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West Silvertown Online

Times Past

 

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From Far and Wide

This site was commissioned primarily as a source of information for the present residents of West Silvertown. But we soon discovered that many of our visitors live elsewhere - often on the far side of the world - and from contacts made with us we know that the site was attracting former residents of the area using the magic of the Internet to return to their roots to see what the area is like now.

From these former residents we hear that in years past there was a close knit and vibrant community remembered by those who lived there with great affection. One of our contributors, Stan Dyson, who now lives in Essex, expressed very well his feelings when he told us:

"Without a shadow of doubt my quality of life and financial position are far in excess of what I could ever have imagined back in those 1950's schoolboy days. Yet, if it were at all possible would I choose to go back to the Silvertown slums, those poor utility days and live it all again, not changing a single thing? You bet I would!”

Or as another contributor, Keith Lloyd, says:

The West Silvertown School and streets as we knew them, were demolished in 1960 ending a period of community closeness that would be difficult to emulate in today's world.

Or Albert Hodkinson who until 1939 lived in Silvertown:

"Therefore, with my house located where it was, I could look out of the side window, and had the choice of seeing either the well laid out flower gardens [of Silvertown Park], with the many trees in abundance, or gaze further over, to a huge ship of the Pacific and Orient Line, with passengers aboard, waiting to sail the seven seas. Oh my! How many times in my imagination, did I sail with them, to the far away places of the British Empire".

These former residents have contributed a collection of pictures and written material which we are delighted to share with the present residents of West Silvertown and other visitors to this site:-

  • Stan's Gallery - a collection of photographs in years past along with "Silvertown Life - a boy’s story" - a fascinating and humourous account of Stan’s life in West Silvertown from his birth in 1945 until he moved to Basildon in 1964.
  • Journeys in my time - a collection of short stories written by Keith Lloyd who now lives in Ilford
  • Albert's Page - Albert's book Memories of Different Happenings in World War II is a touching account of the life of an airman in World War II which cannot help but move the reader as Albert takes a trip down memory lane into the world of the 1940s. There's also a short story Stealing an Egg about a family incident in 1931.
  • Ken's Poems - Ken Smith wanted to make a record of his life in the East End, largely for the benefit of his grandchildren, and although he set about writing his story somehow it seemed easier to express it in verse. So we publish here a collection of his poems.Ken, too, has moved out of the East End and he now lives in Grays Essex. But he still has fond memories of of his childhood years in the East End

If you'd like to make contact with Stan, Keith, Ken or Albert, or to contribute material yourself, please contact the Webmaster - see our Contact Page

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Internet Links

For those with a keen interest in local history Newham Council runs a very active Newham History Message Board which is well worth a visit as is the website History of Stratford, West Ham, Canning Town, Silvertown etc & lots of historical London Pubs

Also well worth a visit is the Hidden Histories website run by Eastside Community Heritage which aims to document the lives of 'ordinary' people from and who live in East London. They now hold over 1000 oral histories, thousands of photographs and video material, all preserved and archived for public benefit. By way of example they have the transcript of an interview with Bill Dunlop who has lived in Silvertown for decades and, indeed, represented its people as one of the local councillors for many years. He is still active in local affairs not least as the Deputy Chairman of the London City Airport Consultative Committee. You can see the transcript by clicking here

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Page last modified: 6th October 2008

On this Page -
Links to material contributed by former residents of West Silvertown

Related Pages:
* Stan's Gallery
* Journeys in my time
* Albert's Page
 
West Silvertown Village Community Foundation
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