My Bexleyheath In The 40 60s And How I Ended Up In Oz

A Memory of Bexleyheath.

Life began on 29th January 1944 in Bexleyheath. We lived in a small conjoined house at number 12 Rowan Road.
Born to parents Leonard George and Dorothy Beresford just before the end of WW11. Bombs were still reigning on London and surrounds so I was sent to my godmothers place in Sheffield in the north of England for safety. I can’t recall this other than the houses were all entered from the back door and nobody locked their houses.
My father was an electrician at Vickers Armstrong in Crayford. He walked with a limp to the right caused he said by carrying his heavy toolbox around. I believe he worked on wiring very early “computers”… Ones that you actually walked around inside. But that is about all I knew.

Life in Bexleyheath was good.The street had a group of boys around my age (I have since been contacted by David Scudder and Keith Magnus) and we used to spend many happy hours playing cricket and soccer on the road. There were few cars around and we never owned one in all my time at home. Cowboys and Indians was another favourite game along with war games which were fresh in everyone's minds.
All around the district there were “Bombed building sites” and these made great play areas for young kids. At the end of our road there was a big house that looked straight down Rowan Road belonging to a haulage contractor called George Chaplain. He had a large area of sheds, workshops and stacks of rubble, bricks and steel from demolished buildings, and there we used to “build” huts and camps in the piles of bricks and corrugated iron. The workers in the yard waved as we went in and said “Hi..Don't get into mischief!” No such thing as OH&S in those days..

I started school at Pelham Road primary School which was a fair walk. Today kids would be driven to school but we either got the bus or walked. Then when I did the Eleven-plus I went to Graham Road School and was in Mr. Goodhall's class. I can also recall Mr. Laniardo the French teacher and our RI teacher Mr. Schofield aka "in line"

The Broadway at Bexleyheath was a place for kids to enjoy. There was The Silver Lounge an ice cream and pancake parlor that served wonderful cones, sundaes, knickerbocker glories, banana splits etc.. All the things that are good for kids. I think it was run by Italians and they would have been at that time probably the only foreigners in Bexleyheath. Next door on the other corner was a fish and chip shop. I remember going there and getting some “Crackling” for one penny or a halfpenny. Crackling was the bits that come off the battered fish when it was cooked and it was eaten smothered in salt and vinegar wrapped in newspaper.

Then there were the cinemas. The Odeon, The “Bughouse” and The Regal. We used to go to the Saturday morning sessions for 6 pence. Then there was the big church, “Christ Church”. It had a wide avenue of Conker trees leading up the side to the cemetery at the rear and the Graham Road playing fields. The conkers were eagerly hunted by us so we could play conkers with our friends. If you have never played conkers then you have missed out on a great sport.

Dad gave me a bike at a young age and this allowed a lot of freedom around the whole district. The “gang” would ride to “Danson Park” and play in the spacious grounds that had a large boating lake with row boats for hire, a miniature train running around he lake, a large swimming pool, golf course and tennis courts. Every year the circus would set up there so it was a fun place for kids.

Having a bike also meant that I could take on a paper round, I am guessing that was in my teens. I have fond memories of getting up at some ungodly hour and heading to the news agency to roll up papers and deliver them. At that time of day the streets were a different magical scene, empty, quiet and I would say hi to the horses as they were getting ready to deliver the milk from the United Dairies depot just around the corner. The bike also meant I could venture further with others to Bexley Woods Plumpstead and Dartford. At one time I recall riding all the way to Southend on Sea. But when it came to returning home it was so far that I let one of the tyres down and thumbed a lift in a lorry. Another thing I recall about having a bike was: One day (Showing off) I told my friends “Watch this” and riding fast jammed on the front brake….. Over the handle bars and along the gravel in my short pants.. Ouch !!! That was one of two trips that I made to the Cottage hospital in Bexleyheath. The other was for a tonsillectomy. And that is the reason I really do not like jelly today!!!

At an early age Dad said “you will have to attend a Sunday School at a local church, make a choice”. So I decided on The Salvation Army as they seemed the coolest group in the church scene and even had a band. The Salvation Army used to walk around the streets playing music and singing. They seemed like a nice group so I joined them. The main attraction was the youth club, the band in which I played the drums, and as I got a bit older…. the girls. I did draw the line at marching on the street in a uniform and playing in the band though.

As I got near school leaving age dad asked what I wanted to do?. I had a liking for cooking following my involvement with food, even if it was eggs and bacon, hamburgers, tea cakes and tea and coffee helping out at my "uncle Bob's" roadside cafe on the Rochester Way, so I said I would like to join the Merchant Navy as a cook.

I went for an interview at Port Line offices in the King George V dock at Woolwich. I was accepted and spent a few months working as “Tea” boy in the docks and at Cunard House 66 Leadenhall Street in the City of London until I was old enough to go to Sea School. Port Line had about 33 ships at that time most of which did the Australia / New Zealand run. They were refrigerated ships that also carried 12 well heeled passengers.

Then at 15 years and 10 months I went to Sea School at Gravesend down from London on the River Thames . This is where the hulks were kept for prisoners transported to Australia. The sea school had a ramp into the River Thames and was an old prison. It was only a six week course but it was the worst six weeks of my life. Cold, miserable with “guards” that carried a short piece of wood at night to keep you in line when they patrolled. Up at dawn parade in the courtyard, freezing. Here I got in the wrong line and ended up becoming a steward instead of a cook !!!.

I was Very glad to leave and return to Port Line working In the office till my first ship, the Port Brisbane, for a European coastal run to places like Hamburg. A real eye opener (Hamburg) for a 16 year old !!!!!.

Then I got my first “Deep Sea” run, I had to travel to New York to join an old Port Liner the Port Phillip which was on the end of a MANZ run. (A MANZ run was about a years trip away from England sailing between the USA Montreal and New Zealand). I was so lucky to travel there as a passenger on the Queen Mary with the rest of the relief crew, (Port Line was owned by the Cunard Company). I still remember the first night at sea out of Southampton, after dinner myself and the others travelling with me went to the saloon to play bingo. Being probably a bit stupid, I drank several Gin & Oranges, which was in those days Gin with orange cordial in it (YUK). Suddenly my bingo numbers "aligned" and I went to the stage at the front to collect my winnings. I recall taking them and rushing out of the saloon to "discharge" my dinner and gins down a lavatory. I then spent the next 5 days (the whole trip) in my bunk..... What a terrible waste of a free trip aboard this great "lady of the sea".

I finished this trip and then joined a brand new ship the "Port New Plymouth" in the builder's shipyard at Newcastle on Tyne.I did two round trips on this lovely vessel to Australia and back to the UK. We even visited New Plymouth in NZ where the whole town turned out to see us and the Mayor laid on trips up Mt Egmont for us.

After that I joined the "Port Townsville" and headed off around the globe again.

It was during this trip that my mate and myself met our "true loves" in Melbourne Australia..........

We left Melbourne for Adelaide after a sad farewell to the girls. After a couple of boring days in Adelaide a thought germinated in our minds: Why not “jump ship” and go back to our “true loves” in Melbourne? So with the idea hatched we packed essential clothes in a bag and lowered it over the stern of the ship to the wharf. Then taking our BIG, in those days, Grundig tape recorder and a few bits we told the bosun we were off to a party, we headed to the Adelaide railway station and caught the overnight train to Melbourne. On arrival the next morning we figured that we would not yet been missed, as Adelaide was half hour behind Melbourne time, but to our dismay there was a line of police across the exit of the platform. Phew, they were not interested in us and we headed up town on a Saturday morning. Now…. Where do we go?, how do we get to Thornbury? By tram!!.. So heading to the tram stop in the center of the street lo and behold there were the two girls we had changed our lives for. Surprised was not the word. We shared the tram with them, went to their house for a cup of tea where we were also given our “marching orders”.

WOW…. Here I was in a foreign country, no passport, no home, not knowing anyone and with three pounds in my pocket. What a predicament...........

And that is how a lad from Bexleyheath came to live in Australia and name his property "Danson Park". You can see what eventuated and contact me on my website www.dansonpark.com
Link to My Bexleyheath page copy and paste: http://dansonpark.com/?page_id=3188