The Broadway, Selsdon 1955
A Memory of Selsdon.
In 1955 I was doing my penultimate year at school. I started at Selsdon primary circa 1944. The air raid siren was out side the school so when it went off we could not miss it!
The doodle bug phase of WWII started in June 44 so we often had to evacuate the classroom and march out in orderly fashion, led by our class teacher. It was in the school air raid shelters that I learnt my ABC and 2 x table.
Looking at the photo of the Addington Rd, looking from the Farleigh Rd junction, I recognise the United Dairy shop on the corner. There was also an Express Dairy shop on the other side of the road, but much further down. Why they had two milk shops in Selsdon I have no idea, as the milk was delivered daily by the horse drawn milk floats. Also, we had milk delivered by United Dairies up until about 1942/3 when they ceased deliveries in Selsdon and Express became virtually the sole delivery service. (Sid the Coop milkman only did about 1% of deliveries). I know this because I have helped both Nobby Clark our Express milkman, and Sid.
On the opposite corner to United, was an off licence, and next to that (going down the Addington Rd) was the Coop butcher and next door the Coop grocers.
A little story about the off licence shop. Those were the days when you got money back on the R. White's lemonade/Corona bottles. The empties were put in crates and stored out the back against the side fence. I had a friend whose father was a policeman, but whose name I wont say for good reason. This boy older and taller than me, demonstrated that by putting his hand over the fence he could pluck out the empties and then go into the shop and get a refund on the returned bottle. No it was not that I was more honest than my friend, but being shorter my arm was not long enough!
If you really want to know what it was like living in Selsdon (I lived there from 1939 to 1963) have a look at my memories written for the Selsdon Residents magazine, at https://selsdon-residents.co.uk/selsdon-through-the-eyes-of-a-war-baby.php . And it's free!
Des Donohoe ex Abbey Rd by the Rec, .
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