AN ORDINARY MAN - LETTER TO FAMILY - EARLY LIFE IN CAMBERWELL AND BEYOND

Written in his own hand in a letter to his cousin Ann’s daughter Janet on 27.8.2004, a month before his 84th Birthday and transcribed faithfully by me Linda on 29.4.2012. Ann was a little older than Dad and her family were trying to stimulate her memory as she fought against the onset of dementia.

27/8/2004
Memoirs of L. H. Wigzell

Dear Janet and Alan,

I remember that after the 1st World War my Grandparents rented a house No 286 in Rolls Road, Camberwell this was approx. in the middle of a long row of houses. I lived in it with them and my Mum and Dad and my sister Ann, also with your Grandparents (my Aunt Liz and Uncle Jack) and your Mum and your Uncle Arthur.

It was a big house with a small front garden, and a large back garden about as big as the one you had in Elfrida Crescent, and I’ll draw you a plan of it. My Grandad grew white or green grapes in the back garden. The vine went across the end of the garden then half the length of the long side. The dustbin was located beneath the vine and one day your Uncle Arthur set light to the waste in the dustbin which in turn burnt the grape vine. As Grandad used to make wine and jelly with the thousands of small grapes he wasn’t very pleased, but he cheered up the next season when he didn’t get so many grapes, but they were big ones!!

On the other side of the garden were first a work shed then a small greenhouse (more grapes), a chicken roost and a chicken run, then another shed, and at one time I had a dove in the chicken run amongst the chicks.

There were usually plenty of flowers, and a tall Elderberry Tree at the end of the garden. The only toilet was recessed in the end of the building facing the grapevine.

I seem to remember we had a dog then which I think was an Airedale which had short curly brown and black fur and had longish legs. I don’t think you see many of that breed these days.

A little old lady named Mrs Mills lived next door in 284, and above her lived an elderly couple, and one day the man cut down almost to the ground the lovely black grape vine that grew along the side of her house facing ours, and we used to get some lovely black grapes that got blown over our garden. After the vine was cut down it bled and the path was covered in water or juice as though it had rained.

Next door on the other side of us in 288 lived the Woolards and they had 2 children, Florrie and Freddie, and he raised chicks from eggs in incubators. Very interesting. Incidentally us kids were all a bit scared of Mrs Mills for some reason.

We Wigzells eventually moved to Maisemore Street, Peckham and then to Marlborough Grove, off the Old Kent Road, but as that was right next to the Railway Marshalling yard which got bombed regularly I emigrated to India, and then to Burma for 2 and a half years to get out of the way!!

Of course I had been called up and was serving with the Royal Air Force at the time. Your Dad (Harry Shipp married to Ann, Dad’s cousin) went into the Army and served in Sicily and Italy. History will show that the turning point in the War in our favour came when the Japs and Germans (Hitler) realised that your Dad and I was in it, so they gave up.

By the way, when your Mum was a young lady, she was quite thin and my Dad named her ‘SKIN’.

Well Janet, my little old brain is a bit tired now so I’ll come to a close now and draw a plan of the garden tomorrow. I hope this helpful to you and your Mum, and helps her to remember old times. Give her my love and I hope she feels better.

Lots of Love from
Louxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He attached a beautiful hand-drawn pencil sketch of the House and Garden at Rolls Road showing the positions of the sheds, the grapes and the flowerbeds. Lets hope our memories are that good at his age!