A trip down memory lane Local historian and retired carpenter,
enthusiasm for collecting memorabilia. I still
Dennis Cross, has lived and worked in and
have some very rare postcards of Burston
around Diss all his life. After decades of
Station, which are my most treasured items.
collecting Diss memorabilia, Dennis turned to fundraising, selling charity
Where do you source your photos and
calendars in aid of the Big C.
postcards from?
Featuring an extensive collection of old
I found most of my items from antique fairs
photographs, postcards and press cuttings
and postcard fairs. I started going to these
dating back to 1865, his calendars have
in 1976 and, after finding a few fascinating
been a big success over the years, raising
postcards, I became hooked. It then became
thousands for the Norfolk cancer charity.
a weekly trip on a Saturday to a different
With sales growing year-on-year, the
fair. I discovered a very early postcard of
calendars are well travelled, with copies
Sunnyside in Diss at an antique shop in
sold in New Zealand!
Felixstowe! The more I collected, the more I
We took the opportunity to find out more
wanted to collect. I then joined the Norfolk
about the man behind the memorabilia.
Postcard Club, where I continued to collect local memorabilia. People would know what
Dennis, tell us a bit about yourself:
I was interested in and they’d reserve
I’ve lived and worked in the Diss area my
postcards for me. Friends would also keep
whole life. I grew up
an eye out for me, and
in Shimpling, went to
the photos would often
Burston Primary
be a good talking point
School then Diss
in the pub
Secondary School and later moved to
You have a lot of
Diss where I’ve lived
stories to tell Dennis,
for many years.
how do you remember
I started out as an
them all?
apprentice carpenter
I’ve done many things in
and learned the trade
my life, worked with
on the job, doing various carpentry jobs in
many people in different jobs and learned a
Diss. I’ve seen many changes to the town
lot. The more you do, the more memories
over the years.
you make. I can remember one of my earliest memories – learning to ride a bike
What sparked your interest in collecting
with my mum in Shimpling. She kept telling
memorabilia?
me to turn left and I went straight ahead,
As a child, I was always fascinated with
into a hawthorn bush! I also have a lot of
railway stations - my father worked on the
farming memories growing up. Living in a
railway. I used to collect railway tickets,
village with lots of fields meant I had to help
which I suppose was the early signs of my
with the regular farming duties.
18 Diss Matters Summer 2022
