Avenue Rdnear The Thatched House

A Memory of Leytonstone.

In 1950 I was 12 years old and I remember going to Westy's sweet shop in Crownfield Road with our ration book to get sweets, and hopefully cigs for my mum. My dad was killed in 1942 near Mayville Road School. He was in the ARP and was killed when a Lancaster bomber crashed on his headquarters. I remember Walklins the bakers in Eytonstone High Road and Elstermacs the toy shop. For Christmas our presents were an orange and a packet of plastacine and a drawing book. I wonder what the kids would think of that today. We were very poor but my mum said before she died in 1968 that she would not have changed anything, apart from dad getting killed, everyone was kind and friendly. The Lido, The Rialto where my mum worked and The Academy, and the State and the Rex, all fantastic memories. My grandad had his own chickens and rabbits so during the war although we had no father we did have grandad to supply us with meat.

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