Tin Tan Tommy

I moved to the hill as a child with my brother and sisters in the early 1950as to Dagnam Park Square. We had a lovely wood there to play in. Tin Tan Tommy was our best game, standing on the sand bin spying out the other kids and calling out their names once they were spotted. We had to cross the old A12 to get to Harold Park shops, or Dutch and Little as it was known back then, where we would shop in Fairways grocers owned by a Mr Christian. I used to catch a coach to London Road School the other side of Romford, it was a long journey in those days. There was no Harrowfields Pyrgo Dycourts or Priory for some time. We would hang out up the manor, walk to the back of Maylands golf course and into the deer woods or walk up to Southweald where there was an old Second World War army tank in a ditch we could play in. We would get our sweets in Bon Bons or Wally's shop and a packet of Woodbines, a bottle of orange juice and get lost all day till we were hungry, then we would make our way back to the Square. In summer we would swim in the lily pond up the manor or pick bluebells in Dingly Dell which was in the woods off of Stratton Road behind Harrowfield School. My mum dreaded us all bringing armsfull of bluebells home to our house.There was an old boy who used to lurk around the golf course, we called him Spunkey Joe, we were terrified of him. He would chase me and my brother John when we were nicking golf balls, we would run like hell, so excited not to get caught and catching our breath. He was probably quite harmless. I was only 23 and my brother 22, I'm joking of course, we were maybe 9 and 10. We would often camp out all night up the manor and wait for the white lady to appear, I reckon I saw her at least once when I was a teenager but I'd had a couple of light ales so who knows! I remember the tree where the man hanged himself, it was all a bit eerie. I was a Harrowfields boy. Mr Gregson was the headmaster. We had a mad Mr Roberts. Mr Bullock was the science teacher, Hammond the library Irvine the pottery, Eades the weeds was gardener teacher. We would have to go down the huts to some classes. They were wooden, built long before the brick-built Harrowfields we know and love. I enjoyed my school time. Wally's mobile shop would be sitting in Settle Road when we came out at 4 o'clock or so, I loved a jubbley or palm toffie, oh what happy easy carefree days. Then we had to grow up and stuff. Little did we know back then, ah you guys, bye bye.