54 Oaks Road

A Memory of Kenley.

I lived at 54 Oaks Road Kenley from about the age of 18 months with my twin sister Pamela and our brother Roger who was three years older. My maiden name was Brookbank.
I remember the back garden was very steep on several levels, and right at the top was a gate that led into the woods, and these woods eventually opened out onto a playing field. We used to play in the woods for hours as children, and were never frightened, and our mother didn`t have to worry about us in those days.
My father had a large garden roller which one day crashed down the steep garden, gaining momentum and smashed his motor bike which was parked at the bottom! He built a large conservatory on the back of our house which seemed huge to a little girl, and I can still remember our mother putting us to bed every afternoon for a sleep, but of course we just played and messed around!
I remember my father teaching my sister and I to ride a bike, a boy`s bike as it was our brothers. It was bright red, and as Oaks Road was very steep, he would put us on the bike and whoever was on it would ride it down the hill, but being unable to get back on it at the bottom, would have to push it back up!
Another time I remember cycling down to the railway line and my brakes failed, so I came a cropper and cried all the way home.
I can also remember the shops across the railway line, there was a sweetshop and a bakers and we would pass these on our way to school.
I remember catching a double decker bus to school, but I don`t remember the school`s name or where it was. Maybe Purley?
Our cousins lived around the corner at the bottome of Oaks Road, and I can still picture the roundabout at the bottom which had a lot of oak trees, and we use to play and climb the trees to catch the squirrels.
Such happy memories and I think we lived there until about 1954.