WOMEN fainted, children became fearful and traffic on the main road from London to Edinburgh became increasingly frustrated when Frankie Vaughan came to Darlington on May 1, 1962, to open a Fine Fare supermarket.

It wasn’t the Fine Fare in Cockerton, as Memories 248 suggested. It was the Fine Fare in Northgate, opposite M&S, where Primark and Peacocks have been until recently.

“The occasion had quite a bit of publicity as supermarkets were a big deal in those days, and I remember the idea of Frankie Vaughan coming to town caused fair bit of excitement among ladies of a certain age, my mam being no exception,” says Dave Pattinson.

Well, we presume it was Frankie that was causing the excitement, although Fine Fare was giving away free bags of sugar which might have attracted a few sweet-tooths to the crowd.

Dave continues: “I'd have been in my early teens, so Frankie wasn’t my cup of tea – Eddie Cochrane, Gene Vincent and the rumblings of some new bands coming from the Liverpool area sounded far cooler than a crooner to me and my mates.

“On the day of the opening, we were ‘revising for our GCEs’ in Burtons snooker hall, which was above Burtons tailors, where M&S now stands. From the second floor, we had a great view of the mainly female crowd outside the shop, and of the top of Frankie's head, minus his straw boater.

“After about two or three minutes we all went back to our 'revision', not the least bit excited! My mam, meanwhile, was absolutely thrilled to bits.”

At street level, it was very crowded. According to the papers of the day, more than 1,500 “pop” fans brought traffic on Northgate to a halt – it was the Great North Road in those days – as Darlington’s six policeman struggled to contain the excitement.

“I was seven months pregnant and so moved to watch him arrive at a less crowded area, where Boots the chemist is now,” says Sheila Husband. “I got a really good view as he went past in a car.”

Michael Llewellyn adds: “I was about 11 or 12 and I remember him giving a high kick outside, which was his trademark.”

Not everyone, though, could see. Gordon Middleton broke his holiday in Skegness to tell how he and his twin brother, Eric, had gone down, but it was so crowded they couldn’t see.

“My brother pretended to faint, so that he was taken out of the crowd,"  he says. “They put him in a back office and he got Frankie’s autograph.”

The newspaper reports tell how Fine Fare’s restroom filled up with tearful children, not all of whom were faking it.

“The singer was jostled, his clothes pulled and scraps of paper thrust into his hands by frenzied autograph hunters,” said the Echo. “As the doors of the store opened, the massive crowd tried to force its way thought the narrow doorway. A trail of shoes, handbags and gloves was left as women battled into the store.”

Despite his big hits, Frankie was quite small in stature, and we’ve been told that one of the burly policemen bodily picked him up and lifted him out of the way of the crush.

The Evening Despatch newspaper had despatched “A Woman Reporter” to the scene, and she noted how the singer ended up standing on a table, throwing photographs at his admirers.

“With his usual manner, Frankie kept smiling – even when it looked as if the crowd might drag the coat from his back,” said the Woman Reporter.

It does seem hard to believe that there were only 1,500 present that day, given the number of people who’ve contacted us 53 years later. Many thanks to them all.

MORE Frankie queries, this time concerning Stanley, writes: “I remember Frankie Vaughan coming to Newton Aycliffe community centre in Finchale Road. I was a teenager and he was top of the pops at the time with Green Door, I think?”

Frankie’s first major hit was Green Door, which peaked at No 2 in the hit parade on November 9, 1956. He quickly followed it with Garden of Eden, which reached the top spot on January 11, 1957.

Heather continues: “He came to support the boys’ club which met at the centre. We were told not to ask him to sing as, due to his contract, he was not able to, but he was very good looking and charming.”

Did Frankie come to Newton Aycliffe twice? Joy Mills writes: “At around the time of the Darlington visit (1962), I worked as a secretary at Toledo Woodhead Springs on the Aycliffe Trading Estate and I remember that one day during our half hour lunch break we went across to the police headquarters, which was only a two minute walk away, to see Frankie Vaughan coming out. I think he had opened the building.”

Can anyone tell us anymore about Mr Vaughan’s visit(s) to Aycliffe?

The Northern Echo: CHURCH TEAM: Cockerton St Mary's FC in 1924-25 – can you name anyone (or any dog)?
CHURCH TEAM: Memories 249 had a picture of Cockerton St Mary’s FC from 1924-25. Margaret Elstob calls to say that her grandfather, Fred Gill, is on his haunches to the right of the dog mascot. He worked with builders Bussey and Armstrong

MEMORIES 249 talked about Piggfords’ grocery shop on Cockerton Green and their bakery on West Auckland Road in Cockerton. Next door to the bakery was the post office and chemist which was run by Norman Willis, although our article confused the Piggfords with the post office. They were separate.

A second mistake: Piggfords was formed in 1921 by Lancelot Piggford and was taken over in 1946 by his son, Thomas, in partnership with James Banks, who was Lancelot’s nephew (not his son). It was they who sold the business on to Fine Fare.

But when did Fine Fare arrive? We’ve been saying that the grocery shop and the neighbouring railwaymen’s terrace of Forcett Street were demolished in 1962 to make way for the mini-market.

“Forcett Street was in existence for several years after my arrival in Darlington in 1963 and my youngest son, Colin, born 1965, has a clear memory of the demolition taking place while he was a pupil at Holy Family Primary School,” says Brenda Flynn.

Bygone Cockerton, by Sylvia Curran and Kate Singlehurst, says the area was compulsorily purchased by Darlington council in 1971 and demolished in 1973.

This makes it even more unlikely that Frankie Vaughan opened the Cockerton Fine Fare, as by the mid-1970s, his pop bubble was deflating. It does seem to be correct, though, that they gave away free chickens on opening day.