Memories of Dagenham

Chequers Lane

My late father, Verdun Frederick Davis, was born in the Chequers Lane Cottages, I think it was no 9, on the 29th Feb 1916, one of 10 children with only Amy still living. His father was a Thames Lighterman who was employed by Sammies, he was also a good Quoits player. My mother Marjory Davis, now 91, is still alive and living in sheltered accomodation in Dagenham. I myself was born in Dagenham in 1937 in Hardie Rd, when it backed onto massive corn fields and apart from 2 years National Service have always lived in Dagenham.

Great Days and Fond Memories

It was with great warmth that I read the memory about the O'Dells at the Cross Keys Pub. I too spent some great times with young Cliff at the family garage and at the X Keys. My mother also worked for many years with Mrs O'Dell in the little factory in Crown Street next to the bank. It was indeed a great time to be around as school children and teens in Dagenham, we really did have it all. Fond memories. By the way, I lived in Reede Road and how I managed that railway footbridge some nights to this day still amazes me. But you knew you were safe. Ron H.

DOWN THE LANE

Not that I was around in the 1890's, but that is when building of 55 Cottages was started in CHEQUERS LANE.
Built for workers at SAMUEL WILLIAMS, who were based at DAGENHAM DOCK, which is where my father, BERNARD MILLER, my Aunt, Florence (Flossy), her husband Earl Cecil Barringer and my grandfather John Miller, all worked.
I am fortunate enought to still have Floss to talk to about 'The Lane' and at 94, she is amazing, she recalls so much. Between us we have remembered the names of nearly ALL of the families that lived in the cottages.
My daughter, Sarah, whilst reserching her family tree, has received an e-mail from Alan St Pierre, one of the people who lived there.
If anyone out there knows anything about CHEQUERS LANE, please contact me on MILLERIAIN@sky.com.

Not Much Money but Plenty of Happy memories.

I moved to Dagenham with my family in 1949.  We lived in Cartwright Road off Hedgemans Road.  I have memories of long hot summer holidays off from Finneymore Road School.  The days were filled with trips to Leys swimming pool, where we would spend most of the day. We would bag of crisps and a hot Oxo drink if we had enough money.
Parsloes Park was another full day out.  The large sandpit was the favourite haunt, there were large square concrete blocks built into the pit, we would play 'King of the castle' games, where one would climb onto the block and announce they were king of the castle, only to be pushed off into the soft sand by the new king, this would amuse us for ages.  We would eat packed sandwiches, and there was plenty of water to quench our thirst from the water fountain spout.  The park wardens wore brown suits, trilby hats, brown leather boots up to their knees, and rode around the park on horses, making sure everyone was behaving.
If we didn't want to venture too far we had the field just across the road. The stream that ran the full length of the field amused us for hours. We would dig into the clay bank and make small caves where our imaginary people lived, then use clay to make dams in the shallow water. If we felt brave we would venture under the bridge that straddled Hedgemans Road, on the other side we would come out into the allotments, and soon be chased off by the gardeners tending their crops.

A trip with Mother would take us to the Old Village of Dagenham, crossing the Heathway passing the Church Elms public house onto Church Elm Lane, which led us down to the old village, passing open fields, and large green houses. Which were eventually all pulled down for new houses and the horrid high rise flats. Opposite the church was George's second-hand shop, which was filled with all sorts. I mainly chose a book for my treat, but there were toys, second-hand clothes and so on.

Another trip would be to Broad Street market. Mother would buy from one stall holder white parachute silk (surplus from the war stock) and make we three girls lovely silk dresses.

We knew all our neighbours by name. Everyone was in the same financial situation. There was no envy, items were handed down from neighbour to neighbour. Everyone was Mr or Mrs, no first name.

The big treat was to go into Woolworths on the Heathway shopping parade, and have an ice cream, green, pink and vanilla. The green would make your tongue tingle. The manageress always wore a brown suit, fitted into the waist, and she wore her hair in plaits that were fashioned around her ears, she was very strict, and took no nonsense from the naughty children.

These are just some of the happy memories from a working class background in Dagenham.

Those were the days.

I have so many memories of Dagenham that I could write a book.
I have already written one on this site entitled 'Shopping at the Heathway'.
My earliest memory of Dagenham however was when I was about five years old. We lived in two bedroom house in Valence circus. But then as more houses on the the Becontree estate were built, my father applied for a larger house, which isn't surprising since he now had six children plus a wife to consider. He was offered a house in Meadow Road, and on walking along this road  found to his surprise that just a few houses along the whole road were taken and occupied, he could literally take his pick. Meadow Walk was just as sparsley occupied. Being a keen gardener, he chose one in Meadow Road with a lovely long garden.
Dagenham in those days was a rural district, and came under Essex, not like now that with Barking forms a part of greater London. Parsloes Park had sheep grazing on it, and my mother often took me over there to see them. Indeed if my memory serves me right, in the late 1940s horse trotting was a regular feature that took place at the far side of the Park.
A group of lovely old elm trees graced the centre of the park, which occupied the site of Fansahwe Manor which was demolished in 1927. This old manor was once the home of Lady Anne Fanshawe, who along with her ambassador husband favoured the Royalists at the time of the English Civil War, and fled, I believe to avoid the attention of the Roundheads with which Dagenham was strongly allied.
As a point of interest, if you go on Google Earth and look up Parsloes Park, it is still possible to see etched the outline where once stood the old manor, I have viewed this several times, I can't think of what else this outline could be and it's certainly exactly where the old manor once stood.
Other elm trees were lined along the side of Meadow Walk, and along the path where the sports building is now. All have gone now due to Dutch Elm Disease. Other trees have been planted close to where the original elms stood in the centre of the Park, but not with the same spacing nor do they hold the same charm.
Many a time my friends and I would try and climb one of these trees, but they were not the easiest trees to climb. Until the Second World War, Parsloes Park was a great place to fly your kite. You could still do that after the war, but I don't think it's possible now with all the trees - if it's allowed at all...
Dagenham was favoured with many fine swing parks:- Valence Park which also had a nice band stand, and its great paddling pool, which had changing cubicles along the side. I went there many times and it was always crowded with excited kids. Old Dagenham Park was another, and Reed Road Park - they all held great things for kids to play on, but none equalled Parsloes swing park, it had almost everything such as the Boat that could seat about seven kids - maybe more - and was similar in action to a two-seat fairground boat, and in its upward swing kids would hang on to the end seat for dear life as they hurtled into the air. There was another type of boat that held a similar amount of kids and hurtled backwards and forwards in a sawing motion - great fun,  and along with the Maypole that had about eight ropes that kids swung perilously round and round out into space that today would have the authorities screaming out in alarm in case the poor little darlings hurt themselves. And yet I cannot recall any time that a child did get hurt. These things with the usual swings, roundabout, slide, sand pit and paddling pool made it the best in the area. But you had to be careful to behave yourself and not cause a nuisance, otherwise the Park Keeper with his reddish-brown uniform could cause instant obediance by storming up you and threatening to tell your parents.
But a less harmless installation was also used in Parsloes Park. this was in the Second World War when a small gun-site was housed at the far side of the Park, and after my sister and I got used to the noise and firing, and providing the air raid wasn't that bad, we would sit at our bedroom window and watch the 'Fireworks',  and more so when the Z rocket guns were installed.
There were also many places where we could go fishing for tiddlers. Our favourite place was the old Dagenham Pit - a lovely place to catch newts. Then there was the Chase and Shirley Pits where you needed a proper rod. You didn't need a licence in those days, at least we never had one, nor did anyone else as far as I knew, and no one ever shouted at us to clear off.
Children of today cannot do the things we did as kids, even if they wanted to, there are too many restrictions - too much private land - no hidden glade hiding an equally hidden pond that holds the delight that drew us kids like a moth to a flame.
Perhaps other readers can add to this memory.

Dagenham 1934 -1950

My mum and dad were married in Old Dagenham Church and I was christened in the church in the mid thirties. I was educated in Fanshawe School from the infants right through to the secondary school and left school in Xmas 1949. My father owned 'Alberts' boot and shoe repair shop which was situated in a alley, which was access to lock up garages behind 'Gyps' the greengrocers on the corner of Heathway and Parsloes Ave. We lived in Kingsmill Road and my grandparents lived in Fanshawe Cresent opposite the school, and some people might remember that my gran had a monkey which sat on the windowsill in the summer. I will stop at that otherwise I will bore you all with my exciting life story. By the way the Headmaster of the senior school at the the time was Thomas Allen.

Shopping at the Heathway

My mother asked me to go to the shops and get some bread at Barton's the bakers.
I was just ten years old. 'But' she said, 'if a raid starts, don't hang about but run straight back home'. I often had to go to the shops, it was never a lot I had to get - mainly just one or two things, and if a raid did start, providing it was relatively quiet, I would always try to get these things. So this day saw me queueing up for bread - you had to queue for everything in those days, when suddenly a distant siren was heard. Everyone shifted about slightly looking about them. Then a more closer siren joined in, the queue became more agitated. Then our local one blared out its warning, each siren getting louder and louder making you feel that there was just nowhere you could hide. But we still held our nerve and position. But then I picked up the sound of ack-ack gunfire - distant but ominous. Then my finely tuned ears detected the out of tune throb of German bombers. I left the queue and started for home. As I ran down Parsloes Avenue towards Meadow Road where I lived, the sound of ack-ack guns and throb of bombers overhead had me terrified. Then just as panic took hold, a man came out of his porch, opened his front gate - grabbed hold of me and quickly took me back to his porch where he put his arms around me for protection, then we both huddled down cowering from the noise of guns and bombers. We could hear the clank of shrapnel hitting rooftops and pavements but I can't recall if any bombs dropped.  Then he said 'Don't worry son, it won't last long, they're on their way to better targets. They'll be gone shortly, then you can hurry on home'.
It didn't last long, the bombers did pass over and although the raid was still on it quietened  down considerably. After a few minutes he said 'OK son you should be alright now, but hurry home as fast as you can'.   
I was grateful to that man for comforting me and protecting me, and felt no concern at all when he put his arm around me for protection.  I wonder how many children today would feel the same confidence.  

Valence swimming pool

I remember Valence swimming pool from the late fifties. I lived in Bushgrove Road and went to Valence School and used to go early on a Saturday morning with my mates to be first in there before the crowds. I couldn't swim, but that didn't matter 'cos I had an old van tyre to keep me afloat (I've still got the damn valve marks in my ribs now). I remember jumping in and not being able to breathe for about a minute due to the temperature (normally about 55 degrees Farenheit, if I remember rightly). It used to be posted on the board outside to let you know what misery you were about to go through. A cup of Oxo and a penny biscuit afterwards soon warmed you up (if you could hold the cup still). I went over the park recently (Aug 2007) and you can still see the outline of the pool in the grass where it's been filled in!! Good memories.

Dagenham swimming pool.

My mum worked at Valence open swimming pool and my aunt worked in the buffet - what a result - in for free and free Oxo after the freezing water.  My mum looked after the ladies locker rooms - she remembers the boys trying to peep over the top of the girls lockers!  She remembers when they closed the pool and she lost her job, and saying 'no' to working at the Dagenham indoor pool, and a little girl drowning and the father saying it would never had happened in Valence pool.  Brilliant childhood memories.