Greenwich In The 1940s And 1950s

A Memory of Greenwich.

I was born, during the Battle of Britain, at 8, Roan Street. Our back yard bordered St Alfege's churchyard. The house is not there any more because it had to be pulled down after the war. We had several 'near-hits' and the building had become unsafe. These days, church railings stand where our house once stood.
In Greenwich Park, just behind the Maritime Museum, allotments were created during WWll. My mum had one of them and we grew magnificent tomatoes, potatoes and a small patch of Russell lupins.
It was my older sister's job to follow the milkman, coalman etc., in their horse-drawn vehicles, to collect manure which was the secret for a good crop.
When an air raid warning went off, we rushed to a nearby underground shelter. In our case, it would have been the crypt of St. Alfege's or in the shelter belonging to the Baker's in Church Passage. A cramped, underground room housing several sets of bunk beds with an oil drum at one end, serving as a makeshift toilet. We used candles for lighting.
At other times, my sister and I would sleep on the floor, in our house, underneath a heavy wooden table. That way, if there was a raid and windows were blown in, we would have been protected from most of the flying glass.

I was nearly five when the war ended. I went to Randall Place School (now called James Wolfe). I can only remember one teacher, Miss Jacklin, and two friends from those days - Alice McCarthy and Maureen Philpott. Since our house had been badly damaged, we had to get out so, in 1947, we moved to Maidenstone Hill. I had to change school so now I went to Royal Hill Primary School. Miss Broad was the Head Teacher. Some of the teachers were Miss Stubbs, Mrs Waite and Mr Ford. I was very happy there and made lots of new friends. Soon, we had a new Head Teacher, Mrs Baxendall. Many years later I recognised her at my hairdresser's in Eltham. By then she was in her nineties and very frail.
Friends from Royal Hill School included Beryl Antrobus, Alan White, Tim Healey, Joseph Lloyd, Clive Cook and Ian Brown. Listing those old friends, I am surprised to see that most of them are boys. I don't know what that says about me! I think of them all more than ever these days. I'd love to catch up with them.

My father's family had a wonderful shellfish stall in King William Walk and when my grandparents died, he took it over. It finally closed in 1978, on the death of my mother, after almost one hundred years of trading. My maiden name was Marion Allaway.