Where I Consisder Home

A Memory of Harold Hill.

My name when I lived on Harold Hill was Susan Bryan (and then Shepherd when I married for the first time). My parents moved to Newbury Road, Harold Hill in 1950 when I was just two years old. There were no shops in Hilldene Avenue and no bus service. There used to be a guy called Wally (I think) who would come around with his van selling food. Another man used to come around on a bike with a basket selling shellfish and I can also remember a man coming around on a bike who used to sharpen knives, sissors, etc.
I went to Bosworth Infant and Junior School and have very fond memories of those years. My mum was a dinner lady at Bosworth. I remember Mr. Lincoln was the games teacher and his wife worked in the office. Mr. Gridley (probably spelt wrong) was the head master of the junior school. There was also a Mrs. Shields and I remember a Mr. Jenkins too.
I had some good friends there, Janis Wayne, Eileen Cox, Stella Ferrall, Chrissy Hayes to name a few. I remember one prefect there called Peter Denyer who I was so madly in love with at the age of 11.
I moved on to Quarles Secondary school for two years before going to Adanac Commercial College in Romford. My best friends there was Judy Hamblin and Sally Crockford. I was reunited with Judy about 5 yrs ago when I contacted her on Friends Reunited she si married and lives in a very beautiful part of Italy and my husband and I have visited her every year since. We were like twin sisters then and still are.
I had a very happy childhood and teenage years living on Harold Hill and returned there to live about two years after I got married ( lived in Hornchurch after getting married) I moved back to Whitchurch Road, then Sevenoaks Close and the returned to my roots to Newbury Road. That is where I stayed with my ex husband and children until 2001 when I moved to the Midlands to make a new life for myself with the man in my life, my now husband Kim.
I still love to GO BACK DOWN HOME as I call it and get very excited when we make the journey back to visit my daughter and grandchildren.
Harold Hill has changed since the days of my childhood and teen years and I do not think I would want to live there again, although I would love to return close to there to live again.
You can take the girl out of Essex but you cannot take the Essex out of the girl is my saying.
Where I live now is where I live it is not and will never be home to me.
I have told my husband and daughter I want to be laid to rest back home at Corbets Tey.
Oh such happy childhood days, when you could walk thru Manor Woods on a Sunday to meet up with your friends and just lay around on the grass listening to the Top 20 on the transister radio and then walk home through Manor Woods, most Sundays just before dark with no problems.
I can even remember walking home fromthe Wycham Hall in Romford to Harold Hill on a Saturday night after a night out dancing with the gang and we were safe.
Romford Market most Saturdays to buy something new to wear that night to go dancing in.
As I said, I have very happy memories of Harold Hill and they will stay with me for the rest of my life.