Remembering Mr. And Mrs. Simmons' Shop

A Memory of Halstead.

First class clothing was always available at Simmons - my parents and I moved to Halstead in Oct-Nov 1939 as my dad, Stan Page, was evacuated with the London staff of Courtaulds to their Braintree/Bocking factory at the start of the Second World War. I attended Trinity Church School for 2 years then Halstead Grammar School for Girls until 1946. My mother always bought several articles of clothing when the coupons were available and Mrs. Simmons was so gracious. When I began my employment with Lloyds Bank, I immediately went to her to purchase my first suit and coat in the 'New Look' of 1947. The coat was a beautiful purple, fashioned with a highwayman's collar and flared skirt. It lasted me for years - I hated to see it go. As my mother and I entertained the troops, and performed at many concerts in the Halstead area, we were always in need of good looking dresses - and many of them came from our favourite clothing shop, invariably from the lovely fabrics Mrs. Simmons sold. I remember wearing those dresses to the dances held at the Co-op or the Queens Hall - what fun we had with music provided by the local bands. Such lovely music. What about the dances in the park? It was quite an event to dance on that wonderful lawn. It always amazed me that the grass grew back after so many hundred pairs of feet performed the quickstep and foxtrot etc. - not to mention the country dancing and morris dances of the children when we had the local 'Holidays at Home' events. There was always a dance somewhere in the vicinity and many of us would travel to the Institute at Braintree, to Earls Colne Village Hall, or even to the Red Lion or the George at Colchester.

As a member of our concert party 'The Essex Six' I travelled all over Essex with my parents, performing in various village halls, WI's and sometimes at some theatres in Chelmsford and Cambridge. Dad was our electrician and lights man, while Mum and I played the piano, sang, danced and performed in the various sketches with other members of our troup. Many people remembered my mother, Grace Page and I, when we played our accordians at the end of the Secxond World War, leading all the children around the roads - ending up at Mitchell Road for a big celebration banquet organized by the ladies in the neighbourhood. They set out their tables and chairs in the road, and made a wonderful repast of all the delightful foods they were able to make with their rationed supplies.

The Senior Centre in New Street was originally an American Servicemens Club - then it became local government offices and eventually was taken over by Halstead Senior citizens, and for many years my mother entertained her fellow members and was a member of the Senior Citizens Choir who consistently won the prize as the best choir in the area.

Halstead has many wonderful memories for me, I was married at Trinity Church, my oldest son was christened there. I now live in the USA but each time I return to England, I always try to visit my dear friends. Just to let you know, I still sing, still entertain even though I am now 80 years young, and many times I share the stories of the war and those memories I was privileged to have of Halstead and its citizens.