South Ockendon Memories

Hi, my name is Joella Wainner, and I went to Dilkes Junior School and Ockendon Courts County Secondary. I left school in 1965. We moved into Garron Lane in 1953 when I was 3. We lived in the flat above the fish and chip shop. My mum, Joyce, worked in Mrs Bone's hardware shop for many years. My brother Philip was at school 4 years before me. This is going to sound weird but one of my best memories from school is when I bunked off with 2 friends (Wendy Yarnton and Mary Brown) and we got the train into London and stood on Tower Hill freezing to death to watch Churchill's funeral go past. That must have been about 1964. We moved into Tamarisk Road when they built the new houses there in about 1966/67 I think. We lived right by the station.

Hi my name is Peter McGuire and i went to Leonard's from 1960 to 1966. My class was in upper 4A in the science lab at the back of the school. The teacher was Farrier (not sure of spelling) who left us in our year of GCE's . It may seem strange but he was always smoking during our science classes . We had 2 english teachers a MIss Smith and a Mrs . Smithh, completely different style of teaching. Mrs. Smlith more into school plays. I did Shakespeare's Henry VI in my last year. I was a school prefect and had the job of checking late arrivals. Most of which came from the Aveley estate,. Dennis Gee was always late because of the bus he caught. As he was in my class we never booked him.. When school friends was up and running I was in touch with several old class mates, most of which like me had left the country. I now live on Phillip Island (the home of the little penguins) Victoria Australia.. John Babbage lives in West Australia, and Colin Blythe in New Zealand, I would be grateful if anybody can recall those bygone years.