Harold Hill Guestbook - Keith Daultrey

Keith Daultrey

Initially we lived in the prefabs, Magnolia Close, after moving out from central London. In 1965 we moved up to Hailsham Road at the top of Straight Road, as the prefabs were due for demolition. This was our first brick built house, but we never became attached to it like we did to the prefab. That was a very special experience! My parents stayed on at Hailsham Rd until 1985 and then moved to Leicester, as I did in 1976. The prefabs sounded so idyllic - Magnolia, Myrtle, Briar, Clematis, Iris, Hyacinth - the road names conjured up a cottage garden. We had a large garden which completely surrounded the prefab, big enough to incorporate 2 vegetable patches and a chicken run - more correctly known as the 'fowl house'. My granddad used to keep chickens in the back yard of his terraced house in Shoreditch, so we had plenty of room in comparison.

The front garden was full of roses and opened out onto a green, where all the kids played games - football, cricket, etc. according to the season. The worst part was having to ask for your ball back from neighbours' gardens.

There was no through traffic where we lived - you had to park at the end of the close. This was not a problem as few people had cars in the late 50s, even though lots of residents actually worked at Ford's in Dagenham. The 174 and, later, 87 bus routes were our lifeline to Romford and the trains to Liverpool Street.

The main problem with the prefab was that it was freezing cold in winter and very hot in summer. The only source of heat was the coal fire in the living room that did heat the kitchen to a certain extent, too. I remember how cold the bedrooms were, but it was something you accepted.

Even today, some 40 years after we moved out, I cannot sleep at night without a window open.

In the garden, just outside the back door, was our shed. It was, in fact, an old Anderson shelter, but not, thankfully, buried 4 ft underground like the originals! In the shed were a number of rusty old bikes, paint tins, my dad's tools and the chicken feed. It was not a place to venture into at night without a torch! It never occurred to us that this was strange in the slightest - as kids, I suppose you just accept your situation and make the most of it. Unlike today, there was no TV to thrust adverts at you to 'better' yourselves; we were happy with our lot and enjoyed being part of a real community.

Harold Hill: A People's History Guestbook
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	Initially we lived in the prefabs, Magnolia Close, after moving out from central London. In 1965 we moved up to Hailsham Road at the top of Straight Road, as the prefabs were due for demolition. This was our first brick built house, but we never became attached to it like we did to the prefab. That was a very special experience! My parents stayed on at Hailsham Rd until 1985 and then moved to Leicester, as I did in 1976. The prefabs sounded so idyllic - Magnolia, Myrtle, Briar, Clematis, Iris, Hyacinth - the road names conjured up a cottage garden. We had a large garden which completely surrounded the prefab, big enough to incorporate 2 vegetable patches and a chicken run - more correctly known as the 'fowl house'. My granddad used to keep chickens in the back yard of his terraced house in Shoreditch, so we had plenty of room in comparison. The front garden was full of roses and opened out onto a green, where all the kids played games - football, cricket, etc. according to the season. The worst part was having to ask for your ball back from neighbours' gardens. There was no through traffic where we lived - you had to park at the end of the close. This was not a problem as few people had cars in the late 50s, even though lots of residents actually worked at Ford's in Dagenham. The 174 and, later, 87 bus routes were our lifeline to Romford and the trains to Liverpool Street. The main problem with the prefab was that it was freezing cold in winter and very hot in summer. The only source of heat was the coal fire in the living room that did heat the kitchen to a certain extent, too. I remember how cold the bedrooms were, but it was something you accepted. Even today, some 40 years after we moved out, I cannot sleep at night without a window open. In the garden, just outside the back door, was our shed. It was, in fact, an old Anderson shelter, but not, thankfully, buried 4 ft underground like the originals! In the shed were a number of rusty old bikes, paint tins, my dad's tools and the chicken feed. It was not a place to venture into at night without a torch! It never occurred to us that this was strange in the slightest - as kids, I suppose you just accept your situation and make the most of it. Unlike today, there was no TV to thrust adverts at you to 'better' yourselves; we were happy with our lot and enjoyed being part of a real community.


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Harold Hill: A People's History Guestbook

Keith Daultrey

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