My Old School And School Friends

A Memory of Dagenham.

I was born in London in 1936but lived in Dagenham, I went to Erkenwald girls school , and before that Dorothy Barley. I lived in the war years I was uneak then because I was the only black child in the schools, I was always treated with kindness and I still have memories of my schooldays, I have put together a book on this and our reunions which is now in Vallance house. There are many photo's in this book which I did all by myself on my computer, with the help of a friend where I now live In a Village in Suffolk. MY name was Chloe Clarke now Aylward.
I remember there were air raid shelters everywhere in the parks the schools and those pictures are still in my memory. I married at 17 and had four children we moved to Scotland and lived there four 23yrs I moved back down to this Village 22yrs ago now and have been back to Dagenham a couple of times. I was so shocked to see so many changes. I have been trying to find on the googgle street maps Matchstick Island or Matchie as we used to call it but cant find it anywhere even Maysbrook park seems to have gone, Is it still there or have houses taken its place like they have our old school.?
There appears to be so much crime now in Dagenham where we used to play and walk the streets in safety.
Some one mentioned a Ms Johannson, well she was one of my teachers in Erkenwald, she was alive until 2006 and some of us went to see her she lived in Gidia Park, then she told us some very interesting stories of her life, she also said she had left our school and was head mistress of several others.before she retired. She never did Marry and was then still friends with Miss Hudson our sports
teacher, but we never met her. She was going to come to our reunion the following year but she died
of an infection.I have some interesting photo's of our classes and us kids of the fourties and fifties but I dont know how to put them onto a website?
The day the bomb fell on the bus garage I remember very well and it was just by chance we didnt get hit or near it, because we were going to barking that day but for some strange reason my mum was dilly dallying about. and just would not hurry up. so we missed a bus at the Robin hood shops.
and went home, later we found had we been on it we wouldnt have servived? I remember so many things of how it was and feel so upset that its become like it has. I wouldnt dare venture there now unless under police escort. If any one reads my bit and want to contact me then its ok. Chloe