Purfleet A Very Nice Community

A Memory of Purfleet.

We moved from the garrison to the village just after the floods, I was 12. We moved into Malakwa, next door to the post office run by Mr and Mrs Smith and their daughter Silvia (I had a crush on her but that is another story). The paper shop by the railway station was run by Mr Eaton and family. People I remember are Mr and Mrs Busby and family, the Stocks who ran the grocery store, who lost their son in a terrible accident by the Royal Hotel, the road had a severe right hand bend at the time and a vehicle carrying newsprint from the Thames Board Mills lost its load and crushed him on the bend. Other neighbours I remember are Mr and Mrs Asplin and sons, Mr Ball who was the hairdresser, his sons Bernard, Michael and Kenny, then Mr Wiltshire who had the veg shop, which was later turned into a ladies hair dressers. Moving further up the road, there was the dairy run by Mr Gregory (Michael and Richard and family. If it is still there you can see where the milk crates were lowerd down the steps. Richard his son opened a shop in Grays selling clothes in the new precinct (Richard Gregory). Further up the road was the Co-op, by the station was Nicks Cafe, a favourite haunt for the girls and men from the Thames Board Mills to go for their lunch. The village at the time was a place I remember with wonderful memories and had the most fantastic people living there. Forget your 'soaps', Purfleet was the place. If anyone wants to get in touch feel free, I have oudles of information. There was Charlie South opposite the Royal, our baker who used to deliver bread to your door which made for village community, the smell of bread baking was to die for, also it was 4 bread rolls for one old penny, at the time it was 12 pence to a shilling (to-day 5p). Opposite the bakers there were the Warwicks,who had a daughter Frances and the son I remember was a Boxer they ran the grocery shop opposite the Royal Hotel. The pathway by their shop used to run down to the river at high tide, the waves would wash up the pathway but not as far as the shop, that stopped when Monks the barge-builders raised the sea wall and reclaimed part of the land. By the the beach was the king's steps which led to a causeway and Mr Read (happy) would row you over the river to another pub called the "Long Reach Tavern", he had two daughters, Sylvia and Christine. I will finish now but if anybody is interested I could tell you about the garrison in its hey-day. Absolutely brilliant.

Added 10 December 2010

#230471

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We lived in the Botany Camp? I think that's what it was called Mum, Dad and us five girls, my nan lived in the top camp? we used to walk up through the woods via a track to where the Circus Tavern is now. We girls went to Purfleet Primary School, Tank Lane, in the breaks we used to watch the soldiers parading through holes in the fence where wood knots had fallen out. A lot of our time was spent along the Mardyke on picnics, I remember going along swimming where Lakeside is now. I was very tiny when we moved to Purfleet, probably about 1950, we had wonderful neighbours next door who used to take me for days out in my pushchair mostly to watch the cricket while mum was busy with my new baby sister Patricia and Kitty who was older than me. I do remember a funny 'Mr Pastry' being at one match because he teased me when I couldn't get off the deckchair, when we got home I would fall asleep on a cosy lap in a big chair with a story until dad came to fetch me, the Queens Coronation fancy dress parade, my older sister was queen of hearts, my younger sister was little bo peep, and I was snow white, we all won first prize in our age groups for mums crepe paper costumes, someone thought it was a fix so mum was asked to take second prize for one of us, she thought I wouldn't mind so much? I'm glad you mentioned the names of the cottages and do remember reading them I remember Malakwa and wondered what the names meant.
We used to have our hair cut by Mrs Wiltshire. On our walks to school we used to stop and wave to our uncle Eddie (Tripp) who drove the train engine under the road, I didn't like the smoke and wouldn't cross the bridge until it had gone. There was beacon hill where once upon a time you could climb to the top behind our home and look down the river, (not so today) my dad told us girls the concrete slab we used to stand on to look was where Queen Elizabeth I watched her fleet sail to fight the Spanish Armada, she said the immortal words 'O my poor fleet' hence Purfleet got its name? I never was sure of that one! well he was Irish and full of the blarney, having said that it made me passionate about history. As I grew up I did go to Nicks Café for lunch, my friend at the time Kay Jater's mum used to work with Nick there so we used to get free tea and egg beans on toast. We moved when mum was having our sister Andrea to Joslin Road Purfleet and I lost all contact with the people next door, seven years old and I still remember feeling heartbroken, I wonder where they are now? Mum and Dad have both passed away, we girls all grown up, families of our own, careers, and living from one end of the country to the other, but I still go back to Purfleet and am sad...Purfleet not what it once was!! but the memories you can't take those away. If you lived in the botany in 1950's I would love to hear from you.

By westie28 on Tue Sep 9th 2014, at 12:48 am

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my mother and father in law lived at the botany camp for a while then was moved to feild road averly name of imber they were bombed out of bromerly by bow i think as my wife remembers the barges being pulled along the canals she also worked for stork margarine works

By drobertwright1943 on Fri Jul 17th 2020, at 9:24 am

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