The Sad Demise Of A Wonderfull Little Town

A Memory of Erith.

1 lived in Erith until 1970 born in 1932 at 7 Athol road off of Deluci road which is next to the old Tivoli cinema we move there in 1934 from west street we had incenderies drop on our house in 1942 my father put a bucket over it and when he kicked it of it singed is hair and eye brows as an old lady lived upstairs a Mrs smith and had a midget lodger named Mr pledger who was a watch repairer we all stood outside our house on Saturday 7th September 1940 and watched a vast diamond shape of planes over head? that was attacked by a few British spitfires it continued on and bombed the Woolwich arsenal and that night when I looked out the back with my mum we could see a red glow in the distance towards London I was only 8 but never forgot it? when the air raids came we went under the stairs as the Anderson shelter was full of water
many of the neighbours did the same? schools were closed a lot of the time I used to go to the Ritz and the Odeon and get someone to take me in as mum and dad worked? and used to say school was closed when it was open? I had lots of pocket money because dad and mum were both working I was 10 by now? then to cut a long story short? when the war finished it was a bit of an anti climax as life was not as exciting as when the war was on? we did not realise the dangers it was like a film??? things plodded on I got married in 1955 and worked at Mitchells / Callenders cables / the international stores / maypole / Frasers and Chalmers / Dusseks /
Mobo toys "driver" ? Submarine cables / etc over the years plus national service then in 1960s Mitchells close the lovely town was destroyed? and they built Alcatraz???? I left in 1970 and went to Weston super mare the Lancashire where I live now and I am 83 years young I got a decree with honours at Lancashire university in 1999 aged 67 and have had copd for 30 year of
of my 8 children were born in Erith? loved the town been back several times but it will never be the same? they ruined it. had it survived it would be a place people visited kay sera sera George s heron a old erithoian and with fond memories of a lovely old town