Peldon, Essex

October Gale

High winds and loud crashing in the middle of the night.
Not long after my divorce, moving back to live with my mother and father.
We were woken by crashing of bricks from the gable end of the house. Both mine and my father's cars had been crushed by the bricks. Looking across to Bradwell from the bedroom window, I could... [more]

MERSEA ISLAND primary school 1950's-

Born on Mersea island- what a haven we school children had to live and grow in. Endless poppy fields and bluebell woods,golden beaches and primrose banks flanked the leafy lanes.
Greedy land grabbers have spoilt its original charm, but thankfully its still possible to take a walk down The Lane by the coast to step back in time. Sit on... [more]

rose family

I didn't live in Tollesbury but my in-laws' ancestors were the Rose family, James and Charlotte, born 1807 and 1809. He was an agricultural labourer and his children were Ann, Mehetebel, George, Susan, Thomas, maybe Isaac who married Kezia Woods. If anyone knows of any descendants or anything about the family I would be very interested. Vicki Manning

Evacuation

I along with my sister and mother were evacuated from Ilford to the station master's house at Tolleshant D'arcy. The railway line had three trains in each direction each day and my sister and myself were allowed to open and close the manual level crossing ( we were 6 and 4 at the time!!). The station had a ticket office (... [more]

Leadership Course

We completed our Lance Bombadier Leadership training in these barracks, we referred to them as cavalry barracks (they are stables now). I was with 52 Bty 45 Fld Regt RA, stationed at Kirkee Barracks. One of my friends (Arnie Mccallion) was on stable duty but was allergic to horses, the BSM thought he was trying to pull a fast one -... [more]

Donkey & Buskins public house, Layer-de-la-Hay

I was the licensee of the above for an all too brief time and had some regular customers who arrived every week-day evening at opening time and were called "The Club". Among them I remember a Ken & Penny Upton and a retired local Headmaster who was known as "Casey".
Time erodes memory, especially re: names, but I hope someone reads... [more]

So sad

This picture of High Street is very dear to me because it is how I remembered it when I was a boy in the 1940s & 50s. In 1955 I was called up to do my national sevice and was posted abroard, when I returned, to my horror, the church in the foreground had been demolished.  

Happy Summer Days at the Pool

This photo' reminded me of those carefree summer days when we would cycle from Myland to the pool, leave our bikes, unlocked, in a heap outside, pay our 6d and go to the dank, cold, changing room under the bridge.
The girls had to cross the end of the pool by a boardwalk to their changing room on the other side.[more]