My Early Life In Brook Street
A Memory of Northumberland Heath.
I was born in Brook Street in the end of terrace house next to Rooksby's, the butchers shop at the junction of Horsa Road, and lived there until I was married at the age of 21. My aunt (Elizabeth) Cis Luck and uncle Percival lived next door. Cis was my fathers sister. Our house was opposite the Duchess of Kent pub which if my memory serves me right was owned by Bill Whiltshire. I think he had a daughter called Marina who eventually married George Copeland A stones throw away to the left of our house was Northumberland Heath school and to the right was the recreation ground known locally as the rec which was looked after by a grounds man called Henry.
I remember a couple of doors away was Randall's the barber originally owned by George and later passed on to Lenny Randall. Then a little further along towards Mill Road was Chapman,s where we could purchase vegetables, flour and most types of food using coupons a system left over from the war. Further along the road on the right was a yard owned by Wiggett the builder and a little further on that side was a small shop that sold sweet and sets of old postage stamps. Towards the end of Brook Street, near the Erith Road were Bennett the grocer and Starling's the fish shop. There was a fish shop at the junction of Mill Road but I do not remember the name.
On the opposite corner to our house was a sweet shop owned by a Polish man called Mr. Reddioff. During school days at lunch time an ice cream seller named Tony was at the school gates on his bicycle with a cool box on the front. He worked for Dimashio ( probably not the correct spelling). We often as kids went down to Riverdale Road to play at stream way as my father had an allotment on the opposite side of the road.
I was a pupil at Northumberland Heath throughout my school life leaving to start an apprenticeship with Vickers Armstrong in 1962.
John Lowman
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Comments & Feedback
My name is Susan Thompson nee Hawkins and I lived in St.Pauls Rd. My pals and I must have spent hours " down the rec", I remember the swings and a roundabout thingy that we called the umbrella. My best pal Irenes mum used to drink in the Duchess, I recall Chapmans corner shop, I used to get sent there to buy a small bundle of sticks so Mum could light the fire,no fancy central heating!
I also remember Tony, the ice cream seller, I think he was put out of business when Tonibell came along in their flashy motorised vans, blaring out loud music,which whipped us kids into a near frenzy as we all rushed to our houses for money! My mum used to buy a threepenny cornet for our little dog!
I believe the fish shop you cant recall at Mill Rd was Russells, Lynn Russell, a grand daughter, was in my class in the juniors, it must have been sold and it became The Fish Bar.
Bennetts shop was important in my family life because you could shop"on tick", if you were a reliable customer,as my mum was, you were given a small book and all the items that you got were written down, and she paid what she could but was never able to pay off all she owed, there was always money owing. When a supermarket opened up on Northumberland Heath, she borrowed £6 from my brother and she paid what was owed to Bennetts and shopped in the supermarket from then on.
I left school in about 1965 at 15,didnt achieve anything, but married at 19 and myself and husband went to Australia, returned after 8 years with a son and daughter and we live in Co Kildare in Ireland.
It was lovely to read your story, all those happy childhood days, and all the people that made our lives, thank you, Sue.