Shoebury Hall Farm And Capt Townsend

A Memory of Shoeburyness.

I was very interested to read Alan Perry's account of Shoebury Hall Farm and Jellicoe Square. My father used to camp there during the school holidays and spoke very fondly of Captain Townsend and the general set up. I believe his first wife died and he remarried (?Ann). Dad's tent was in Drake Square. I think that all the squares/plots were names of Royal Navy boats. Dad married my mum in 1947 and a few years later when he took her back to show her the site, the chalk lines of the plots were still visible. Dad told mum that Capt.Townsend (being a navy man) rather regretted the army taking over the site during the war. Mum is still alive and was able to give me the names of some other families who used the site: Charlie & Freddie Brown from Walthamstow and Violet Dutton from Tottenham. I know dad had very fond memories of Shoeburyness and loved to go cockling although he did have a narrow escape once when the tide came in behind him and he was nearly cut off. My dad's name was Charlie Moulder. By coincidence, his mother's maiden name was Perry.

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