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VE Day Celebrations Angles Road May 1945

5/5/2020

5 Comments

 
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VE Day celebrations 8 May 1945
Alfred Chapman now 80 years old and lived at 29 Angles Road for 60 years shares his photos. His mother organised the party which was outside 38/40 Angles Road

Can anyone fill in the gaps of the missing names?

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Alfred was born in December 1939, and has no memories of his Father until after the the war:
World War Two started in September 1939, I was born in the upstairs flat at 29 Angles Road in December 1939, I don’t remember ever seeing my father until after the War, he had been in the army fighting in Europe.

I lived with my mother and two sisters, who were older than me. My sisters were evacuated to Devon, and must have stayed there for most of the rest of the War.
My mother and me were evacuated to Leeds.

I can vaguely remember going to Leeds, and living with the family, one of the girls worked on the trams, and I remember travelling with her, and jumping off the tram in the centre of Leeds, when she was holding me in her arms.

My first day at school was in Leeds, I was told that when my mother left me I screamed the place down, and could be heard way up the road.
When I went back to Angles Road, and started schooling at the nearby Sunnyhill Road School, it must have been the first day at school for the rest of the class, I just sat back and watched them all screaming.

Before my mother and I were evacuated, I remember her having to decide where we were going stay the night. There were air raid shelters in the back gardens, sunk down into the ground, and covered over with soil, sometimes we would share with neighbours, but these shelters were small and damp, and often filled with water. There were deep under ground shelters off Streatham High Road, but you had to get to them early, or they filled up, and they would not let any more people in. I also remember staying the nights in the cellars below the Streatham Odeon Cinema.

Some times we would take a chance, and stay the night under the main staircase in our house, there you could hear the air raid sirens telling you a raid was coming and when there was an all clear. You could hear the buzz bombs coming, listen for the noise of the buzz bomb to stop, then listened for the explosion, when the buzz bomb crashed, and were then glad it did not crash on you.
I must have been frightened to death.

I remember going to see the damage a recently reported V1 rocket had caused to houses in Oakdale Road Streatham, a few streets away from us. You could see all the insides of houses and people’s furniture, where they had been living the day before.

There was a lot of bomb damage in the area. After the War there were lots of areas for children to play, and make camps. These areas can now be seen at the bottom of Angles Road, Farm Avenue, and Sunnyhill Road, where all the new Council Houses were built in 1953.
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After all of this, my mother organised a VE Day Street Party 1945, and my father came home.
With thanks to Alfred for sharing his memories with us. ( Published by Wandsworth Heritage Services)
5 Comments
Elaine Lindstrom
15/2/2021 08:19:46 am

Hi, I'm trying to find information on my dad's family. His name was John Edward Smith born 1934. He lived at 13 Angles Road Stretham. I see there is a John Smith (numbered 28) shown in the photograph of the VE celebrations street party 1945 and am wondering if this is my dad? I'm guessing he went to Sunnyhill primary school.
I know he had a sister named Joan Pauline and a brother named Antony Brian. His sister married a man named Charlie Stevens and as far as I'm aware they had 2 children, the daughter is called Pauline.
I would love to hear from anyone that may have known my dad's family.
Thank you in anticipation.

Elaine Lindstrom

Reply
Mark Bery
15/2/2021 08:39:34 am

Elaine
I can put you in touch Alfred who sent me the pictures. Can you send me your email address to [email protected] and I will see if Alfred can help you?

Reply
Elaine Lindstrom
15/2/2021 10:03:24 am

[email protected]

Sorry, I forgot to add it in my eagerness


Elaine Lindstrom

Reply
Elaine
15/2/2021 10:01:11 am

Thank you so much for such a quick response Mark

I'm very happy for my email to be shared with Alfred or anyone else.

Elaine

Reply
Mark Bery
15/2/2021 10:42:47 am

Elaine
I have sent a message to Alfred with your email address

Good luck

Reply



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    Author

    Mark Bery, Secretary Streatham Society

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