Living With Nan And Grandad

A Memory of Wanstead.

I was born in the back bedroom of my nan and grandads house in Wellesley Road Wanstead. We did not have much but all worked together, my great aunt Flo and uncle Arthur lived in the basement, they also had a bedroom upstairs. We had a small bedroom at the back of the house my mum my dad and me and later on my sister, my mums brother uncle Jack had a bedroom on the first floor (the room I was born in) and my nan and grandad slept in the front room. We did not have a bathroom but I do remember having a bath in front of the kitchen fire in a bath which hung on a nail on the wall outside. My grandad and uncle Jack worked at Tate & Lyles in Silvertown they had loads of friends and most Saturday nights they pushed the furniture back in the basement front room, brought in some beer and gin and egg flip for the ladies and had a party. In those days there was always someone who could play the piano and they had a good old knees up, Sunday I always had to be quiet probably because they all had hangovers though I didnt realise it then. In time I went to the church school in the High Street which is still there today. My family moved to Wickford in Essex when I was 7 but I spent loads of time at my nans during school holidays and at weekends. In 1959 my grandad passed away and his ashed were buried in The East London Cemetery in Manor Park, Uncle Arthur passed around the same time, Auntie Flo followed him to the East London in 1968 and my nan passed away in 1976. Uncle Jack continued living in the house growing his tomatoes and runner beans and giving them away to the neighbours until 2006 when he also passed away. My mum was left the old house but she did not want to live there so I spent many busy weeks there clearing it out, in the end mum decided to sell the house which broke my heart as all my childhood memories were there. Such happy times, my family were wonderful and were always ready to help each other out in bad times, so many christmasses and birthdays oh well. Now whenever I go to the cemetery I go and have a look at the old house, it has had a couple of new owners since we sold it and has changed quite a lot it certainly is a lot smarter but I still see it as it was years ago and have great memories of the people who lived there.

---

---