Dave,
I think you will find that it was Jill Gardner. Her parents moved to Bournemouth when Mr Gardner retired. I actually have the concrete lawn roller which was theirs...as an garden ornament in my garden here in Richmond, N. Yorks. It had made its way over the fence before they left...and when I sold No 18 for Mary, I took it as a keepsake!
I had often remarked that I wondered if the reason why I could never find the St Alban's Rd rocket on any documents was because it had instead been a Gas explosion. I think the authorities would have wanted to keep it quiet and let people believe it was a rocket.
When Owen's photo was taken in 1960, I was only just one year old!
Across the road from No 18 was No1, which when I lived at No 14 in the 1960s was a Doctors house, possibly a surgery as well. Before I sold No 18 for Mary, a guy (living at I think No 3,which had been turned into maisonette flats - he had lived there for many years) told me he had photos his father had taken at the time of the bombing and promised to show me them....but sadly I never got to see them. He was still living there around 10 years ago.
I was aware of another family possibly at No 26 or 28 - The Browns - I used to call there as they had a key so I could let myself in to No 16 if my Aunt was not in at the time I called.
I have a photo of the original No 16 before the bombing. I will post it later.
I also used to have piano lessons at Mrs Dalton's House - No4 St Albans. That house was untouched by the bombing, so I saw what the original houses looked like. My other musical memories of St Albans is the fact that I recall there was someone who used to get a group together playing guitars/drums in one of the houses heading in your direction. I used to think it was great. Do you know anything about it? I'm sure it irritated the older neighbours nearby!
Mary may have come across as shy....but she became a Nurse after the bombing, then trained as a Midwife and later as an area Health Visitor despite her own injuries. Most hospitals initially rejected her attempts to join to train as a nurse as they were concerned she would not have the strength in her badly damaged arm to perform her role.
Southend Hospital took her just when it seemed she would never be accepted. As late as the 1970's Mary was regularly having to have minor operations to remove splinters of wood and glass which worked their way to the surface of her skin...on her back, legs,face, head and arms. There was no safety glass in the 1940's.
She visited patients in their homes in Dagenham and Becontree and she fought tooth and nail outside of her work hours to get people help with shoes and other basics. She was something of a workaholic because she could not let go of her patients needs and problems. Eventually, she suffered a breakdown and was hospitalised for a while and then retired early.
I can remember walking with her in Seven Kings and Ilford a couple of times and her suddenly being accosted by an ex-patient who recognised her from her nursing years and felt the urge to thank her for all the extras she used to do for them.
Even in retirement she nursed her mother who had dementia right up until she died and through her involvement in the church spent hours visiting and sitting with housebound parishioners. A lot of people might have given up and looked after themselves first...but then after the war a lot of people had the view that no matter what their own problems were, there was always someone much worse.
She is currently in a Nursing Home in North Yorkshire. She has had dementia for the past decade and she is terribly arthritic, unable to stand or walk for the past six years, reliant on help for everything. Despite the dementia she is cheerful. It is ironic, but the dementia has relieved her of a lot of the thoughts that fed her depression.
Co-incidentally, my youngest son has just started up in business with a friend who lost both his legs in an explosion in Iraq - where he worked in bomb disposal....and down the road in Catterick, they are completing the last phase of a rehabilitation centre for wounded personnel. I can remember growing up in Seven Kings and seeing from time-to-time, ex-servicemen with various disabilities going about their business. All these years later I am seeing a new generation in a similar situation.
You don't indicate if you still live in the Seven Kings area. If you wish to get in touch with more privacy feel free to contact me: (*)
Either way, thanks for your contact.
Martin
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