Romford's Market Town Long Gone!

A Memory of Romford.

I lived at 81 Junction Road from the age of 3 - 11 from 1946 - 1953. The house was one of 4 large detached houses close to the railway which have been demolished, but the row of shops in Carlton Road still exist. I remember shopping at the sweet shop with a ration book and buying Tizer and Idris at the corner Off-Licence. At the end of the row of shops was a fishmonger and our mother was always buying fish of some kind, even whole herrings having to manage the bones ourselves!! What a healthy diet we had!! This part of Romford has not changed much but the rest of Romford is unrecognisable - the old Market Town has long gone. Having no TV my brothers, sister and I spent a lot of time at the cinema, there being three in South Street; The Ritz, The Odeon and The Gaumont not forgetting the very old cinema near the Market which we called The Flea Pit!! Saturday Morning Pictures for the children were great, very noisy and even an organ playing. We had so much freedom, walking to Raphael Park and Rise Park, walking down Eastern Road to buy the most delicious cornets next door to the Odeon. We used to stand by the railings by the railway line and watch `Puffing Billy' go by and play on home-made go-carts. The roads were tarred and gritted and I fell off the go-cart hurting my knee and still have the scar to show for it. There were no supermarkets, a grocers where everything was individually weighed and wrapped. On occasions when Mum had lots of shopping she would catch a taxi from the top of Eastern Road which was a treat she deserved! We went to St. Edwards Primary School - I expect it may exist but don't ask me where!