Elm Grove

The Station c1960
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

My grandparents lived at 42 Elm Grove from the 1920s until the late 1970s, Mr & Mrs Whiffen. My father was brought up there, only leaving when the Second World War broke out. My paternal great grandmother also lived close by, Mrs Beauchamp. I lived in Catford but often visited and stayed on my own with my grandparents. I remember the corner sweetshop/general store run by Mrs Trevener. The fish shop was always a great excitement: peering in at the side door where they gutted and prepared the fish. Round the corner on the main road was a greengrocer where I was allowed to go on my own (aged 5 or so) and buy a single banana for my tea. I remember the bomb site opposite the front of Elm Grove where a gang of us would play! And I still have the scars from falling over on the tar and gravel surface of the street.