Childhood

Year: Unknown

Childhood

I have many happy memories of my childhood in Stambridge. I lived there with my family for 17 years until I married. Along with my brothers and sister, we all went to Stambridge Primary school and in the summer we used to go to Stambridge Mills where there was a small beach and we could go swimming in the holidays. We walked along to the sea wall and had picnics.  During the long summers we rode our bicycles over to Canewdon and Paglesham. If anyone reading this has any pictures of Stambridge School I would appreciate it if they could contact me to send me copies as I have been unable to find any to show my children. Or of the Royal Oak as it used to be back in  the 1950s.

Year:

RE: Childhood

I was born in Canewdon in the 1940s. My parents ,grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great-grandparents were all born there. I remember catching tiddlers in the village pond, the village before all the 'new houses', sports day in the old playing field, the village fete where bowling for the pig was for a real live pig. The greyhound kennels. Walking down Boxers Lane to Raypits to play in the mud, swimming in the river. Meeting the other village kids doing the same. My grandmother telling me of old George Pickingill, the last known village witch, the crossroads where a witch was buried, running round the large tomb in the churchyard seven times to make the witches appear. Orchard Cafe, where we were given a Punch and Judy show every Christmas. Old Grandma Bush who lived in Gardners Farm, who lived to be 100, where I was invited for tea also around Christmas. The pylons, and when we had to climb one as we were being chased by cows. Old Mrs Tipthorpe who lived in a Romany caravan, and used the Nissan hut as well, she also lived in Gardeners Lane, Back Lane as we called it. The 1953 floods, Foxy Fowler, a convict who hid in Canewdon for a while... I could go on and on, happy days, I do not live far away now, and visit the churchyard often to keep my family graves tidy. I miss the old Canewdon, but that's progress.