I was born into the Beecham family on the 29th December 1948.
I was born in what was then a 2 up 2 down with the staircase in the middle of the house. You entered the house by stepping down one step in to the passage which ran the full length of the house down to the scullery which would now be called the kitchen.
The first room on the right was the parlour, a room that was little used during the week but on a Sunday evening the tin bath was brought in from the yard and a family bath time was the order of the day. As you progressed towards the scullery you passed the staircase, and then my grandfather’s bedroom next, then on to the scullery.
From the scullery which held an enamel gas cooker and sink, you could pass through the rear door into the yard and on to the outside lavi. At the rear of the yard was an Anderson shelter left over from the war which in later years was put to great use a a playroom for us children.
One lasting memory of that house was a crack in one wall which according to my father was a legacy of the bomb that was dropped on Lollard Street during the war. But more on that later.
Number 34 Lollard St. is the one right next to the telegraph pole, this photo was taken in the sixties.
Upstairs were the bedrooms. The back bedroom belonged to my parents and the front bedroom was for all the children. My cousins, the Kelly’s once told me a story about them which now seems impossible:-
Apparently during the war their father who was of Irish descent, took his family back to Ireland. When the war was over he brought them all back, but they obviously had nowhere to live so they moved in with my family. So at that time there was my grandfather, father, mother, two sisters and brother. Them moving in added another father, mother and five sisters. Where did they all sleep?
At that time the close family consisted of Grandfather (Joseph in his 80s then), Dad (Michael 46), Mum (Edith 36), Step Sister (June Tibbles 12), Sister (Rose 8) and Brother (Michael 4).
In this picture which was taken in about the early 60’s, he is sitting on his bed in the back bedroom using the light from the window to pick horses for a bet. It had to be a horse ridden by Lester Piggot. It was always an each way bet that when I got older I had to take to the bookies runner and place the bet.
Dan, Micky, June, Rose and Mum.
So at the great age of 4½ in the summer of 1953, I had to start getting ready for school, up until this point I had never had a haircut, and I took great pains to explain to my mother that I did not want one. I even had the cheek to pick a nice blue ribbon for my hair. Mother being mother, took no notice of my pleadings and with the help of a close friend, (to me my aunt Grace) they dragged me kicking and screaming to what I now am informed was Palladino’s to have my first haircut. I have never liked having my hair touched ever since. Although with reluctance I will have my haircut now.
The day arrived and I was duly taken to Walnut Tree Walk school, out of our house across the road, turning right at the Rose and Crown pub into Gundulf Street, then left into Fitzalan Street. (I eventually made friends with a lad I called Foxy who lived at 20 Fitzalan Street). Then on to the school on the right hand side before you got to the Lambeth Walk, through a big green gate and up a passage that led through to the Primary school playground.
When I progressed on to the Junior School I would walk the same way but when arriving at the Primary School playground, would go through another passage on the right hand side of the school that cut through to Walnut Tree Walk Street and then into the school.
To give you some idea of my friends and people I knew at that time, Billy Court and his brother lived in the prefabs at 104 Lollard Street, a friend named Lesley Presley lived at about 33 Gundulf Street, The James family lived at 38 Gundulf Street, the Sullivans lived at 18 Gundulf Street, A lad whose second name I have forgotten lived over the road from the Sullivans, I think number 19 Gundulf Street, Teddy Cave, I think, at 31 Lollard Street, Mary Richardson at 33 Lollard Street, and Roger Winston whose number I can't remember.
