Gasworks To Dome

Interview date: 1/2/2006.

Born 1924 in Nursing Home in Charlton. Parents living in Boord Street off Blackwall Lane. Spent childhood there. Earliest memories were of school (Dreadnought) and its playing fileds opposite the house. On the corner of Boord Street was St. Andrew's and St. Michael's Church. Only attended Sunday School there like many other kids. Quiet Sunday PM for the parents!

Father was an ex-soldier. Prior to the war he was posted to the Far East then moved to France where he was for four years. One of the 'few' survivors. Earned a Military Medal. Met wife who lived with her mother in Broad Street. After the war he became a Dock policeman in the East End. Mother didn't like irregular hours so he became a GPO telegraph wireman until retirement. Stationed in Eltham and then in Deptford. Mother's parents came from Swindon. His gran was origianlly married to aScotsman who worked in the railway yards and played for Swindon Football Club. He died at a young age. She then moved up to London and met a Mr. . He was an only child, but his gran provided step-brothers and sisters. Later on his mother adopted a son. She lived in an upstairs flat and he and his parents in the downstairs flat. Each flat had two bedrooms and kitchen-living room like all the houses in the road. Outside loos, 'copper' in the corner. Gas stove. Coal fires including one in bedroom although rarely used. Comfortable.. not cold. Food pretty much as now.. nothing pre-packed. Eggs for breakfast, light lunch, bread and jam for tea. Father in regular work so not short of money. Mother also worked for Mecca Cafes at Crystal Palace. No issues with her working. Next door lived an aunt & uncle, his father's sister and her husband. Played cricket and football in street. Road quiet at W/E as it led to the Gas Works entrance. Was the largest in the country (Europe? Ed.). Wooden bungalows along Blackwall Lane probably builty by gas company. Majority of residents in area probably worked at the Gas Works or associated companies.

Describing Peninsula... Tunnel Avenue and Blackwall Lane crossing. Wooden houses (above) then Idenden Cottages. Behind that was Council's Dust Yard. Straight on to River Way. The Pilot Inn, houses and two large steel-making companies - Redpath Brown and Doman-Long. Also one of the Gas Works entrances. Back on Tunnel Avenue, large cement works in Seawitch Lane. Molassine Works. Delta Metals. Ordnance Road went down to Blakeney Buildings (tenement) and Blakeney Cottages (for senior workers). Tar Wharf. Also a big 'tar lake' by River Way. Also the Fuel Research Laboratory. Grandfather worked on the Gas Works coal wharf. Terrible pollution in the area from all the industry. Some days mother would say 'don't open the windows today'! Good community spirit. School, church, several pubs. Full-sized football pitch at the school. Unusual. Local amateur teams and school used it. Totally different today. More on Idenden Cottages. Large square. Who built it? Not Council. Better than average housing, but not 'executive'. Probably senior tradesman. In the '30s a row of newer houses was built opposite these cottages. This is when housing estates started to be built.

Play. Used to play by, and paddle in the river. In front of Royal Naval College was a sandy beach. Families used to spend a couple of hours down there on a Sunday afternoon. Also kids used to play on the foreshore at the end of River Way. Some kids swam, but he didn't. Filthy! Played on barges at the weekends when people wren't around. No major accidents. Boy fell at Wood Wharf, but nothing serious. Also went to Pipers Wharf, but not on boats. Leisure boats off RIver Way belonged to 'middle classes'. Played on these at low tide.

Dreadnought School. Only a Junior School when he was a pupil there but was also a secondary school when his mother went there. All children on the Peninsula went there. Lessons were good. Teachers were 'middle class'.. not like today! Dedicated. Not possible to compare with other schools. Several boys went on to John Roan School (Grammar). He was not very academic. Didn't pass 11 +. Went to Glenister Road Secondary School in Blackwall Lane. His teacher, Mr Jennings, said he 'could do better'. After father visited he was which encouraged to 'get in to it'. Picked up and won a scholarship to SELTEC, Lewisham Way. Discipline was by cane or puplis kept in after school. No really violent behaviour. One or two were a bit rough but not like today. He got cane, but parents not always told.

Social life before the war. Father moved the family to New Cross because he was scared the gas holders wouild explode. Convenient to SELTEC. Played football at school. Went to the pictures. Went to a 'school club' near Greenwich Park. Church there? Mr. Dannat who was owned an Estate Agents in Greenwich ran this. He lived at the top of Maze Hill. Boys went to his house to play in the garden and to be entertained. Had a good time. Played football at Dreadnought and on Blackheath. Charlton F.C. supporter for a while. Jimmy Seed was Manager. Stan Bartram was goalkeeper. Won first F.A. Cup after the war. Huge 'East Bank' for ordinary supporters. Loos? Tin huts.

Didn't go back to the Peninsula. Unfortunately in 1944 a V2 rocket fell on house in Shardeloes Road, New Cross and killed his mother and brother. By that time his aunt had moved to Sidcup so took him and in father in. Amazing that gas holders weren't hit, although Works was hit in the first WW.

Street life.. Are referred to by Mum as Blackwall Marshes. Street sellers.. baker, green-grocer's carts. Milkman with churn. Collected in jugs. Shops.. four or five. P.O., general store, sweet shop, Greenfield Street by The Mitre pub. At the corner of Broad Street was Terry's Transport Cafe. Horse and cart drivers would have lunch there. Also a couple of general shops. Another one at bottom of Sea Witch Lane. Mother would go shopping in Trafalgar Road on Saturday night. While Dad went to pub, Mum went to Parhams the Butchers. At 8.00pm the meat was sold off cheap because there was no refridgeration. He didn't help with any of the shopping apart from local errands. Chores... would help a bit, but nothing much... women's work! At that time people would regularly walk through the Blackwall Tunnel. Mother would go shopping on the 108 bus to Crisp Strret in Poplar.

Days out.. charabanc trips with parents to Canvey Island and Southend. Church groups or excusions with Lewis's at the top of Blackwall Lane. Did he shout 'Chuck out your mouldies'? Didn't remember! Boat trips.. Crested Eagle and Royal Eagle paddle-steamers went from Greenwich - Southend. Exciting for kids and quiet time for parents. Drinks? Three-four hours at Southend.

Cinemas.... Granada, Maze Hill now a Chinese Restaurant was the most modern. Barnards in Crooms Hill (was previously a theatre). Trafalgar at bottom of Maze Hill. Blue Lights at 'bottom' of Creek Road.. no sign now (could this be the Comedy Club? - Ed.) Quite comfortable. Larger than today's cinemas. Smoking permitted. Lady with the lamp'! Kid's clubs. Granada Children's Hour. Saturday 11-12. 'Twopenny Rush'!. No trouble except occasional 'screaming and hollering'! Serial films? Not for children. Organ in Granada. Not played with film.. before and at the interval. Two films + Pathe News. Crowing cock. Went with mates.

In conclusion Bernard stated that he was 'interested in industrial findings of the Project'. Gas Works was dominant industry. Large cement works. Peninsula was 'the' industrial area of Greenwich. Large waves of workers arrived in the morning on the 58 tram. This stopped outside the Tunnel. Workers queued in the evening at 5-6pm. Paper sellers. Jack, the Italian chestnut seller. Ice-cream men. Rib states that 'some interviewees have reported street performers'. Bernard didn't remember any. 'Men..some dressed as women!' had been quoted. 'Lots today' says Bernard!