The Peckham Society Letters We welcome letters from members and those with an interest in Peckham. Where possible we will reply, but not necessarily by return. As you will see below many letters appear on our website and also many are published in our quarterly magazine.We are happy to forward letters to members. We are not able to assist with family research. Our editor is a regular visitor to Southwark Local History Library , 211 Borough High Street, London SE1 1JA which is an excellent source of historical information about Peckham. (Library resources can help you find out the history of the area, your family or house, or provide help with school or college projects. The library also holds information on changes in Southwark today. They are happy to help anybody with an interest in the Southwark area. You don't need to be a member of a Southwark, or any other, library. The collections have extensive finding aids and staff will always give advice on getting the most out of the library. You don't need to make an appointment to visit, except for group or class visits. However, they advise you to book a microfilm reader if you will need to use one.) From: Mrs Nellie Thornton (née Brooks) Oxenford Street Duke of Wellington pub I lived nearly opposite the Duke of Wellington pub in Cronin Road 92 years ago. It was a very friendly pub. There was a bar at the side saying “Bottle and jug bar” where you could go and get half a pint of beer in a jug on a washing day. My mum used to send me with a jug to get half a pint of stout. Every Christmas all the women were given a leather purse and the men got a leather wallet. On Saturday nights the Salvation Army sold their War Cry in the pub and then they stood outside playing and singing as they also did on Sunday mornings. On the corner of Cronin Road and Rosemary Road was a baker’s shop where during the war a brick was thrown at the window as the owner was a German. From: Joan Brown Choumert Square Returned to Peckham Thank you for the summer issue, which as always I found most interesting, bringing reminiscences of my early days in Peckham. I was born in 1920 and grew up in a house in Wellington Road (since renamed Belfort Road), close to St. Mary’s Church. That area of Peckham had originally been market gardens and orchards. Our delightful little back garden, lovingly tended by my countryman father, had three apple trees. I went to Waller Road School, and on “winning the scholarship” at 11 years old, I went to the newly opened Honor Oak School in Homestall Road. This well-designed modern building opened on to a lovely green expanse of grounds, through which ran a little stream which trickled through to Peckham Rye Park. On leaving school I went to work in the City, but then came the war. My father had to dig up his beloved garden in order to install the Anderson shelter, but it proved our salvation when a landmine fell on the church and the blast rendered our house uninhabitable. We eventually found a house in Forest Hill – at the top of the hill behind Horniman’s Museum – we “went posh”. A lifetime later I find myself back in Peckham – in a little floral precinct close to the public car park which is on the site of the demolished Tower Cinema which I used to attend as a little girl! The ornate archway entrance to the cinema is still there, but Rye Lane is no longer the main shopping centre for south east London which I remember – Jones & Higgins, Holdron’s, C & A, Marks & Spencer, RACS… Only Woolworths remains! From: Kath Corbitt by email Elcot Avenue Scrapyard I was interested in the letter about the scrapyard in Fenham Road. As a child during the thirties I took rags, newspapers and empty jam jars that I collected from various households in the area to Dick’s scrapyard in Elcot Avenue where the proprietors were Harry Fuller and his wife. They always gave a good price for whatever I took along, but didn’t accept any jam jars other than round ones. The yard had an indescribable odour of old rotting rags mixed with the smell of sticky jam jars which were never washed out before I was given them. There were wasps and bluebottles in abundance. Heaven knows what germs were lurking there, but they never made me ill. Neither did frequent immersion of my hands in canal water. Natural immunity I suppose! Among the reading material I received I often found a Happy Mag, or perhaps it was a Holiday Mag, I can’t remember which, and these always featured a “William” story by Richmal Crompton. These were mine; the ragshop didn’t get them as I was a “William” fan. I still have eight of the books in hardback which I bought thirty years ago. They were originally printed in the twenties and reprinted in the forties. I’m so glad that I discovered the Peckham Society, a bit late in life but better late than never. I now look forward to each edition which brings back many memories of my former home. Congratulations to you all on an excellent job. From: Terry Hissey by email Edward Heming GC I am writing a book on the Civil Defenders awarded the George Cross in the Second World War. One of these was Section Leader Edward Heming, whose gallantry took place in Bermondsey on 2 March 1945. He rescued several people from the Presbytery of the Dockhead RC Church which had been damaged by a V2 Flying Bomb. He died in Peckham in January 1987. I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have known him or served in the local Air Raid Precaution-Civil Defence Organisations. From: Iris Gardener Mottingham Sternhall Lane I always enjoy getting the magazine - it brings back so many memories of my 50 years in Peckham. I was so pleased to see the photos of the Heaton Arms and Co-operative House as I lived in Sternhall Lane. Everything was close at hand. My mother sent us down to the Triangle to get vegetables from Ginny Lyons on the stall – and salad from Burton’s stall. I am always so pleased to see letters from people I know – like Mrs Stroud who used to come in Deighton’s button shop in Blenheim Grove where I worked for 28 years. John Smith lived in Sternhall Lane – I remember him so well and all the family. Although I’ve been away from Peckham for nearly 28 years, I still like to know what’s going on there. Life wasn’t always easy – we didn’t need to spend money to have a good time. We were always happy to go to Peckham Rye Park. From: Malcolm Adams by email Dance Bands of the thirties My mother recently died and amongst her possessions I found a box of calling cards many of which were from Peckham musicians including my father. I have made up a collage with a picture of my father as centrepiece. My father played banjo mainly, but was also a tenor saxophone player. He also formed a band known as the Aeolian Dance Band of which he was also the MC (Master of Ceremonies).They used to have bookings at Dulwich Baths but sadly I did not quiz him as to where else they played. He did tell me once that they played at the annual dinner dance of the Nunhead Wheelers (cycling club). The Peckham Musicians on the collage are as follows: L.H.ADAMS (Banjoist) [79 Philip Road]; H ELLIOTT (Banjoist) [43 Bournemouth Road]; Henry G. BEARD (Pianist) [234A Commercial Road]; W. THOMPSON "THE PALS DANCE BAND" [141 Blakes Road]; C.T. MILES [18 Whorlton Road]; William BRIMSON [87 Talfourd Road]; and from the surrounding area: W.A.G. SMITH "The Unique Syncopators" [87 Woodpecker Road S.E.14]; E EVANS (Saxophonist, Alto & Tenor) [16 Warmington Road S.E.24]; Sid CHAMBERLAIN (Trumpet) [10 Lombard Street S.E.7] also: GRANVILLE DANCE BAND Office 88 New Cross Road. I hope this may stir some interest and maybe somebody may recognise their father's or grandfather’s name and have more information on the dance bands of Peckham in the 30s. From: Michael Gaskin by email St Chrysostom's I am so pleased to have found your website. I lived at 77 Peckham Hill Street from 1947 to 1960 with my parents and sister over Dr Harris's surgery. Next door was a dry cleaner's run by Lenny Adams. I'm glad someone else remembers the pigs on Peckham Rye Common. I was one of the first pupils to join Peckham Manor School in 1958, and was interviewed by the headmaster, Mr Matthews, who didn't take too kindly to my trendy crew cut. As a child, I went to Cubs and Sunday School at St. Chrysostom's church. I believe it has been demolished. I wonder why. Does anyone remember Miss Talbot, “The Grey Lady”, who was some kind of nun and had a lot to do with the church? Although I have lived in Sussex for over 40 years, I still have such vivid and happy memories of my childhood in Peckham. [St Chrysostom’s in Peckham Hill Street survived the Second World War, though not without damage. An expensive but abortive attempt at restoration in 1960/61 served only to accelerate decay in roof timbers. At the end of 1962 the building was found to be unsafe and had to be vacated. It was demolished the following year. – Ed.] From: Mike Mills by email Dog Pond I remember the Choumert Road Market, and the wonderful atmosphere at Christmas, during the late 50s and early 60s. In those days the stalls would stay open until late at night, with people leaving it until the last minute to get a cheap turkey or chicken for Christmas. I seem to remember the stalls opposite the Heaton Arms also being open till late. I also remember the dog pond, situated near to the former Prisoner of War huts. During the summer holidays we would fish for sticklebacks with small floats and tiny hooks. There was real excitement on one occasion when a lad caught an 8" roach from the pond. I never saw that repeated, and it was a sad day when the pond was drained and filled in to make a car park. Peckham Rye was a great place for kids in the 50s and 60s, especially if you came from the Old Kent Road as I did. Besides the duck pond and the dog pond, there were two other ponds: one was at the southernmost part of the park, almost opposite Friern School. Before it was filled in we used to catch newts there. The other pond was adjacent to the open-air swimming pool, almost opposite Austin's and the Rye Hotel public house. Does anyone remember Wilson's Fair? It was on the corner of Nunhead Lane, close to the swimming pool, almost opposite Banfield’s Coach Station - the fair was tiny and open all year. From: Alan Crout by email Arthur's Newsagents and R.O. Harrison Whilst reading the letters on the society’s website, I noticed one from Audrey McCall of Hastings asking if anyone remembered Arthur's newsagents on the corner of Queen’s Road and Pemell’s Place. I remember Arthur Baker very well as I delivered papers for him. I did the morning round and the money I earned paid for a bicycle from R.O. Harrison in Queen’s Road. From what Audrey says in her letter, I think that her maiden name was Loakes. She lived in Pemell’s Place and the 15-year-old brother she mentions was my friend Brian. If my memory is right, their mother worked in Josiah Messent’s on the opposite corner to Arthur's His eldest daughter Doreen is a member of our local club; Arthur died in 1989 and his wife in 2003. From: Kathleen Corbitt (née Nelson) Leighton Buzzard Peckham Central School I was a pupil at Peckham Central School from 1936 until 1940 and remember the school lamp. If it was lit then all was well with the school but when unlit this meant that somebody had misbehaved and brought disgrace upon the school. It was unlit on one occasion and we all waited in trepidation to discover who the culprit was and what she had done. Miss Ambler, our Headmistress, then informed us that the school had run out of oil and that was the reason. I was in Green House and cannot recall Yellow House having their shade on the lamp during my time there. I was evacuated to Pulborough in West Sussex in 1939 and returned to London in 1940. Perhaps some former pupils remember me; if so I would love to hear from them. From: Lord Howe “Excellent Quarterly Magazine. Keep it up! From: Bill Clarke Thamesmead Silkin Mews and One Tree Hill Silkin Mews in Fenham Road was built on the site of a small scrapyard where we kids used to take rags, newspaper and cardboard, to earn a few pennies. Can anyone remember the name of a small café which existed during the fifties and early sixties in Blenheim Grove.? We knew it only as “The Blue”. Was its full name the “Blue Lagoon” or the “Blue Hawaii”? From: Barry Martin by email Edison Bell My thanks for including my appreciation of Peckham in the last issue; I feel privileged. A bonus for me was the article on Edison Bell. My father had worked at the factory making gramophones in the 1920s, before he became a milkman, and I had often wondered about it. From: Paul Brophy by email Bull Yard and Peckham Bus Garage Bull Yard was fire bombed on 22 October 1940* when 48 London Transport buses, which had been withdrawn due to wartime fuel savings, were lost including eleven of the twelve brand new TF class private hire coaches. Thomas Tilling first occupied the premises in 1876. In 1905 they became the first motor bus garage in London, with motor buses running between Peckham and Oxford Circus (this is now route 12). In 1911 the bus garage was moved to Lewisham and the premises were used for vehicle building and as a maintenance base by Tilling’s. After London Transport’s formation in 1934, the premises were used for storage by LT and by 1938 had been earmarked as a bus garage with a capacity for 200 buses until the Second World War intervened. Peckham Bus Garage finally opened on 2 May 1951 with a capacity for 150 buses operating on routes 36 and 78 with an output of 68 buses Monday to Friday. (It also housed LT's South East Divisional Medical Centre.) It took 18 years to reach anything like its operating capacity and that was achieved only by shutting Nunhead garage (1954), Old Kent Road garage (1958) and Rye Lane garage (1969) and transferring some of their routes and buses into Peckham. The Peckham Bus Garage closed in 1994 as London Transport was being privatised due to what was called “roof problems” but being in the heart of Peckham, and with many bus routes being lost to private operators, its prime site sealed its fate. It was replaced with a “low cost unit” in the ex-council depot site in Blackpool Road. The architects who designed Peckham Garage were Messrs Wallis, Gilbert and Partners working in association with LT’s own architect Thomas Bilbow. Construction was shared between Richard Costain Ltd and J. Jarvis and Co Ltd. From: John Smith Irby-In-The-Marsh Second World War I was born in Marsden Road in 1936 and my earliest childhood memory is of hearing bombs screaming down from the sky in 1940. I was in our Anderson air-raid shelter with my mum and sister Pauline, in the garden of our house, in Tell Grove, close to Dulwich Hospital. I was 4 years old. The ground shook as the bombs landed. When the “All Clear” siren went we came out of the shelter and saw that the whole side of our house had been blown away. Our piano, on the top floor, was hanging over the edge. I remember my dad and uncle George trying to drag it back but it crashed to the ground. The next thing I remember was Mum, Dad, sister Pauline and myself walking out of London along the A20 near Farningham, Kent. We had been walking all day and it was getting dark so we slept under the road bridge on the bank of the River Darent. Next morning when I woke up I saw cows drinking from the river. It was the first time I had seen cows and it all seemed so peaceful after all the bombing. I wished we could have stayed there forever but within a year we were back in London living at 2 Sternhall Lane, Peckham. From: Veronica Alden by email Air raid shelters I remember the air raid shelters on Peckham Rye. When I was a child in the 1950s they were a great place to play. We would all go to the shelters and run up to the top and then jump off which was quite a height. They were a great place to have a picnic as the top was a large flat square. They were also a good place to dry your towels when you came from the Peckham lido. There were large numbers of us who were very upset when the shelters disappeared as we had so much fun on them. Do any of our members remember Moores Stores London Ltd? They were grocery wholesalers in Chadwick Road, just past Lyndhurst Way now print village. From: From: Cllr Ian Wingfield, Town Hall, Peckham Road, SE5 8UB. Nunhead (aka Wingfield House) Football Club As a Nunhead resident I was interested to read about Nunhead FC in issues 108 and 110, so I decided to find out more about the club. I was surprised to learn from Mick Blakeman's excellent history of Nunhead FC that the football club was started when a group of Stock Exchange members decided to set up a home for working boys in Stamford Street, Blackfriars, in 1888. Imagine then my greater surprise on learning that in 1894 the home was moved to Wingfield House at 261 South Lambeth Road, Stockwell, and the football club was renamed the Wingfield House Football Club! It was also in this period, under Charles A. Stein, that the Club began to achieve greater things. The Club dropped the name Wingfield House FC in 1904 to become Nunhead FC. Interestingly, Wingfield House became the Jersey Home for Working Lads in 1911 which probably indicates that this group of stockbrokers shared a genuine objective of improving the lot of working-class boys. From: James Roffey, Chief Executive, The Evacuees Reunion Association, The Mill Business Centre, Mill Hill, Gringley-on-the-Hill, Nottinghamshire DN10 4RA. Reunion for Evacuees I have just finished reading issue number 110. Congratulations upon yet another very interesting magazine. On Friday 1 September 1939 thousands of children from all parts of London were evacuated due to the imminent start of the Second World War. I was evacuated with my sister’s school, Peckham Central Girls’ School. They formed us up into a long “crocodile” file in the school playground, tied luggage labels on us bearing our name and that of our school, then the big gates were opened wide and we were marched along the road to Queen’s Road Station, led by a policeman. Our parents were not allowed to walk with us or go on to the station. They all stood on the other side of the road watching in grim faced silence. I caught a glimpse of my mother in the crowd as we passed Jones and Higgins. I waved to her but she didn’t wave back. I suppose she couldn’t see me. Then she disappeared and hurried down Rye Lane in the hope of seeing one of my brothers with Peckham Central Boys’ School at Peckham Rye Station. Where were they taking us? That was a secret. Queen’s Road Station was already crammed with other evacuees from other local schools. After a long wait, our special train came inching its way into the station. It was made up of very old carriages with no corridors and no toilets. They pushed us on to the train – brothers, sisters and friends all trying hard to keep together – slammed the doors shut and off we went into the unknown. Eventually we arrived at Pulborough in West Sussex. That evening the streets of Peckham were strangely quiet and deserted; the children had gone! The code name for the evacuation was “Operation Pied Piper”. I was away from home until 1944; others until the end of the war. Many never could go home because their homes had been bombed and their families killed. The long-term effects of the evacuation remain with us. On Tuesday 1 September 2009 the Evacuees Reunion Association are marking the 70th Anniversary of the evacuation with a special service in St Paul’s Cathedral. Nearly half of the 2,000 tickets have already been booked. There are no restrictions on who can apply for tickets, so if you want to be there write now to the Evacuees Reunion Association, or telephone 01777 816166 and ask for an application form. But don’t delay and find that all the tickets have been booked. From: Shannon Denny, Editor, Living South Peckham Society News For ages I've been meaning to write to say I love The Peckham Society News! I always get such a kick out of the stories you find to run. Please never stop. Thanks so much. From: Peter Crocker Forest Hill Peckham Hill Street In 1938 I went to live in 106 Peckham Hill Street with my grandparents; it was opposite St Chrysostom’s Church. My school friends included the Owen family who lived in Bell’s Garden Road. There were “Dicky”, Leslie, Alan, Alice and a cousin Reginald. Some of us went on a much needed holiday to Lincolnshire provided by the Country Holiday Fund. When evacuated from Peckham Park Road School we were sent to Southwick outside Brighton and in 1940 moved inland to Guildford and lost trace of the Owen family after that. I often wonder what happened to them especially “Dicky”. Alice went to Peckham Central School (mixed) after the war. From: Sheila Farmer Hartley, Kent Henry Joseph Howard – Hairpin Maker One of my Peckham ancestors was a hairpin manufacturer so here is a history of him. Many thanks for keeping us in touch with Peckham news both past and present. My great grandfather Henry Joseph Howard was born in Snowsfields, Southwark, in 1818. His father, a tin plate worker, died in 1820 leaving his mother Mary Elizabeth to raise Henry and his brother. However, Mary’s father Mathias Leverett, a wire drawer, was also living in Snowsfields at this time so no doubt she had some help. I next found the family in the 1841 census living in 56 King Street, Southwark, with Rebecca Leverett (widow), Mary Howard and Henry. The occupations for Henry and his mother were given as pin makers. By the time he married in 1845, Henry had become a wine cooper and this is shown as his occupation in the 1851 and 1861 census returns. His mother in the 1851 census put her trade as that of a pin japanner.* Henry, his wife Eliza, his mother Mary Elizabeth and six children left Southwark some time between 1865 and 1866 and moved to Woodbine Cottage, Nunhead Green. In the census Henry Joseph put his occupation as hairpin maker and in all further census returns he is Henry, his wife Eliza, his mother Mary Elizabeth and six children left Southwark some time between 1865 and 1866 and moved to Woodbine Cottage, Nunhead Green. In the census Henry Joseph put his occupation as hairpin maker and in all further census returns he is shown as a hairpin manufacturer. I checked through various business directories, under the section for Hairpin Makers, and in the 1871 London Post Office Directory Commercial and Trade I found Howard, Henry Joseph, hairpin manufacturer, Nunhead Green, Peckham Rye SE. In later directories and census returns the address is Hall Road, Newlands, Peckham. By 1892 the business had become Howard Hy. & Sons, Newland Works, Peckham Rye. Henry died on 26 October 1891 and from his will I discovered that he had left his business to his three oldest sons and, I quote “an hairpin manufacturers & japanners* which belonged to me and is now carried on by them together…” I looked through the business directories and it would seem the business continued well into the 1920s. From 1928 I found no more entries. If anyone can add to this little history I would be most pleased to hear from them. * Japan – a lacquer that, when used to coat wood or metal, gives a glossy black finish. By coincidence, Peter Crocker of Forest Hill sent us an article about the Gandolfi camera makers which was published in The Sunday Times Magazine (12 March 1978) which stated: “The Gandolfis moved to their present site in Borland Road, Peckham, in 1928: Louis bought it freehold for £350. These new premises had belonged to a hair-pin maker called Howard who had worked for the Court hairdresser and had gone bankrupt overnight when women began to cut their hair short in the fashion of the 1920s. Louis found in the workshop three-quarters of a million pins, which he sold to a bird-cage maker: when Frederick had to repair the workshop ceiling recently he needed a shovel to remove the pins lodged between the beams.” [They moved to Berwick St Leonard, Salisbury, Wiltshire in 1982. From: Mrs F.S. Marriner (née Green) Chichester When I lived in Peckham I remember Ranyard nurses calling each week for a small donation, to keep their work going. Christ Church hall in Friary Road was used by Brownies and Guides during the 1930s and the war. In the thirties Brownies, Guides and Scouts met monthly outside the hall prior to starting church parade at Christ Church in the Old Kent Road. The Scouts had a wonderful band to march to. My mother belonged to a club that met at the Union Settlement.* They had outings to a girls’ school in Kent where the girls waited on them and served them teas. Does anyone remember the playground opposite Friary Road? It was a series of alleyways with small terraced houses. They were pulled down in the 1930s and the London County Council built several blocks of flats there. I can’t wait for the next Peckham Society News. It is so interesting and brings back so many memories. *Now the Peckham Settlement in Staffordshire Street. From: Joy Hodge by email I am hoping to contact old friends through the Peckham Society. I used to live in Dundas Road in a prefab which has sadly now gone. I lived there until 1961 and then lived in Barry Road until 1965. I used to go to Friern Road girls’ school and spent many days in Peckham Rye Park and on Peckham Rye Common. My father grew up in Dayton Grove no. 28. I also knew the shop in Nunhead Grove that Mrs Holland mentioned in her letter. My friend Iris lived next door. In the late fifties and 1960 I went to the top twenty dance hall near Jones and Higgins. I saw Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Tommy Bruce and Jess Conrad there. I also went to the George Holden School of Dancing in St Mary’s Road and spent many evenings at the St Mary’s Road health centre at the youth club. My primary school was Hollydale Road. I would love to know where Brian Gamble is now. He lived in Ansdell Road; the boy next door was Tony Drew. Jones and Higgins was a lovely shop. I also bought many things at Martin and Fords, and spent many Sundays after Sunday School at Pepys Park. I would love to contact anyone with memories of Peckham. From: Stan Spencer by email Peckham Society News No. 107 arrived this morning and has been read from cover to cover. To the best of my recollection (1930s to 1950s) there was not a market as such in Bournemouth Road. However, there were a couple of stalls at the Rye Lane end of the road, one of which was a farm stall run by people called Taylor. There was also a gent who sold drawing pins, shoe laces and matches from a tray that was hung around his neck rather like the ice cream vendors in the cinemas of that era and he had been on that spot for years. From: Bill Jarvis by email Vivian Woodward - Bellenden Road WW2 Depot My grandmother's brother, Vivian Woodward, was born in Lambeth and moved to Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, as a small child. He became a footballer, and has been described as the "David Beckham of 100 years ago", with many great achievements: records lasting until the 1950s for England international caps, goals and hat-tricks. He also captained the Great Britain team to Olympic Gold in the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games. A hundred years later those games are now regarded in FIFA and elsewhere as the forerunner of the World Cup. He did all this as an amateur, working as an architect at the family practice in South London. An excellent biography has recently been written by Norman Jacobs, and his achievements are on record. However, not much is known about his later years. My mother took me to visit him at a retirement home in Ealing in the early 50s, but my memory is faint because I was a small boy at the time. I know he was an ARP warden during the war at the renowned Bellenden Road Depot. I would be very grateful to get in touch with someone who recalls Vivian Woodward at that time or who knows about the history of the Depot. From: Bob Freeman Swadlincote Derbyshire Nunhead Football Club I was born in on New Year’s Eve 1919 in Bellwood Road, Nunhead. When I was about ten I went with my dad to watch Nunhead Football Club who played in the Isthmian League and I went whenever they were at home. The local derby match was against Dulwich Hamlet, captained by Edgar Kail, who was a cousin of my mother; my parents were also friendly with the Nunhead goalkeeper, Eric Mulley. We went to the ground through an alleyway off Ivydale Road and had many happy times there with a crowd of possibly around 250, until the Club had to close when the ground was sold. It will be interesting if anyone else remembers Nunhead Football Club. I went to Ivydale Road School which was at the bottom of Bellwood Road, about 200 yards from my home, then I passed a half scholarship and went to Brockley Central School in Wallbutton Road, Brockley. I walked there and occasionally cadged a lift on the back step of the United Dairies milk float pulled by a horse along Ivydale Road. Thank you for Peckham Society News where I can read of the places of my childhood. In the Spring Edition No. 107 there was a photograph of the Tower Cinema in Rye Lane. I visited there many times and remember walking up the stairs to the foyer and smelling the wonderful aroma that was always there. The Tower Cinema was to the young lad the pinnacle of excellence. From: Mrs Maureen Stoner Christchurch Dorset Collingwood School I grew up in Camberwell in Dartnell Road off the Old Kent Road. This area was also known as The Island. Why I do not know. My early days were at Cobourg Road Primary School and we lived in prefabs there; this area was heavily bombed during the war and a complete neighbourhood was wiped out in one raid. I have very happy memories of living there. We then moved to Camberwell Green in the first block of the Elmington Estate in 1956. I know that the canal has been filled in but it was a big draw for many youngsters and caused great fears for mums. I had a great aunt who lived in Boathouse Walk in Peckham in one of the little old cottages. I am trying to trace many old chums from Collingwood School especially Jean Beasley who used to live in Barset Road, Nunhead. I have traced many from Collingwood and we had a great reunion in March. Collingwood was once a mixed school named Colls Road but in the later years was changed to Collingwood. Then this became a Girls’ Central School and we had an excellent headmistress. In 1958 the education system was changing and Credon Road Secondary Modern School moved into our school increasing our numbers and frankly bringing down the school. Credon Road School was quite a tough school and their pupils often had teachers in tears. Miss Vaughan Davis, our head, resigned from Collingwood one year after this amalgamation and went to become head at a very good girls’ school in London. From: Pat Gates by email It was nice to stumble across The Peckham Society.My Grandfather had a pet shop which I believe was called Noahs Ark Pet Store in the smaller arcade at the top end of Rye Lane. His name was Warner; and he later moved to East Street with the same business until the war. My father died at the early age of 29 in 1943 whilst in the army. His family [Gates], lived in the top end of Talford Road and one of my uncles, Harry Gates was an officer in the Fire Brigade in Camerwell Road; where he met his second wife Jean.I was born in St. Giles Hospital, and for a short while as a babe in arms lived with my mother and father in Lindhurst Way. We moved away to Dorking during the war with my mother and elderly grandparents. We then moved back to E.Dulwich in 1949; where I met my wife in the mid fifties, [her maiden name was Haynes], We married in 1960 and moved to Plumstead and since to Rochester. As the saying goes, I could write a book on our adventures in Dulwich and Peckham. Best wishes and up the Hamlet! From: Mrs Olive Brenchley (née Dodd) Maidstone CATOR STREET SCHOOL I was born in 1916 in Little Rosemary Road, an extension to Rosemary Road. When I was three months old my family moved to 97 Cronin Road, where I lived until I was married in 1939 in St Luke’s Church. I went to Cator Street School where a wall divided the boys from the girls. Mr Baker used to ring the bell at 8.55 a.m. In the winter some of the mothers would come to the school gate at playtime with milk and cocoa. My two brothers were in the Scouts at St Luke’s Church. Harry Burgar played the big drum and Ern Burgar played the cymbals. When we heard them coming down the street we would follow them all around Rosemary Road, Commercial Way, Cator Street, East Surrey Grove, along St George’s Way and up Cronin Road. They were happy young days. On Thursday evenings at 8 p.m. we could watch the fireworks from Crystal Palace. We’d stand in the middle of the road (no traffic). That was a treat for us. After the war we moved to 69 Cronin Road, next door but one to the Lord Raglan pub. My husband and three children lived there until we were forced to move because the whole area was demolished in the 1960s for redevelopment. What a tragic thing to do to such a thriving and well established community! The houses were in good condition and with a little bit of imagination and modernisation those lovely houses and streets could still be there now. We moved to a modern house in Evelina Road, Nunhead. I lost my husband in 1964 and remarried in 1970 and then moved to Kent. If anybody remembers the Burgars or the Dodd families I would love to know. Thank you for Peckham Society News. It’s so nice to keep in touch with Peckham and places of my childhood. Keep up the good work. From: Tony Ginman Groombridge, Kent FAT BOY OF PECKHAM My father and his family had an association with Johnny Trunley, The Fat Boy of Peckham. My family name is Ginman and my father always said that Johnny Trunley taught him to become a watchmaker in the 1940s. In fact some of the watch repairing tools I have may have originally belonged to Johnny. My father went on to open two jewellers’ shops - one in Plumstead and another in Welling. It was always claimed that many of the Ginmans in and around the Old Kent Road and South East London were long-term friends of Johnny. If anyone has any information I would be very pleased to hear from them. Also does anyone know anything about Hatcham Cricket Club? My grandfather Arthur Ginman played for them and I have a medal that he won. From: Christopher Farrand Ohio USA ELM GROVE I am looking for information on the homes in Elm Grove. My great-great-grandfather Frederick Farrand and family lived there from about 1825 to 1863. However, I am not sure where in Elm Grove they lived. The 1841 census puts them at 1 Elm Grove, which appears to have been a semi-detached home as there was another family there as well. They don't appear in the 1851 census, but it appears that 1 Elm Grove was not inhabited the day of the census, which means they may have been away. In the 1861 census, they are listed at Elm Grove, Priory Villa (next to Swiss Cottage). My great-great-grandfather and g-g-grandmother's death certificates have them dying at Priory Villa, Elm Grove. Following the order of the census taker, my guess is that their home was near the intersection of Elm Grove with Rye Lane, although I'm not sure which side of the street. Can anyone clarify where their house might have been? Does it still exist? Is there a way of getting a photograph of it if it does still exist? Thanks for any help From: John Smith Irby-in-the-Marsh PECKHAM RYE MISSION I wonder if anyone can help me to find some of my friends from the 1950s? I have a 1953 photo of three of my friends: Brian Turner, John Hatherley and Dickie Drane. We all went to the Peckham Rye Mission Youth Club. If anyone else remembers the Youth Club, and the good man that ran the club, Ken Merritt, please get in touch with me. Other friends I'd love to know about are John Caddock, Bob Warren, Sylvia Marks, Gloria Colletta and Valerie Chivers. We had wonderful times at the Youth Club, and we had many rambles out to the countryside, from Peckham Rye Station, organised by Ken Merritt. I particularly remember the Peckham Rye Mission Youth Club holiday to Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in 1953. That is a holiday I shall never forget. It was the first holiday that I ever had. From: Mrs June Brown (née Wilks) Preston STRUDWICK’S Each edition of Peckham Society News gives me more and more pleasure. I would like to thank all concerned for the hard work involved in putting it all together. In the last issue Eileen Curd mentioned Strudwick’s fish and chip shop in Commercial Way. As a child living in Cator Street, I went with my mum to get our tea there every Friday. My mum went to school with George Strudwick. His dad had a boot and shoe repair shop in Cator Street. George was invalided out of the army during the war and joined his wife in the fish and chip shop. I walked with my mum along Commercial Way thirty years ago and the shop was then a wool shop run by Mrs Strudwick and her daughter. As for George Moakes, the cats’ meat man, we traded with him for many years. I have so many wonderful memories. Thank you for keeping them alive. From: Graham Anderson by email CRAMPTON & CO I am writing from Toronto in Canada and am doing research into my grandfather John Muir Macgregor. He was in business with Crampton at 10 & 11 Barbican. The company was listed as Crampton, Macgregor & Co, Ladies Blouse, Robe and Costume Manufacturers. The building was bombed in 1940; John died in 1932. The Post Office Directory of 1915 lists them both at the Barbican address but also as Crampton & Co Blouse Manufacturers at Hanover Street in Peckham. I am hoping one of your readers can shed light on the Peckham address (maybe a second location or factory) and also more information on Mr Crampton, (first name, pictures or descendants). From: David Wells by email PECKHAM MANOR SCHOOL Letters about Peckham Manor School have prompted me to write that I attended it (1968-1973). I remember the “Technical Wing” being the thing that must have saved many of us from going off the strait and narrow. They employed real teachers, people from industry, who showed us how to use real engineering equipment to make real things without the obsession of health and safety. As for the origins and changes to the main school in Sumner Road, it was actually a Primary in the 1920/30s when my mother attended it. From: Irene Warden by email THE “FIVE MILES CLUB” I came across an old medal, with an inscription on the back: 5 Miles Club C.C. Abbott 1923 I noticed that one of your articles mentions the "Five Miles Club Championship Race": Rovers' Club Race meeting at Sayes Court Recreation Ground, Deptford, where my grandfather Henry d'Arcy won the Five Miles Club Championship Race. Would this have anything to do with my medal? Does the name C.C. Abbott mean anything to anyone? From: John Beasley, Editor SE15 Further to our request for information on Califano's we have been fortunate to receive many excellent informative letters on this subject. They will appear on this site soon. Thank you to everyone who responded. From: Kath Adams Wincanton Somerset Please thank all the people who work so hard to make Peckham Society News such a wonderful read. I have had such kind letters regarding my little article. From: Ron Woollacott SE15 Further to the item in the last issue about the hosepipe factory conversion, according to Kelly’s Directories the hosepipe factory was established at 177 Kirkwood Road some time between 1935 and 1950. W. Greenwood & Sons and Co. Ltd. were manufacturers of flex hoses in 1950, and by 1980 were listed as “oil resisting hose pipe manufacturers”. I do not know when the firm ceased business. [Please inform our Editor if you have any additional information.] From: Peter John Smith by email I read with interest Miss Gardener’s letter about working in Jones & Higgins (Rye Lane) and serving Anne Shelton (issue no.94). I also worked for Jones & Higgins; I was a motor mechanic in their garage behind the shop (entrance in Hanover Park). I worked there between 1959 and 1961. Anne Shelton used to have her car washed in the garage. (Dickie Valentine's dad lived in Hanover Park.) Ted Broadribb (Freddie Mills’ boxing manager and father-in-law) used to have his car serviced in the garage and I used to have to deliver it back to his house in Sunray Avenue SE24. He tipped very well and once gave me a pair of boxing shorts (because I was an amateur boxer). Diana Dors visited the shop and passed right by me. It seemed that many celebrities shopped at Jones & Higgins. I am hoping to contact old Peckham friends through Peckham Society News. I have already been in contact with someone who lived in Sternhall Lane (off Rye Lane) during the time that I (plus my mum, dad, brothers and sisters) lived there. I would love to contact people who spent their spare time in Peckham Rye Park in the early 1950s (when I was 14 till I went into the army at 18) because that is the era that brings back the happiest memories of my life. We also all used to meet up at the Mission Youth Club (Troy Town), Peckham Rye, on Saturdays. Ken Meritt ran the club. He did a good job helping us all on the strait and narrow, and insisted we went to Bible Class and then to the church in Rye Lane (up from Jones & Higgins) on Sundays. After Bible Class we used to dash to the Odeon cinema, Goose Green, to go to the pictures. My sister, Pauline, was an ice cream girl in that cinema; she won the "Miss Cinema" (Rank UK) title in 1955 and appeared on TV. I lived in Peckham from before WW2 till about 1965, when we moved to Barry Road, East Dulwich. From: Peter Butler by email PECKHAM MANOR SCHOOL RUGBY Roger Burrell was the rugby coach during the early 1960s. If I remember correctly, during my second year at the school the rugby squad colours were all black and all the competing teams did the Haka before the game. From: Philip by email I was in the “All Blacks” at Peckham Manor School. We had to shout out Tacaty Ticaty Hobuldy Gobldee or something then jump in the air. It was all at the behest of a New Zealand teacher who tape recorded (very high tech.) one of our assemblies before he returned. [Our New Zealand magazine compiler advises us that the words were more likely part of the Kamate Haka: - Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora! Which translate as – I die! I die! I live! I live!] From: Mrs Grace Smith-Grogan SE15 I felt so sad when the London sparrows disappeared. Every other bird visited my garden but not a trace of the sparrows. Why? We all asked but there seemed to be no answer. The Editor published my poem entitled “Where have all the sparrow gone” which ended up with “Dear God please send them back”. That was a few years ago. I have an enormous escallonia bush growing just outside my kitchen window. Recently I noticed a great deal of activity within its leafy branches. Imagine my delight when there emerged about a dozen healthy and well nourished sparrows. One flew down to drink from a rain water pot quite close by. A baby squirrel ran up to the branches. His expression was of surprise. I felt a warm glow flood over me. The famous quotation of Robert Browning, who attended a boarding school in Peckham’s High Street, flashed into my mind. “God’s in His Heaven – All’s right with the World!” From: Audrey McCall Hastings I was interested to read Jonathan Fox’s letter in the last issue. In the early 1950s my 15-year-old brother worked in Reg Harrison’s cycle shop at 41 Queen’s Road; it had a workroom behind. They made and assembled bicycles which arrived in many pieces. The marque mentioned was then affixed to these cycles. Some were special racing bikes made to order; he also sold other brands. A special customer was Reg Harris who won five world titles. He won two silver medals at the 1948 Olympic Games. The nearness of Herne Hill cycle stadium meant the business thrived. I purchased my first bike from Harrison’s and very daring it was with semi-drop handlebars. When Mr Harrison died the business soon folded and the whole area was completely purchased by the council to enable the Acorn Estate to be built. Does anyone remember “Arthur’s” the newsagent’s shop on the corner of Pemell’s Place, 5 or 6 shops away from Harrison’s bike shop? I delivered newspapers from “Arthur’s” to houses including the clapperboard houses in Consort Road. I hated the long gardens at the front. A man who lived in one of these houses used to give me money wrapped up in layers of paper for me to give to Arthur “when it was quiet”. They were bets so I guess I was a “Bookie’s Runner”. Keep on with Peckham Society News. I love it but it does bring back some sad wartime memories as well as funny ones. From: Ken Cook by email I lived in Athenlay Road, Nunhead, from my birth in 1941 until the day I was married in 1962. Some of the older residents still referred to our neighbourhood as "Waverley Park". When I was young there was still a lot of horse-drawn traffic on the roads, such as the milkman, the breadman, the coalman, the rag and bone man etc. Consequently there was a good supply of manure for the keen gardener. To collect this bounty more easily for his allotment, my father constructed a small hand cart. My brothers and I would scour the local streets in search of this valuable by-product! I recall that on one warm Saturday afternoon we ventured as far as Nunhead Lane in our search; by this time the cart was pretty full. Instead of returning home, we decided to visit the Grand Surrey Canal at Canal Head, which was located behind the Abbey Rose depot opposite the Jones & Higgins's corner. Rye Lane was always packed with shoppers in those days and you can imagine the comments that were made as a bunch of young boys pushed their precious cargo through the crowds! From: John Jordan by email A letter on the Peckham Society website caught my eye. I was born on 17 April 1942, in the middle of an air raid, so my mother tells me! I entered the world in King’s College Hospital. We lived in Machell Road, Nunhead. It’s nice to have confirmation of the Italian prisoner of war camp on Peckham Rye as my children and grandchildren think I’m making it up. I also tell them that the kids in the “forties” had the best adventure playgrounds ever invented thanks to Mr Hitler. The bomb site on the corner of Kimberley Avenue and Evelina Road and the one in Kimberley Avenue itself were my favourites. In order to supplement my pocket money I worked at Jones & Higgins in Rye Lane on a Saturday and during school holidays for the princely sum of 12/6d a day. I had such a good time I would probably have worked there for nothing. On Saturdays the store took on probably twenty or thirty “school kids” to help with extra business and for most of us it was more like a club taking over the canteen in the lunchtime and flirting with the permanent office girls. I met my first real love there. I wonder whatever happened to Pam Hatton? The streets then were, or appeared to be, a lot safer. Parents didn’t take their “little darlings” to school after the first day. We all just seemed to go together. Obviously there wasn’t the amount of traffic around that there is now but even at the age of five I still had to cross over a bus route to get to school and didn’t think anything of it. In any case, my Mum used to leave home at about 5.30 in the morning to do office cleaning and my Dad worked in a butcher’s shop and was also away early so my Nan used to get me up for school and wasn’t able to walk me to school even if I wanted her to. I remember the old Tower Cinema in Rye Lane which always seemed very grand to me. I seem to remember going up dozens of steps to get in. In particular I remember going there at the time of the Olympics when there were all sorts of sports equipment on display on the stairs. Funny what you remember! The best time at the cinema was Saturday morning at the Odeon. The poor staff must have dreaded Saturdays coming round! The noise when the hero or villain came on the screen was deafening. From: Percy Hill Harpenden, Herts Your magazine gives me pleasure every quarter and I wish it success. From: Mrs Angela Quick Toronto, Canada I now live in Toronto, Canada, and am in my mid-seventies. When I came across your website, memories came flooding back. I was born in Peckham and my late father and mother had a drapery shop at 109 Queen’s Road. My first school was for a few terms, at Wood’s Road, opposite our shop. There was a store called Wades on the corner of Burchell Road. I recall many happy outings to Peckham Rye Park, and Christmas excursions to Rye Lane. My late Mom loved going into Jones and Higgins. Maybe one day, when I can get to London, I will take a journey down memory lane and have an abundance of nostalgia by visiting good old Peckham. It has changed, I am sure, but I will always remember it as it was in the years prior to the War in 1939. From: Ernest John Savage Shirley, Croydon I was born at 70 Denman Road in 1913. My sister Jessie worked at Jones and Higgins in Rye Lane. The Fire Station in Peckham had a horse-drawn fire engine. As a family we attended Rye Lane Baptist Chapel, where I sang bass in the choir, and played the double bass in Dr Green’s orchestra on Sunday evenings. We held open-air services in Hanover Street (now Highshore Road) opposite the chapel. During the week we held open-air services around this area, shouting out scripture texts. I lived in Peckham for eighteen happy years. From: James Roffey Clayworth, Nr. Retford The picture of the former Walmer Castle in the last issue brought back memories of when I was a small boy going with my mother every week to the public library that stood on the opposite corner of Grummant Road to that public house. I was, of course, far too young to go into the Walmer Castle, or any other public house, but I knew a little of what it was like because a man who lived opposite our house in Shenley Road played in the Walmer Castle orchestra. Every evening he could be seen setting off to work, wearing a dinner suit and black bow tie. I am told that the Saloon Bar was “very respectable”, where suitably dressed customers sat in leather padded armchairs amongst potted palms. Unaccompanied ladies, men wearing caps, or who were without ties, would not be served at the bar but asked to leave. In 1939 I was evacuated to Pulborough in West Sussex with my sister’s school – Peckham Central Girls. When I came home four years later, I found all that remained of the library was its ornate Victorian frontage. The grand steps leading up to the entrance doors were still there, but a plank of wood had been nailed across them, which was just as well because immediately behind was a National Fire Service reservoir on the site of what had been the library. In common with every other building the Walmer Castle looked very shabby. Whether it still had its potted palms and orchestra I do not know. I look forward to every issue of Peckham Society News and to the memories each one brings to me. From: Bette Everett by email I really enjoyed reading through the last magazine and was especially happy to see the picture of the boy on the bike in Dayton Grove as we lived at No 3 for a while - I believe it must have been round about the start of the war. I well remember catching caterpillars from the big trees opposite and keeping them in matchboxes as pets. I don't suppose the poor things lasted very long, although we always put a bit of greenery in with them for their dinner! If it was cruel I can only say in my defence that I was only about 3 years old and it was all my big sister’s fault! Does anyone remember Sister Charlesly of the Salvation Army? My sister and I, along with assorted cousins, used to go with her to the local Army Hall every Sunday, morning and afternoon. She was like the Pied Piper as we used to wait by our gates for her and then troop behind her to the Hall. We all absolutely loved her and I think she lived in Colls Road. At the top of King Arthur Street, where we lived there, was a pub called The Railway Tavern and Sister Charlesly used to go in there every Sunday evening selling The War Cry. The customers were a pretty rough lot (including my Dad, grandfathers and uncles) but to a man they respected her. What a lovely lady she was. What happened to her? Does she still have relatives living in Peckham? My sister and older cousins were training to be Guards (the Sally Army's Guides) but as I was too young to be a Guard I was a Sunbeam. How cute is that! I still get a laugh from that one even after all these years. How we loved to march on certain Sundays and how proud my big sister was as she carried the flag. Happy days! I still go to the Boscombe Salvation Army when they have Christmas concerts and they are absolutely brilliant. We really had a wonderful childhood in spite of the war years. From: Kelly Heywood by email I moved to Peckham when I was five years old and am now 37. I have some very good memories of my childhood. The Odeon cinema stands out in my memory very much from about the age of seven years old when my eldest brother Steven used to take me and my sister Theresa to watch the Saturday morning movies. After they had finished they used to have games and dances for the children on the stage. It used to be great fun. Jones and Higgins stands out too. I remember a doorman all suited, with a sort of top hat, who used to open the doors for the customers. From: Eric Seal Burgess Hill RH15 I was born in Peckham in 1939 and apart from being evacuated during the last war, continued to live in Peckham up to 1969. Peckham Society News is always full of interest for me as I was a Postman/Driver working out of the Sorting Office off Rye Lane from 1961 to 1969. That is why the map that came with issue 101 was chock-full of nostalgia for me. There were very few street or road names that I did not recognise, as over the years in my job as a Postman I must have driven around all of Peckham in my little red van (no cat!) delivering parcels or emptying the letter boxes, and when I wasn’t driving I was walking around delivering letters. Even now, just looking at a street name on the map I can see the street in my mind’s eye (as it was up to 1969 anyway)! In addition to the map, in the magazine there was a letter and photo on page 16 sent in by Dennis Long from Angmering in Sussex; the photo was of him as a little lad in Dayton Grove. That photo hit the spot, because I think that one of those houses just in the photo on the left was No 16 and that was where I lived from 1952 to 1965. There is no doubt that issue 101, the map and Dennis Long’s photo brought back very happy memories of Peckham. From: Derek Fisher by email When the Collaro factory left Peckham in the early 1940s to go to Langley Mill in Derbyshire, I don't suppose anyone knew what floodgates were being opened. There were about 2,000 people employed there making munitions. My late wife and I were amongst them together with many others who came from London and hosts of local girls and a few men. Men were very much in short supply at the time. I was only 16 and with them until a fortnight after my 18th birthday, on 13 August 1944, when I was called up into the army. The reason I am writing this now is that a book was published called Boiler Suits, Bofors and Bullets. It was about Collaro’s and it got my curiosity going so I started making enquiries and eventually managed to track down 22 ex-employees. I arranged a reunion which we had at the Bell Inn at Smalley (not far from Langley Mill) on 26 October 2005. We all had a brilliant time with plenty to "natter" about as we hadn't seen each other for some sixty years. I think I was the youngest there at 79 and the oldest was 85. It was so enjoyable they have asked me to arrange another for next year - nothing like being optimistic! I have to give thanks to the South London Press and the Southwark News which both published letters, to John Beasley for his help and all the local press in Derbyshire. I only wish my wife Brenda could have been with us to enjoy the day but unfortunately she died three years ago. From: Richard Hutt by email As a new member who lives in Australia, I am thoroughly enjoying reading back issues of the magazine and want to thank you for such an excellent historical publication. From: Frank Staples Cheltenham GL52 I well remember an Italian family who kept a sweet shop on the corner of Archdale Road and North Cross Road in East Dulwich in the 1930s. I think their name was Gulliano; they were very well known in the area. Ice cream was made in the kitchen of the shop – cream ice water ice. One could buy a cornet for ½d or 1d or even a wafer for one penny. They had a couple of push barrows, which they would load up in the summer mornings and push them around the local streets. One barrow always went to Peckham Rye Common and the Park. A roaring trade was carried out. It was extremely fine ice cream. Trade was dependent on the weather so if the weather was cold or wet they did not go out. The shop itself was a meeting place for young local children and we used to gather in the shop and sit on lemonade boxes which were placed around the walls. I think there was mother, father (Italian nationals) two sons (Jack and Mick) and I believe a daughter, but I am not sure. When war came Mick joined the British Army and eventually found himself in Italy. It was thought that he found his way to the town from where the family originated. However he did bring back a lovely Italian girl to England and married her After the war, as young men, we used to congregate at the shop and sit and talk. We were always welcome. We might sit there for the whole evening. I do not know what became of the shop because we all made our way in the world but it was a slice of my life that I will not forget. From: Derek Kinrade SE15 While sheltering in a Hammersmith Oxfam shop during the great storm that engulfed that area on 9 September, I came across a copy of The Invisible Woman: The story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by the eminent biographer Claire Tomalin. I know that our Editor referred to Dickens’s affair in Who Was Who in Peckham, but my copy (1985) predates Claire Tomalin’s biography (1990) Whereas in 1985 John Beasley was somewhat tentative about Dickens’s presence in Peckham, Tomalin is quite definite, basing her account on one of the great man’s diaries. He normally destroyed these but this one (for 1867) was lost and turned up later. Although coded, it appears really beyond doubt that Dickens visited Nelly at Windsor Lodge in Linden Grove, using the name Charles Tringham, as he had previously done at Slough. Indeed in a footnote (page 291) Claire Tomalin alludes to George Silverman’s Explanation having been written at Peckham. Claire Tomalin refers to Peckham as then “being still a pleasant, open rural area” and quotes Tallis’s Illustrated London (1850): “There is not in the immediate neighbourhood of London a more agreeable country then [sic] Peckham Rye, Nunhead and adjacent localities”. [It was good to receive this letter. Derek Kinrade refers to the first edition of the Invisible Woman. After it was published, even more information about Charles Dickens’s love affair in Linden Grove came to light. This was included in the second edition of the book, which was published in 1991 by Penguin Books – Ed.] From: Henry Hadden Worcester WR5 My father was born in Meeting House Lane in 1901 on the day Queen Victoria died. He was very fond of ice cream and told me of an Italian ice cream seller – called Califano, who sold ice cream from a horse and cart. We went to the pictures at the Tower cinema in Rye Lane and to the Gaumont when it first opened. Another place I went was the Ideal cinema in Queen’s Road. There was also a picture house, where Mum took me with a bottle of water, at a place that later became the Peckham Odeon. The films were silent and a piano player accompanied the films! Later we moved to Brockley. My Dad used to do shift work, and when he came off at 6 a.m. he collected me for an early morning swim. We went to the open-air pool on Peckham Rye. One day I jumped in; there was a thin layer of ice on the water. My muscles froze; I just managed a struggled width, but later hot tea and toast put things right.