Jeffries and Treacher Family History

 

Woolwich Family

First Arrivals

The family's association with Woolwich came about because both of my maternal grandfathers, Robert Treacher and Samuel Abbott were gunners in the Royal Artillery, which had its Headquarters there from 1718 to 2007.

The first of our ancestors to set foot in Woolwich was Robert Treacher, who enlisted on 9 September 1870 in Watford. His medical examination was carried out at Woolwich on 12 September 1970, but his first stay here was very short as on 10 October 1870 he was posted to Leith Fort, near Edinburgh.  He then had a couple of years at Newcastle, where he appeared on the 1871 census.  He was back at Woolwich for another short period between 1873 and 1875.  He than had spells in Coldharbour and India and was posted back to Woolwich on 19 March 1884, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Samuel Abbott enlisted on 24 September 1875 in Ipswich.  After spells in Ipswich, Birmingham and Aldershot, he was posted to Woolwich on 24 May 1881, where he remained for the rest of his life, apart from about three months in 1882, when he took part in the Egypt Campaign.

Engineer Barracks, Grand Depot Barracks and Cambridge Cottages

woolwich barracks map Gran's birth certificate shows that she was born in Engineer Barracks on 10 March 1886.  The 1891 census shows that Samuel Abbott was based in the Grand Depot Barracks and Cambridge Cottages with his wife Clara Ann and their first three children, William John, born about 1884, Rose Ellen, born 10 Mar 1886, and Albert Edward, born about 1890.  All three children were born in Woolwich.  You can see from the map, which dates from 1937/38, how the barracks extended right down into the heart of Woolwich.  The census does not indicate whether the soldiers were living in the Barracks or the cottages.  The Barracks were built in 1787 and demolished in the 1960's, when no part of them was considered to be worth saving.  So bad was the barracks that when a gunner died he was said to have been "ordered to report to the Grand Depot".  Since the demolition, the barracks site has been occupied by the Post Office and Postal Sorting Office, Crown Building, where I worked for ten years and Peggy Middleton House, which contains Council Offices.  The whole area has now been redeveloped, including, wouldn't you just know it, a Tesco store!

Ritter Street

woolwich common roads By the time of the census on 5 April 1891, Robert Treacher had moved out of Barracks and was living at number 41 Ritter Street, with his wife, Jessie and their five children.  The first three children, Edward W, Robert and Richard Charles had been born in India and the other two, Frederick (my Grandfather) and Agnes were born in Woolwich.  By the time of the birth of their sixth child, Arthur, on 18 November 1891, the family had moved across the road to number 22 Ritter Street, and Robert was working as a Cadets' Servant.  Robert had been discharged from the Royal Artillery on 11 September 1891, which may have been why he had to move out of Barracks.  Robert and Jessie had one final child, Jessie, who was born prematurely on 28 Jun 1894 and died 10 hours later on 19 June at number 22.  The family was still living at number 22 when Robert died at home on 23 May 1897.  At the census of 31 March 1901, Jessie and all of the children except Edward were still living at number 22.  Jessie died at number 22 on 18 December 1906.  At both the censuses, the family was sharing the house with another family.  In 1891, there were seven Treachers and nine in the other family, and in 1901 there were five Treachers and five in the other family.

Cottage at rear of 30 Green's End

Samuel Abbott was discharged from the Royal Artillery on 11 October 1895.  At the census on 31 March 1901, he and his family were living in the cottage at the rear of Green's End (see first map above).  Clara died in the cottage on 27 November 1901.  The Electoral Registers for 1900/01, 1901/02 and 1902/03, show that Samuel and the family continued to live in the cottage.  Samuel died in the Charing Cross Hospital on 1 Oct 1904, but the death certificate gives has address as the cottage.  These years were difficult for Gran because she had to look after her brothers, having left school when she was 12.  She had to get special permission to leave before the normal leaving age of 14.  By the time she was 15 years old she was also working as a domestic servant, as shown in the 1901 census.  When Gran's Mum died in November 1901, her death certificate gave the first cause of death as chronic alcoholism.  This probably points to the reason for Gran leaving school early as being her mother's inability to care for the children.  It was probably about this time that she became known as "Ciss" to everyone.  The postcards which Granddad sent to her from the Royal Tournament while they were courting show that he also called her Ciss.  By the way, Mum has told me that her other Grandmother, Jessie Treacher, was also a drunkard and a "bit of a so-and-so".

19 Engineer Road

At the time of Gran and Granddad's marriage on 11 February 1911, Gran gave her addess as 19 Engineer Road and Granddad was with his ship, HMS Topaze, at Portsmouth.  

However, about two months later, in the 1911 census, Gran is working as a domestic servant in the house of Robert Daniel Warry, an architect, at 18 Glenhouse Road, Eltham.  She is described as being single.  Perhaps if she had admitted that she was married she would not have been taken on.  It is possible that she had been with Mr Warry when she married despite the fact that she gave her address at marriage as 19 Engineer Road.

In the 1911 census Gran's brother, Albert Edward, and her friend, Maud Redford, were living at 19 Engineer Road, so perhaps this is why she gave this address.

26 Engineer Road

Shortly after Gran and Granddad's marriage, they moved into 26 Engineer Road, where they rented the upstairs part of a terraced house. Until his discharge from the Navy in 1919 though, Granddad would have been absent most of the time either at a Naval base or at sea.  All three of their children were born while they were here.  Ivy was born in the house on 26 November 1912, Arthur on 3 March 1916 (place unknown) and Mum was born in the house on 8 June 1918.

15 Engineer Road

Introduction

After Mum was born number 26 became too crowded, so when Gran and Granddad realised that number 15 was available to rent they moved there, where they had the whole house.  This was some time between the compilation of the 1919 Electoral Register and the compilation of the 1920 Register.

House Front

The house was L-shaped with a yard and then a small garden at the rear.  Every morning the front of the house was cleaned.  The front gate, which was painted black, had to be dusted.  The white paving slabs had to be whitened with "White Stone", which was wetted and then rubbed on the paving slabs.  The wooden step had to be polished.  It was quite common for the houses to be well maintained, but Gran made the extra effort because of her dressmaking customers.

Dress Making

Gran was a skilled dressmaker.  She did her sewing in the front room of the house and received her customers there.  Whilst customers were there Mum, Arthur and Ivy had to be quiet and keep out of the way.  The children weren't allowed in the front room except for special occasions.  The gate-leg table, which we now have in our kitchen, stood in the widow, with an aspidistra plant on it.

Ivy would help Gran by doing some of the hemming work, as she was very good at making small stiches.  Gran tried to teach Mum to do this but she couldn't get the hang of it.  Instead she encouraged Mum to take up knitting, something which, like Gran, she became very good at.

Gran made Mum's wedding dress and those of the bridesmaid.  She also embroidered their white gloves.

Gran also made the dresses for the wedding of a Miss Brett, who was not related to Mr Brett who owned the store across the road.  The bride had a white dress and there were seven bridesmaids, each of whom had a dress with a different colour of the rainbow.  Mum says that she was allowed to sit in, when Gran was making these dresses.

It was because of the dressmaking that the family was able to have a week's holiday in Ramsgate each year until Mum was 14 years old.  Granddad worked for British Rail, so travel was free.

Gran was also very good at making new clothes out of old.  Mum says that her dresses were made from the best parts of Ivy's old clothes.  Ivy's clothes never got very dirty or worn because her illness severely restricted what she could do (see section on Ivy below).

Wash Day

Wash day involved a lot of hard work.  The washing was done in a gas-fired copper.  A pair of tongs were used to agitate the washing and lift it out of the copper.  A wash board would be used if necessary.  After washing and several rinses, the washing was put through the mangle and put out on the line to dry.  Once dry, the washing was ironed, folded neatly and put into the cupboard.  Bed linen and bath towels were always white in those days and Mum and Ivy used to wear white smocks.  If these were being washed then the "blue dolly"/"blue bag".   would be used.  This contained ultramarine, which had a dual effect; it disguised the yellow colouring that old whites took on and it absorbed ultra-violet light and returned it as visible light, thereby increasing the whiteness.  

Heating and Lighting

Only two rooms in the house were heated.  The kitchen was heated by a coal-fired range and the front room by a coal fire.  Mum would often have to lay the fire.  To do this the ashes from the previous day would first have to be swept and shovelled from the grate.  Some scrunched up newspaper would then be placed in the grate.  Other pieces of newspaper would then be rolled up and twisted to give them a bit of strength and then placed in the grate in two layers at right angles to each other.  Coal would then be placed on the top.  The chimney sweep would come from time to time.  Gran would usually light the fire at lunch time.

Lighting was by means of wall-mounted gas lamps with fragile mantles, which glowed when heated..

Children's Bath Time and Bed Time

Baths were taken in an tin bath in front of the kitchen range, the bath being filled with water heated in the copper.  When not in use the bath would hang on the kitchen wall.  When the children bathed, Ivy would take hers first, mainly because, as her illness stopped her being very active, she did not get very dirty.  Gran would then remove some of the dirty water, top up with some clean hot water and Mum would have her bath.  The process would then be repeated and Arthur would have his bath.

Mum and Ivy used to share a bed with Mum against the wall and Arthur slept by himself in a small room.  There were no pillows at first but there were bolsters instead.  Gran would cut and sew sheets to cover them.

Food

Mum remembers that when she was growing up the family always ate well.  Gran would sometimes buy half a pig's head which would be placed in a large pot on the range, along with potatoes, turnips, swedes and other vegetables. After cooking, the head was removed and the vegetables were then mashed up to make a nutritious soup.

The shelf in the larder had a large marble slab on it, which helped to keep food cool.  When the head was cold, Gran would cut off strips of meat and make them into an aspic, which could then be cut into slices and eaten for dinner.

Mum also remembers that they used to have crabs from time to time.

Relaxation

fox under the hill Mum remembers that when she was young, Gran and Granddad would sometimes at weekends visit the Fox Under the Hill pub in Shooters Hill Road, Woolwich. Mum, her brother, Arthur, and her sister, Ivy, would sit outside the pub with a lemonade each, while their Mum and Dad went inside. Mum cannot remember what Granddad had to drink, but thinks that it was probably beer. Gran's tipple was port and lemon, which both Mum and I have inherited a taste for.

Shortly before he died, Arthur asked Mum whether she could remember Granddad sometimes getting drunk and Gran nagging him about it. Mum said that she could not remember that, so perhaps the nagging worked!

The pub is still there, although it has been modernised and a restaurant added at the front.

In the summer, Gran used to like sitting in a deckchair in the kitchen with the back door open.

Gran and Granddad enjoyed playing cards with Mr and Mrs Witchell and with Mr and Mrs Stokes.

 

fox under the hill The children would play in the street and on Woolwich Common.  Mum was something of a tomboy and loved climbing trees.  On one occasion she slipped whilst climbing a tree and as she slid down the trunk, a splinter went up her nose.  She had to be taken to the doctor to have it removed.  This photo is of the southern part of the common, immediately south of the barracks, which was the only area in which they were allowed to play, because a little way further south there was a dangerous pond, in which a young lad had died whilst trying to show off to his friends by running through it.  Just behind the photographer was the ha-ha in which they also used to play.  (See the Woolwich Common section in the London Places Section for more pictures of the Common.)

Photos taken at 15 Engineer Road

jessie ivy arthur about 1925 Taken about 1925 possibly at the front of the house.  From left to right, Mum, Ivy and Arthur.  The photo makes the dresses look grubby, but this would not have been so, because Gran always ensured that their clothes were clean and neat.

 

jessie ivy arthur about 1925 Taken about 1928 in the back garden of 15 Engineer Road, Woolwich.  Left to right, Mum, Ivy and Arthur.


 

mum gran arthur about 1935 Taken about 1935 in the back garden.  Left to right, Mum, Gran and Arthur.  The building behind was, I think, a public house.  The photo was coloured by Mum's boyfriend, Sidney Chapman, although it is difficult to see in this copy.


 

mum about 1935 Taken about 1935 in the back garden.  Mum is wearing a pale blue coat, with a white rose on the hat.  Under the coat, she is wearing the same dress as she is in the next three photos.


 

mum arthur about 1935 Taken about 1935 in the back garden.  Left to right, Mum, Gran and Arthur.  The building behind was a stable block, and there was an alley between it and the garden.


 

mum arthur about 1935 Taken about 1935 in the back garden, with her brother, Arthur.


 

Gran's long term medical condition

Gran had an extra section to her stomach, which would overflow from time to time and make her feel very sick, forcing her to take to her bed for the rest of the day. Mum says that she would sometimes come home, put her head round the door of the front room to say hello, find Gran not there, take her coat off and go into the kitchen and find a note saying something like "Sorry Jess, I've had to go to bed, would you put the pie in the range and get Arthur to peel the potatoes ready for when Dad gets home?"  If Gran had to go to bed it meant that Ivy would have to wait for anything she wanted, although Mum said that Mrs Wilson who lived next door would come in and help.

Panic over Arthur

One day when he was about 15, Arthur came home with blisters all over his hands and body.  Gran called the doctor, who thought it might be infectious, so Arthur was stripped of all his clothes and taken to hospital.  The whole family and Mrs Wilson, who lived next door and often used to help Gran, were given an injection.  Mrs Wilson's arm swelled up quite badly and was red raw.  It took about a fortnight to go down, but she accepted it with good grace.  Arthur's bedroom was fumigated and the wallpaper stripped off.  Part of the tailor's premises, where Arthur worked, were also fumigated.  Mum said that the next day there was a knock at the door and when Gran answered it, she saw the ambulance and there was Arthur with no clothes on, smiling and waving at her.  It turned out to be just some sort of allergic reaction

Household Income

This is an approximate summary of the main household income.  Ivy only worked full time for about a month and earned a small amount from sewing sheets.

  • Up to about 1933 - Granddad's wage from British Rail and Gran's income from dressmaking.
  • From about 1933 to Granddad's death in 1936 - Granddad's wage from British Rail, Gran's income from dressmaking and Arthur and Mum's wages.
  • From Granddad's death in 1936 to 1939 - Gran's income from dressmaking, Arthur's and Mum's wages and an insurance payment from Granddad's death.
  • From 1939 to 1940 - Gran's income from dressmaking and Mum's wages.
  • From 1940 to 1941 - Gran's income from dressmaking and Mum's and Vera's wages.
  • From 1941 to 1942 - Gran's (reduced) income from dressmaking and Vera's wages.
  • From 1942 to 1945 - Gran's (reduced) income from dressmaking* and State pension*, Vera's wages and an insurance payment from Ivy's death.

* Mum thinks that by 1942 the dressmaking had dried up completely.  Gran did not reach thr age of 60 until 25 October 1945, so she may have had a widow's pension.

money box Mum recalls that Gran was always thrifty and had a number of boxes into which she would put money for different expenses.  Mum still has one of these boxes, which is shown in the photograph.  Mum does not know how they came by the box.  The lid of the box carries an image of Dunnoly Castle, Oban.  It is possible that Granddad may have sailed into the portduring his time in the navy and bought it there, as he often used to bring back bits and pieces from his travels.  Mum

Arthur and Vera

Mum's brother,Arthur, and Vera met while working at a tailor's shop in Powis Street, Woolwich.  Arthur started as an odd-job boy, and then became a salesman and finally ran the shop.  Vera came there as a cashier.  Arthur was called up into the Royal Artillery at the start of the war.  They married on 29 June 1940, while Arthur was on two days leave.  When Arthur returned to his unit, Vera moved in with Gran, Mum and Ivy.  At some point the tailor's shop closed and Vera went to work at the Co-op.  When Arthur was demobbed he went to work for the Borough Council, where he continued up to retirement.

Local shops and other places

woolwich common places This is a rough and ready, not-to-scale map of the Woolwich Common area in the 1920s, which Mum and I put together, showing places of family interest, as she remembered them.  The doctor's surgery was either in the house where General Gordon used to live, or in the house next door.

General Gordon's House

woolwich common places This photo was taken about 1906.  General Gordon's House is the one immediately to the right of the side road.  There was a blue plaque on the house for any years.  Engineer Road was behind these houses.  The whole area was demolished in the 1970s or 1980s to make way for a new housing estate.

Others in the house

fred witchell For a couple of years Fred and Eva Witchell rented a room upstairs and they had a cooker on the landing.  Fred was a BSM in the Royal Artillery and they used to play cards with Gran and Grandad.  The photo, which may have been taken in the now derelict Woolwich Stadium, is of Fred and on the back he has written "One of my old horses PUNCH (Reliance)".  Mum remembers them as a lovely couple.  From 1929 to 1933, the Electoral Registers show four other people who were in the house at various times, but Mum does not remember any of them.

Stanley Chapman

Stanley Chapman was Mum's boyfriend for about two years.  He rented a room nearby, with just a small stove to cook on, but practically lived at Engineer Road.  He worked as a draughtsman in the Royal Arsenal.  He had been a boy soldier, so he was called up before war was declared.  Mum told me that she loved him and that there was talk of an engagement.  While he was away he received half pay from his civilian job and this was sent to Engineer Road.  Mum was devestated when she received a letter from him saying that it was all over and that a friend would call to pick up his things.  Gran too was very upset.

Dad had previously asked Mum for a date but she refused saying that she had a boyfriend.  When the news of Mum's breakup went round the factory, Dad asked her out again.

Granddad's Death

A short time before his death Granddad went to see his GP and was told that he only had a cold.  The following day he collapsed at work and was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia.  After a few days in hospital he was told that there was nothing that could be done.  Granddad said that he wanted to die at home so Gran signed the release document taking over responsilbility from the hospital and took him home.  He died the following day, 29 November 1935, at the age of 50, and was buried in the family grave in Woolwich Old Cemetery on 5 December 1935.  Mum says that at the time she had a blue coat, which Gran said was inappropriate for a funeral, so it was dyed black.

granddad death notice This is the obituary notice, perhaps from the Kentish Independent Newspaper.

 

Here is a key to some of the people mentioned in the obituary -

  • Mr and Mrs E Treacher - Grandad's Brother and his wife
  • Bob and Ada - Grandad's Brother and his wife
  • Arthur and Louie - Grandad's Brother and his wife
  • Mrs M Treacher - Grandad's Brother, Charlie's first wife
  • Will and Lill - Gran's brother and his wife
  • Bert and Maud and Bertie - Gran's brother, his wife and their son
  • George and Kate - Gran's brother and his wife
  • Maud, Ern, Eric and Mrs Kill - Gran's friend with her husband, son and mother-in-law
  • Mrs Wilson and family - Next-door neighbours
  • Bella - Gran's friend
  • Maggie (Watson) - Gran's friend
  • Mr and Mrs Stokes - Friends
  • May and Miss Top - Mum's friends

granddad funeral documents granddad cemetery fees granddad funeral documents These are documents relating to the funeral.


Ivy and the move to 16 Kempt Street

ivy baptismal cert Ivy, the first of Gran and Granddad's three children, was born at 24 Engineer Road, Woolwich on 26 November 1912 and baptised on 22 December 1912 at St John's Church, Woolwich.  She never had good health and, although she could walk around, she could not exert herself.  She only had one full time job, which was at Peak Frean's biscuit factory in London, but she was only able to keep that up for a month.  Mum said that on Fridays, Ivy was allowed to bring home broken biscuits.  She did, however, spend some time sewing sheets in the Memorial Hospital on Shooter's Hill, for which she received a small wage.  It was because of this that I was born in the hospital.

Ivy was a very religious person and she first attended the Gospel Hall in Nightingale Vale, Plumstead and then the Gospel Hall in Southland Road, Plumstead.

For the last two years of her life, Ivy was bed-ridden and did not like anyone but Gran to attend to her.  By 1942, Mum thinks that Gran's dress making income had dried up because of the effects of the war and Gran decided to move just round the corner to the upstairs part of 16 Kempt Street, where the rent was cheaper.  When she mentioned this to Mr Brett, who owned the grocery shop opposite 15 Engineer Road, and said that she would have to get a cab to take Ivy, he offered to take her himself, in what Mum describes as his 'posh car' to spare Gran the trouble and expense.  He carried Ivy out of the house, laid her on the back seat of his car and then carried her in to the new house.

ivy obituary ivy burial record Ivy died shortly after the move, on 10 Apr 1942 at the age of 29.  She was buried in the family grave in Woolwich Old Cemetery on 16 Apr 1942.  Her death certificate shows the cause of death as endocarditis, myocarditis and acute rheumatism.  

After Ivy's death, Mum came down from Luton to sort out Ivy's things.  One day she was with Auntie Vera, when they decided to have some fish and chips.  Mum went round to the shop, where she fainted.  When she came round, a woman said to her - "You know, I think you're pregnant".  Mum hadn't realised but it was confirmed shortly afterwards.

 

Here is a key to some of the people mentioned in the obituary notice, perhaps from the Kentish Independent Newspaper. -

  • Uncle Bert and Aunt Maud - Gran's Brother and his wife
  • Uncle George and Aunt Kate - Gran's Brother and his wife
  • Aunt Lill - Wife of Gran's brother Bill, who was probably away in the army
  • Aunt Maud - Probably Mrs Kill a friend of Gran's and known to her children as 'Aunt'
  • Mr and Mrs Jeffries (Ilford) Dad's Mum and Dad
  • Mr and Mrs Wiffen - Vera's parents
  • Mrs (Maggie) Watson - Friend of Gran and Ivy
  • BSM and Mrs Witchell - See previous section
  • Peggy, Louis, Kathleen, Pauline and Madeline - District Nurses
  • Mr and Mrs Hearn, Joyce and boys - Neighbours at number 16 Engineer Road
  • Mrs Wilson - Next-door neighbour at Engineer Road
  • H W Stainforth and A Jackson - Nurses
  • Mrs Hodgkiss - Friend of Gran's and a near neighbour in Engineer Road.
  • Dee and George - Vera's sister and husband
  • Mrs Hemmings - 2nd wife of Granddad's brother, Charles
  • Hilda (Luton) - Mum's friend and bridesmaid
  • Aunt Maud - Probably Mrs Kill a friend of Gran's and known to her children as 'Aunt'

Here are a few photos of Ivy -

ivy obituary ivy obituary ivy obituary ivy obituary ivy obituary


 

At some time a bomb fell near by and broke the windows of the house.  We still have a wardrobe which was standing opposite one of the windows and you can still see and feel pieces of glass in the wood.

Gran stayed in Kempt Street until Arthur was demobbed.  Arthur and Vera went to live in Brewery Road, Plumstead and Gran went to stay with her brother, George, and his wife Kate.  Mum thinks that this may have been in Anerley.  In 1946, George and Kate needed the rooms where Gran was for their daughter, Doris, so when Mum and Dad moved into Lakedale Road, Gran moved in with them.

Lakedale Road

This is rather a rag-bag of bits from books and Mum's and my reminiscences.

1720 map slade ponds The map on the left, dated 1720, shows that the basic course of the road that would become Lakedale Road had already been set, although at the time it was called Water Lane.  The road was so called because of a small stream that flowed across the high street at the north end of the road.  The stream flowed down from the ravine hollow on the west side of the road.  In the early part of the nineteenth century the London County Council constructed a pond in the ravine.  It may have been at this time that the stream was directed underground into the sewers as it left the northern end of the pond, where it flows today.  The photo is of the ravine ponds as they are now, having been restored by the Plumstead Common Environmental Group.


1720 map

By the time of the 1841 census, the name of the road had been changed to Cage Lane, because there was a cage at the north end of the road, where prisoners were held overnight.  The drawing shows the cage with the stocks on the right and part of the workhouse on the left.  The bars of the cage were wide enough to allow a tea-can to be passed in to the prisoner.  The 1841 census shows that there were 30 people living in Cage Lane but there were no cottage numbers or names.  As time passed, buildings began to spread up Cage Lane.  By the 1850s, building had spread past the junction with what is now Brewery Road and within about another 30 years had reached what is now 108 Lakedale Road.  A row of houses that includes number 108 were built in the mid-1880s and was initially known as Belmont Terrace, Cage Lane, with our house being number 12.  Some time between the 1891 census and 1889, the name of the road was changed to Lakedale Road, perhaps because of the boating lake at its southern end.

woolwich common places This photo of Lakedale Road was taken about 1910.  The front steps and some of the garden of number 108 can be seen on the left.  The shop on the corner is a confectioner and tobacconist.  At other times it was, I think, a greengrocer's, a fish shop and a dental technician's shop.  It is now a private house.

In 1946 Mum and Dad had to move out of the rooms they were renting in Eastern Avenue because Mrs Collins, their landlady, needed the rooms for her son, who was returning from the war.  They, therefore, bought number 108 Lakedale Road with a mortgage from the Amalgamated Engineering Union.  Gran, who had moved out of Kempt Street and had been living with her brother, George, and his wife, Kate, in Anerley, moved in with them.

Gran had the front room as her living room and the backroom upstairs as her bedroom.  Mum, Dad and Tony used what became the kitchen as their living room.  They did not like the middle downstairs room, so that was left as a spare room until I eventually started to use it as my living room.

When Mum and Dad arrived the house was in a filthy state and required a lot of effort to get it in order.  There was a range in the kitchen, which they cleaned up and used for a while.

Mum cannot remember whether there was electricity when they arrived.  I can remember though that there was still an unused gas meter on the landing and there are still gas points in the house, one visible in the passage and one, covered up, in the front room.

I do not remember the range in the kitchen.  The kitchen and the front living room were heated by open coal fires, but no other rooms were heated, which meant that getting into bed in winter was pretty cold, but a hot water bottle helped a little.  The fires were laid in the same way that they were in Engineer Road.  Coal was stored first of all in the cupboard under the stairs and then in the yard in a container made from the corrugated iron from an old Anderson Shelter.  I can remember the coalman carrying what looked to me like huge sacks of coal.  I bet he love our front steps!  A few years ago, when I was clearing out the cupboard under the stairs, I shone a torch on the floorboards and I could still see coal dust glinting in the light.

When I was very young baths were taken in a tin bath in front of the kitchen fire.  Later on Dad plumbed in a bath in the scullery.  When not in use the bath was covered by two wooden boards, which were used to provide storage space.  It took a while, therefore, to prepare for a bath.  The gas rings were lit to warm upthe scullery.

From time to time the chimney sweep would call.  He would place a large cloth over the fireplace, with a hole to take the brush poles.  Each pole was flexible and probably about six feet long and a new pole would be screwed on as the brush was gradually pushed up the chimney. I liked to go outside to see the brush emerge.

The downstairs gas meter continued, of course, to be used and the gasman came periodically to empty the meter.  He would count the sixpences and shillings on the stairs and some of the coins would be rebated.

Before the Clean Air Act of 1956 took effect, London was affected by some very severe smogs.  When this happened a flare would be placed on the junction with Tewson Road, outside the house.

About 100 yards down Lakedale Road, by the junction with Brewery Road, was Beasley's Brewery.  The drays being pulled by Shire horses was a lovely sight,  Sometimes I used to sneak into the brewery to see the horses in their stable.  A little further down the road was a Royal Arsenal Cooperative Society department store.  I can remember the money was placed by the assistant in a small metal canister attached to an overhead wire.  The assistant would then pull a handle and the canister would be sent along the wire to the cashiers.  After a while the change and receipt would be sent back by the cashier.  Both buildings had clock towers, and the clocks could be seen clearly from the back garden.

When I was the young, the London Docks were still very busy, and at twelve o'clock on New Year's Eve, all of the ships in the docks would sound their hooters.  Quite a noise.

During school term time, I always felt a bit down in the mouth on Sundays because of the thought of a new week at school.  At lunchtime Mum and Dad liked to listen to Forces Favourites and the Billy Cotton Bandshow, neither of which appealed to me, but then I used to enjoy Beyond our Ken and Round the Horne, which followed.  On summer evenings Dad and I would walk along Plumstead Common Road to the other side of the Common to the putting green.  After the game we walked back by a shorter route which meant going down into the ravine and up the other side - about a hundred steps on each side.  When we got home Mum would make me some ice cream in Cream Soda.  I then looked forward to Sunday Night at the London Palladium, particularly if Roy Orbison or Spike Milligan were on.  Then the misery of thinking about school in the morning.