Shopping In Faircross Avenue In The 1930s

A Memory of Barking.

I was born in Barking 25.04.1921 and I am now 92! I had four sisters and one brother. We all lived in Fanshaw Avenue with our parents, so anyone that reads this of that era, can relate to the shops and the great Barking people. I can remember shopping in my rollerskates down Faircross Avenue for my mum and it was certainly a quick way to do shopping, definitely quicker than walking! There were a variety of grocer shops, bakers shops and cobbler shops to name but a few.There was a Mark and Spencers clothes outlet and I still feel a sense of pride as I did then that all the clothes were made in Britain.The shop originated in Leeds where it was founded in 1884 and established itself in the NW of England primarily so Barking folk were proud to have a store opened in Barking! I remember Marks and Sparks (as they were nicknamed) and their project to buy a spitfire fighter called The Marksman in 1941; staff in all the branches had raised £5,000 to pay for it.Today they are known on a huge international scale but are still very much a British institution for which we are all proud.