Benfleet Creek
I was born on a houseboat right near the bridge to Canvey. I don't remember too much as we were only there for 4 or so years. But things I do remember are running round the rail on the boat and falling in, more than once! and getting hauled up by a rope and on the other end was a very unhappy father. And swimming with my sisters and trying to get out before those darn crabs snipped at your feet. I also remember the line up on the Canvey bridge, people and double decker buses alike. I found it quite amusing when I returned in the 1970s to find they had filled most of the creek in as that very bridge was only about the length of 2 Mini Minors. If I didn't have many photos to prove that it was quite a long bridge I'd have put it down to everything appearing bigger when you're a kid. I'm also the proud owner of an oil painting of our houseboat on the creek, given to our family by a local artist named Muriel Swanson. I don't know if she ever did other works but it's nice to have an oil painting of one's birthplace, even if I was born on Benfleet Creek. Quite a few of the photos I inherited are water marked and curled due to the great flood but are still wonderful to have. A trip down Memory Lane on Easter Sunday is just what I needed.
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Other memories of The Creek From Canvey Bridge c1960
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RE: RE: Benfleet Creek
When I was 4 years old I lived on an ex troop carrier which we named the Rembrant (its name was originally the Martello, I think). There was a storm and the moorings gave way and we were adrift at the mercy of rough waters and towering over the smaller houseboats. Mum had to throw my baby sister Heather down into the arms of someone in a dinghy, while we children were standing on the gangplank. A photographer took a photo of me playing marbles and posted it in the local newspaper. My mother was Muriel Swanson who was known for her paintings and did many for the local people. Shared on 19 December 2011 by Chris Bing.
Comment from Chris Bing on Monday, 19th December 2011.