Borehamwood, The Village
I was born at 4 Glenhaven Avenue in November of 1945 to Matthew Murray and Elizabeth (Beth) Murray, My sister Jill having been born in Radlet in 1944. I remember that the walls were brown in the house so I gave it the name of the 'dirty house'. After the war, council houses were being built to take care of displaced Londoners. My folks got one of the council houses, 23 Caishowe Road. We must have moved to this house about 1947. My sister Lindsey was born in this new home in 1950. We all went to Cowley Hill Primary school which was on Winstre Road. We took a short cut on a foot path from Caishowe Road to the back side of the school. Borehamwood was a wonderful quiet place to grow up. We didn't realize that we lived so close to London. Borehamwood was part of the green belt, so we felt like we lived in the middle of farm country. Even the movie studios had sheep on their lots. We would go gather the wool off of the fences. One time we even learned to card and spin it at school. We would spend hours walking the lanes, scrumping, playing on the Iron Bridge and watching the steam trains go under the bridge and playing in the smoke from the trains. Traffic was almost non existent on our street. Very few people owned cars, so we played for hours in the road. Roller skating, hide and seek, kick the can, hop scotch, riding bikes. After school, my friend Angela Brown and I would walk over to the fish and chip shop on Hertford road for a bag of chips with crackling and a pickled onion. One of my favorite places to walk to was The Home of Rest for horses. Sitting outside the Mops and Brooms on a summer evening with a bag of crisps and an orange drink was a big treat for my sisters and I. We would play in the garden while my folks had a drink in the pub and visited with their friends. I now live in Idaho in the USA in a small town away from big cities, and think fondly of those long summer evenings when we would have to go to bed when it was still light, the windows open, the smell of the soft moist air and the sound of the train going through the town could be heard in the distance. Borehamwood was a great place to grow up. In the 1940s and 1950s it was safe to walk the streets day or night. We enjoyed our neighbours and we all watched out for one another.
Memories Links
Other memories of Leeming Road Shopping Parade c1965
See more memories of Borehamwood
Add a Memory for another place
Tips & Ideas
How has this scene changed?
Do you know who lived or worked here?
Why is this photo significant to you?
Particular points of interest - transport, architecture, fashions etc.
Comments
5 comments have been shared so far in response to the memory "Borehamwood, The Village".
Why not get involved and post your comments using the comment form below.
Comments
RE: RE: Borehamwood, The Village
Reading Jackie's memories hit a note with me, she says she was born at 4 Glenhaven Avenue, well I used to visit my girlfriend in the 1960s, she and her family, the Childs, lived at 4 Glenhaven Avenue. I lived in Baldock Way, a road behind the shops of Leeming Road, our flats overlooked the playing fields of Lyndhurst school. I lived there from 1955 until 1970. I went to High Canons primary school and Lyndhurst secondary school.
Comment from James Miller on Saturday, 18th September 2010.
RE: RE: Borehamwood, The Village
I made a slight mistake with my comment, I am still in contact with my old girlfriend and she tells me that she lived at number 2 Glenhaven next door to the Murrays and she knows of their name because her mum and her two aunts who lived at number 1 Glenhaven mentioned the Murrays a lot.
Comment from James Miller on Friday, 1st October 2010.
RE: RE: Borehamwood, The Village
I am looking for information or stories on the "Simons" family that lived in Borehamwood. They owned a cafe, the eldest daughter was a actress for a short time, they had twin girls and a son I believe.
Comment from Sharon Clarke on Monday, 28th February 2011.
RE: RE: Borehamwood, The Village
Boreham Wood - this is how we used to write it - Cowley Hill Primary, Lyndhurst I remember them both as if it was yesterday (but it sure isn't lolol) I emigrated to Australia in 1966 and haven't looked back - did I or do I miss the wood? oh yes, I think I always will. I knew Jackie very well at Cowley Hill, we were great buddies (that's my memory) the fish & chip shop that she mentions, was almost across the road from my house and that crackling was almighty nice - Mr Ridout ran the shop then. We all did more than play on the old iron bridge in the train steam, we used to jump up and walk 'along' the bridge railing - I went back for a holiday in 1995 and that old bridge is still there. My name then was Sandra Gough & we lived firstly in Northfield Road then moved around the corner to Delamere Road. Memories, aren't they great?
Comment from Sandra Rooney on Wednesday, 6th July 2011.
RE: RE: Borehamwood, The Village
If our folks had known what we did at the old Iron Bridge they would have had a fit. We also put our ears to the track and when we could feel the rumble of a train we would see if we could run across before the train came. I look back on it and realize how crazy we were. I would have locked my kids up if they tried the same thing.
Comment from Jackie Murray Richardson on Saturday, 9th July 2011.