Chadwell Heath 1940/1959

Hi Michael
I was born at 21 Hall Road 1941 also went to Chadell Primary School
1946 then onto Mayfield
Have very early memories of the war and doodle bugs flying over and family running to under ground bunker in rear garden,at one time I found two incendiary bombs in garden could go on and on , do you
know of Norman Metters who lived near opposite you last but one house to Chadwell Heath lane

Hello Allen:
Can't say I knew Norman. Up your end of Hall I knew the Rodricks, Brian and Kenny. Kenny went to Chadwell and then on to Romford Tech I believe. My brother Bernard was at Mayfield. My friends back then were Tony Cancel who lived in Sommerville and went to Mayfield probably a year after you. I heard he passed away in 2008. I've not been back to Chadwell Heath since 1970, my parents moved to Blackbush Ave. and then to Felixstowe in about 1973. I usually get home most years and see my brother in Suffolk. I did connect with several other friends last year when they contact me regarding an article about one my books that appeared in the Romford Recorder http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?eid=a59e3845-edc7-46d6-8a8f-8c44fbd51236
Romford Recorder E Edition Pages 44/45
Books can be seen on my Amazon page at
http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Merry/e/B00O8N9C4K
Best wishes
Mike Merry

Hello Michael,
It's a good few years since we lived next door to each other in Chadwell Heath. I moved to 60 Chad. Heath Lane on January 1st 1941 after we'd been bombed out at Stratford. I can remember you well, but would not have recognised you from your picture in the Romford Recorder. Some time after we had moved out from our parents you may remember your visit to us with your wife at our house in Ongar. I'm living in South Lincolnshire now, about 11 miles west of King's Lynn. The only person I am still in touch with from C.H. is a school friend from Beal who lived in Jarrow Road - John Garcka. He has a brother Peter who must be about your age, who delivered newspapers for Beeston's. It was interesting to read about your varied life, it makes mine seem very dull in comparison. I note your last post was back in March 2015 so you may not be checking this site regularly now. I only came across it recently when looking for my Stratford road, filling in some details for my ancestry records.
Good to see you are still around!
Best wishes,
Alan Taylor.

Alan:
What a surprise! Just checking a few seldom visited sites and there you were! Good to hear from you. michaeljamesmerry@hotmail.com will find me if u have time. I well remember visiting you with Mariela. We have just celebrated our 54th anniversary. The Recorder is usually generous with it's space so I always send them the book information. I'm in the middle of another one right now, "Galleon" - It's short stories again. Not the best sellers but I prefer to write them rather than an 80K novel!
We are still in Miami. My sons are grown of course. Young Michael runs a Fortune 500 corporation division in Miami and holds the worlds record for 275lbs, drug free bench press. James manages another big operation for safety here. His son is representing the USA this evening playing US football against Canada. It's on tv! I'll be in UK mid-march to see Bernard (my brother) who has a daughter getting married at Trinity College Cambridge. Its a quick trip and off to Florence and see friends in Madrid.
I still work (at 77) every day! Keeps me busy in the mornings and writing in the afternoons. Tell me how things have been with you. I know my life sounds exotic but when I went to latin America it was a different world and
truth told, I loved it! Do email me! Saludos Mike

Hi,

I live in Chadwell Heath, next door to the rear car park of the old Cinema. I have been working on a restoration project, these past few months, for the Embassy Cinema of Chadwell Heath; a former 1930s art deco cinema, that hosted sophisticated entertainment. It is one of the only historic buildings left in my hometown. My team are currently working with our Council (London Borough of Redbridge) to locally list the building, and grant it “Asset of Community Value” status. We then plan to acquire the building and restore it to its former glory. Many of its original features still exist; from the art deco lights and door frames, to the original Proscenium Arch, Stage and Orchestra Pit. Even the old Projector Room has endured after all this time.

We intend to use the Auditorium as a Repertory Cinema and Theatre. Old classics, cult movies, themed screenings, viewings with live soundtracks, and arthouse productions can bring generations of people together. Local schools, colleges and communities can host amateur dramatic productions. Jazz, Swing, Big Band, Blues and Classical Orchestras can bring nights of refinement. The Dance Hall can be brought alive again, with late-evenings of Ballroom and Latin dancing. Keeping the building authentic to a retro/vintage era will easily make it stand out in East London, and give it some personality.

We have obtained the original blueprints, and plans of the building, in order to restore it to exactly how it used to be. Many other art deco cinemas, in the UK, have either been demolished or converted unimaginatively into flats and supermarkets. They were not properly protected, and now they are gone forever. We want to protect the building, repair the damage, and make this landmark culturally significant again. A place for film and theatre to co-exist for those with a mutual appreciation of the Arts; a rejuvenation of our area that can have a lasting impact for generations.

We have been in touch with ‘East Brook Studios’; the major, new film studio developing in Dagenham (approx. twelve minutes away from the Embassy Cinema). Since the area is being cultivated into a new British home for film, the two projects could work in tandem; thereby creating a multitude of jobs and services for the local community. From hosting philanthropic events, to premieres and screenings - all in a vintage, glamorous setting – the opportunities are limitless.

We are looking for architects, historians, benefactors and those in the film/cinema industry who are interested in, or have a knowledge of:

• Art Deco Architecture
• Building Restoration & Heritage
• Retro/Vintage Features of the 1930s
• Repertory Cinemas
• Historic Decades such as “The Roaring Twenties” & “The Prohibition Era”

If you are one, or know someone, feel free to message me. We have ambitious and exciting plans that you could be a part of.