North Kensington

The Dyett Family all lived in Notting dale on Prince Dale road .At the time I was born the Dyett,s had moved to Abbey House Abbey Road ( now Stonely place )near Avondale Park.. The house was a tenement building of two floors and a basement we lived on the top floor with a gas stove on the landing for cooking. Grandma and her children lived in the basement (my Aunts and Uncles all lived in but I am not sure If Dads older brother William had left home by this time). My father’s eldest sister had married and gone to live in America with her husband, unfortunately she died and their son Alfred Dixon was sent back here to be brought up by grandma. Alfred was about the same age as dad’s youngest brother Tom. I remember them doing lots of things together. The next oldest was Uncle Jim, then Charles Fred Ernest (my dad) and William. The girls were Floss and May.

GYPSY CORNER.

I had had Whooping cough and can remember being dosed up with cod-liver-oil, or Scots emulsion. I was born in 1929 at about 4 years of age Grandma put a down payment on a house in Horn Lane Gipsy Corner. We moved there with my Grand parents, Floss and May had a bedroom also Tom and Dink as Alfred was always called. At that time there were Gypsy’s camped at the corner, the A 40 was open fields all the way to Greenford which was like a village. Trams ran along Horn Lane from the Jubilee clock at Harlesden to Acton High Street. I only got to ride on them if I went with Grandma to Acton. Grandma had an ulcerated left leg if I went with Mum we always walked, especially after my sister was born: 1934.on the 8th of January. At about 4-30 pm, I was taken up to see my new sister in the evening and was very surprised to see a small baby with a mop of bright orange red hair. Several weeks after, she was christened Mary Ruth, at the nearby church in Noël Road. After the christening we had an early tea.

FIRST SCHOOL.

I remember I was told I would have to go to school. I started school at the age of five. The nearest was Acton Wells in School road. I do not remember being very keen, But Tom and Dink went to school so I supposed I would have to go as well. The school was a Montessori system, and I was quickly integrated into the scheme, placing small model animals on the floor and putting letters that spelt out their names in line with them. The teacher sat and played with us placing printed alphabet cards face up while we each had to identify the letter sound it made, then we went on to the double sounds; oo, ou, ao,ow, etc; I also remember the first instances of imagination and exaggeration, or boasting. This was by a small boy who heard us talking about train sets and assured us that he had one that could be laid all around the streets. When it did not materialise I concluded he was lying. The Walls factory was in Horn Lane, in summer the “stop me and buy one “tricycles attracted custom for frozen frosties fruit juice and wafers and cornets. Mum did a lot of her shopping in the Co-op, the Horn Lane shop used to sell butter from a large block I was always fascinated to see the salesman pat the butter into an oblong and wrap it in grease proof paper. Shrimp paste was also sold loose

APPLE FORD ROAD.

Suddenly we moved to North Kensington to Appleford road. I remember Mary being caught with some of grandfathers tiny tomatoes in her hand, but I do not think that this was the cause of our move, family politics was more likely. Dad Mary and I visited Grandma quite often on a Sunday. Mum only visited on High days and Holidays. Dad Mary and I often took a tram to the Jubilee Clock Harlesden, then another tram to Horn Lane.

MIDDLE ROAD SCHOOL.

I joined Middle Row School in the infant’s class. My teacher was a Miss Clark. We attended assembly every morning, and our marching in and out accompanied by classical music. Mainly Elgar, played on a large windup gramophone with a large green horn. Rather like the one Grandma used to have. I remember we had to learn our tables, and to write copying out printed words (not joined up writing at that stage). Mum noticed that I was not keen on school on Fridays. The reason was I was excluded from the singing class, and spent the afternoon in the art room. I did do very well with art lessons, but my singing took a long while to catch up. I was designated a growler, I SANG OUT OF TUNE. Or so they thought. I moved into junior school, and walked to school with cousins Stan & Joan Welch. Stanley was built like a little tank Joan and I were of the same age Stan was about 2years older. North Kensington was a rough area. Stan knew that if he got involved in a fight Harry his father would take a belt to him. In consequence he would take one big punch at any assailant and ran. Middle Row School was a tough environment; small gangs of boys tried to a assert their authority. I quickly learned that if I was prepared to fight the group or gang would usually back off. Miss Rulestum was my teacher in the junior school. Here main job was to teach £-s-d .and mathematics.

TEACHERS.& THE LOVESY

The class was under strict supervision which was not surprising as Miss Rulestrum had a class of close on 40 children. The difficult ones were always sat near the front. Miss Rulestrum was a good teacher and certainly knew how to keep the class in order. My next teacher was Mr Chiltern He had black wavy hair and a cheroot pipe sports coat and flannel trousers. He spent a lot of his spare time setting up aquariums and tadpole tanks. In the summer holidays we took home the tadpoles or baby frogs, and watched them until they jumped out of their jam jar or were let free in the garden to fend for themselves Every day we walked down Appleford Road and Southern row to School; passing Davises factory, where big men shovelled coal and coke into huge furnaces which drove their dying and cleaning work. We rather fancied a job like that. The pub opposite did its best to quench their thirst. The works was right opposite where Uncle Fred Lovesy kept his horse and cart I think he did various odd jobs with it, but in the evening it accompanied him to the Foresters Alms where he played his mouth organ until being invited in. Having had a good evening he would struggle out to the cart, or be helped up by his friends who would then give the horse a slap to take him home. I think he sometime slept on the cart all night. Fred lived in Wornington road (do not remember the number) with Edwin and Aunt Liz, and Great Grandma Lovesy, also an Aunt Tinder. All Mums family came from Wornington Road Her Father was killed in the First World War while they were living at number 212. He died at Arles France. He was William Bosley

THE LANE

Mum used to Meet Grandma Cotton and her sisters on a Saturday afternoon and go down the Lane (Portobello Rd) Emily Lotty. Rose. And occasionally Elizabeth (Lizzy). They perused the market from the rag-end as far as Woolworths or the far end of the fruit and vegetable market. In the summer they had ice cream, but I also remember some really rotten rainy days, with umbrellas and water running in the gutters.

At the time we lived in Appleford Road money was very tight, we were well looked after but I think my mother went with out a few meals, I remember that if I asked why she was not sitting down with us she would say” I have already had mine”. Being a child I did not question this but I do remember it. I also remember one Christmas when she nipped up the road to numbers 12 and 17 to wish her sisters well and came back but passed out on the kitchen floor. I ran down stair to the Welsh lady Mrs Nivocent for help, and I remember dad cooked the meal while mum recovered on the bed. Dad worked long hours, he managed to get a job in the Town Hall with the assistance of Uncle Bob, Mums step Father.
My Mother said one night after we were asleep. She sat knitting when she heard a noise on the stairs. The footsteps slowly climbed the stairs finally the door opened and an old lady stared vacantly into the room; she had come into the wrong house. At Christmas I can remember going out with mum after dark to get the shopping. Golbourne Road was all lit with stall holder’s hurricane lamps; at the last minutes joints of meat were a bit cheaper. Near Christmas there was generally a visit to the Cobden Club in Kensal Rd for a pantomime the party and pantomime lasted all the afternoon.

HARD TIMES.

On one corner of Appleford Rd was a small bakers, opposite was Mary’s Green grocers, Mary was always dressed in black leathers trousers and apron, had terrible teeth and a screechy cockney voice. At the other end of the Street was the Drs surgery. Dr Ross was very young and his hair was ginger and he was a Scot, he grew a beard to make himself look older or appear more experienced. There was no National Health Service at this time; so each consultation cost 5/- being a large amount of money for most of his patients, most of who would have been unemployed anyway. I mean by this that there was little employment and no chance of getting work. My Father hung onto a job at the Town Hall it was long hours and little money. I was given the key of the door, Mary was fostered out and Mum got a cleaning job, picking up Mary on her way home. I do not remember if I played on the streets or if I sat alone in doors. This must have been the lowest time in our family life Mum had to sell the piano, I remember it was walnut wood and had two brass candelabra attached to the front either side of the music support .At one time I was going to learn the piano with Aunt Lizz; I did not fancy her bossing me about, she did that enough as it was, so I said no. perhaps I was wrong to turn down the offer .I later learned to play the organ, a two keyboard Yamaha. I also have an interest in selected pieces of classical music.

J.LYONS. & A.R.P.

Mum was always knitting, we both went to school in hand knitted jumpers, Mum kept the sowing machine she made a lot of Mary’s clothes and made or adjusted a lot of her own. After a while Mum could not stand the attitude of her employer, and managed to get a job at J. Lyons and Co. at Cadby Hall. Soon there were rumours of war Dad joined the ARP (air raid precautions)
He and Uncle Harry set about making the basement of one of the tenement houses into an aircraft shelter. It was fitted up with extra beams and strengthened ceilings, this must have been about the time of Mr Chamberlains return from Munich

OCTAVIA HOUSE.

Although the Kensington Borough Council did little for the plight of people living in accommodation in the north of the borough they were beginning to pay attention to the problems of overcrowding and children of opposite sexes sleeping in the same room. Shortly after this we moved to 45 Octavia House, where Mary and I had your own bedrooms, and we had a front room. The flat was attached to the other shop which the council could not fill with an appropriate tenant.

The flat was a trifle dark and had a long passage, because of the shop. I had a cricket bat with spliced handle and was indorsed by the cricketing hero Jack Hobs. On going into the street with bat and ball I was soon surrounded by keen players. We played in the culd de sac at the end of South Row, which was fairly safe from traffic except for the Arts and General removal vans

THE FORESTERS ALMS.

On the corner of West Row was the Foresters Alms, a gymnasium above the pub catered for the local boxers and wrestlers Sullivan who won an Olympic medal also Ken Richmond who banged the gong at the beginning of the J Arthur Rank Films and was also a very good catchers catch can wrestler, he also trained and did exhibition bouts for the Kensington Men’s Institute which were established in the school in Warnington Road. But this happened after the war
At Octavia House I ran into some of the costermonger families mainly the Spencer’s one of the sons was my age he was always into schemes for making cash, like collecting old boxes in the market chopping them up in a disused shed and selling for two pence a bundle for fire wood. I also remember on a cold winter’s day clearing snow from the paths and foot paths of bigger houses on the St Quinton’s estate.

BRIMPTON.

After war was declared we had a brief evacuation to Brimpton a small village near Aldermaston, Auntie Emm and Stan and Joan went with us. We were installed in the chauffeur’s cottage on an estate. The cottage was primitive, cooking and lighting was by oil lamp, the kettle was boiled on a primus stove, Mum never got used to it and was scared of it exploding. Mean while we got used to the new village smells ie, the village shop the pigsty’s cattle in the fields rabbits, hedge hogs The village school was only a short walk away and we were soon installed there, it had one black stove in each class room that to warm the school in winter. We played in a crop of willows which were to be used for basket making. We were severely reprimanded. The lady of the big house had a crop of lavender that we rubbed to separate from its stems, it took all one afternoon.

THE PHONEY WAR.

A day trip to Newberry Common produced enough blackberries to make jam .There were also long walks to Mitcham station to meet Dad or Uncle Harry if they came down for the weekend. Soon Mum was dissatisfied with the state of affairs and wanted to go back to London. (There had been no bombs up to that time).

Back in London we did half days at school) to try to keep up with our school work. Eventually the government decided that London would definitely be bombed and offered a last chance of evacuation of children. So we were packed up with small cases each and our gas- masks and sent off into the unknown. We departed from the school early in the morning and eventually arrived in Cornwall in the evening.

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