Wareside

I remember many happy childhood days spent at my grandparents' cottage up the hill towards the railway station. There was a block of four cottages on the right hand side of the road. My grandfather's name was Silas Wren, and he was well into his eighties in 1952. We had moved to Southend on Sea because my father had risen through the ranks with the LNER and had become motive power superintendent at Southend Victoria, a position that he held until his death in April 1953. My mother Harriet Jane Wren continued to live in Westcliff until her death in October 1983. Owing to a family rift, I never discovered where my mother was buried, although I believe she may have been interred in the Wareside village cemetery with my father. This Mother's Day has got me thinking about these memories, and I intend to return to the village to make some enquiries.
My mother was born in Ware, and lived in the Blue Coat Cottages in Blue Coat Yard, which was another place I remember fondly.  My mother, on leaving school, went into service at Thunder Hall in Ware.