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Redbridge Museum will open a new permanent exhibition later this year exploring 200,000 years of local history. In the second of a series of articles, Museum Officer Nishat Alam looks at some of the items on show

If you’re a resident of Woodford, you are very likely to have come across this statue before. It’s of one of the most well-known figures in British history, Winston Churchill, who served twice as Prime Minister as well as the Member of Parliament for Woodford. The photo was taken by Fred James, who lived in Woodford Wells from 1948 to 1975. It is now held in the collections at Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre, where a refreshed display about Churchill is currently in the making.

Churchill remains one of Britain’s longest-serving politicians to this day. He started his political career as a Conservative MP in 1901, but was a controversial figure from the start, disagreeing with many government policies and defecting to the Liberal Party in 1904. He re-joined the Conservatives 20 years later, standing successfully as MP for Epping, which at that time covered the areas of Wanstead and Woodford. Churchill served Epping from 1924 to 1945, and when Woodford was made its own constituency, he held the seat until he retired in 1964.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty and in 1940 became Prime Minister, leading the Allied forces to victory. His famous wartime speeches and military skill made him a national hero.

Victory in Europe was declared on 8 May 1945 and Churchill was the guest of honour at Wanstead and Woodford’s official victory celebrations the following year on 1 June 1946. Photographs of the event, held at Redbridge Heritage Centre, show him inspecting a Guard of Honour and addressing the crowd as he opened the gala on Woodford Green.

Churchill was voted out in the 1945 general election. Many voters didn’t think he could match Labour’s promises of post-war reform. But he was back in government in 1951 and remained so until 1955 when he retired as Prime Minister due to ill health. He continued to serve as MP for Woodford and attended local public engagements. In 1959, the statue of Churchill was unveiled on Woodford Green in recognition of his wartime service.

Churchill was well-known for his controversial views, often informed by his imperialist politics. Many of the statements he made about nations that had been colonised by the British are today considered racist, but were not necessarily unique in opinion at the time. Following the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in June 2020, the statue was vandalised in protest of these statements.

Redbridge Museum’s display about Churchill hopes to explore his role as a leader as well as varying public opinion about him.

Redbridge Museum is located on Clements Road, Ilford. Visit swvg.co.uk/rm

To complete a survey on what else should go on display, visit swvg.co.uk/rms

Woodford House Dental Practice will host a Platinum Jubilee charity coffee morning on 27 May (11am to 2.30pm; 162 High Road) to raise funds and awareness for Haven House Children’s Hospice and the Stroke Association.

“Enjoy a free cuppa and live music from Natural Voices Choir, who will be singing uplifting pop, soul, jazz and anthems. A variety of cakes will be on sale, and some fantastic raffle prizes are up for grabs,” said a spokesperson.

The event will also highlight the links between oral health and stroke risk.

RideLondon, an annual cycling event, will pass through Redbridge on 29 May.

Crowd zones will be set up along the route in partnership with local community groups so spectators can view the race and cheer on participants. There will be some road closures in the west of the borough, including Hollybush Hill and Woodford Road. Roads adjoining the event route will have local access only for residents and businesses.

Visit swvg.co.uk/ride22

Residents are invited to take part in Whipps Cross Voices, a community history project about Whipps Cross Hospital.

“We want to capture stories about the hospital from staff and patients, past and present, and preserve them as a historical resource for the future… You may be interested in recording your own memories, working in the archives with our existing collections, or helping us to curate the stories for displays online and at Whipps Cross,” said a spokesperson for Barts Health Archives.

Visit swvg.co.uk/wcvoices

Some South Woodford scribbles from DD, our resident diarist, commentator and observer of all things local

Dear readers, something different this issue. Twenty years ago, after much urging, my mother recorded her life story. I think that nothing could be more appropriate to share with you in these extraordinary times than this first part of her account…

In July 1909, I was born in Romford, Essex, the first child of my parents, who were both 21 years of age. I was christened Beryl Joy. My brother Hugh was born in 1910.

My earliest recollection was going on holiday to Great Yarmouth. My father’s business was concerned with bookstalls on railway stations and he had a free pass on the LNER, the London North Eastern Railway, which was a consideration as we had little money. The main attractions for us children were the Punch and Judy show and a phrenologist, who had a roped-off area and read the ‘bumps’ on people’s heads for sixpence. We sat on the sand and listened. The other fascination was a man who etched lovely designs on the beach, such as the Houses of Parliament or the royal family, and was rewarded with pennies in his cap by onlookers. He used the firm, flat sand left by the receding tide, which went out a very long way, but of course, his work was washed away when the tide came in again.

We moved to Leytonstone in 1913. I was anxious to see the new house, rented. It was a corner house with a front and back-gate entrance. Next day, I glued myself to the front-room window. I watched the children going to school and wished I was with them. The ‘rag and bone man’ with his barrow called on Saturday. He cried out and the children brought rags and old clothes and a jam jar filled with water, and were rewarded with a goldfish. A rabbit skin produced threepence. Plenty of people kept rabbits for extra meat. (Years later, I had a beautiful collar made out of a rabbit skin.) Another special person was the lamplighter, who came every evening on his bicycle with a long pole on his left shoulder. He lit the street lights, fitted with gas mantels. On Sunday, the muffin man came, ringing an enormous bell, selling his muffins for Sunday tea. These were all highlights for me.

There was no gas or electricity upstairs. The bedrooms were so cold! In the kitchen, there was a stove with oven at the side. In this oven, three bricks were placed every day, and at bedtime, these were wrapped in old flannel and carried up by us to keep our feet warm in bed. We also carried a lighted candle. I often wonder how we didn’t set the house on fire.

At last, the day came for me to go to school. Very eager. No tears! And I was introduced to my teacher, Miss Calder. I was happy. We had coal fires in the classroom, which often went out, and lessons were interrupted when the caretaker was called, which often took a long time. At six years I moved on to Miss Preston. I really liked her. I confided in her one morning that I had a new baby sister, Ruby, and she replied: “You would like to make something for her,” and suggested a bonnet. So, I had my first introduction to knitting, which I found easy. The teacher provided the wool and ribbon strings, and it was duly presented.

What did children do to amuse themselves? In the street, it was hopscotch, conkers, skipping ropes, bowling wooden hoops, or, if your family was more affluent, a wooden scooter. The owner of a scooter allowed you to have a ride occasionally. Indoors, especially at weekends or on wet days, we played Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Happy Families and my favourite game, Up Jenkins. And, of course, cards. We children played several card games by seven or even six years old.

At seven, my mother decided I would do better at Kirkdale School. This was across the main Leytonstone High Road and it was thought I could manage this alone. It wasn’t crowded with traffic like it is now. The headmistress of Kirkdale was very elegant and looked like Queen Mary, wore a toque and carried a long umbrella. All the children at Kirkdale were taught to speak beautifully. One afternoon, we were to go for a nature ramble in the forest. It was discovered I had no hat. I had to report to the headmistress. No Kirkdale girl was allowed in the street in a ‘crocodile’ without one. I was allowed to accompany them, minus a hat, but with a warning.

Then, war with Germany was declared. I remember the noise of the guns, the air raids, getting up in the middle of the night when the sirens went. In 1917, my father had to join the forces and went off to France. My mother returned to her teaching and her young sister, Nora, came to look after us. I suppose she wasn’t more than 15, the eighth or possibly ninth child in the family. I now had another sister, Audrey, aged six months. Food was in very short supply: meat, fresh fruit, vegetables. We all suffered from a lack of vitamins. In 1918, there was a terrible outbreak of Spanish flu. My mother, who had been teaching on supply, had often to walk long distances to schools in bad weather (no cars in those days!) and she caught the flu and then double pneumonia, and died. She was 31. At the time, to be frank, it seemed quite normal. I wasn’t amazed. The lady next door had died and the daughter of the man in the off-licence and several children in my class at school. The enormity of what had happened hit me later.

I was nine years old, Hugh was eight, Ruby, four and Audrey, 18 months. My father was in France, not able to get home for the funeral.

What was my future?

To contact DD about the conclusion to her mother’s story, email dd@swvg.co.uk

The six Labour Party candidates across South Woodford and Churchfields wards have all been elected as councillors, with Labour holding overall control of Redbridge Council.

In South Woodford ward, Beverley Brewer held her seat with an increased majority, and is joined by new councillors Joe Hehir and Saiqa Qayum Hussain.

In Churchfields ward, Rosa Gomez also held her seat with an increased majority, and is joined by new councillors Guy Williams and Lloyd Duddridge.

Both wards were among the highest voter turnout in the borough, with Churchfields seeing 45.66% of voters take part and South Woodford seeing 43.48%, compared to a borough average of 33.73%.

Click here to see the full breakdown of votes across Redbridge.

Redbridge Council has commissioned Jan Kattein Architects to deliver an art audio trail that celebrates the high streets in Wanstead, Woodford and South Woodford. Felicity Barbur reports

We want to hear your local high street stories! Our Walk Local Talk Local project – which will see the creation of three temporary public art audio trails – is being funded by the European Regional Development Welcome Back Fund and hopes to encourage people back into the town centres over the next six months.

A sense of belonging is intrinsically linked to the stories people associate with the place where they live. High streets are full of stories of growing up and meeting family and friends; stories of a first job, stories of social interactions and of experiencing the physical transformation of the places we live.

Walk Local Talk Local aims to reconnect people with the borough’s high streets after two years of unprecedented disruption through narratives that are set in the past, present and future. Three art trails (Woodford to Wanstead, Gants Hill to Hainault and Ilford Lane to Chadwell Heath) will combine physical, temporary on-site artwork interventions with a digital audio experience. Together, the combination of a rich audio archive with a sequence of physical ‘gateways’ will reveal stories about the area’s hidden history, explore the deeply personal memories embedded in these streets, and capture some of the energy and imagination that will drive their future.

The Woodford to Wanstead trail launched at the end of April, and will be added to over the coming months. Each art trail will stitch together multiple public spaces and the people who have lived within them across time, drawing from local contributors to give the specific narratives that define places pinpointed on the trails. At first, people tuning in will hear again from each other whilst slowly hearing the stories of what happened locally pre-COVID, the stories of what is happening locally now and what will happen locally in the future. This will be a first of its kind to showcase how people simplify and map a city’s urbanism through spatially engaging events, social phenomena and transient activity. None of which are directly visible on geospatial maps, but in the context of Redbridge’s public spaces is plentiful and is worth revealing.

We are devising the art trails through conversations with local people. We are either recording informal conversations or receiving voice notes of pre-recorded stories we can then translate into a series of anonymous anecdotal podcasts that will be accessed through physical artwork QR codes along the trail. If you are interested in contributing a story or two about your experiences and memories of Woodford, we want to hear from you as soon as possible.

For more information and to take part in the project, visit walklocaltalklocal.com or call 07943 060 481

Woodford Pantomime will be returning to the Hawkey Hall in January 2023.

The long-running amateur dramatics company were originally planning to stage Aladdin, but in order to avoid a clash with the Kenneth More Theatre, the group are now preparing for a production of Cinderella.

“It was with a heavy heart that we had to postpone our 60th Woodford Pantomime for the last two years. But fear not, the show will go on. Oh yes, it will!” said a spokesperson. Tickets go on sale in September.

Visit swvg.co.uk/wpanto

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign, the South Woodford Society’s Greening South Woodford project is now underway, which will see new sites such as Eastwood Green given a green makeover. Louise Burgess reports. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

South Woodford residents and local businesses kindly and generously donated to our recent Greening South Woodford crowdfunding project, hosted on Spacehive, to improve the green areas of South Woodford. The money donated was match-funded by Redbridge Council and thus took the total raised to over £7,000!

The Society has recently adopted another two sites: Eastwood Green (pictured here) by the corner of Eastwood Road, adjacent to the George Lane roundabout, and Bell Green, opposite the Railway Bell pub, just outside the Tube station. Some work has already been carried out, and these areas will be refurbished over the next few months with new plants, benches and signage to make the areas more usable and attractive.

Diverse planting to encourage biodiversity, bug hotels and native, insect-friendly plants will bring more wildlife into the area. Planting more greenery will help to reduce pollution and we hope it will encourage residents to linger in these green spaces. The areas will also feature some small spaces for play and learning about the wildlife and plants.

Meanwhile, the community orchard alongside the flyover on Mulberry Way and Primrose Road now has its full complement of fruit trees, with the long-awaited mulberry tree planted in March. The Qurani Murkuz Trust donated an olive tree, which was also planted on the same day by a number of volunteers who came together to help plant the new trees, prune the existing apple and cherry trees and cut down the cages around the trees to allow for growth and airflow.

Over the next few months, we intend to purchase and install a storage facility on the orchard site, hopefully, to include a green roof. The storage facility is urgently required to allow for the secure storage of tools and litter-picking equipment. We are also starting discussions with the council to allow us to install a rainwater harvesting system by diverting rainwater flowing along the viaduct; this will help to keep the plants and trees watered in these important early growing phases.

There is one more thing we need: help, to bring these plans to reality. We have the funding for the purchase of plants, the storage container and heavy landscaping, but would really appreciate some additional assistance!

We already have some wonderful, enthusiastic volunteers, but if there is anyone out there who has some expertise they could bring to the party, particularly in relation to the plans outlined above, that would be great. We would also love to provide the opportunity for anyone who may be concerned about their mental health, who would like to get out in the fresh air for a bit of exercise, or who are new to the area and would like to meet some like-minded people. The smallest amount of time can make all the difference, and everyone is welcome!

For more information and to get involved with the Greening South Woodford project, email e18society@gmail.com

Rena Pathak outlines plans for a South Woodford Platinum Jubilee event this June to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, and invites the community to get involved

In this Platinum Jubilee year, the country will celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s 70th year as its monarch. On the first weekend of June, we’ll all enjoy an extended Bank Holiday Weekend to celebrate this very special event. Across the nation, communities will come together, hopefully under a baking sun, to attend street parties and celebration events.

Here in South Woodford, we will also be doing our bit to celebrate, and we are looking forward to the community getting together at our Platinum Jubilee Market in June. Many of you will be familiar with our regular street market (which is held on the third Sunday of every month) offering a wide range of stalls with gifts, artisan products and world cuisine. As the South Woodford Society, we are always planning community engagement, and part of this big idea is to hold two large events each year, one in summer and one in winter. Combining these community events with the market makes great sense.

Many of you will have fond memories of our first combined community event and market last Christmas, with the inaugural switching on of the festive lights. That event encapsulated the essence of our South Woodford community perfectly and was widely considered to be a great success. Many families came with their children and friends to enjoy the start of the festive season. As well as posing for non-stop photos, dignitaries mingled with snow queens on stilts and parcels on roller skates, and we all joined in with the community singing, which really created a special festive atmosphere. With sweet treats and mulled wine, there was something for everyone. One parent commented: “The atmosphere was lovely, and it was so wonderful to know this was happening in our own area.”

Many of you will also have happy memories of the street parties that were organised throughout South Woodford in 2012 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. So, for this summer’s event, we want to create a special Platinum Jubilee market so that we can all come together again and enjoy plenty of food, entertainment and, hopefully, some sunshine! So, please mark 19 June in your diary. Once again, the location will be George Lane. Of course, all your favourite market stalls will be there and we’ll be hoping local businesses will stay open and participate too. As well as what the market stalls have to offer, there’ll be live music to create a great atmosphere, as well as plenty of family friendly activities, including crafting, planting and making. We will have plenty of tables and chairs running down George Lane so people can sit, eat and relax. We have asked Redbridge Council for permission to allow the northbound carriageway of George Lane to be pedestrianised for the day (at the time of writing, permission is pending), giving even more room for seating, stalls and entertainment.

If you would like to get involved in the South Woodford Society or help or perform at this event, we would love to hear from you. We would also like to give local and young entrepreneurs an opportunity to have a stall at this – and other – markets. We’d really love South Woodford residents to play a big part in organising this event.

I look forward to seeing you all on the day!

The South Woodford Platinum Jubilee Market will take place on George Lane on 19 June from 11am to 4pm. For more information on booking a stall or getting involved, visit swvg.co.uk/jubilee

Applications for a new round of community funding by Co-op open on 3 May.

“Applicable projects should be promoting fairer access to food, mental well-being services or education and employment. And this year, there is also a new category for projects that help people protect biodiversity or tackle climate change,” said Diana Varakina, Co-op Member Pioneer for Wanstead and South Woodford.

Visit swvg.co.uk/coop

HRH The Duke of Gloucester visited Wanstead Park in April to celebrate the completion of the first stage of restoration works to the park’s historic Grotto.

Constructed between 1760 and 1764, a fire in 1884 left the Grotto a ruin, and the building has been on the Heritage at Risk Register since November 2017. The landing stage further deteriorated in 2020, putting the entire structure at risk.

The Duke was shown the success of the repair work, with the retaining wall now rebuilt and invasive plant life extracted.