Berry Lane

A Memory of Langdon Hills.

My name is Peter Martin i was born and brought up in Berry Lane between Samuel and Emanuel roads.
I was born in Billericay hospital on the 11th May 1952 i attended langdon Hills Primary and then Laindon High Road.
I remember Mr Foy in the post office, Mr Lucas in the toy/general stores and two ladies who ran the green grocers and then the bike shop on the corner of Heathleigh Drive.
I also had a paper round with Pepperels, had my hair cut at Peters and got mums bread from Cottis the bakers.
We had Firmans deliver our milk by horse and cart, fizzy drinks man came once a week and mum played whist every Wednesday afternoon at aunt Elsie Parkers opposite with a whole group of 'aunts' and 'uncles'.She and uncle Jack were the only house to have a telphone in the 50's and 60's my mum never had one until 1977 after my father passed away.
My sister lived up Osbourne road next to Cottis which was unmade and very difficult to navigate in the winter.
In Berry Lane we had a little shop run by Alice and Charlie Stoneham and further down on the corner we had Lunglys shop with a post box and telephone box too.
Two of my sisters were married at St Marys Church on crown hill which is where I was also christened.
Mum and I moved from Berry Lane in 1978 to Pitsea where she had a three bedroom house.
In 1980 mum moved into a one bedroom flat in Laindon and moved to Tulse Hill south London with my partner, in 1982 we moved to Ilford one week before my mum passed away so she neve got to see it. The next 25 years we spent in Ilford I running my own Pet Shop in Barking my partner worked in London as a senior travel cosultant, after having to close the shop in 2007 we moved back to Pitsea. My partner has now retired and i work part time at Runwell high risk mental hospital since my cancer operation in 2011.......

20/03/2016

Peter J Martin