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North Ockendon

North Ockendon maps

Historic maps of North Ockendon and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all North Ockendon maps

North Ockendon area books

Displaying 1 of 18 books about North Ockendon and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of North Ockendon

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Essex memories

Good Times

My parents moved into a prefab in Foxglove Crescent when I was 2.  They were still assembling them and German prisoners of war were building the foundations.  Compared to my nan's house they had everything, including an electric fridge which was unheard of then.  The only problem was that in the winter everything froze solid inside, windows, wardrobe doors etc because they were all metal.  We used to go to the village to buy broken biscuits and yesterday's bread and cakes.  There was a village school which I attended in 1948 and got the cane on the first day.  I don't think they liked Prefab kids.  I stayed there until Mardyke School opened and then went to Ockendon Lennard County Secondary School on the new Aveley Estate in September 1954.  The Headmaster was Mr Ernie Barratt, apart from him I seem to remember most of the teachers would cane you as soon as look at you.  Mind you there were 50 kids in a class then, even so there were... Read more

Fond Memories

The Village, South Road c1950
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In the late 1950s my pocket money earner was a paper round in Ockendon. On Saturday mornings all the paper boys would take their collected money (safe in those days) and cash in at Mrs Hall's Cafe in the village. Johnny Kiss was a sort of manager with Alan Hall and Derek Hall. Our meagre wages would then all be spent on fizzy drinks and sweets. It was worth the clout round the ear from Dad. In those days you could walk across the fields (GKN's wasn't there then) or you could go through the prefabs and over the kissing gate (the zig zag bridge wasn't there either. Oh happy days.

My Place of Birth

Celandine Road c1955
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I was born in one of those prefabs halfway down on the righthand side, number twenty three in fact. My mum and dad must have thought they`d gone to heaven, moving from a blitzed east end tenemant with a shared outside toilet to a detached "bungalow" with its own facilities and garden I remember the road just as in the picture: empty of cars. My dad was one of the first to get a car, well a van in fact, a Ford 100e. He bought a bench seat out of a trolley bus in a scrap yard to put in the back so he could take the family out.

South Ockendon

Celandine Road c1955
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We too lived on this street, half-way down on the left in fact. I remember the Spicers, I used to babysit Christopher.

HAPPY DAYS

The Village, South Road c1950
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We lived in South Ockendon from 1957 until the 1960s and they were the happiest years of my life. My father was Mr Edward Bailey who was caretaker of Benyon School and the family lived in the school house, Mum, Ann, David and me Joy. Dad was a lay reader at St Nicholas Church on the green and he was in the choir and Church Warden too. I went to school at Benyon and then Culverhouse, had a wonderful childhood and now in my sixties look back over happy memories.

Memory Lane

Celandine Road c1955
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My family used to live in Celandine Close, number 20 from 1959 to 1964 where we moved to Carnach Green. I have two brothers, David and John Colley, the three of us went to Benyon School then on too Sommers Heath and Culverhouse. My memories of Celendine are very poor but I do remember my neighbour having geese, I never did know why. We went to Grays by train, green it was. We had sherbert from the little shop next to the alloment. Llife was so simple then. If anyone wants to contact me through this site my name is Ann Colley.

Mardyke School

Mardyke School c1960
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This photo is of Mardyke School in Cruick Avenue, South Ockendon. I lived in Elwick Road just 100 yards around the corner and attended Mardyke (Infants and Juniors) between 1954 and 1960. The photo has been taken from the main school gates in Cruick Avenue and the infants' playground is shown. The flower border to the right of the pavement in the foreground was always stocked full of roses. It was a great school and I very much enjoyed my time there - Mr Smith was my form teacher in my final year (1960). Others in my class included Terry Rampling, Robert Lees, Peter Cecil, Malcolm Smith, Marilyn Mayger, Linda Kindell, John Banyard.

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