Buckhurst Hill In The 50's & 60's

A Memory of Buckhurst Hill.

I was born in Princes Road (19) in 1953, right opposite Forest Edge in my Gran's attic room. My gran was Annie Surridge. The house has now been converted to a block of flats. I then, at the age of six months, moved to Hong Kong. We used to come back whenever the old man had leave between postings - we were an army family. My earliest memories were of fishing with a net for sticklebacks & minnows in the Cascade at about the age of five. Fifty years later I was back fishing the same stretch of the Roding. This time for Perch, Roach & Chub. I can remember my uncle Sap & dad going for a drink at 'The Colts' when we were in town & going to Gingers on errands for gran.
The toy shop was a delight with the train set -as it seems to be for most kids. I also remember the bakers on the opposite corner & the delicious smell of fresh baked bread. My gran used to work as a cleaner in the Bald Faced Stag for a while. Unfortunately, she left us in 1984 & is now buried in St. John's along with mum. Lord's Bushes was where we, as kids, would camp out overnight. A great adventure as youngsters.