My Life in Bermondsey

Hi Bermondseygirl
Like you I am a Bermondsey girl and have just read your bit on Shuttleworth Park which is on the corner of Galleywell Road and Anchor Street and being as old as I am was at the opening of the park with my young sister and in those days there used to be a brick building where the park keeper sat and a drinking fountain.
  My mother lived in the flats called Pope House which overlooked the park and was still open and being well used  in in 2006 as I used to go every week to see her and we would go and sit in the park and watch the children, I have not been back to Bermondsey since she died so I cannot say if it is open today but I dont see why not.
Millylinseyst.

Hi Bermondseyboy
Just like to say thankyou for this wonderful site it has brought back so many memories for me just pure nostalgia.  I wonder if you remember the famous slide in St James Park with the mats from the box and you were not allowed to come down any other way except sitting upright otherwise the keeper would come out of his box and take your mat away. and ban you from the park. But like all good things it has disappeared but your photos of the church inside and out were great as I got married in that church in 1958.
Thanks
Millylinseyst

Hi Millylineyst

No problem your very welcome.
Yes i remember the slide, and photos and comments are on this site.
Click here and enjoy
Like you say all good things are disappearing, thats why people like ourselves and all our members share there memories and photographs.
I'm Glad that you are enjoying the site, (you have made an Old Man very happy).............Thanks

Bermondseyboy

hello everybody just reading everybodys posts sure does get the memory going again an starts you on a nostagia trip down memory lane it all comes flooding back.the more you think the more you remember so where to start i was born in rotherhithe whitch according to my birth certificate is a sub distict of bermondsey i have always considered myself a bermondsey boy an still do born in matson st whitch was a continuation of slippers place backing on to southwark park that was my back garden. my claim to fame was that i was the only boy in bermondsey born on the same day as prince charles got a letter from the queen an a food parcel very welcome im sure cos a lot of stuff was still rationed still got the letter foods all gone.went to st josephs in paradise st as did me dad he was there the same time as max bygraves an friends with maxs brother so my playground was southwark park just nip over the fence.and the thames foreshore loved it never indoors we used to go out in the morning an did'nt come back till nighttime starving me mates in matson st was barry nunn barry lowe an leslie spanswick wonder where they are now?  when they knocked down matson st we were the first in morris hse in cherry garden st top floor only 7 storys but u could see for miles it had a bathroom wow! me mum was so proud we had a bathroom she would invite people to look at it even when i was in the bath hows that for showing off  dunno why but then we moved to kirby est 11plus over it was off to st michaels that was brand new then 1959 i think its great to see all the old photos of bermondsey i aint got nun cos we did'nt ave a camera        seeya

hi there i lived in leroy  street    from 56 to 65 etc   and had to leave  because of the fly over  and now live in Cornwall you mentioned  about leroy street kids    park /  my old mum was a park keeper there from 1957 to early 1960s  etc i use to stay for some hours with my now old  mum  84 now   in the little hut by the rd   do you rememember the little hut come tea room brick built  / its nice to think that the park is still going and looking so nice thanks derek

Hi everyone, I have been reading some more  posts and came across a mention in one, sorry cannot remember who, mentioning Tower Beach and I can remember my Mum taking me and my sister with a picnic and bucket and spades for a day out.  I dread to think what we must have paddled in because the river was very dirty at that time with the working docks but I do remember those days with fond memories, is there anybody else who can remember spending time at the beach?  Also  there was a mention of trams which brought some more memories as I used to go to Bermondsey Central School and would catch the tram home, a no.68 if I remember rightly to outside St James Church in Jamaica Road.
Millylinseyst

Hello everyone, I have only just found this sight and im glad that i have. I luv the photos and the videos allthough i cant get the bermondsey people video to work.

As for me i was born Richard Leach at Flat 6 maltby house,maltby street,bermondsey on the 11th January 1961. My mum worked for Peak n Freens and dad worked for Courages brewery and then Kia Ora delivring to places like the london paladium and london zoo. I went to Tower bridge infants/junior school and then had a year at Bacons before we moved to swindon in wiltshire where i now live. I remember our blue uniforms all ways made us targets for Riley road school which used to be just up the road from maltby street. I am still and allways be a millwall fan but cant get there as often as i would like.

One of my mums best mates called iris had a sweet shop on the other side of tooley street next door to a pub. But i cant remember the name of the pub. Well iris nephew was Alan dorney who played for millwall and i remember that he used to be in the shop sometimes and i remeber getting his autograph. I met alan dorney a few years ago and mentioned the shop to him,he seemed surprised and happy that i still remebred it. 

When i was told that i had a cancerus tuma on my kidney the first thing i did was drive from swindon to maltby street. I just wanted to see the old streets where i grew up and go to spa road park and see my old school,And remember all the happy times i had ,etc etc. I might not live there anymore but it is where my soul is. I am now clear of the tuma. I plan to very soon to hop on the train and just spend a day walking round taking some pics and of course have pie n mash at mansies.

Richard Leach  

the stanley arms held a fancy dress competition for the queens coronation an laid on a big tea party upstairs i went as an indian prince i did'nt win

Hi Tonymarchant

Arthur Noble with the fruit stall was my father!

Hi Richard

I was born on 20th January 1958 and I went to Tower Bridge Primary School.
One of my schoolfriends was a girl named Gillian Dorney.
Do you remember our headmaster Mr. Scotney and a teacher called Mr. Faraday?

I used to live in Tooley Street in Devon Mansions and there was a sweet shop I used to go in which was next to a pub called The King Of Belgium which was on the corner of Druid Street and Tooley Street.

Kind regards

Hello Bermondsey gal
How are you,I remember the name Mr Faraday and that must be the sweet shop i was thinking of. I coudnt remember the name of the pub. And i remember devon manshons just seeing some names of the old places just brings happy memeories back. I guess the manshons have gone now and i wonder if the sweet shop is still there. 

One of my teachers at Tower bridge was Mrs Dennis. And to be honest the name Gillian Dorney is ringing bells but i dont know why. A couple of my freinds at Tower bridge school were Alan Morse, Terry Gilham,Tony Brooker.

I hope to travel up in the next few months and have a stroll round.

Kind Regards
Richard

Hi Richard,
glad to hear that you are well again. Can I just ask, do you play drums and have you got a brother called Arthur?:)
I used to live in Swindon and knew a Richard and an Arthur Leach. I used to be married to a lorry driver called Dennis and we drank in the beehive pub.
Ruth

Hi Richard

I'm fine thank you...how's you?!
I don't remember a teacher named Mr. Dennis or your friend Tony Brooker but I do remember Alan Morse and Terry Gilham.
I was in the same class as Alan's brother Keith Morse and Terry's sister Pauline Gilham and my mum used to work with, and was friends with, Keith and Alan Morses mum.

Kind regards

I loved Bermonsey the pubs? the fort the claremont the rose and crown the lil the apples the wellington the green man the dun cow the earl of derby (due too the small faces). Hey forgot the collen  bawn (two of each are you still around ? ) the fell mongers ? the queen vic the alscot, and so many more the take aways mostly english pie and mash Georges fish bar (minus the fish of course )the chipys now its all disappeared? thank god ive only a few years left feel so sorry for the real bermondsey kids its all gone.

lightandbitter
                      i still drink in the claremont and i use to drink in some of the other pubs u named the colleen bawn was one of my pubs my mum and her friend use to work in there many years ago and the two of each use to play there at the time one of the girl singers is jackie trents sister i feel sorry for the kids in bermondsey def not the same as when we were kids .

I was born in 52 in St Olaves Hospital.We lived for a while with my Nan,Rosie Lawford,but in about 57 moved into Fawkham House Flats off Dunton Road.I went to the nursery(Quintor way?),then Boucher then a short stint in Bacon followed by two years at Alma before joining St Olaves in Tooley street in 63.We moved to Orpington ,Kent in 68 and l've hardly been back since except to go to Manzies in Tower Bridge road.What happened to Edwards bakers?the best doughnuts ever.

Hi Andrew

It seems like a lot of Bermondsey People moved out to the Orpington area, perhaps being that it wasn't to far away from Manze?
Pie and Mash withdrawel symptoms would be to much to bear.
As for Edwards, I couldn't agree more, the best Doughnuts ever, unfortunatley long gone, only A picture (Edwards).
Every time i look at it i can smell them sizzling away in there shop, brings back loads of memories.
I seemed to have followed the same path as you.
I lived in Harold Estate, then moved to Dunton Road (Ash House)
Then on the Bonamy Estate
Then eventually moved to Oprington.

Bermondseyboy

Just a few more memories, When I was young, my dad worked for the railway & on weekends he took me to feed the cart horses. we walked from where we lived in Portsmouth buildings to the other end of willow walk & I can remember looking through a window opening with iron grills down into the stables. Most things have disapeared now, but the last time that I visited my Mum, I drove down willow walk & at the end is a low wall with the same window but blocked up. All that's left. In my last year at school at Bermondsey Central, we were amalgamated with another school & moved to another off New Kent Rd, Can anyone remember the name? Alwin? From there I went to S G Smith Motors in New Kent Rd & trained as a motor fitter.
One of the messages spoke of Ruebens the paper shop, I did a paper round there, He kept magazines under the counter for discerning customers. At Bermondsey Central we had a math's teacher, Mr Guppy? can anyone remember? In the late 50's My dad broke his leg at work & the next day hobbled in on crutches, end of Willow wak & over bridge to railway entrance, No lawers for u then. Our flat [ 5 Portsmouth Buildings] Had 1 bedroom, 1 living room,  a scullary & toilet with no lighting, just gas, A bath was put in much later.Although we were poor, we had good times & not many bad ones. As an after thought, I can remember the stinking pickle barrels, Was that down Willow Walk? ! have lived in Norfolk for the last 30 years but enjoy looking round when I visit my Mum, near South Bermondsey Station, Well at what's left!

Will post any other things that I remember, Eddie Jennings

Hi Eddie

Your name doesnt ring any bells, however our paths probably crossed at some point back then. I'm 63 now so you can do the math. I lived at bottom of webb street (my grandad was the caretaker of Harold Estate for many years)- Clyde Buildings. I went to Webb Street School then on to Bermondsey Central then we joined Paragon and we became Trinity in a new building in the New Kent Road. The name Guppy sounds familiar but even more i remember Ms Yohansen - she was the deputy head at Bermondsey Central and a right harradon !! Another teacher i remember very well was Ms Pearson very tall women with the biggest feet i'd ever seen on a woman !  Do you remember Bob's the little shop opposite what may have been your buildings we always called all those flats along there the railway flats. The only two names i remember very well from those buildings were - Janet Searle and Pat Marchant - alongside me in Harold Estate was Christine Willoughby - i'm afraid the memory's not so good now. Oh and i believe the stinking pickle barrels were in fact in Pages Walk - adjacent to Clyde Buildings - there was an alley way inbetween Clyde Buildings and the barrells. I know there were other names from back then i should know but hey its an age thing. When i try to remember willow walk i can only get as far as the Fellmongers then me mind goes blank lol

Bett