Mitchells Shop Lonsdale Avenue East Ham

A Memory of East Ham.

My memories of my aunt and uncle's shop in Lonsdale Avenue spans from my earliest memory until 1978 when it was destroyed by fire. My aunt and uncle were Violet and Stanley (Mick) Mitchell. I'm not sure when they first opened the shop but I think it was the end of the 1940s. They had the shop until 1978 when my Uncle Mick suddenly passed away. The shop was being sold so they could retire but when he died Auntie Vi came to stay with us in Chigwell. Whilst she was staying at our house, the fuse box under the stairs of the shop blew and the shop was gutted by fire. This happened on Christmas Day 1978 a month after Uncle Mick died. I spent all my summers there and had some of the best times of my life. There was an off-licence across the road, I think I remember they were called Jolley. My friend Gillian Sweeney lived opposite and we raked the streets together and played at the park next to the flats in Lonsdale Avenue. The shop was a great place. Uncle Mick knocked 3 houses into 1 big shop. When I got older, I used to help serve and Auntie Vi used to pay me. I also remember going swimming at the Town Hall. It was really old fashioned but we had a great time. Afterwards we would get toast and butter at the canteen and get on the S1 bus home. I'll never forget the shop at Lonsdale Avenue, it was such a big part of my life.