31
A Moving Moment down Memory Lane Pat Haines
T
his is a photo of me, my elder sister Marie and my mother. It
was taken in the summer of 1949 in Waddington Road, Stratford, E15, in my grandmother's garden.... THE VERY
SPOT FROM WHERE WE VIEWED THE OLYMPIC SITE!
background!! There was an outdoor lavatory, and nanny had gas lamps in the kitchen (known as the scullery) and an old Butler sink! There was no hot water in the house, from my recollection.
N T
he house was demolished in the early 60's as part of the
Post War slum clearance programme. My Nan was then moved to East Ham to a one-bed roomed flat. It even had under floor heating. It seemed very swish at the time! However, she missed the fellowship and friendship of Waddington Road very deeply .
M
y father grew up in that house. His sister, my Aunty Eileen, died in
the Spanish Flu epidemic that decimated that area around the mid -1920's. My father was called up in 1939, 6 weeks after he married my mother. He was in the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) and took part in "Operation Dynamo" in Dunkirk.. He served in the Duke of Cornwalls' Light Infantry. He later found himself on the beaches at Dunkirk, along with 340,000 others, and was finally
rescued in the 'Little Ships campaign'. His own father had survived WW I, but suffered from mustard gas poisoning and died in the mid 1920's too at the age of 44. It was a tough life.
E
d's note: Pat had mentioned Waddington Road to our
tour guide, who informed her that we would be visiting that road later in the tour. As we entered the road from the newly constructed bridge in Angel Lane Pat was visibly shocked to see that the block of flats, upon which the viewing tower is constructed, was built on the exact spot where her grandmother's house had been. It was a very emotional moment for her.
Story & Photo supplied by pat Haines 31
ote the dustbin and "pig bin" and mangle in the
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