South Street Mid 1960's

A Memory of Braintree.

We moved to Braintree with our Dad, George Harkins, in 1966. He was an American, stationed at Wethersfield air force base, married to a young British girl, Eileen. We lived at 82 South Street for about 5 or 6 years, and me and my brother John attended Manor Street Primary school. After our time there we moved back to the US and left loads of great friends behind. We lived at the end of a lane, I recall there was woodland behind us where we were always playing. Our next door neighbours were a Mr and Mrs French - his name was Alfie, and I think they were in their 80's - they were lovely old country folk who treated us like grandchildren, walking us to school, looking after my little baby brother - we adored them and their dog Kimmy! Mum and Dad loved antiques, and used to buy lots of pieces from the local dealer, Mr Gill. I loved going to the school, and remember the head teacher making me feel special, as I was so nervous about being 'different' because of my accent! I remember my Dad made friends with the local bobby, PC Ian Brotherton I think. I went back to Braintree recently, and found our old house, but the cottage the French's lived in had gone. I was pleased to see the old cinema still there, even though it's now a pub. Seeing the old school turned into a museum made me feel old! It was a real nostalgic trip and as with all things, the town has changed, but there was still enough there to bring back fond memories. It would be great to hear if anyone else has any memories of us or Mr and Mrs French.