Memories of Purley

Working in Dartmouth Road

I worked at the gas board showroom on Dartmouth Road. It was next door to the bank on the corner of London Road. As well as selling gas appliances and receiving payment on gas bills we used to sell bags of "shillingsis!" for consumers to feed their slot meters. Black men used to call them punch meters! I used to park on one of the side streets off Dartmouth Road and one day the handbrake broke and I had to leave it in gear. My uncle helped run "Days Garage" on Sydenham Park Road. It was originally owned by a Peter Day (no relation). Today there are houses built over the old garage. My neighbour worked in the china shop along Dartmouth Raod and I can remember the big station with a W H Smiths store alongside.
I lived in Queenswood Road next door to a bomb site. There were loads of 'em in the fifties and us kids used to play in the houses that were condemned down Miall Road in Lower Sydenham.
One of my earliest memories of Forest Hill was when my parents voted in the 1951 general election. The polling station was in one of the big houses along Dacres Road. I can still remember the little pencil hanging on a string for voters to mark their ballot papers. All around Dacres was unmade road with loads o' trees overhanging the road. It really was like a country district in them days.

My three years at Reedham

I recall walking past the gate-house with my mother on a Tuesday afternoon in March 1950. I was to start my lustrous career there for a period of three years, leaving in March 1953.
Starting there was an real shock to the system. I was eleven years old at the time and this was the first time in my life that I living under the roof of people I didn't know. Up to that time I lived with my parents, brother and sister and if and when we went on holidays etc I was always in the company of a family member. I remember seeing the actual school looking gray and forbidding as I got closer to it. Music has been and still is, a big part of my life.
Before going to Reedham I had lived in South Croydon and attended Bynes Road, Senior School. At a school concert I played a piano solo to quite a stunning reception by the audience. On the strength of that the school principal, Mr. Oliver, entered me for a pianoforte entrance audition to the Royal College of Music in London. The prize was a full scholarship there for six years.
I duly sat the audition and was told that I was on the short list. Before I heard the result I was at Reedham.
One morning about a fortnight later the house-master on duty was dealing with mail distribution. He blew a whistle and we all stopped what we were doing while he called out the names of boarders who had received mail. My name was amongst those called. I went to the table where the letters were laid out, received mine from the house-master who said, 'congratulations Donnan, you've won the scholarship.' Although pleased with my success I was really narked that I wasn't the first one to read it for myself. Mail both outgoing and incoming was vetted by the staff, a policy I never really took to.
News of my success went around the school and I was referred to as 'professor.'
I found music made me a lot of friends and quite oftwen I was allowed to play the chapel organ for weekly school assemblies. I used to attend the College on Saturdays.
Although the first term was a difficult period of adjustment for me, I survived and at the end of three years I was almost sorry to be leaving the place.
I recall on my last day there just on three years later I walked down the drive to the gate-house where I stopped, looked back and saw ghosts of myself and mum walking up that drive for the first time.
In 1964 I migrated to Australia under the Ten Pound Assisted Passage Scheme. I landed in Sydney in May at the age of 26. I met my wife within a few weeks and got married not long after, in September 1965, in fact. Quite a few of my comtemporaries came to Australia at different times, settling in Sydney and other parts of the country.
I still have fond memories of Reedham.

Growing up in Purley

When I lived in Purley, there weren't many stores.  I can remember when Sainsbury's opened across from Purley Fountain.  There was a toy shop in the High Street called Morgan's.  I stole a whistle from there when I was not very old.  I can remember it to this day.  It was yellow plastic with one of those pea things in that made the whistling noice.  I must have taken it home but I was soon on my way back to Morgan's to return the whistle and apologise for stealing it!

We lived in Dale Road and there was a row of shops along the Godstone Road.  A greengrocer's, Mr King's the grocers, Mr Nicholls newsagents, Mr Burrough's the tobacconist and a couple more than I can't remember.  We were friendly with the Nicholls and went round there to watch the Coronation on their television.  We did not have a television at the time.  My Mom used to smoke and we often got sent round for 20 Churchman's No. 1.

There was only one restaurant that I can remember.  It was right beside the railway bridge.  I don't know that I ever went there.  People didn't eat out very much in those days.  We called it Bobby Crittendon's.  I don't know if that was it's actual name, but I guess it was run by Bobby Crittendon!

There was the Astoria cinema in the High Street.  That was a treat when we got to go there. I do remember there was a jeweller's in Russell Hill and my Dad used to have jewellery specially made for my mother.  There was also a pet food shop in Russell Hill that sold horse meat that my Mom used to buy for the dog.

We were never restricted in what we did or where we went.  We used to go up to the woods in Northwood Avenue and hide in the hawthorn bushes, and build "camps" in the flattened grass and spy on people!  I can remember once a whole crowd of us went to Grange Park and messed around in that canal type thing there and we all had to take our shirts off and run around to get them dry before we went on the bus back home again.  Grange Park was quite a long way away.  I think I was the oldest and I was probably around 12 at the time.  We must have taken the bus because it was much too far to walk there.

When I was in my teens, we moved to Meadow Hill.  We moved from 18 Dale Road to 18 Meadow Hill.  After that we had to catch the 234 up Foxley Lane and walk home.  After I started work I often used to take a taxi home because I didn't like walking in the dark.  When I went out in the evening I took the bus along to the bottom of Smitham Downs Road and I would walk up in the middle of the road because all the houses had big hedges and I was scared someone was going to jump out at me.  They never did!

Swimming at Reedham Orphanage

I went to Whyteleafe Grammar school. At the time it was an all girls grammar school. We used to go on a coach to swim at Reedham Orphanage. I didn't know how to swim and I can remember to this day, telling Miss Edwards, the phys ed. teacher who was very strict, that I had read in a book that if you put your shoulders under the water, you would be able to swim and I asked if this was true! She said why didn't I try it and see! I can't remember if it worked. All I can remember is that it was an indoor pool but it had leaves and stuff in the water and the water was not very warm.