My Hullbridge In The 30s

A Memory of Hullbridge.

I was born at Trend-de-Hayes off Raworth Lane in 1926 and went on to live at Coventry Corners a couple of years later at a house called 'Roycroft'. I Started school at the Riverside Juniors school, our head teacher was a Miss Fassam. Miss Phillip was another teacher there, she liked rapping your knuckles with her ruler. Old Dick Hymass used to ferry the kids from Woodam in his row boat in all sorts of weather. The Anchor pub was always a busy place in the summer, the Pub had a water pump around the back and us kids used it to wash off the mud from playing along the river banks. Motor cars were very few in those days so it was much safer to ride our bikes or go down Coventry hill on our home made Billy carts: 4 pram wheels and a flat board, no brakes only your feet. Life was more relaxed in those days, kids would play with simple games and very rarely broke the law. One reason being, our lawman was a big fellow, he knew every kid around and a kick in the rear end from him was a lasting memory. We lived opposite Ida Street, one of the legendary teachers of Hullbridge Junior, so playing hooky was out.
We recently visited Hullbridge and very soon got lost in the jungle of homes around the area. Its a shame, but I suppose they call that progress? Brisbane has gone the same way since we emmigrated here in 1950. Thank you for keeping memories alive, Roy Cox

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