Walking Woolwich and Eltham in 1948 … no 3

Now I back with my copy of the Official Guide to Woolwich which was published by the council.

It includes Eltham and Plumstead, and was the “Fifth Edition”.

I have no idea when it was issued but looking at the images and some of the listings we must be sometime between 1948 and the early years of the next decade.

And today's offering come from the drive for better and affordable housing for all.

So that is it, and I shall continue till I run out of pictures.

Location; The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, circa 1948

Pictures; Woolwich and Mottingham from The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, circa 1948

Walking Woolwich and Eltham in 1948 … no 2

 I am back with my copy of the Official Guide to Woolwich which was published by the council.

It includes Eltham and Plumstead, and was the “Fifth Edition”.

 

I have no idea when it was issued but looking at the images and some of the listings we must be sometime between 1948 and the early years of the next decade.

 And over the next two days I shall concentrate on some of the images from the book and leave it at that.

 The observant will clock that many of the pictures are attributed to Wells of Woolwich, while in the second post the motorbikes in the picture were for “Export”, which in the cash strapped immediate post war years was a vital way of earning money.

 So that is it, and I shall continue till I run out of pictures.

 Location; The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, circa 1948

 Pictures; Industrial Woolwich, from The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, circa 1948

 

Down amongst the stalls in Beresford Square, Woolwich sometime in the late 1940s

I am in Beresford Square in Woolwich and I would think sometime in the late 1940s.

There is no date on the postcard and so I am forced back on the names that appear on the shops.

I began with Drapers Brothers Butchers For Real Meat Value and there are a lot listed in Woolwich and Plumstead going back to 1851 with Edward Draper who lived with his family in Plumstead and made a living as a brush maker.

Now anyone who has tried to track a family across the decades knows it can be a painstaking exercise and lead to many false destinations.

So rather than wander after Mr Draper I tried instead Endean & Son Leather Merchants and there they were at 17 Beresford Square in 1911, and into the late 1940s.

And by one of those odd twists by 1959 they were in Eltham on Colepits Wood Road.

Now I grant you that this last discovery does not help date our picture, but for the time being it’s as close as I can get.

So I will close by returning to the square on a busy market day, reflecting that it hadn’t changed over much by the time I frequented the place in the 1960s.

And was still pretty much the same a decade later.

It was a busy colourful place and like traditional markets everywhere there was plenty to see and take in.

It started with the stall itself whether it was selling fruit and veg or fabrics and went on to embrace the traders. Some were glum miserable people who seemed to resent your presense at their stall, but most were cheerful and entertaining.

It's been a long time since I was there when the stalls cascaded out across the square and I have come to doubt my memory of the buses working their way through the place.

Today a few of the buildings directly behind the man in the middle of our picture have gone and the businesses have all changed but otherwise I suspect Mr Endean would recognise the place and perhaps even smile that the shop next to his one was advertised as a Shoe Repair business.

Location; Woolwich, London

Picture; Beresford Square, date unknown

Of gas masks and foot tunnels ........ a story from Roger Callow

I recall finding a boxed gas mask in our shed at Greenvale Road in the mid fifties when I was about 6 years old and taking it indoors to ask my mum about it but when my father saw me with it he went ballistic and snatched it away from me and put it in the dustbin. 

Nothing more was said about it and I can only think that it had brought back some bad memories for him which leads on to the next story which I learnt from him when he was in his nineties.

Father worked at the Royal Arsenal throughout the war as one of the engineers who bored out the large naval guns and volunteered to became an Auxiliary Fireman (AFS) and fire watcher at the Arsenal.

Some of the tales he had to tell were quite horrific i.e. digging out workmates from bomb shelters that had suffered direct hits during the many bombing raids aimed at the works. I can only assume that the sight of the gas mask 2 brought back those bad times and accounted for his behaviour.

As he lived at East Ham for much of the war, his route to the Arsenal often took him through the foot tunnel when the ferry wasn't operating which was mostly after dark and his biggest gripe was how his way home through the tunnel was often impeded by the many people who took shelter there during bombing raids.

I can understand his frustration at this when you consider he would have to spend long hours on the roof of his workshop watching as the bombing raid moved slowly up the river targeting the many buildings and facilities that made up the Royal Arsenal which stretched for many miles downriver and his job would involve spotting what type of bombs were dropping i.e. incendiary or high explosive or a mix of both.

This often meant he would remain on the roof dealing with incendiary bombs that fell on on it but not knowing if a high explosive device may come down among them.

I can understand his frustration with the families in the tunnel when he would be looking forward to getting home after spending a night wondering if it may be his last night which it was for many AFS colleagues. His night did in fact come up when he was blown from his roof by a high explosive bomb and the ensuing injuries saw him off work for a little over 6 months and the fact that he was only paid for two weeks of that period, didn't help matters.

He often said that he and his fellow fire watchers most probably endured more high explosives being aimed at them than the soldiers on the front line.

©Roger Callow, 2018

Pictures; Heinkel He 111 over Poland, September 1939 from the German Federal Archive featured in  Heinkel He 111 Wickipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111 , Woolwich Foot Tunnel circa 1916, courtesy of Kristina Bedford from  Woolwich Through Time, Kristina Bedford, 2014, Amberley Publishing