Hullbridge Parents Teachers Association

It was through the PTA that my parents got to make many friends, none closer than Bob and Ellie Palmer, Colin and Gladys Chart and later Jeff and Jean Hayward. Bob and Ellie lived in the bottom of Keswick Avenue, while Colin and Glad lived initially in a bungalow on top of Coventry Hill opposite the garage and eventually moved into No 48 Abbey Road. Bob loved larking around and was always making people laugh. When my Aunt and Uncle from Woodford came down for a PTA fund raising dance it was the start of many pranks between my Uncle and Bob. It started off with Bob borrowing my Uncle's car keys, without him knowing, and then he preceded to put the empty beer cans from the hall into my Uncle's car boot. My Uncle told us that on the way home he stopped to try and find out what was causing the rattling but never did find out until a few days later when he went to his boot and found all the empties.

The PTA dances were always very well supported and along with the Sports Club helped create the closeness of the Villagers at that time.

The reason loads of mum and dads friends were at the PTA was because of their children's schooling concerns. Although not many of my classmate's parents went there, there were loads of Debra's including:- Keith and Janet Whittaker's daughter Lesley, they also had a younger son Gary all lived in 73 Abbey Road. Ellie and Bob's son Robbie, Colin and Glad's son Keith, they also had a daughter 1 year younger than me Lynn. Keith Chart was a very young village celebrity at one time. From what I can remember he was recovering from a hole in the heart operation and he saved a young boys life when the who was playing near electricity wires in a nearby field was electrocuted and he administered mouth to mouth resuscitation.

Hockley Secondary Modern (Greensward) 1965-1971

The journey to school

I have always felt that those of us that went to Hockley were better off than those that went to Sweyne, simply because we did not have to pay to get there as transport was laid on every school day by Cooks Coaches, a local coach firm from Southend-on-Sea.

We had 2 coaches, one an old charabanc type and the other a more modern flat fronted coach. The modern coach would arrive at the Anchor Inn car park around 8 o'clock and would drive along Ferry Road picking up children at the 5 pick up points along the way (Anchor Inn, School, Police Station, Bus stop between Oakleigh and High Elms, Coventry Corner whilst the other would turn up directly outside the Shop on the corner of Ferry Road and Coventry Hill and would pick up myself, Susan MacNamara, David Jordan, Judith Dundas, Billy Taylor and others. It was great catching the coach from Coventry Corner because if you missed the first one you could always catch the second. From Coventry Corner the coaches would proceed up Coventry Hill along Lower Road till the road leading to Sheepcotes Farm where we would pick up some more children. From here they continued along Lower Road till they reached Church Road where the old coach would turn right and go up Church Road picking up Carl ? by the farm entrance on the left which was just before we went up the hill to the church. This was the last pick up on this route and the coach would proceed along Church Road into the narrow Fountain Lane and would turn left onto High Road, along Alderman's Hill past The Bull Inn, Hockley Woods and Hockley Primary School and onto the Spa roundabout where a garage was here the coach turned left into Spa Road past the shops, station and under the railway bridge into Greensward Lane past the garage and another parade of shops on Willow walk ? and then the school was on the left.
The other coach would go straight on at Church Road along Lower Road and would make further pickups at Rossilin Drive and the Dome. At the Ashingdon junction it would turn right onto Greensward Lane and proceed up the hill and the school was on the right.

The first thing some of us Hullbridge children would do would be to go across the road to the sweet shop and spend our winnings or dinner money. When the bell rang around 15:00 to tell us school was over there was a mad rush to be the fist to get the back seats. The coaches would go back the same way and sometimes if I was feeling lazy I would stay on the coach so that I was dropped off opposite Oakleigh Ave.,

At the beginning the coaches were supervised by one female prefect (Lorna) and one male (?) who were older than us new rabble. Generally there was no problems, we would play cards, compare/copy homework, smoke(when older) and generally chat about last nights TV, football or a new LP we had just bought with our pocket money. Times on the coaches were quite eventful sometimes you would hear shouts of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and all the kids would gather around the melee. The driver just kept on driving leaving things to the die down. A couple of times I was the focus of peoples attentions as I grappled with someone. On time it continues off the coach at Coventry Corner, I think it was with Alan Wheatley, who I also fought and lost to in the swimming pool changing rooms. Thinking back Alan and I did not get on too well. Things were not always bad between us, in fact we used to hang around in the same crowd with George and Glen Low. I remember we were all down the Rec., playing football when Alan decided he was going to have a party, his parents were away and he and his brother Barry, with whom I always got on very well , decided to have a party and invite our crowd along. That day Peter Bown's sister Audrey was with us and when we were all at Alan and Barry's home she was constantly in my company. This must have irked Alan because less than half an hour after we arrived Barry came to me and apologetically said Audrey and I should leave because Alan was getting himself worked up. So the pair of us left an walked hand in hand away from the party and for the next couple of months, till she had to go back to her boarding school, we were best of friends. I have been told many times that I am careless with my things and I would often leave something at school in the cloakroom or I would get carried away with things on the coach and leave either my cap,blazer or even worse my briefcase with my home work in, on it. The clothes gave me a problem with Mum and I was soon running out of excuses. The one I found more acceptable to her was that I had left it locked up in my desk in the form room, little did she know there was no lock! The briefcase was a different kettle of fish. I would never tell Mum and Dad and as I did not always take it to school it was not obvious to them that I had lost it. The following morning I would be anxiously waiting for the coaches to arrive. I would make a bee-line for the coach I came home in the previous night and sometimes I was stumped when a different coach was used, then I had to run between each coach and ask the driver had found anything left on the coach. if the driver, as he did sometimes, say "No, I'll look around the garage for you" then I knew I was in trouble. Arriving at school I would rush to where I thought I might have left the article. I can still remember the relief and joy I felt when I saw the article still there. If it happened to be my briefcase I then had another problem, that was how to get the homework done before the time I had to hand it in. I hated missing football during the breaks so I would ask Ken, Colin,Jeff etc., if they had completed it and ask for their help. That was fine if they were in my class, which was not always the case. There were times when I had to risk bunking assembly and sit on the toilet and quickly scribble down the answers etc.,

School Chums

Fellow Hullbridge classmates joining me at Greensward were:-

Judith Dundas, Barry Harper, Richard Simmons, Bonnie and Jackie Mason Alan Lee, David Jordan, Billy Taylor, Susan Macnamara, Peter Bown,

Some Hullbridge children already at Hockley when I arrived:-

Raymond Dundas, Stephen Oakman, Peter Carter, Tony Maynard,Alan Hawkes, Peter Botley, Dianne Trigwell, Kendall Snelling, Stephen Polley, Richard Springman, Richard Spearman, Lorna ?, Barbara Botley, Janet Wortley, Doreen Wise, Terry Wise,

Some of my school mates (Non-Hullbridge) in my year were:-

Colin Rothwell, Ken Jones, Martin Thomas, Jeffrey Osbourne, Douglas Burgam, Jeffrey Rudd, Peter Cooper, Keith MacIntosh, Terry Arnold, Martin Strike, John Potter, Ian Merritt, Timothy Merritt, Malcolm Livett, Tony Micaleff, Stephen Toms, Richard Flexton, June Canswick, Judy Cantwell, Hazel Smith, Pauline Atkinson, Lesley Jones, Gillian Overton, Marilyn Lincoln, Helen Howard

Terry and Doreen Wise lived in one of the council houses that are set back in Ferry Road between Oakleigh Avenue and High Elms, they had a younger brother Johnny who was a very good footballer when he was young. It was during one of British Rails train drivers strikes that I fond out that Doreen worked for the same company as my dad in their Head Office in Woodford. Their father had his own Tarmacadam business that Terry went into once he left school. Terry married Lindsey ? who opened a Hairdressing salon on the corner of Glebe Drive and London Road, Rayleigh.

School description Phase 1

Initially for me the school was fabulous!
As we went in the front entrance there was on the left hand side a large Assembly Hall / Gym with the changing rooms opposite. Our P.E. teacher was Mr Toombes. Opposite the main entrance slightly to the right was the Headmaster's (Mr Crevey) office and next to that the Headmistress's (Miss Cardy). Turning right at the entrance we went down a few steps and the first set of spaces for us to hang our coats was on our left. The first classroom we came to was on our right which was used for Music (Miss Ellis). After the classroom and coat area the corridor split into three.
1) The right side went to stairs and a fire exit to the front of the school.
2) Straight on slightly to the right went past another classroom, this was used for French (Miss McConnell) and straight on past this and through some swing doors was a stairwell alongside another classroom used for R.E. (Mr P Davis), this also had a fire exit which led out into the playground. It must have been providence that this classroom was used for R.E. as for us boys queuing in the stairwell was like being in Heaven. The girls,would climb the stairs on their way to another class and they all wore mini skirts, as was the fashion then. When any of the older girls went upstairs there was so much excitement amongst us boys as we jostled for the best positions. Upstairs was two other floors of classrooms used for Math's (Miss Page) and English (Mr Birchinall, Osbourne).
3) Turning left at the junction the corridor went past the other coat area on the left and on the right was a long glass panel with doors at either end which gave access to the playground and sports field. Just beyond the coat area and playground door was another classroom used for Physics or Chemistry (Mr Maize). After the classroom came some more stairs which led up to 2 art rooms and a needlework room. One of the art rooms was above the physics lab., and this was my first form room with Mr's Silverstone. Back out through the landing of the stairwell and through swing doors on the right was the second art room (Mr Warren) which was used for pottery and sculpting. This was above the Chemistry Lab (Mr's Warren) Beyond the pottery room and at the end was the Needlework room (Miss Riley). Downstairs the corridor divided 4 classrooms, two each side. The first on the left was Woodwork (Mr Milsom) followed by Metalwork (Mr Taylor). At the far end of the Metalwork room was the furnace and anvils. First on the right was the Chemistry Lab which like the Physics lab., had rows of laboratory bars with Bunsen burner taps and pedestals for sitting on. Next was the Geography/History room (Mr H Davis).At the end of the corridor was another fire door which lead to the little woods which was by a single gated entrance which led to Hamilton Gardens. To the left of the woods were the Tennis Courts. The long jump and pole vault sand pits were to the right of the woods. We had a large playground which had three netball courts drawn on it, from here the playing fields sloped away to the cricket pitch and to the left the football pitches. At the bottom of the playing fields was Plumberow Primary school

School description Phase 2

In 19?? the school changed with the loss of the Tennis Courts but the introduction of a new gym and 50 meter swimming pool next to the old assembly hall. A hole in the entrance hall was made through which you went to the new assembly hall /dinner area. At the far left was the new kitchen area. Just past the kitchen area leading out of he Assembly Hall was a walkway along which was Mr Crevey's Office and the teachers common room next door. The Walkway led you to one end of the new three storey block. On the ground floor of that block was the library, to domestic science rooms, Miss Cardy's office and the 4/5th form common room. On the floors above were the new classrooms used for Maths, English, Geography, Needlework and Technical Drawing. At each end of the building were the stairwells. My 3rd, 4th and 5th year form room was in Miss Riley's Needlework Room which was situated on the top floor at the far end away from the playing fields.

School Memories

One Monday morning the talk on the coach was all about a plane crash near Southend airport in which the pilot was killed there were rumours that it was Mr Taylor our Metalwork teacher. When we arrived at the school there was a very somber feeling about the place and all the rumours were confirmed in that mornings assembly when Mr Crevey announced the loss of Mr Taylor following a air accident. Most of us were numb with the shock. To read further about Mr Taylor select the following hyperlinks images

Punishment at school was varied. You did not mess with Mr Crevey who would walk around the school with a cane up his jacket sleeve. Word quickly got around when he left his office. Another was Mr Toombes who used a plimsoll as did our R.E. teacher, our geography teacher Mr Davis used a ruler and was not shy of dishing out the punishment in front of us children. Others did it in the privacy of their offices. Having said this the majority of the time punishment was detention and lines. You would think that seeing people being caned with a ruler would have been enough to ensure best behaviour, but for some of us it made us want to play around more. Many times when we were watching films or being bored with some long boring lecture I would be firing objects across the classroom at classmates Richard Simmons and others. Some of the best weapons were elastic bands on rulers, chewed up blotting paper pellets from straws or elastic bands. Richard was always the most daring and often paid for it. He would, possibly on purpose shoot pellets at me sitting in the front and they would miss and hit Mr Davis. It does not take much imagination to picture the outcome. Richard to always took the punishment well.

Part of the Art course work Peter Cooper and Terry Arnold did for Mrs Silverstone was a painting of heaven and hell on the stairwell leading to the Art classes. It was quite superb and inspired me to do some large painting in my Bedroom back home.

In my fifth year towards the end of my schooling I would store tiny bottles of Tuborg lager in the toilet cistern near the Maths room on the top floor of the new building. When I was feeling thirsty I would be found in the toilets, I guess some of my school chums might have thought I had developed a weak bladder. I only let three other people know about my stash

The fun we had in the 4th/5th year form room. Miss Cardy used to have her room almost opposite and she had a key to the room, somehow we managed to get hold of it and get a copy of the key cut including its mini room. Miss Cardy would lock the room just as school bell rang for the start of school, but on the way to assembly some of us would bunk off to the form room unlock and then re lock the door and stay there until we heard children climbing the stairs. Then we knew we could mingle with them on our way to our first class.

Getting a swimming badge by swimming 100 yards dressed in my pyjamas, treading water while I took them off and then diving down to retrieve an object lying on the bottom of the deep end.

There was a time in my 3rd year when school was not very good for me and I used to do a "bunk". When I think back now I can not believe some of the things I did, like:-
I would catch the coach and then not go directly into school. Because, to my knowledge all the teachers came to school via Hockley I would walk back home along Lower Road. Initially I thought I could not go directly home because I was afraid the neighbours might say something to mum and dad about me being home early.
When you were not at school you had to provide a letter from your parents explaining why. This is when all the practice I had done on my handwriting started to pay off. I used to write the letters on behalf of my mum, and I could copy her signature using grease proof paper. I found her signature on a piece of paper, I traced it onto a piece of grease proof using a pencil, but this gave me the signature in reverse so I had do turn the paper over and write over the trace on the back. MAGIC!
Because I could not go back home I used to do several things:-
Spend rainy days in the toilets in the Car Park near the Anchor, reading. I stayed there and had to time my departure so that it did not coincide with Debra leaving the Primary School and the coaches had returned. Then if anyone saw me my excuse was I fancied a walk an so stayed on the coach to the end.
If the weather was nice I would chance my luck and catch a train from Hockley Station to Southend Victoria and stay on the seafront. My excuse if anyone saw me was that I had been forgotten I had a dentist appointment and I was to meet my mum there. I started to think this was easy, so I started taking chances by going straight home, knowing that Doris and Fred were at work during the day and that other neighbours were most likely too busy to notice me returning home, and I was right! Months went by, no teachers had picked up that every time I was off school coincided with me having double French. I did take other days to make it not so obvious. Then one evening my parents dropped a bombshell "What were you doing in Rayleigh on .....?" of course I denied it, but they persevered that "Queenie Lay saw you", "You were not at school, we checked !" OUCH! I lost my nerve and told them how unhappy I was at school. They never accepted that and punished me. A few weeks went by and I was up to my usual antics, this time playing in one of the cloakrooms in the new building when a teacher caught me and my two pals. I was sent down to see Mr Creevy. When we got there we thought we were going to get the cane but fortunately it was to be detention, however when he asked our names and I told him Gary Congram it appeared to nudge his memory as he said something like "Ah! your parents have phoned me I needed to see you about a little matter". I was horrified to find out that my parents had phoned him to tell him I had been bunking off school. Now I was sure I was to be caned when I went into his room. I was extremely apologetic, stuttering as I tried to find the right words. He must have taken pity on me because all I had to do was report to his office for the next month every time I arrived at school and every break time. What a break !

Hullbridge Scouts 1965-1969

Most of the village boys in my age group, when we reached 11 years old, joined the local Scouting troop "1st Hullbridge" which was run by Bill Trower and Alec Baker We used to meet at the old school every Friday evening about 18:00, play football in the playground with a tennis ball or if we were very lucky a full size football, till the grown ups arrived when Scouting commenced.

Dave Carter and myself joined the Scouts at the same time and we joined existing members Alan (Plum) Lee, Peter Carter (David's elder brother) Mick Wilkinson.
When we joined we were placed into "Patrols", we had Kestrel, Seagull and, ? I was placed into Seagull which was headed by Alan (Plum] Lee.

To become a fully fledged Scout you had to remember the Scouting code which was found in Baden Powells Scouting guide book. I found learning them quite hard and very nerving, but eventually I made it and I was very proud to put on my khaki uniform, ? coloured scarf, woggle and light blue applet tassel. An important part of a Scouts kit, other than his Billet can and cutlery was his knife and scabbard. Most of the existing Scouts had the usual dirk with a handle bound round with brown leather and a brass end, I wanted something different and I knew just where to get it so I dragged my parents down to Southend and to the last shop in the High Street on the left hand side, before you went down to the pier. The shop was for fishing tackle and camping and in the window were many knives, many of the same style as described, but I wanted something different so I chose a dirk with an imitation stags foot for a hilt. Its balance was good, it had a broad blade and I could not wait to play splits with it against my fellow Scouting pals. I was so proud the Friday night when I got to wear it for the first time. Every time a Scout got a new knife we would all be itching to test its throwing balance, this time was no different.

On wet or wintry nights we would stay in the classroom and learn how to tie knots like Sheepshank, Reef, Granny etc., play games or read the Scouting handbook. The rest of the time we would go on long walks along the West or East river banks going as far as Battlesbridge in one direction and some way past Brandy Hole Yacht Club in the other. On these walks we would be taught the practical side of Scouting, identifying animal tracks, laying out a path for others to follow, compass and map reading (orienteering). Some nights we would be asked to bring along our Rucsacs with our billet cans and cutlery. Bill and Alec would bring along the Marshmallows, Sausages, Tea and matches and we would be shown how to build a camp fire so that it could be easily covered leaving a minimal trace of where it was.

Being part of the Scouts had its drawbacks and these were the Church Parades and "Bob a job". Our Scout troop had two flags and it was down to two of the older and senior Scouts to carry them on such times as they were heavy. To help the bearer with this task they were given a leather strap that went over a shoulder and which had a small round box at the end in which the flag poles where inserted. I think when we became a Scout we had to swear our oath to the Scout Movement with one hand on one of the flags.

Carrying a flag in a parade made you feel good it was an honour but when you were not that person the parade was boring. The most boring parade was when we all had to go to Southend and renew our oaths to the movement. It was drizzling rain, cold and seemed totally unnecessary. Had we all broken the oath, had we all been bad boys NO! so why did we have to go through this torment and walk past and salute to some old men who we had never seen before ?

We had one parade a year in Hullbridge and that was when we joined the Boys Brigade, Brownies and Guides in marching down Ferry Road to the Free Church on Lower Road.

Once a year for a week us Scouts were asked to go out and raise some money by performing chores for people and the price was "a bob",(a shilling old money) or more if the customer thought it worth it. At the end of the week the person with the most money received a small prize. I remember cleaning cars was a good earner as was weeding the garden. I can remember some of us knocking on the door of High Elms, Ferry Road. The very large house stood on the corner of Malyons Lane and Ferry Road and was overgrown with brambles and weeds, and it was owned by a little old lady that Anthony knew. We spent all morning trying to get it better and the lady gave us all two bob, with which we were thrilled.

Around 1966 Mr Harry Quinn came into our lives and two of his sons Brian and Bernie joined our troop "1st Hullbridge". Harry helped Bill and Alec ? part time and was responsible for us learning new activities like sailing, swimming and canoeing with the later being taught in the schools newly built swimming pool. Harry and John Austin later went on to form the 1st Hullbridge Venture Scout Troop for the Scouts who were Scouts over 16 years old. In the same year Bill's son, Paul, joined our troop as did Anthony Wortley, Winfred Turnball and Ian Cranston and my best friend Jeff Livesey who had returned from Australia.

An extra attraction for Dave, Jeff and myself was that Scout football and cricket matches took place on Saturday mornings. We did not have a home pitched so we had to travel to play. Some times we cycled to the match, other times our parents would take us. Even when we cycled to places like Thundersley we still came home the visitors which goes to show the opposition was not much. Many of the matches were played at King George or Fairview playing fields in Rayleigh, .
We were not a bad team !

I have always thought we were extremely fortunate to have Bill and Alec to run the Scouts and they helped us to respect other people and become better teenagers. Scouting kept us out out of trouble and taught us so much.

It was not long before we went on our first camp in a field alongside Canewdon church. Bill,Alec,Harry and some of the parents helped us get there and put up the tents and then left us under the supervision of the older Scouts. For many of us it was our first camp. We were highly excitable and we got up to many antics, one which sticks in my mind was playing cards with the loser having to run around the tents naked. The first to lose I think was Anthony Wortley who ran around the tents but could not get back in because we had zipped up the entrances, unfortunately for Anthony the evening moisture was on the grass and whilst running between each entrance of the tent he slipped and landed on a tent peg and grazed his backside. That evening there was lots of laughter and pranks till the subject of the Canewdon witches, stocks and ghosts came up, then everyone was happy to stay close to each other within the tents and go to sleep.

Around July 1966 we had a weekend camp at Danbury Park, this time we were not left to our own devices but it was great preparation for us who started entering into various Scouting competitions. I remember it was 1966 because on the Saturday some of us walked into Danbury and kids being kids we found the nearest sweet shop, it was also a newsagent's and I purchased a souvenir magazine on the England World Cup squad because it included one of my favourite players George Eastham.

Around early 1967 a week trip to Yorkshire Dales was arranged where we would stay in YMCA's and hike around the Dales. We all had to join the YMCA before we embarked. To help out some of the dads had to wrench themselves away from their wives and children and come with us, so their was plenty of support, I went with Dave's dad, Mr Reg Carter. We slept for a large part of the journey and played Poker dice and chess the rest. We arrived late in the day at our first stop which was at Keld YMCA. It was getting dark and the building was nowhere near anything and was very dark grey so our first impression was Oh my God!! It did not get any better when we were told that we had nobody to cook and clean for us. The hostel was a two storey purpose built building, upstairs was the dormitory with bunk beds and downstairs was the kitchen and dinning hall which doubled up as a games room. The following day we got up early cooked or breakfast and washed up. Fortunately we had packed lunches arranged so we packed our Haversacks and walked across the road to a public footpath and from there we climbed up to Rogans Seat which was covered in snow and then onto Water Crag and back down, shattered. At Water Crag we found inadvertingly a waterfall and a pot hole that some of us ventured into, but only as far as the entrance. The dads were getting nervous ! The next day we trekked all along Swaledale valley in glorious sunshine, enjoying the peace and tranquility, listening to and identifying the different bird songs, investigating various derelict buildings. We went through Thwaite, Muker where we stopped off at a pub so some of the dads could have a beer and us a shandy or two, from there we went onto Gunnerside where we stayed in another basic hostel. Our last hostel was at Aysgarth but to get to there we had to be chauffeured. Aysgarth hostel was completely different, it was an old big house with proper single beds and a table tennis table. From here we visited Aysgarth Falls which was beautiful and roaring due to the snow melting. On one of our days out I can remember us walking over fields full of sheep and we came across for our first time sheep afterbirth and having to ask what it was. For many of us it looked like Blackberries and Custard, what a shock when we were told what it actually was. On the way home we all went to Leeds and parked outside a tall block of flats. We clambered into the lifts and walked into a flat which I think belonged to Alec's parents. I remember looking out across Leeds and spotting some distance away Elland Road, the home of Leeds United Football Club with its floodlights. I was most impressed. It reminded me of my times at Highbury and the flats that stood at the Clock End. We were all made most welcome with tea biscuits and cakes but did not stay too long.

Around this time I remember my parents being horrified that the Scouts in their infinite wisdom had decided to change their image and so the newly bought Khaki Scout uniform became obsolete and Mum and Dad had to purchase the new style uniform. For the Scout Leaders and us it was good news, no more baggy shorts, we could now wear long trousers !

One of the ambitions of every Scout was to collect as many badges as he possibly could. One of the badges that I managed to earn was for stamp collecting. It was Bill Trower who helped us with this and I remember Dave and I going with Bill in 1967 to a Rayleigh Philatelic meeting held at Edward Francis Primary school, opposite Fitzwymarcs, and bought a few stamps including a commemorative cover, to get the badge we had to present our collection to Bill, identify the countries of some stamps and answer some other philatic questions, this and the art one was some of the easiest. To obtain a camping badge two Scouts had to go out together, follow a designated route, find somewhere to camp overnight and reach the destination with proof of the event. Anthony Wortley and I were paired for ours and the area we allocated was Black and White Notley.

Bill submitted some of us into various Scouting competitions and in one competition Bernie and Jeff came first and we all had our photo taken in front of the flag pole in front of the school and it appeared in a local paper.

Belchamps Scout Camp in Hawkwell was a very popular venue with us Scouts and in 1968 it was the ?? Jamboree where Scouts from all over the world congregated there, including 1st Hullbridge. A few of the dads also decided to come along including Hal Livesey, Dick Wortley, Harry Quinn. It was a great time for all, we met Scouts from Japan, Jamaica, America, Canada, entered and won a few competitions, played our favourite games of Hide and seek and splits in Hockley Woods, which backs onto Belchamps. At the Jamboree they were promoting a global language called Esperanto and distributed books to all of us. This sounded great at first as it possibly meant no more French, German or Latin at school we just learnt Esperanto but it was so basic and there was no way it would be adopted by everyone so we thought it a waste of time. I think the organizers hoped that us Scouts would be their guinea pigs and speak to each other in Esperanto, the failing here was that all the foreign Scouts spoke pretty good English, especially the Japanese so why did us English need to learn Esperanto ?! On the last day of the Jamboree we were running all over the place as news reached us that the Japanese were giving gifts away so I rushed over and was handed a yellow fish kite with Yamaha emblazoned all over it in English and Japanese. Then there was the tuck tent. It was handing out free food etc., It was at Belchamps that I tasted SKI yogurt for the first time from . I thought they were delicious! especially the Pineapple ones and I must have had half a dozen or more.

Another camp at Belchamps started one Friday night just before Easter Bank Holiday. We had all arrived and pitched our tents, Harry Quinn asked us to go and collect some fire wood so we could start dinner. This was a simple task of going over to the Scout Hut near the entrance of Belchamps and scramble over a huge pile of old wood, unfortunately for me it was too simple and I got carried away and put my left foot on a rusty nail which hurt like hell ! Everyone rushed me into the Scout Hut for medical attention and it was decided that they should call my parents over to pick me up. I was taken home to find that some old friends of mum and dads that I had not seen for many years, John and Vera Thackery had turned up to visit. I was most upset that I was burning up and had to go to bed. The next day I was taken to see Mrs Kendall who gave me a tetanus injection and then I was allowed back to camp. I just loved all the fuss when I got back.

Scouts in my time.

The following are some of my friends in 1st Hullbridge Scouts.-
Peter Carter, David Carter, Alan Lee, Jeff Livesey, Brian Quinn, Bernie Quinn, Anthony Wortley, Mick Wilkinson, Stephen Pollain, Winfred Turnball, Paul Trower, Ruben Wood, Barry Wood, Barry Wheatley, Ian Cranston, Barry Harper, Stephen Emery, Richard Springman, Alan Trower, Paul Baker

Hullbridge Girl Guides

You might be surprised that I do not know what used to happen at the guides meetings. What I do know is that they held their meetings the same time and night as the Scouts. Mrs Sylvia Wortley held the position of commissioner for Hullbridge Guide movement and Mrs Snelling the Hullbridge troop and I think Gladys Chart joined them at a later stage. Mrs Snelling lived at ?? Abbey Road, she was a canine beautician with a lovely Old English Sheepdog and I used to go around with her daughter Kendall when I was 10/11 years old. Often with Kendall's best friend Lesley ? and Lesley's brother and sometimes Kendall's sister Kerry we would clamber into the field behind Kendall's home and make our way down to the bottom field, the one facing you as you come down Lower Road and into Hullbridge, the same one that is used for events like Circus, Fairs and Charity meetings to help raise funds for young Ben Beckwith. At that time the pumping station did not exist and we would see what trees we could climb and we also played in many of the fields in Watery Lane and often ventured into the old derelict farm house down Highlands Road in Watery Lane. It was at Kendall's home that I saw my first lava lamp and from that day I wanted one for my own. I remember once Kendall and Kerry were asked by their parents to prepare dinner. The girls cooked a stew and wanted to do "dumplings" but did not know how ? I, hoping to impress Kendall said boldly "I know ! its simple, you just mix self raising flour with water and drop them into the stew." The girls were so grateful, however the next time I saw them I enquired how dinner went, thinking I was going to get loads of praise and thanks, instead they told me they were rock hard and had to be thrown away because I had forgotten to tell them to add the suet. I think Kendall saw me in a different light after that !

Back to the Girl Guides, sometimes we would get together and play sports in the playing fields beyond the newly built school and I and other Scouts would often wait for the Guides to come out so we could escort them back through the village to the Fish and Chip shop at the end of Ferry Road, where we would happily buy 5d worth of chips and a pineapple or banana fritter and share them with the girls. I'm not sure whether I walked Kendall or she was going out with Brian Quinn or I walked Susan Macnamara with whom I had a crush.

Hullbridge Boys Brigade

I do not know a lot about the Boys Brigade apart from that they met at Hullbridge Free Church on Lower Road and Jeff, David and I went along a couple of times and had fun playing in the grounds behind the church but there were too many religious demands for our liking. Several times in the year the Boys Brigade would treat the village to a musical parade down the lower part of Ferry Road.

Hullbridge Gardeners Association

dad was and still is a keen amateur gardener as are Maggie and I. His father and Grandfather used to grow Chrysanthemums in their back yards in London and from them he learnt how easy it was to grow plants from cuttings and he became hooked. When we moved to Abbey Road he was in his element. We had quite a large plot of land and he worked very hard to remove the builders rubble and transform it into our garden. We had several flower beds with Chrysanthemums, Roses, Dahlias and a lawn, at the back was a vegetable patch and shed. One day whilst he and next door neighbour Fred were tending their veg., a neighbour at the bottom of Fred's garden mentioned he was Treasurer of the HGA and told them about membership. It was not long before dad and Fred became a members of HGA and dad still is today. At this time the HGA was just a wooden shed standing on a plot of land (Where it is today)

Every year around Aug/Sep the HGA held their show in the Village Hall where villagers would submit their vegetables , flowers, paintings, cakes, jams etc., for judging and prizes/cups where awarded. The show was eagerly anticipated by the villagers and there was always loads of entrants. I remember entering a coloured pencil drawing I had done of an Arab on a horse back, I was in the Over 11's class and unfortunately I did not get an award and I lost heart and never entered again. Two of the classes they introduced were:- The best front garden, and the best back garden. I was proud of our garden and thought we should enter and was disappointed when we did not. However when I went round to see the front gardens that won I was really taken aback by their abundance of plants and colours. I remember two of them being bungalows down Ferry Road, one just after Mr Longs and another just after Keswick Avenue.

Peter Botley's dad was also a keen gardener and could often be found at the HGA hut helping out selling their wares to the members at reduced prices, I believe he was the clubs secretary.

Youth Football in Hullbridge

During the years 1965-68 there was no youth football teams in Hullbridge, apart from the Scouts.
Jeff, Dave and I made the most of the Scouts and school football but it was never enough to satisfy our hunger for proper games.
Along came Ted Rose, who started a team "Hullbridge Boys", and his son Martin played center half, mainly because he was a BIG lad. Ted was wonderful, he got us entered into the Thames Valley League U-15's and would bring the oranges for half time, transport us to and from the matches in the back of his van and provided our kit. I think he lasted for one or two seasons and then decided to quit. I seem to recall it was all very controversial. During the season we had taken some heavy beatings mainly due to our inexperience and the fact that quite a number of the teams were playing older and therefore bigger boys than us. and come a game against one of the top teams Ted fielded some new players and we beat them. This was not liked by the manager of the opposition, who was also well in with the League's Committee. He objected to the way we had won, allegedly playing ringers and I think we were kicked out of the league. Whether or not the players were ringers I am not sure, but I know they were friends of ours and did sign the signing on forms. Some of the players who played in our team at that time were:- Andy Polley, Steve Polley, Bernie Quinn, Gerald Dawson, Tony Taber, Martin Rose, Jeff Livesey, Gary Congram, David Carter Peter Botley, Winfred Turnball, Christopher Blowers, Stephen Pollain, Paul Wilson. By 1967 I had become friends with Paul Wilson who lived just up the road from me. Paul and I managed to coax his dad to take over from Ted. After the '67 season a number of our players became too old and some of the others were coaxed by their friends to move tho their clubs.

By 1969 Jeff, Dave and I were too old to play in the league so we found ourselves without any competitive football. Then I found out that dad was going down the Recreation Ground in Pooles Lane with his new Baseball plimsolls to play football with Alan Thornton and some of his pals. I managed to get dad to take the three of us along. Whilst we were down there three other people were kicking a ball around and they joined in, they were Glen and George Low and Gary Hawkes. Unfortunately dad and Alan's friends did not last very long because the dark nights were coming and there was not enough time to play once they came home from work. We became very close to the 3 G's and had many great 3 a-side matches over the weekends and every other opportunity we could get.

Dave, Jeff and I were at a loose end again, but then mum and dad were at one of the PTA's dances and got chatting to Brian Hughes and Tony Fautley and they suggested we join them on Wednesday night training to see how we coped playing with the Hullbridge Sports Footballers. By this time Dave was about to go off to University so it was Jeff and I who turned up one Wednesday evening and had a wonderful time enjoying the competition and particularly the banter from the likes of brothers Brian and Alan Hughes and especially Tony Fautley. We must have made a good impression as we were asked back again and later signed on.

After we left Mr Wilson continued with the team for another season and then the team folded. By this time A Youth football in Hullbridge started to blossom when Doug Tyrell and Harold Nelson created a youth section of Hullbridge Sports Club.

Hullbridge Sports Club

The Sports Club had already been in existence for quite a number of years when Jeff and I joined the Table Tennis Section. It was not until around 1970 that the club's committee decided that the club should have a Social Section for people who just wanted to attend the social events and section nights. Membership to the Social Club also provided membership to the Country Club.

At the 1972 A.G.M. the Chairman announced that the club had come into some significant funds which had been left in a bank account by an old Treasurer and had only just come to light. I believe there was two proposals chaired about these funds:- 1) To use the funds as subsidies for each section or 2) To use the funds to purchase our own ground. The second motion was carried and so began the process of finding a suitable location.

I personally did not get involved in this as by now I had decided to play my football in the London Banks League for the company I worked for First National City Bank, however my father, Colin Chart, Pete Woods, Tony Fautley and Colin Bateman did.

Once when Maggie and I were visiting my parents Dad told me the Sports Club had managed to get their own ground at the top of Coventry Hill and had also managed to acquire a building for the Club House. Intrigued we asked how this had come about and he related that ......

Fund Raising Events

Fund raising was initially just about each section of the Sports Club looking for and finding ways to raise funds to help subsidize their costs. There was a fee to join Hullbridge Sports Club and then each section could also charge a membership fee on top. This was the case with the Football and Cricket sections but not so for the Table Tennis. The main funds raisers tended to be the Football and Cricket sections because they had the biggest draw on funds for pitches and kit and also they had the largest memberships. Some of the events used to raise funds were:-

Donkey Derby

The club held two Donkey Derby events the first took place in Mr Beckwith's field by the entrance to Watery Lane. On the Friday night several of the Sports Club members helped prepare the site which included putting up several large tents.To ensure nothing happened to the tents overnight some of us decided to sleep in the main marquee,they included Dad, myself, Colin Chart, Bob Palmer and Tony Fautley. Having put so much effort into raising the tents we had worked up quite a hunger and thirst so we decided that a couple of us would go and get a Chinese and a few beers. Whilst they were gone we were pestered by a cat, who we kept putting out the tent. So much drink and no Port-a-loo there was only one option and that was to go in the field outside the tent, a couple of the blokes went outside to whistle and when they came back in they happened to say that the cat had unfortunately got in the way. The following day dad was talking to Sue and Alan Thornton whose house backed onto Mr Beckwith's field and she happened to mention that she did not know what her cat got upto last night but it came in soaked to the skin and stinking. OOPS!!

The Donkey Derby unfortunately was not over succesful due to it pouring with rain most of the afternoon, but the villagers made the most of it.

The Aug Bank Holiday in 1974
Maggie (my wife) and I came down to Hullbridge to see my parents and ended up helping them run a stall at the clubs 2nd Donkey Derby event. The event was held in a field down Pooles Lane opposite the Country Club. This was a very succesful day with the sun shinning all the time. Photos of the day can be seen by clicking here

Race Nights

The club arranged for a couple of "Race Nights" at the Country Club. This was a simple but effective way of raising money. I think Vic Horton was involved with this, he use to manage a bookies in Finsbury Park. I occasionally bumped into him when I went to watch my favourite team ARSENAL. The club obtained some black and white film of some old horse races that were not well known. With this came a list of the runners, riders, winners and places. Tickets were sold for the night and the people attending had two ways of winning, they could bet on a horse to win or they could go big time and purchase a horse for £10.00 and win more money. It has always been a mystery to me that the press have never caught on that at that time many of the clubs members and villagers were the sires to horses. That night there were so many blokes shouting "Come on my SON!" it had me quite worried, mind you many thought they were studs.Especially us younger ones.

Sports Day

The Sports Club started running Sports Days down the Rec., One in particular comes to mind when I competed in the 100 yards sprint. I was lining up alongside John Townley on my right and someone else on the left. Almost immediately we brushed each other and I caught his metal watch strap with my little finger and when I reached the line well behind Steve Oakman, Stevie Polley and Bernie Quinn my hand was gushing blood, so I quickly got it bandaged in the first aid tent and carried on with the sports. I later ran the 1500 meters which I won.

The Cricket section had a stall which was basically one of their batsmen being put in front of the general public who paid money to try and bowl him out and claim a prize. The Cricket section were very wise as they put in Malcolm Booty who was very good at dead batting and no matter how much pace, bounce I made I could never get him out. They made quite a bit of money out of me that day as Malcolm kept goading me.

Further on the Football section had a stall which was a penalty taking contents with prizes for the winners and runners-up at different age groups. People would line up to take penalties against keepers for their age group. For adults/teenagers the club had Alan Keen and Mark Wisken, the kids had ??. The idea was the best 6 at the end of the day for each group would battle out the contest in one final shoot out, can't remember who won it but I know it was not me!

Car Rally

Another fund raising event was the Car Rally. Jeff had recently passed his test and had a dark Red Imp and we took part. We turned up on the afternoon at the Country Club paid our entrance fee and were given our questions and clues for directions. It was great fun, but we did not win despite feeling very confident that we had all the correct answers and that we had got back pretty quick.

Tug of war contest

A regular occurrence when we first moved down was the tug of war match between members of the Essex police tug of war team and local villagers / come all. The contest took place at the crossing near the "Anchor Inn" when the tide was out. The teams would be either side of the river and the victors were the first to pull the other into the river. It was all for charity an was always well supported. The Police team consisted of 8 Policemen whilst the opponents could easily be double that. It always surprised me that the police always won despite being so heavily outnumbered. The knack was finding a good anchor point and to set up a rocking rythmn and then time the right moment to pull as called by the coach who stood by the side. Many pints where sold at the Anchor and Smugglers Den, so I'm sure they made significant donations ?

Stag Nights

I can only remember two such nights. One we all caught a coach to a club in Dagenham and was royally fed, watered and entertained and another time was at the Smugglers Den where we were introduced to a lady and her python. I think Steve Oakman came in for some personal attention that night.

River Boat Shuffles

I never went on one of the clubs shuffles but I had been on many run by the company I worked for, they were great fun. I can remember one of the sports clubs shuffles, they left from Tower pier and I met up with them there after to cadge a lift home because my company had one the same night from Westminster pier and although I can not say because I was pre occupied, we were like ships passing in the night, we must have been. A river boat shuffle is a Thames riverboat that provides drink at a couple of bars, a large floored area for dancing on and for laying out the buffet before hand. There was always the open decking area where some lucky people huddled up close supposedly to keep warm, but we all knew what they were up to.

Hullbridge Football Club

Jeff Livesey and I regularly went training with the players on Wednesday nights. We trained at the Recreation Ground in Pooles Lane which is also where Hullbridge played their home games on of the three pitches. At the Rec., was a new pavilion with toilets and metal shutter that opened up the changing room area. We had two changing rooms, showers and a kitchen space. The usual load of players would turn up come rain or shine and play in the area of grass near to the pavilion but off of the nearest pitch. When it was dark the club had with the help of several of the players made some floodlights out of old oil drums and powerful spot lights. We had three in total which we placed evenly on top of the pavilion roof and plugged into the kitchen. The 2 of us thought we were semi professionals and on the right path to become just like our footballing idols. Hullbridge had in 1968, when we started playing for them, 2 Saturday teams and 2 Sunday Teams. The Saturday teams played in the Southend and District League, these were managed by John Harvey and John Connison the later living in Keswick Avenue while John Harvey lived in Billericay. The Sunday Teams played in Southend Sunday League and were managed by John Harvey and Brian Hughes.

Brian and John Collison got us to sign up and we made our debuts for the second teams. Our first season playing Sunday football saw us winning our division and Jeff managed a couple of appearances for the first teams. I think the Saturday 2nd team managed a respectable top 4 position.

The teams

The teams around this time were:-
Saturday 1st IX:
Les Collins, Steve Oakman, Roger Ship,Alan Hughes, Pat Hayes, Stephen Polley, Andrew Polley, Peter Woods,
Saturday 2nd XI:
Mick Langford, John Collison, Jeff Livesey, Gary Congram, Tony Fautley,Brian Hughes, Malcolm Low, Peter Botley, Martin Watson, Nicky Goshawk,Barry ? John Townsey, Andy Hollington
Sunday 1st IX:
Roger Ship, Alan Hughes, Tony Maynard, Steve Oakman, Andrew Polley, Stephen Polley,Pat Hayes, Les Collins, Chris Dance, Ronnie Moore
Sunday 2nd IX:
Jeff Livesey, Gary Congram, Brian Hughes, Terry Wise, Nicky Goshawk, Malcolm Low, Robert Adlington, George Shepherd, Peter Botley, Micky Ward, Andy Hollington

Malta trip 1974/5

John Collison's wife M? was Maltese and they had an apartment in Meliehah. John thought it would be great if we went over and played football against some of the Maltese teams. There was a great response to this idea so John went about fixing everything up. About 15 of us went out from Luton Airport. I at the time had left Hullbridge and was living in St Johns Wood, London. It was a Friday night flight. I left work early went home to St Johns Wood, picked up my case and made my way to St Pancras station. which is where I had arranged to meet Andy Polley who was working for Nat West in the City of London. I arrived only to find a massive queue for tickets and Andy and I missed our train. Fortunately for us we had left sufficient time should anything go wrong so we were not panicking until 30 minutes later the train came to a stop and the guard announced there would be a delay. We arrived at Luton station panicking and about 20 minutes before the flight. We managed to get a cab straight away and explained our situation. He was fantastic. and managed to get us there with 5 minutes to go. We ran through and met up with everyone and we I were later told that they had wanted to take off without us but John Collison had somehow managed to talk them into giving us another 10 mins. When we arrived in Malta we were split into two groups one group was to stay in Meliehah in another apartment, whilst my group was to stay at John's apartment which was situated on the hillside overlooking the town and bay. We arrived at our new homes around mid day and immediately made for the golden beach of Meliehah Bay to get some rays and have a swim in the sea. Most of us ended up burned and pink and as a result were very sensitive when we went training the following day.

In the morning some of the guys went with John to pick up our hire cars. I remember petrol was cheap and we managed to get around the island all 2 weeks on two tanks of petrol. We had our first training session on the local football pitch on the outskirts of the town. It was made of cinders and was fairly high up. Because of the heat John made us train after 17:00 to allow us to acclimatize.

A number of the evenings we spent in a local diner that also had a dance floor and more importantly a bar. When I think back to those days I cringe when I recollect how much we enjoyed listening to Demi Roussos and Nana Miskori, us Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath fanatics ! It was at this diner that many of us tasted Swordfish for the first time, it was the only thing we could have as there were no restaurants selling steak in the town. One night we drove into Valletta searching for that elusive restaurant that sold steak. We eventually found one on the harbour and when it appeared on our plates many of us swore it was horse and not cow!

Once we visited a professional football match in Valletta stadium and we learnt how the locals insulted people with some dramatic hand and arm movements, it was very ferocious and shocked me, someone who had spent many evenings standing on the North Bank, Highbury watching fans throw coins and start fights.

One evening John suggested we catch a ferry from beyond the bay to the Island of Gozo. The boat trip was very pleasant as the sea was calm and at the other end we caught cabs to a small village on the coast with its small bay. The bay was surrounded by rocks and the water was crystal clear. We had brought with us our lunch beers,beers and more beers. This was our new diet to stop us from dehydrating, well that was we told John. Bernie Quinn had brought with him a snorkel and flippers and it looked so great I asked him to teach me which he did. At first swimming with in cold water with a piece of tube stuck in my mouth was hard, eventually I managed to learn to control my fears and found the experience exhilarating, especially after Bernie taught me to duck dive so that I could see sea urchins and fish that were on the bed of the bay.

Apart from the major road all the roads around the islands were like dirt tracks and very narrow, getting around became quite an adventure. One time a group of us decided to see the sights and take a trip to the old fort of Medina and then onto Blue Grotto. We arrived at Medina around midday when the sun was its hottest and from the ramparts we could see all over the island. It was here that many of us purchased gifts to take back to our loved ones. Malta is famous for its silver and glass so this is what many of us bought. Because it was so hot we spent quite some time trying to find somewhere to buy some beer but had to make do with ice cool lemonade from a cafe in the main square. Slightly refreshed we drove on towards the Blue Grotto. By the time we reached it none of us fancied walking all the way down a steep slope to the point where you caught the boat to get to the Grotto and we also found out that they would not let us swim there. So we made our way home to get ready for the nights entertainment. By this time we were 1 member of our group short. Martin Watson had met up with someone one night and she was staying in the hotel across the bay from us. It obviously was love at first sight because we did not catch sight of him very often in the evenings. Still it was one less to find a place to sleep.

Perhaps the best part o the trip was when John arranged with St Paul's Bay Hotel for us to spend time around their pool side drinking beer. We got to know the staff and manager very well and sometimes in the evenings we went back there for a cabaret evening. Micky Ward loved it their and must have caught the same bug as Martin as he would often be seen disappearing only to return later in the evening. We never did find out how the toes of his shoes were polished when we arrived and scuffed when we left ! Rumour had it that after we left the manager placed a sign in the car park Mick Ward came here.

The reason we had gone to Malta, believe it or not was to play football against foreign opposition. John had arranged 3 or 4 matches, the most memorable one was on a British Military Base because we were surrounded by fully armed personnel and various pieces of armoury and barbed wire. The match was against "The Valletta Knights". After this particular match we went back to our oppositions club house for drinks and food, they were extremely hospitable and many spoke English and for me what made it so friendly was the large picture of Arsenal stuck on the club house wall.

Players that went

Some of the people that went:-
John Collison, Jeff Livesey, Pat Hayes, Andy Polley, Stephen Polley, Alan Hughes, Gary Congram, Micky Ward, Bernie Quinn, Martin Watson, Stevie Oakman,John Townley, Brian Haywood, Brian Hardy

One night after training in 1972 I walked into the club and was delightfully surprised and shocked to be told that the club had been allocated two tickets to this years cup final and that I had won one of them, Martin Watson the other. It so happened that year the final was between Arsenal and Leeds United, personally I do not think I won the tickets I believe the senior members agreed to me having one because I was such a vociferous GOONER. It was not a great cup final, especially as Arsenal lost 1-0 and Martin and I were at the Leeds end of the stadium, Ho Hum !

Hullbridge Cricket Club

When I moved down to Hullbridge I was soon shown the Recreation Ground where there were swings, roundabout and a slide near the river in a large playing field. This was totally new for me, having been brought up playing in the streets of Finsbury Park. Also at the Rec., was an old wooden Cricket Pavilion and close by was a concrete strip with a wire cage around it, this was the Cricket practice net. The pavilion was on wooden sleepers and often when playing football nearby our ball would go underneath and we would have to climb under to retrieve it. A game we used to play was rolling a ball up the sloping roof so that it rolled down the other side. If it was a tennis ball we had to catch it if it was a football we had to kick it back over.

I never became a member of the cricket club however they were pretty successful.

I would sometimes go down the Rec., on a Summer Saturday or Sunday to play football with the usual crowd only to find a Cricket match in progress which limited our playing area.

There was only one Cricket square which I believe had 3 or 5 pitches on. It was situated in line with the old pavilion which meant the boundary was some way away from the new pavilion, so a table and chairs was needed from the pavilion and placed at the nearest point on the boundary along with the scoreboard. If the weather was too hot we would sometimes sit and watch the match and at times help with the scoring.

It was always great to be around when Tea was taken as the cricketers wives made a wonderful tea of sandwiches and cake.

The players

Some of the cricketers became good friends of mine:- Keith Whittaker, Tony Mead, George Shepherd, Malcolm Booty, Dennis Page, Tony Maynard, Vic Horton etc.,

Hullbridge Sports Table Tennis

Dave, Jeff and I all joined the Hullbridge Table Tennis Club which met on Thursday evenings in the new assembly hall of Hullbridge Primary school. We used to have three tables and about 12 people turning up. The people who put out the tables were the first ones on and it was done on a rotation basis with the winner on the top table staying on to play the next opponent. The loser would go down onto the queue for the 2nd table and if they lost then onto the 3rd. The winner of the 3rd and 2nd tables would go up to th queue for the next table and so on.

Table Tennis Players

Some of the peoples names I can remember are:-
Keith Whittaker and wife Janet,Tony Mead and wife Janet, Tony Baker,Brian Cooper, Mick Stafford, Dennis and Milly Page and son Robert, Vic Horton, Roger ?, two ladies who lived down Abbey Road, Jeff Livesey, David Carter Gary Congram

Hullbridge had three teams when we first joined. Some nights a curtain was stretched between tables 1 and 2 and matches against other opposition were played on table 1. We were very impressed with Dennis, Tony Baker and Mick. When we first started we had very plain table tennis bats that were pimply on both sides and we used the bog standard grip we also struggled to get off the bottom table, the only people we could beat were a couple of ladies and ourselves.
I think it was either Mick or Dennis who used a pen hold which David started to adopt and have success with. All three of us started to improve quickly and it was not long before we started to play on the 1st and 2nd tables. I remember one night we were feeling rather good about our new skills when Tony B decided he needed to be pushed harder so he played us with a very small bat and still beat us. Although our ego's took a knock we soon got over it when Tony let us have a go and it was not as hard as we thought it would be to play with it. Before a year had gone by all three of us had new "Butterfly" bats with smooth faces,small practice bats, played 5 star balls and were playing in our own team and being successful. Own matches were played in the old school classroom. Each team was made up of 4 players and as none of us three could drive we had to rely upon the 4th player to take us or our parents. Matches used to consist of singles and doubles. At home one of us who was playing would do the scoring, away it was down to the opposition.

Hullbridge Carnival

One of the regular events each year was the Hullbridge Carnival which started in Abbey Road. Villagers would bring their floats and fancy costumes and queue up all along the road waiting for release into Lower Road by our local Policeman "Paul". From there the procession would turn into Ferry Road and continue all the way down to the Recreation ground where stalls would be set up to raise money and awards given for best in show. It was a great way for organizations and business's to promote themselves and for me and our neighbours in Abbey Road it was as good as the early days of Notting Hill Gate. Unfortunately it is no more! In 1975 Maggie and I were visiting Hullbridge and we caught the carnival parade along Ferry Road, This may well have been the last one. Hullbridge Sports were building their new sports ground on top of Coventry Hill (see New Ground ) and Dianne Fautley was one of Hullbridge Carnival Queens Princess's. For photo's of the carnival click here

Hullbridge Youth Club 1966

Initially Hullbridge Youth Club took place in the Village Hall on Ferry Road, what is now a Chinese Take Away. The club provided us teenagers with facilities to play Snooker, Billiards drink fizzy drinks and occasionally listen to a local teenage band practice the latest Cream songs. I remember being very impressed with their renditions of Sunshine of your love and Badge, although I was more a Led Zeppelin fan than Cream. The ban was made up of older lads from the Rayleigh and Hockley area. I did not go too often and the next time I went, a few years later, the club was taking place in the old school hall dinning room.

Hullbridge's First Rave Summer 1970

This night I remember with a lot of fond affection because of the company, music and how it came about. It all came about following some of us meeting up at Jeff Livesey's cousin's birthday party(Christine Butcher). We were enjoying listening to the new Focus album and a particular track Hocus Pocus. Someone had a great idea of us meeting up one evening to listen to the latest music which needed to be played extremely loud. There was no appropriate venue as they Village Hall was not allowing any bands to play there anymore so it was suggested holding it outside. We had the great fortune to have a friend (Phillip?) who lived in the last house in The Esplanade,which is on the West riverbank, it might even have been his idea as he had a crush on Christine! It was from here to an area known locally as the flats that we ran several power extensions connected together so that we could play our records on a stereo record player. Thinking back I am very surprised that given the distance we were away from the houses we had any power at all, but we did. We spent many hours late into the night listening to our favourite bands of the time:-
Focus: Moving Waves, Wishbone Ash: Wishbone Ash & Pilgrimage, Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin 1& 2, Uriah Heep:Take a look at yourself and Black Sabbath: Paranoid. Those of us that were Scouts at the time looked after the campfire and cooking and the beer and spirits ran freely. The same evening Mr's Kendall held the local Girl Guides meeting in the new school. On some nights the two groups would join up for sport or treks along the west riverbank till we reached a suitable spot to light a camp fire and cook sausages.

The Floods 1968

On Saturday 14th Sept 1968 Dave and Jeff came to my home and we played Subbuteo for most of the afternoon. During the afternoon it started raining and around 17:00 Dave and Jeff went home for tea in the pouring rain. None of us had thought much about the weather and flooding was never crossed our minds. Unfortunately for Dave and his family the rain was to have a serious impact upon them. David's family lived in a bungalow at ?? Lower Road and by 19:00 when I looked out the front window I saw the street was like a river gushing by, it was then that dad looked out at the back and to his horror saw his newly laid turfs being swept across the garden and were piling up against the fence between Fred and us. Eventually the rain subsided and everyone came out their houses to chat about what had just happened, it was then that we saw people congregating at the bottom of Abbey Road and they were calf deep in water. dad and I rushed down there to see if we could help anyone. The water in Lower Road at the time was three quarters up my Wellington boots and water was already into Dave's house. He later told me it was already seeping in when he arrived home and that there was no power to call us. Loads of the villagers were there helping the affected householders by stacking furniture, pulling up carpets, rugs etc., It took as many as six men to drag a carpet out. dad and I can remember out local Policeman "Paul" bringing along a rowing boat and started rowing towards Watery Lane to check on the residents down there. No sooner had he got in the boat the flow of water took him and the boat rapidly away from us and he quickly disappeared out of sight. dad stayed out helping people for quite some time and his reward when he got home soaking wet and ice cold was a candlelight bath as there was no power. The following day dad, Debra and I drove out the village via Lower Road, the water had receded overnight, enough for us to get through. We went to check on mums family who had come down from London and were staying at their chalet on "Kings" on Canvey Island. We managed to get to them and everything was fine, but on the way there it started to rain again and by the time we came back the bottom of the hill by Vicarage Hill had water streaming out of the drains at the bottom and was pouring off the fields above. Eventually we managed to get up the hill and thought no more about it until we reached Lower Road by the "Salt and Pepper" cottages opposite Pinkertons Farm. The road was flooded again and we had to turn around and go through Hockley where we fortunately managed to get under the railway bridge to reach the other end of Lower Road. We drove along Lower Road cautiously till we reached the "Dome" caravan site and were confronted again with a flooded road and a queue of traffic. We were temporarily stuck, not knowing what to do. Then someone behind us decided they were going to risk it and drive through. dad thought he would stay very close to him and drive in his wake. Although the water lapped at the door sills not much water entered the car and we managed to reach higher ground about 100 yards from Church Road, from there we managed to get home to mum not being too pleased as the Sunday Roast had been in the oven longer than it should have, she was not too pleased, still we had plenty to tell her sitting around the dinner table.

Hullbridge Shops/ Business's

The shops in Hullbridge mainly fell in three locations:- At the crossroads of Coventry Hill and Ferry Road, just beyond the school at the river end of Ferry Road and just over the brow of the hill in Ferry Road.

Along with these shops there have been several business's run from villagers homes. One I can remember is the Shellfish sellers who lived in South Avenue, next to Mick Stafford. I will take you on a journey through Hullbridge's shops starting at the village entrance on Lower Road Hockley End

Fishing Tackle Shop ?? Pevensey Gardens

I only went there once. I think it was Anthony and I who decided to go fishing and we needed some maggots and Mealworms as we were off to the ponds in the ground next to the semi-detached houses Gin and Tonic opposite Pinkerton's Farm on Hullbridge Road. The ponds were reputed to have some really large Carp and a Pike! It was this we were hoping to catch. We had no chance with the lines and rods we had at the time.

Scrap Yard ?? Lower Road

Hullbridge Motor Co Coventry Hill

Smiths, Coventry Corner Supplies, Coventry Corner

It was outside this shop that many of us would catch the coach to school. The shop had two entrances. One faced onto Coventry Hill and was the entrance to the sweet shop part and you could walk through into the stores and provisions part which had a door that opened up onto the corner of Ferry Road, Lower Road and Coventry Hill.

Fish and Chip Shop 66, Lower Road

Tea Rooms ?? Lower Road

Antiques Shop ?? Lower Road

Angus Grant Chemist, 90 Ferry Road

Betting Office 98, Ferry Road

Hullbridge Taxi Co., 2 Oakleigh Avenue

This was a very narrow brick built building situated on the corner of Oakleigh Avenue and Ferry Road. Eventually it was sold and converted into a Hairdressers. It had two entrances, one facing out onto Oakleigh Avenue was used for the Ladies Hairdressers and the other out onto Ferry Road was used for the Gentlemen's barbers. I have to admit I very rarely used this, mainly because I was trying to grow my hair long in keeping with the times. However it was here that I had my first Skin head haircut which my mum detested.

Wortley's Shoe shop and dry cleaners 127, Ferry Road

The very first building you came upon after the large old house on the corner of Malyons Lane was the Gardening Club, next door was a bungalow, this was later to have its front converted to a shop by Dick and Sylvia Wortley, the parents of Janet and Anthony Wortley, with the twin door entrance situated in the middle of the front. The front door was down the right -hand side of bungalow.
Next to that was:-

Wortley's Butchers 129, Ferry Road

This was an old fashioned butchers owned and run by brothers Jack and Richard Wortley who used to wear blue and white striped aprons and straw boaters. The meat counter ran the full length of the shop on the left hand side and the entrance was on the right. The entrance to the living accommodation which was above the shop was down the right hand side of the building. They also had another butchers shop in Rayleigh High Street,the same shop that is now Byford Butchers.
After the Butchers came the village hall and then came

Ted's Stores, 133, Ferry Road

This was owned by an East Ender, Ted Rose who placed outside a fruit and veg., between the two doors which were situated at either end of the building. Inside were shelves stocked with groceries. The serving counter which had a bowed glass front ran almost the length of the shop. At the far right of the counter just beyond the entrance to the storehouse was a wet fish counter. Mum's first job when we moved down to Hullbridge was to go and work for Ted and I became very friendly with the family especially his son Martin. Many a time I would go with Ted and Martin in the White Bedford Transit van to the warehouse near Southend on the A127 to pick up the provisions. This was my first experience of bulk buying.

Ted would smoke his own fish and boil his own Beetroots in the yard behind the shop, which unfortunately was the front yard of his bungalow.

I can remember the bonfires that Martin an I used to start in his back garden to get rid of the packaging and rubbish. Re-cycling then meant cycling back from school. Martin, Anthony, myself, Debra (my sister) and Martin's sister Valerie would play tag a lot with the boundaries being between the Gardening Club and Ted's back garden. One night after school when we were playing tag Anthony caught up with me in the back grounds of the Village Hall,he was pinning my shoulders to the floor wrestling style. Valerie decided to throw a stone at Anthony to get him off, unfortunately for me she missed him and hit me straight in the mouth and broke one of my front teeth. My mum was horrified and furious when she saw me, but not as much as I was when I looked into a mirror and saw the damage she had caused to my chances of getting a girlfriend. To make matters worse the dentist could not see me for a week so I took lots of stick from my school chums at Hockley.

Martin had a Silver and White "Claude Butler" racing bike and I had my Rayleigh road bike. We use to do races all over Hullbridge. Our favourite was from the Ted's shop down Ferry Road and along Pooles Lane to Brandy Hole and back. This was because there was very few cars on the road and therefore we could take the corners quickly. My bike had 5 gears whilst Martin had 12 and he was a well built lad so he often won our races, until ! I used my earnings from the paper round and by selling to him my train set, I managed to buy my Red "Sun" racing bike and I started to beat him. Such Joy!

Ted finally tired of having a grocers shop and converted it to a Fish and Chip Shop which he eventually sold and moved to New Zealand with his family.

Pellings Furniture, 135, Ferry Road

Next to Ted's shop was "Pellings" furniture shop. Mr Pelling who lived in Pooles Lane purchased it and built the current structure at one point he had a single petrol pump outside the shop but he never seemed to get much business and so he shut it down. Over the years the shop has been many things, too many to recollect.

Melia's Antique, 139 Ferry Road

This was next door to Pellings Furniture

Next along was

Hullbridge Post Office and Stores, 141, Ferry Road

This initially was a very small room to the left of the building. You walked through the front door and straight in front of you was the Post Office Counter behind which normally stood Beattie a small lady who was often seen in the village on her children's bicycle. She always seemed to enjoy being in the company of the Scouts and Guides and would always greet us with a wonderful smile and "Hello!".

Palmers Stores, 143 Ferry Road

This was a small grocery store

Bijou Hardware store, 145 Ferry Road

Was affectionately known as "ByJoes" amongst villagers. It was a hardware store that villagers used for convenience when needing anything for D.I.Y.

Barclays Bank

Around 1969 part of the building was taken over by Barclays Bank.

Hullbridge Library

When we first moved down to Hullbridge there was no sign of a full time library so we caught an Eastern National No.22 bus which came from down the river or a 22a from the Dome Caravan site along Lower Road and went to Rayleigh's new library. We later found out that Hullbridge had a mobile library that would park at various spots along Ferry Road. It was a long van with doors that opened out on the back and a set of wooden steps where placed down to allow people to climb onboard. Eventually around ? a permanent building was built on the corner of Ambleside Gardens and Ferry Road. It is still there today and provides an invaluable service to the community.

Longs Newsagent's, ?? Ferry Road

Mr Long was a very caring old man that did quite a lot for the Hullbridge youth and villagers. He was a Parish Councilor for quite a number of years. His shop had a glass front with two doors in the middle its wooden counter was situated on the left hand side as you went in and it ran from almost the front to the back. Straight ahead was a door leading to his store room. He sold Walls ice cream so I often went there as mum and dad's favourite was Strawberry splits which were lollies made up of ice cream inside covered by Strawberry ice. I loved the Pineapple splits and came to like the Lime Mivvi's (Lyons Maid). Another favourite was Zoom ice lollies also made by Lyons Maid, which were shaped like a space ship and were made up of three different flavours Lime, Lemon and Strawberry.

When I was 14 I took over the paper round of Anthony Wortley whilst he took over another. I covered the South end of the village whilst he covered the North. My round started at Waxwell then along into Burnham, Hilltop, Crouch Avenue back into Waxwell then into Hillcrest into Oakleigh along Ferry Road into High Elms, South Avenue, Coventry Close (now Kendall Close), Coventry Hill, Lower Road ,Abbey Road, Monksford Drive, The Priories, Abbey Close then home. The majority of the roads at this time were unmade or had a single concrete strip running down the middle with passing bays built along the sides, as is currently in existence in the Drive and High Elms.

My first weekend without Anthony was hell, the weight of all the papers, supplements and magazines meant I had two paper bags crammed full, it was too much for me on my own. For a while I would struggle back home with my bags resting on my bikes crossbar and then I would split the papers into a manageable amount. Why I did not take out one bag at a time is beyond me today! Eventually I built up my strength and I was able do the round non stop.

After a year I took on further responsibility from Anthony and as well as doing my round I also got up at 6:00 to prepare the papers, comics, magazines for delivery. This was done in Mr Long's store room at the back of his shop. The room had shelving all around the edges and a thick old wooden bench/table in the middle upon which I would sort the deliveries using the contents of two delivery books.

Mr Long lived in a semi-detached house in Ferry Road between High Elms and South Avenue.

Wool Shop ?? Ferry Road

The bungalow next to Mr Longs had an entrance down the left side and this led into the front left room that had been converted to a shop selling wool and patterns etc., After some years it was changed to a Bric-a-Brac shop,it was well ahead of its time as Antiques and second hand ornaments etc.,Its bow window was crammed with different second-hand objects which were not so In-Vogue as is today. When the shop no longer sold wool Mrs Wortley started to.

Mayfield sweet shop ?? Ferry Road

We never used the shop a lot because we went to Mr Long's but he shut for the evening around 6 o'clock so the beauty of the Mayfield sweet shop was three fold.
1) Because it had a social club upstairs it stayed open at night,
2) It sold our favourite sweets, for mum it was Raspberry Ruffles, for dad it was a bar of Caramac chocolate for Debra and I it was Merry Maids which where hard toffee covered in milk chocolate.
3) They sold Lyons Maid ice cream (Mivvi's, Zooms, Fabs etc.,).

The shop's entrance was in Mayfield Avenue and the shop itself was a very small box room with the counter stuck in the corner opposite the door. The Ice cream freezer was immediately on your right and the sweets were in glass jars on shelves behind the counter and the chocolate bars etc., was on the front of the counter.

Hullbridge Off licence, 249 Ferry Road

Around 1968 a new parade of 6 shops was built on Ferry Road. These were just past the school on the left side. They were very modern in design with the living accommodation above the shop and each had a balcony. The very first shop was Hullbridge Off licence and was heavily used when the PTA held one of their dances.

Taber Butchers, 251 Ferry Road

The second shop was Taber Butchers. Tony the current owner played football with us for Mr Wilson

Hullbridge Laundrette, 259 Ferry Road

Carter's Greengrocer's, 263 Ferry Road

This shop had its entrance on the right hand side and was identical in style to Townsend's next door except in reverse.

Townsend's Newsagent's 265 Ferry Road

This shop was attached to the Greengrocer's and it was this shop that many of us children visited a lunch times. It was a Newsagent's, Sweet and Toy shop with the entrance door on the left hand side. a

Boat Supplies

Behind the Newsagent's was a yard where boat and caravan supplies where sold

Hullbridge Garage 303, Ferry Road

For many years Hullbridge has had a garage with petrol pumps. The very first one was between the Cycling club and the Anchor Cottages near the river, very handy for the Charabancs that went to the Anchor Inn. A newer one was built on the top of Coventry Hill and is still there today but it has changed many times over the years.

Fords, Pooles Lane

This shop was down the side of a bungalow just past the Rec in Pooles Lane. It was also in front of a Yacht Club. It was a general provisions store that sold Lyons Maid ice creams, which was very handy when we were playing down the Rec.,

Hullbridge's social clubs

The Smugglers Den 315, Ferry Road

The Country Club ?? Pooles Lane

The Country club was owned by Dave Caton who leased it out. It was a bungalow styled building with the living area situated on the left side of the building. Walking through the front door you found yourself standing on a small wooden dance floor with a small stage stuck in the left corner. Tables and chairs were situated around the floor and the bar was at the far right running along the side wall. Hullbridge Cricket and Football players used this as their club house for many years. Sunday lunch times were always very busy as the players the players, supporters and opposition from the Rec went there after the match and they would be joined by players from the team that was playing away. A little grey haired man "Ben" who lived in the nearby caravan site would be serving behind the bar and the players would be recounting the events of the matches. Both Sunday teams were successful so there tended to be lots of happy faces and beer, for us fitness fanatics it was Lemonade and Lime. On Saturday nights the owners of the lease tried to bring in customers by holding Dine and Cabaret evenings and the reports about the Cabaret were pretty mixed but they did manage to attract some big names: Peters and Lee, Roger de Causey. On the wall by the stage would be pinned autographed photos of the acts that had appeared. One night after training we walked into the club to find that Dave had leased the club to Reg and Maureen Peake. They continued in the same vain but introduced a better dinning experience especially when they were helped with the catering by Doug and Rene Tyrell and Barry Weekes on the disco. Another success they introduced were the nibbles on the bar. These were simple fare, Twiglets, Crisps, Peanuts, Cheese etc., The common theme with all of them was Salt ! As if we were not thirsty enough having played football for 90 minutes or more ! However they were very much appreciated. Ben was still working behind the bar and on Wednesday nights after training we all amassed into the club dying from thirst so he tended to get swamped. Some of the more senior players would help out behind the bar and everything was hunky dory. Pooles Lane being very close to the river was always prone to dense fog and I remember dad recalling one Sunday morning over breakfast how, on the way home, with Ellie and Bob taking the lead in their car, Bob being the prankster he was turned right instead of left at the junction of Pooles Lane and Ferry Road. Dad thinking Bob was playing "silly buggers" and he was game for a laugh, followed. When they got near the river they were surprised to see some lights gradually appearing from the river and this was then followed by two bodies dressed in black with white heads. It briefly startled everyone and thoughts went to aliens etc., It turned out to be two motorcyclists dressed in their leathers who had rode straight into the river and were now pushing their bike up the ramp.

Brandy Hole ?? Pooles Lane

Mayfield Club ?? Ferry Road

The Mayfield Club was situated above the Mayfield sweet shop on the corner of Mayfield Ave., and Ferry Road. When the village had more doctors than surgeries this was used temporarily during the day as a surgery.

Anchor Inn 284, Ferry Road

Hullbridge Cycle Club 301, Ferry Road

The Churches

St Thomas's

Free Church

The Yacht Clubs

I never had much time for sailing so I never really took much notice about the Yacht Clubs. When we were playing football at the Rec and the tide was in there would always be a number of yachts sailing on the river and with the help of Bernie Quinn I learnt some of the types of yachts. Mr Maize and Mrs Warren who ran the Greensward sailing club for us children but I never got to join.

The Up River

This was situated next to The Anchor Inn. < /p>

The Hullbridge

This was situated behind the sweet shop in Pooles Lane.

Brandy Hole

This was situated at the far end of Pooles Lane and had its own little pier for mooring alongside.