Grandma's Shop

A Memory of Canning Town.

I was born Nov 5, 1939 at 81 Star Lane, the home of my maternal grandparents, James and Anne Maria Bullock. My mother, Annie Grace Bullock, was the youngest of six children. She married my father, Henry George Hooper, in 1935 at Trinity Church at the junction of Barking Road and Hermit Road.
My father, always known as Harry, was born in 1909 in Poplar, but the family moved to 35 Star Lane, where my grandfather, William James, formerly a wire rope maker at Bullivant's, opened a newsagent and tobacconist shop opposite The Anchor public house.
He was one of six children, four sisters - Dorry, Ada, Bessie and Grace - and two brothers, my dad and elder brother, William. My dad and William were founder members of Dagenham Football Club and also Dagenham & District Boxing Club. As a child I recall taking cover in the Anderson Shelter during the V1 and V2 blitz in grandma's back garden and playing amid the debris of bombed homes. Dangerous, but great fun. We looked at winkles for tea on a Sunday and there was a jellied eel stall outside The Anchor. Another big great was pie and mash at Moody's before going with my fear to watch West Ham at Upton Park. My dad and Uncle Will were good footballers and friendly with Dick Walker, stalwart centre half for the Irons in the post-war years.

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