Wanstead, The George c.1890

Photo ref: W22302

In 1946 my family Mum, Dad,brother Alex and sisters Jenny and Kay moved into a requisitioned house in Hollybush Hill. The house was called Surinam and it was a beautiful old house with a sweeping staircase and cellars that were great for playing hide and seek.. The garden was huge with very neglected greenhouses that backed onto the railway line. These greenhouses made excellent runs for our pet ...see more

I was born in the back bedroom of my nan and grandads house in Wellesley Road Wanstead. We did not have much but all worked together, my great aunt Flo and uncle Arthur lived in the basement, they also had a bedroom upstairs. We had a small bedroom at the back of the house my mum my dad and me and later on my sister, my mums brother uncle Jack had a bedroom on the first floor (the room I was born ...see more

It was a long walk to Wanstead Park from where we lived as children.  We lived at  Stephens Road, Stratford West Ham. Weekends and school holidays Mum would pack a picnic for the six of us, usually jam sandwiches or cheese if Mum had some, and a bottle of orange squash. We also had our jam jars and nets for fishing in the ponds for sticklebacks,  a bat and ball, also a football, and off we would go for the day, as most ...see more

Facing the viewer is the George Public House, which I believe still exists; behind is Wanstead underground station and an open area of grassland leading to Redbridge Lane and my then school, Wanstead County High. The High Street is facing us and leads to Snaresbrook, also with its underground station and also a magistrates court!