Chigwell, The Gardens, Grange Farm Centre c.1960

Photo ref: C88094T

The boys band stayed here for 5 weeks in June/July 1963 on their European Tour of England and the Netherlands. Had a great time. From here we set out each day to visit England and play concerts. A boys High School band of about 53 young men. Thank you for your hospitality

Hi, yes I think he must've been the Welshman who took over from your Mum. I was there from June until September 1974.

I had a great childhood living at Grange Farm. My parents moved there in 1960 when I was five. My mum was employed as the catering supervisor for the site and we were given accommodation in a large Bungalow, No 1. From memory the sun was always shining! My sister and I spent hours in and out of the pool, playing tennis and table tennis in the recreation hall. As a teenager my friend and I who also lived on ...see more

I learnt to swim in this pool late 1950s. It was always massively popular during the hot summers we always seemed to have then, and I was sad to see it close - there are so few open air lido type pools around these days. I remember jumping off the high diving board 7metres and the fear of making the jump. Public swimming pools don't seem to have high diving boards any more; the safety reasons for this are understandable, but how do youngsters become Tom Daleys without them?