I left school in 1959 and worked for a short while in a furniture shop called Traceys in Charlotte Street. It was located on the corner where the Galaxy phone shop is now. So long ago that it was even before the Tricorn Centre was built.
The old Debenhams store which has now closed used to be a department store called Allders. Before that it was a department store called Landports. The district in Portsmouth where the city centre shops are is called Landport, which is where the store got its name from. The store opposite Wilko's with the yellow shutters over the windows was a well known local landmark store called 'U-Need-Us'. It was a fancy dress/party/joke shop that sadly closed in 2019 after being open for nearly 96 years.
Been over 16 years since I last walked through Commercial Road...possibly closer to 18...looks familiar...but not. Was born in Portsmouth..and lived within half mile of Commercial Road at one point.
The bit of water in between is called Portcreek. With a lot of effort and a strong wind you could almost spit across it. So TECHNICALLY an island but not exactly an ocean away .... :-)
