The parishioners of Christ the King soon knew that they
were very fortunate in having such a man of the people for their parish priest and rallied around him there was so much work to do.
Before long we had outgrown the Mass Centre in Callington Road and negotiations began to find a bigger property and we moved to the large hall in South Reading Community Centre. I do not apologise for mentioning my mother, Mrs Sadie Anderson at this point. Through the war years and after, she prepared the altar in the Mass Centres every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation, washed the altar linen, cassocks etc (no washing machines or tumble dryers in those days), mended the hymn books, made the kneelers and provided the flowers.
There were four of us children and we each had an allotted task we took it in turns to set out the chairs and kneelers, gave out the hymn books and minded the baby while mother prepared the altar etc. Local neighbours set their clocks by Mrs Anderson and her children going to Mass at the same time week after week and year after year. After Mass everything had to be put away again! Lunch was always late on Sundays! The hall had to be left so that it was ready for the scouts and guides and other functions which were held there during the week.
It was while we were at the Community Centre that Fr Collins made contact with the Prisoner of War camp in Whitley Wood Road and the Catholic prisoners were allowed to march down Northumberland Avenue to Mass each Sunday. These men certainly enriched our lives and formed a choir to sing the Mass as it had never been sung before in this area. Peace and forgiveness were preached and Fr Collins encouraged us to invite the POWs into our homes to celebrate Christmas and Sunday lunch until they were repatriated. My parents felt they could do this even though our own father was still waiting to be demobilised from his duties in the Armed Forces.
By this time we had our own choir led by Mr Frank Kemp we practised in his house, actually in the store room at the back of his work place. Mr Kemp played an ex American Army Surplus Harmonium and put us through our paces. Choir practice always ended when Mrs Gladys Kemp brought down from the flat above orangeade and doughnuts a rare treat for us. No wonder we were so keen on going to choir practice!
A lasting memory for me was the Christmas Mass 1946, we sang in the choir but all the congregation was enthralled by the singing of the German choir, we had never heard Stille Nachte sung in harmony and the congregration requested this carol to be repeated and it was sung several times because we all just loved those beautiful, well practised, harmonising voices. We appreciated the hard work these German prisoners had put into making of such a beautiful sound. As children we were so impressed by the gifts our two German POWs had bought with them when they came for Christmas lunch. Made from whatever scraps they could find they fashioned a brightly painted wheel barrow, a rocking cradle with all the bed linen and for my older sister and myself there was a dolls house complete with all the furniture, soft furnishings and electric light. Our home at that time was lit by gas light to this day we will always remember their kindness to us.
