Chingford After The Second World War
A Memory of South Harefield.
I remember when Rossis ice-cream opened and free vouchers were worth more than gold. Rossis shop was right by the last bus stop before the trolley bus turned around and headed back to London. On the corner, a few shops along, was I think Freeman Hardy & Willis the shoe shop, and around the corner was Barkers of Chingford, the bicycle shop where my mum bought my first bike. Around the parade other shops were: Evans the greengrocers, Dysons the butchers and grocers shop, then a real estate agent. Across Chingford Mount Road was Lists the baker, hot fresh bread every day. There was Woolworths, Chain Library and a tobacco shop then The Prince Albert pub. Around the corner from Evans the greengrocer was Maynards the sweet shop, handy for the Odeon cinema where we went to the Saturday morning flicks. I still have a cirtificate presented by Mr Poole to me for a painting competition I won. Across from the Odeon was a restaurant called The Chingford Inn where my mum would take us after a trip to the Walthamstow High Street, years later I would take my girlfriend there, our favourite meal was always a treat, two fried eggs and chips. I was born in Chingford in Sewardstone Road, now Waltham Way, in June 1937, not far from the Old Hall Tavern. I lived with my grandparents in Takeley in Essex during the war but was back in Chingford to see the doodle bugs and V2s. We had both Anderson and Morrison shelters, and being young and dopey we were never scared. At school I went to Chase Lane and can remember buying Oxo cubes for one penny at this little shop called called the Cabin in Hall Lane. After junior school I went to Wellington Avenue Secondary Modern at the top of Chingford Mount. Cycle speedway was popular after the war, and we had real speedway at Walthamstow, 'up the wolves', Jim Boyd, Charlie May and all the rest. Then we had Larkswood pool, Connaught Waters, the River lea, Epping Forest and even the Southend lights. Chingford was a great place to have grown up in and we are now far away, me and that girl I used to take to the Chingford Inn.
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