Valence Park

During the 1940's my Mother worked as a part time Park Keeper at Valence Park, I and my older sister spent many hours in the park, it was the safest place to be during an air raid, I remember the doodle bug hitting the houses in Valence Ave, as we were in the park at the time, we saw the doodle bug spinning round like a flaming cross as it headed towards Valence Ave, bits of debris were later found in the park, at the time there was a cricket match taking place, and one the the chaps showed us a large spherical piece of metal that had landed on the cricket pitch it was still hot, about the size of a melon. There was two "parkies" of note one was Buster and the other was Jeff, Buster lived in a cottage in the park, Jeff in Valence Ave I believe. Buster was a very authoritarian man and walked about with a stick and calf length leather boots, you did'nt give him any lip! Life seemed so different then, parks were safe places, I remember the swimming baths very well, spent hours in them, the water was always cold, and there was very often leaves floating about. Sometimes there was Saturday afternoon concerts in the bandstand, and talent competitions, no Britains got talent then not even a microphone, just a pianist if you were lucky. A fairground visited the park annually, that was great fun if you had a few coppers to spend. I loved the whip!. I could go on for hours about Dagenham.