Prefabs, Hyacinth Close, Harold Hill. Irene Smith

A Memory of Harold Hill.

I was born November 1948 in the Prefab my mum and Dad and sister Pamela moved to the previous year. Marie and Dick Smith originally came from the east end, but moved out to Dagenham as young children in the early 1930s. When they first moved into the prefab they looked out over farm land. As the estate was built we then looked out over Bosworth school playing field.
I was delivered by Nurse Sexton whose husband had a butchers shop, and sweet/cigarette and tobacco shop on the corner of Faringdon Avenue and Straight road. I went to Hilldene school where Mr Dutton was the Head and Mr Ireland my teacher in years 3 and 4.I then went to Broxhill school in 1960 When Mr Skelton was head. My dad worked at Fords as did most of my relatives and loads of people in Romford and Dagenham.
There were no cars at first in our street, until Mr Tripp (Barrie and Susan's dad) bought one.Judy Graham lived behind us, next to the Tripps, Mr Graham was a PE teacher at Harrowfields School and later became Deputy Head. Mrs Graham was a rent lady for the LCC so every one knew her from her rounds collecting the rent.
In the early days our milk was delivered by horse and cart, and we had regular bread deliveries too.
I remember going out to school one morning in 1965, seeing a family up the road moving out .By the time I returned after school, the prefab had been pulled down. that was the beginning of the end of the Prefabs. We moved out in the August to a house in Redruth road, which mum and dad eventually bought.