Church Street And Crown Street

A Memory of Dagenham.

So many years ago but I can remember everything like it was yesterday. Mrs Truman's cafe near the church, just a shed really, the sweet shops, hairdressers, bike shop, cafe, pie and mash shop, my mum ran that pawn shop, I lived above that in 1967, just 2 rooms. Park school we went to. Sparshots think it was called sweet shop so many and now it just breaks your heart to see how bad it is now. The betting shop which ended up as a vets, my dad worked in florist butchers. I was born in Blackbourne Road, my nan and grandad moved there when it was first built, the Walkers, I still think of that as home lol. Remember going up to Arthys the bakers for yeast for school to make bread. The old almshouses down Crown Street. That was the true Dagenham.
Dawn Shiston (nee Liddall)