Memories Of Battersea

A Memory of Battersea.

I was born in Battersea in 1939. We lived at various addesses. There were five of us. I was the youngest and my eldest brother Charles was born in 1930 in Victoria Dwellings. I went to William Blake Secondary Modern School. Our last address before I got married and moved out of London was 89 Surrey Lane. I remember my mother saying as a girl her mother used to walk passed the house that had a grid down to a cellar. I checked the census and found in Victorian times our house along the house next door were mens lodging houses. Outisde our backdoor there were steps that led down to a very large cellar, there was a big step up to get inside which had a large cooking range. I remember there were rings in the wall of the cellar. When it was high tide and rained the cellar got flooded and the fire brigade had to be called out to pump it out. As a child I used to play with my friends by the river Thames around near St Marys Church. There used to be an old pub called the Swan that I understood got burnt down. I now live in Sheffield, South Yorkshire


Added 11 February 2012

#235053

Comments & Feedback

you are probably related to me as all of my family come from Battersea. My dad was Alfred Charles Stanley Hawkins and the Hawkins family used to live at 9 Goulden Street, my mother was Nellie Hawkins nee Todd and the Todds used to live at 4 Goulden Street. Unfortunately Goulden Street was knocked down, I think in the 70s
Hi all I went to William Blake School from 1955 to 1961. I remember Harold Rudd very well. I think it was 1958 when flourescent socks were the rage and we had to pull our trousers up as we walked past him to assembly to show that we were not wearing them. His favourite saying was if you wore those socks you would end up as a van boy at Nine Elms railway yard. I think that could have spurred me on to study hard. When I left school I went to the air force, studied electronics. Emigrated to South Africa were I still live today. on a millionaires estate. I often wonder what happened to my old school mates and how they fared in life. I will name a few, Hugh Atkinson, Clive Onley, Harrington, Clayton, Adams Bruce Burgess, Goodwin Grenfell, Sturdwick, Richardson, Cox Shilton we were all in Dalby,s upper fifth

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