Harold Hill

A Memory of Gidea Park.

I was born in north London, at the age of 5, I moved with my two twin younger brothers & parents to Harold Hill council estate on the first part built; 24 Charlbury Crescent. We had farms all around us as the rest of Harold Hill was not built. I went to Bosworth School, then on to Quarles Secondary Modern, I used to cycle to school. I played for school football team at Bosworth and remember going on a school holiday down to Portsmouth. We stayed on an old galleon that Nelson captured from the French. Another school, Harfields, was also on holiday on the ship and as our schools never got on, a fight took place. I cracked my head on one of the lower decks low beams and arrived home with a bandaged head, looked like an Indian. I remember going scrumping for rhubarb in a field near Bedfords; we would carry bundles down to Bedford Road only to be meet by the police, they put half of it in their car, then let us have the other... good days. I then became a teenager, got me first motor bike; used to go up the Woodlands café, fishing at Raffles park and used to know all the newt pond. Had two mates, John Harvey and Peter White. Then got married and moved to south east London, Plumpstead, now living in Norfolk age 70; still riding old classic motor bikes.