The Great Children's Summer Garden Party

A Memory of Bexleyheath.

During the1950's, long before the introduction of Green Shield and other reward stamps, members of the Co-operative Society in the days before the Co-op as we know it today, earned tin coin cash money to the value of each purchase made. This could then be exchanged for real money at a later date. During this time the Society was a pillar of good for its members, with many extra benefits, including day trips to the seaside and to shows and other events.
One such occasion was an annual Children's Summer Garden party held in the grounds of Shornells, a huge imposing Victorian house owned by the Co-operative Society as a training Centre. Situated on Bostall Hill, it nestled among the trees of Abbey and Bostall Woods where the great get-together was open to children of all ages. Here they sat at long trestle tables and were served with little sandwiches, jelly and blancmange, ice-cream, sweets and cakes and an endless supply of orange juice and lemonade. And of course there were lots of fun party games and sports. On these wonderful summer festive days the sun always seemed to shine. Shornells eventually became a guesthouse, then sold for just £11 to become the Greenwich and Bexley Hospice.

---

---