computedshorty

My mistake of saying a Dr Beeching Cutback, it was not one of his six hundred and eighteen station closures in England. It was before. I placed a picture postcard entitled Lordship Lane Station, (as can be seen ) it showed the view from the road facing away from the station. These are taken from Records. Dismantling of the High Level branch proved a slow business occupying much of 1956 and early 1957. Once this had been completed the entire railway land between Nunhead and Crystal Palace was bought by the London County Council who passed it on to local councils for housing and open space development. Although all of the station sites have now been lost under new housing much of the remainder of the route can still be traced forming a five mile railway trail known as ?From the nun?s head to the screaming Alice?. Both portals of the Paxton and Crescent Wood tunnels survive as does the ornate Coxes Walk footbridge which crosses the line south of Lordship Lane station site. Seeing is Believing

The estate had not been built on the right hand side to become the Lordship Lane Estate

Lordship Lane finishes at Wood Vale, at one time this tram would pass under the railway bridge of Lordship Lane Railway Station at the foot of Sydenham Hill, where you could take the train to Crystal Palace. The Station and the Crystal Palece have long gone, the railway at Dr Beechings cutbacks in the early fifties. The Crysral Palace buened down in 1936, I took the train from here to see the fire.

Good Point. I do have all the John Beasley and Bob Oxley books. Its interesting that Robert Oxley was born in 1939, a bit too young to remember very much personally about the war, but it did make me laugh when his mother frightended by a flying bomb overhead, pulled Bob into a ditch saying " here comes Hitler on his bike ".

This Post Card shows the circular shelter made of timber logs and a thatched roof, close to Fire Station Alley entrance. A cold snow covered shelter, the Fire Station is in the background.

Cinema at Goose Green East Dulwich. The site of the first Cinema the Pavilion, was built close to the School keepers Lodge of the adjacent school in Grove Vale SE 22, this had only a small front with two floors above possibly the managers accommodation with four Crittal galvanised window frames with very small panes of glass, it was one of the few that boasted a car park, that was next to the cinema and occupied the space up to the corner shop of Tintergel Crescent. It was sited behind high Advertising Placard Boards, these were supported by a heavy wooden structure of timbers that inclined back and took up a large part of the parking space, this did not matter as there were very few cars then. The back of the simple red bricked cinema backed onto the pavement in Tintergel Crescent, the only clue of what the building was the emergency pairs of exit doors. In the thirties it was renamed as Odeon taken from Oscar Deutsch Entertains Our Nation, Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch, the colour scheme was light green and cream, of the Art Deco architecture style. Inside the entrance was the central Cash desk to purchase your tickets a long vestibule led to the auditorium in front and the stairs to the upper circle to the right. The auditorium floor slopped down towards the screen, the cream safety curtains that were always drawn at the end of a show had a display of coloured butterflies on the lower part, to each side of the screen there was a tower on a plinth of three sections high with four green glass panels that reduced in size as they got higher and illuminated light green, and an electric clock to the right. The cinema was very popular and had two shows a week day, a main film that lasted about an hour and a half, a News Reel, and the 15 minute interval the lights came on and when the sales girl stood under the clock selling ices and sweets, still advertisement slides were shown, the seats were self folding up and when the patrons rose to go to the toilets there was a constant banging. The second half was a B movie and lasted for about an hour, then there was the showing of future films that would be coming soon. Although there were two separate shows you could come in at any time the film was showing and stay for the rerun and left when you got to the bit when you came in. Saturdays there was the Children?s Club Matinee in the morning Cowboy films, Mickey Mouse, Buck Jones Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger, Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Marx Brothers, all the kids loved it and shouted like mad. When the very peak of films were available it meant that you had to stand in a queue that was inside to the left of the entrance hall, where you waited until the Commissionair dressed in his green uniform overcoat with gold braid all over it, and a peaked Military style cap with ODEON on it, he would come over and count about dozen then put his arm behind that number and let those go and purchase their ticket, Some times there were so many waiting in the queue that it led in from out side and down the side passageway, I remember waiting there several who had to wait a long time used the Public Phone Box to tell their family they would be home late. Those who walked home after, some bought chips from the fish shop in Lordship Lane and ate them direct from the broadsheet newspaper as they walked along, getting home to find that their hands were covered in black ink from the print. During this time there were some horse drawn vehicles, outside the East Dulwich Hotel was a Granite Horse Trough where the horses could get a drink, there were two lower long troughs underneath for the dogs and at one end a drinking push button to get a jet of drinking water direct to your mouth or use the Puter cup on the chain. The trams passed the Odeon, to Goose Green some went on to Dulwich Library or Forest Hill or terminated at Blackwell Tunnel, there were two branch lines, one that entered Sterling Road to allow the trams to terminate there and stay until their time of return, the other branch was used by a man changing the points for the trams to proceed to Peckham Rye then terminate at Stuart Road. Goose Green has as far as I can remember been enclosed possibly to prevent the livestock of the early days from roaming onto the roads. The Pointsmans wooden hut also acted as a passengers waiting shelter, the style reminded me of the sea side shelters on the Promenades. Three Picturs att

This is a picture opf the Lordship Lane Fire Station, it got bombed, the Fire station Alley can still be used leading down to Dulwich Park. The last time I passed by there was a Prefabricated Telephone Exchange built on site of the Fire Station.

When Trams uaed Lordship lane a tram left the rails on the bend and finished up in the front garden opposite Norman Court a few gardens up from the old Fire Station. ( Not many know that )

DVLA Trace reveals; OAA231T Volkswagon Please be aware that if the vehicle has recently been relicensed or a SORN declared, these details may not yet be updated on the vehicle record. Might have been impounded.

Goose Green is one of the most used junctions, in past years there have been many changes, as often mentioned there was a busy Horse Trough in the middle of the junction where at times the road was blocked as a horse had its fill of water, disturbed while drinking to move his cart away from the tram track, most dogs had their drink from the lower dog through although come preferred to get it from the top, there was also at the end a place where you could get a drink using the pewter cup secured on a chain. The Tram Passenger Shelter is to be seen sited on the green, and the Odeon Cinema in the distance. See three pictures

Picture one. Barrage Balloons were sited quite close together, in any space that could accommodate them safely, bringing them down with out damaging close buildings, open parks could have several put there. The site of the balloon was a concrete base, with a steel eyelet in the middle, to this was fitted a pulley where the Balloon?s cable was connected to the balloon through the pulley and the winding winch fitted on the lorry. If the balloon cable was used without this pulley the lorry could be lifted off the ground. There were about eight in the crew some women, who had to release the tethering ropes that dangled down from the balloon about twenty ropes secured to more steel eyelets around the concrete base. The winch operator protected by a mesh cage, started the engine and released the cable brake allowing the cable to unwind the Balloon would pull it self upward and if a windy day could soon get out of control on its passage up into the sky, the balloons were set at a height that the Doodle Bugs were expected to arrive. The operator turned off the engine and returned to the hut that was hidden in nearby trees. The Balloon in Dulwich Park was where the Bowling Green is now and their hut where they lived cooked and slept, under the tree by the path that led to the park Restaurant. Another Balloon was sited near the junction of Peckham Rye and Nunhead near the old Open Air Pool. The concrete base block can still be seen with the steel Pulley Eyelet now moved along side the pavement. Picture two. A Doodle Bug had come into contact with the Balloon cable ( this was the purpose of the balloons ) became entangled with it and both crashed on to the houses below, the picture was taken after much of the debris had been cleared away from the roads, now waiting for a crew to come and deflate the Balloon. Two fighters have just flown past leaving the vapour trail. In the sky.

A few days after this picture was taken in our garden, the wall behind has been demolished by the bomb that dropped behind the bottom garden wall to the right. We boys all got the pudding basin hair cuts by Dad mine can be seen clearly, and wearing my older brothers large wellingtons boots, the twins sitting quite unconcerned with the flowers they had picked, I was in charge of them while mum got dinner. Some days after we were in the back kitchen when a bomb dropped about eighty foot away behind the back garden wall that had a large shed about seven foot high this and the two large conker trees, these deflected the blast above in our direction. But not the houses behind five were beyond repair the others got repaired. Our house had a lot of damage at the back and the roof.

The larger factories had their own Fire Brigade, the very large ones had several Fire Engines all supplied by the factory, and maintained and staffed by their own staff. The workers would be carying out their narmal dutied until the Air Raid Siren sounded then they took up the fire fighting role. This one shown was at the BATA Shoe factory in the East End. Ironically a Bata shoe shop is just out of the picture of the Co-op to the right, it had been a Cinema years befor. Those doing the duties only got paid at their normal rate fitting their job. Second picture of the Star Mineral Water Co. With their lorry towing an Auxillery Fire Service Water Pump. A bit of a change for them from gazing up the Lemonade.

No Trams today! Due to the damage to the depot and the fleet of trams there can be no service today. Service will be resumed as soon as possible. Early Workmens Trams not available today. ( There was a cheap ticket for the early workmen at a reduced price. )

The picture of the site of the Bombed Co-op shown is some time later in close up you can seee the Contractors huts, and most of the debris has been removed, the bricks will be reused as seen stacked ready. The two shops have had the side walls temporarily built up and a sloping roof fitted, and some of the garden walls have been rebuilt. The old man with a walking stick is not worried passing in front of the oncoming tram as he knows it will slow down for the waiting passengers at the tram stop. Opposite ( Iceland now ) was badly damaged the buiding that was there had to be replaced.

The Perachute Bomb was dropped from a plane, but not a lot of information was ever known about them. Another silent bomb, there was no prior warning. At least the Doodle bugs engine spluttering to a stop then silence as it fell to earth. It was quite a shock for this couple to find this in their garden. You can almost hear the woman saying; " Fred keep your voice down you dont want it to go off now ".

" Easter ". But not a celebration this day, for those who were here then, or for the passengers that would wish to use the Trolly Buses. Dont blame the London Tranport if as the old saying says " one never comes when you want one " Some of the pictures are from outside the Dulwich area as there are not that many good pictures available to include.

The overhead wires have been broken damaging the upper deck of the Trolly Bus, the advert says " Everybodys ", but not until it has been repaired. The firemen cant get the Fire Engine any closer so have to run with the hoses to the fire in the distance.

Wait till Dad gets home there is somrthing down the side entry.

Yes we did get hurt. One day the air raid siren sounded. I ran down the garden to light the lamp in the Andersen shelter and returned to the house to carry one of the baby twins to the shelter, my mother bringing the other with her, With planes overhead, Mum said to get under the table as there was no time to get down the garden to the shelter. The table was very large for the ten of us that sat round it for our meals. We could hear the bombs falling, then a tremendous explosion. Everything seemed to go orange ,then black, then silent, We couldn't breathe. Black soot and plaster from the ceiling choked us. We tried to get out from under the table. The complete window frame, dresser, and the cast iron kitchen range was keeping us in. We worked our way out from under the table. A hole was where the window had been, glass was sticking in the facing wall, all the crockery was smashed when the dresser fell, the kitchen range was on its front with bricks in its place in the hearth. We were black with dust and soot. ? I looked down the garden through the opening, The shelter where we would have been, was now covered with clay three times as high. The two large conker trees were leafless, there was now a space beyond the shelter, where there had been eleven houses, now smoked a gaping crater. ? My school friend Norman Luff was badly injured, he was put on a stretcher , and carried out through the alleyway between our house and next door, to the main road that was clear of debris. He was carried to a vehicle that had been a dust cart. It was a three wheeled Scammel unit that pulled a trailer van, where normally dust men walked into the back to empty dust bins, the vehicle was very low on the ground, and ideal for stretcher cases, it had been converted for ambulance work. ? My Dad working at Peak Freon's, was told by a driver who had been delivering to shops, that he had passed our home and that the house had been bombed and a boy was being taken out by stretcher into an ambulance. Dad left work to see what had happened. In the war all men had to stay at work for the whole day as they were classed as directed labour, He had to get out of the factory gates. The gate keeper said he should not leave without a pass, but the van driver told him about the bombing and he let Dad go. When Dad got home he was relieved to find out it was not any of us that were injured. My friend who was hurt never came back, nor any of the other people who lost their homes, as there was nothing left. They were homed elsewhere, I don?t remember seeing Norman again. ? Dad organised us to get bits of wood that had been blasted into our garden to use to board up the windows, we could do nothing about the roof as most of it had gone. The girls and Mum cleared up inside, and threw all the plaster and broken things into a heap in the road, Dad said keep the bricks as we would need them again. We had a jam jar of tea, as all the cups had been broken, it was very hot and we could not hold the jar as it had no handle. The big kettle had been squashed so Dad mended the hole in the tin kettle with two washers and a nut and bolt. The gas was still working and the water was very slow. ? I was told to light the gas geyser in the bathroom and run five inches of water to have a bath, when I got in the bathroom the geyser was hanging from the wall by just the pipes the flue pipe was in the bath with all the soot and tiles from the wall. I told Dad, he said we would have to go back to the days when we used the old galvanised tin bath, its in the shed. I went into the garden to get it, but ran back to tell Dad that the shed had gone and so had everything in it. ? Mum was filling the copper with cold water, then she lit the wood under it to heat the water to wash all our dirty clothes. She gave a block of Sunlight soap to my sister to cut into strips to be put in with the washing, then kept pounding it with a wooden stick. ? It was getting dark, all the electric bulbs had been broken, it was pitch black inside as the windows were now boarded up. Dad said get the lamp from the air raid shelter . I once again ran into the garden, but it was impossible to get through all the clay that covered the entrance. Dad made a lamp out of a screw top can. He made a hole in the lid, cut a piece of cloth, threaded it through the hole to hang into the Paraffin inside, adjusted it and lit it. The lamp worked but it was very smoky and soon used up the paraffin. ? We all got ready to sleep in the front parlour, five of children could sleep under the grand piano, but it had two rods with pedals hanging down that got in our way, we would have to sleep there as there was no chance of us using the shelter that night. We were now realizing that we did have a few scraches and bruises now beginimg to show but it was that noise that kept ringing in your head. ? Arthur our cat came home, I called him my cat as liked to sleep on my bed, we had forgotten all about him, he was very frightened. He had some of the babies Cow and Gate powdered milk, mixed up for him in a tin lid. ? Dad had to go to the Wardens Post for night duty, he said ?Stay in this room and I shall know where you all are?. He went off to the Wardens Post shelter in the library just a block up the road from our house. We decided to go to bed as we could not see to do anything as the lamp had gone out, We just talked about what we might be able to do to make things better in the house, so we could repair things for the time being , mum said the house would not be repaired properly as there was no men to do it, or materials to use, we would do as best we could, Dad would sort it out, don?t worry, we must be grateful that we did not get hurt like the people who had lived in the houses at the back of us. ?

Seventy six Hospitals were damaged in London alone, this one in Lewishham as pictured. Imagine Lying there with no protection above you at all and not being able to get to a shelter.

Those children have nearly all passed on now, very few have the these memories to haunt them. The lucky ones lived a full life.

Never mind you get them dirty, I will wash it and hang it out to dry, its a good day for drying. Look at this thing they put in my yard, no room to swing a cat now, and no bloody door.

This picture in Aldwych shows how those nearby helped to get first aid to the casualties. All able citizens helped, here the newer steel stretchers were being used. Picture 2 This is what they got pulled from.

These Mail Order scams were exposed on the Rip off Britain programme today at 10 am. Nobody has ever been paid any winings. Worst one is Star. No corresondence has ever been answered. Put into bin, dont waste a postage stamp on a reply. Return it unopened to sender.