Hector - Poplar Memories: Life in the East End

P OPLAR

M EMORIES

Life in the East End

P OPLAR

M EMORIES

Life in the East End

JOHN HECTOR

Photographs appear by kind permission of Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives. Other illustrations are from the authors collection. Line drawings by Rosemary Whiteman.

First published by Sutton Publishing in 2002

This paperback edition first published in 2010

The History Press

The Mill, Brimscombe Port

Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 2QG

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

This ebook edition first published in 2013

All rights reserved

John Hector, 2010, 2013

The right of John Hector to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the authors and publishers rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

EPUB ISBN 978 0 7509 5357 3

Original typesetting by The History Press

Contents

Poplar Methodist Church, known as Laxs, in the East India Dock Road, c. 1925. The Revd William Lax was Minister for 35 years from 1902 and Mayor of Poplar in 1918/19. He claimed to be the originator of the street party, organising the first to commemorate Armistice Day in 1918.

Memories of a Popular Man

J OHN A LFRED H ECTOR

(25 December 1917 29 January 2010)

M y father was a remarkable man. Surviving, as a baby, the difficulties of both infantile paralysis and meningitis (much to the amazement of the doctors, nurses and his own family) he was renowned as a little star for his courage among all the neighbours. As he grew, he met whatever challenges life sent him, and being disabled didnt stop him from enjoying the many street games the children of those times were so adept at devising. Nor did it hamper his schooling; despite spending many of his early months in various hospitals and being sent to a special school until the age of seven, his determination and hard work led him to become school captain when he joined his older brothers at Culloden Street School.

Throughout my fathers working life, his strength of character, passion for hard work, ready wit and the ability to make people laugh stood him in good stead. He was respected by his bosses and co-workers alike and soon rose to become a manager at Fraser & Fraser and latterly chief buyer at Brown & Tawse of Bromley-by-Bow. He was always ready to lend a helping hand a character trait of so many East Enders and he enjoyed being a Rotarian and a Freemason. If it meant delivering coal in icy conditions in the depths of winter, despite his disabilities he would never think twice about the task. He wanted to help others, to be of service as politicians have it now, to make a difference, I am sure that my father was doing just that many years beforehand.

As a family man we were lucky to have this strong character as our dad. He was kind, loving, firm but very fair to us girls; Shirley, Barbara and Christine (me), and he adored his beloved Lilian, our dear mother. His enthusiasm for life and all its adventures meant that he always had a tale to tell and we were a willing audience, as too were the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who followed. We all have our special memories of dad. Most of us were taught to fish and recite poetry.

My mother developed Alzheimers disease shortly before their diamond wedding anniversary and it upset my father that the acknowledgement from Queen Elizabeth II would be lost to my mothers memory. Throughout the sad gradual decline in my mothers health, dad would always talk to her of the past; the good old days of their youth, hoping, as if by some miracle, that a link would be remade in mums mind and she would be restored to him. With her by his side and with the smallest of typewriters, ream after ream of typescript produced dads memories of his early years in Poplar and the surrounding area. Whether he saw in my mum the fear that the loss of memory brings or, as I believe, it gave him the inspiration to record as many as he could of the wonderful times their families shared in those days, he produced a series of booklets about East End life and donated the profits to the Alzheimers charity. He had triumphed over the adversity of mums condition. He went on local radio to talk about the East End and his fame spread; soon he was giving talks to the WI, Good Companions and many other groups in the region. He assisted the BBC with their Century Speaks series and become involved with Channel 4s Blitz Spirit programmes. It was a good way for him to cope with the loss of his beloved Lilian, who sadly died in 2000.

Looking at dads collection of stories one day, I happened to say that I thought they should be properly collated and published together with all the other memories he spoke of at his talks, perhaps with photographs, as a record of the time. The first edition of Poplar Memories was published in 2002 and my father was immensely proud of the finished book. Through its publication he made so many wonderful friends worldwide fellow East Enders for whom dads reminiscences matched their own personal history.

Helping dad with his work over the years has been an absolute joy for me. I never tired of hearing him telling his tales and just being in his company, as many people know, was an uplifting experience. For the last ten years of his life, despite failing eyesight and poor hearing, he embraced modern technology and learned to use a computer and voice-activated software. He also found a gift for writing, whether for publication or in the form of letters to berate officialdom on one of his many campaigns for the neighbourhood. A tireless worker for good causes, recognition of his work came in the form of his being invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party in 2007, at which he met Her Majesty. It was a marvellous achievement for him, of which we are all so proud.

Poplar Memories is an account of what life was like for my mother and father, their families and so many others like them, sometimes very hard, but always with an enduring spirit of hope. This edition of the book is a tribute to a much-loved and courageous author who passed away in January 2010 at the age of ninety-two. I thought he would be with me forever, but I will have to be content with my treasured memories and the stories of his life contained within these pages. I hope you, too, will really enjoy them.

I am so thankful and proud that I have the good fortune to be his daughter.

Bless you dad.

Christine Stanton (ne Hector), 2010

Foreword &
Acknowledgements

I t is hard to compile a short Foreword from my ten years of writing books, as there is so much to say; however, my first thanks must go to the many readers who have bought and read my other volumes over the past ten years and to the many local celebrities who have kindly endorsed them. The encouragement of my three daughters during that period was enormously helpful, especially while we were nursing my wife Lilian. Having lost our lovely middle daughter, Barbara, three years ago, Christine the youngest and Shirley have continued to provide their help and support with the present volume of