Hayes 1949 1971

A Memory of Hayes.

I was born in Hayes at 3, Botwell Lane which was a big old house (now grade 2 listed) divided into three flats. As a young child it was a creepy old place and said to be haunted. I believe nuns lived there at one point and during the war the kitchen ceiling fell in due to bomb damage. I attended Dr Tripletts School which holds good memories, the head teacher then was Mr Runnicles. We had to walk through the park to get to school and have a chat with Fred the park-keeper who was always the first to see our school reports. I managed to avoid Townfield Secondary School which at that time had a terrible reputation and went to St Martin's in West Drayton. We moved home in 1956 to Sycamore Ave, a block of newly built flats and lived there until 1971. My parents worked at EMI which I believe no longer exists but was a major employer at that time. Uxbridge Road was within walking distance but once there we would catch the 207 bus to Ealing Broadway for Bentalls or on special occasions go into London. Uxbridge was another favourite haunt.
As a child growing up Hayes was okay, there were parks and green spaces and it was safe to go out and play, although I do remember a murder took place on Hayes Common.

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