Author Archives: Geoff Clements

*The birth of Glam?-“HOLY HOLY” at the 50th Anniversary of David Bowie playing the legendary “Roundhouse” venue-Chalk Farm-London-NW3

Posted on by Posted in Music .

On the evening of Weds 11th March 2020, London Shoes ventured off to what was once one of London’s most iconic music & art venues, particularly throughout the 1960’s and into the 70’s – the legendary ‘Roundhouse’ at Chalk Farm–London NW3.

The Roundhouse building wasn’t always a music venue – when it was first opened in 1847, it was hailed as being one of the finest examples of Victorian civil engineering, as it was a completely circular building 160 ft in diameter, with a cone-shaped roof supported by cast iron girders. Inside it were 24 ‘bays’, and a massive turntable wheel in the centre of it, that Railway engines could be rolled on to, then spun round and rolled out to a bay for either servicing or storage. Its architectural uniqueness was so popular in Victorian times that guided tours were set-up to enable the public to witness this magnificent building.

It was not the first time that my ‘London Shoes’ had been to the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse, as I published a blog on this historic London landmark onto my London Shoes website back in May 2018.

Although I never frequented the Roundhouse at its height of music popularity in the 60’s – I did go there once in the mid 1970’s during the punk era, to see a gig by the brilliant ‘Ramones’.

However – my visit this time was a little bit special – as the Roundhouse was hosting an event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of a specific time in popular music history.

For this trek out it was a pleasure to be accompanied by Vince, my long-time mate of almost 50 years, who also just so happens to be my bruv-in-law.

In March 1970, ‘David Bowie’ was already an up & coming singer-songwriter -performer, and having scored a reasonably big hit with his single ‘Space Oddity’,  and he was working hard to create his own niche in the music scene.

On 10th March 1970, Bowie’s newly formed band ‘The Hype’ were just one of the bands on the bill of ‘The Atomic Sunrise Festival’ being hosted at the Roundhouse-Chalk Farm.

For that particular gig, David Bowie took a bit of a risk by doing something a little bit different from other bands at that time – he dressed his 4 piece band up in costumes, to the theme of ‘super-heroes’.

David Bowie was ‘Rainbow Man’ – Bass guitarist Tony Visconti was (in a Superman type outfit), was ‘Hyper Man’ – Drummer John Cambridge was ‘Cowboy Man’ & newly acquired guitarist Mick Ronson, dressed in a ‘sharp’ suit, was ‘Gangster Man’.

History has dictated that the gig has subsequently been labelled as the potential birth of a music-genre that was to become widely known as ‘Glam Rock’.

Legend has it that at the front of the stage that particular night, closely watching the band’s performance, was one Marc Bolan, who a year later, became the self-styled king of Glam Rock.

Around that time, Bowie was writing material for his next album which was to be entitled ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ – which was eventually released in Nov 1970.

Playing bass on that album was Tony Visconti, who went on to be one of the most influential record producers on the 70’s & way beyond, and became a life-long collaborator of Bowie’s, right up until his death. Playing drums on that album was a newly recruited drummer from Hull, Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey.

Following its release, the album didn’t really break any records in the way of sales, but it did cause a bit of controversy. Its main cover had a photo of Bowie spread out on chaise-longue, wearing a ‘dress’ (which Bowie always declared was a man’s dress). An alternative ‘cartoon’ type album cover had to designed for the US market.

Because Bowie didn’t really have a ‘working’ band at that time, the ‘album’ material was never really played ‘live’.

Woody Woodmansey went on further to play drums on the next 3 Bowie breakthrough albums – “Hunky Dory” (1971) – “The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars” (1972) & “Aladdin Sane”(1973) – along with Mick Ronson (guitar) & Trevor Bolder (bass) – as part of Bowie’s highly acclaimed ‘Spiders from Mars’ band. Sadly, Bowie–Ronson & Bolder are no longer with us – so ‘Woody’ is today, the only surviving ‘Spider’.
So – fast forward 50 years, and last night, to the very day, was the 50th Anniversary of Bowie’s now legendary gig at the Chalk Farm Roundhouse.

A few years ago, prior to David Bowie’s passing – Woody Woodmansey & Tony Visconti (now aged 70 & 75 respectively) put together a touring band called ‘Holy Holy’ (the title of a failed Bowie single, released just prior to his Ziggy breakthrough) – whose set-list comprised of the (never performed live) ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album tracks plus the entire ‘Ziggy Stardust’ album, and a couple of other Bowie crowd favourites on top of that.

For Tony Visconti, the highlight of the Roundhouse gig must be the fact that he was there, 50 years ago, playing bass for Bowie’s The Hype – a fantastic achievement.

For this special Roundhouse  anniversary gig, ‘Holy Holy’ comprised of the following band personnel:-
Glen Gregory (lead vocals)-Woody Woodmansey (drums)-Tony Visconti (bass)-Paul Cuddeford (guitar) –James Stevenson (guitar)-Janette Mason (keyboards)-Jessica-Lee Morgan (acoustic guitar-sax-vocals) – Jessica is Tony Visconti’s daughter, from his marriage to Mary Hopkin, (another famous UK singer/performer).

Despite all the understandable anxiety of the Corona Virus, the Roundhouse gig was a sell-out – and the audience, made up predominantly of the 50+ age group thoroughly lapped it all up and sang their way through every track of ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ & ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums, plus all the ‘extras’. All time classics such as ‘Width of a Circle’ – ‘All the Madmen’ – ‘Running Gun Blues’ – ‘Supermen’ & ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ title track, then ‘Starman’ – ‘Five Years’ – ‘Lady Stardust’ – ‘Moonage Daydream’ from the Ziggy album, plus many others.

An absolutely brilliant night of musical entertainment that meant so much, not just to the likes of legendary muso survivors Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey – but also to all the punters like me, who were around during the early 1970’s when we certainly experienced the best of times in terms of rock & popular music and the artists that created it.

Hope you enjoyed this little article and its accompanying photos.

Below is a gallery of ALL the photographs taken to accompany the ‘Holy Holy’ gig at the legendary Roundhouse-Chalk Farm-London NW3

The ‘Roundhouse’ legendary music & arts venue – in Chalk Farm-London NW3

 

Long before it became a music & arts venue, the Roundhouse was a perfect example of Victorian civil engineering genius – when, back in 1847 it was designed as a ‘turntable’ and storage base, for locomotive steam engines

 

An illustration of what the Roundhouse building looked like inside – back in the mid Victorian era

 

The promo for the ‘Holy Holy’ – The Birth of Glam-50th Anniversary gig at the Roundhouse – 0n 11th March 2020

 

My precious ticket for the Holy Holy gig at the Roundhouse

 

Me – pre-concert – outside the legendary Chalk Farm-Roundhouse venue – on 11th March 2020

 

The queue starts to grow outside the Roundhouse – note the ‘suicide’ statue on the roof

 

Inside the Chalk Farm-Roundhouse, there are many references to the events and plays and performances (many of which were extremely controversial) that have taken place there over the past decades, particularly throughout the 1960’s.

 

My bruv-in-law Vince – in the bar at the Roundhouse – pre-gig

 

For some unknown reason, a somewhat ‘camp’ looking me-alongside a story board inside the Roundhouse that references the many punk gigs that were hosted there in the late 1970’s. I actually went there around 1976 to see the US band ‘The Ramones’ – what a gig that was

 

What the inside of the Roundhouse looks like today – some of the old Victorian structures still remain in situ

 

More of the many references inside the Roundhouse – to the legendary performances that have taken place there throughout the past decades – this one makes specific reference to the extremely controversial play ‘Oh Calcutta’

 

Me – down the front of the Roundhouse stage – pre-gig

 

Me & me bruv-in-law Vince – take our seats before the start of the evenings procedures

 

An old b&w photo of David Bowie’s “Hype” on stage at the Roundhouse exactly 50 years ago to the day of the Holy Holy anniversary gig. In the picture you can see that Bowie is dressed as ‘Rainbow Man’ – Tony Visconti as ‘Hyper Man’ – John Cambridge on drums was ‘Cowboy Man’ and hidden is Mick Ronson on guitar, dressed as ‘Gangster Man’……..was this the birth of Glam Rock?

 

The original cover of Bowie’s 1970  ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album – that caused so much controversy at the time

 

The very same ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album – but with its alternative cover sleeve design – for the US market

 

Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey – as they were at the time when they recorded David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” album in 1970.

 

My vinyl version of Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album – which acquired another ‘new’ cover when it was re-released in 1972, on the back of Bowie’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’ success

 

My vinyl version of Bowie’s brilliant ‘Hunk Dory’ album – that followed his ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album, when it was released in 1971

 

 

David Bowie & the Spiders from Mars band at the very beginning of his ‘Ziggy Stardust’ period – early 1972. From left to right:- David Bowie – Trevor Bolder – Mick ‘Woody’ Woodmansey & Mick Ronson. Today, Woody Woodmansey is the only survivor of this brilliant little band

 

My well worn vinyl copy of the now Bowie’s classic ‘The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars’ album

David Bowie on stage at the height of his ‘Ziggy’ period – with drummer Woody Woodmansey in the background

 

My vinyl copy of Bowie’s “Aladdin Sane” album – released in 1973 and the follow-up to ‘Ziggy Stardust’. This was to be the last album on which Woody Woodmansey played drums for Bowie

 

Guitarist ‘Keith Christmas’ opened the evenings entertainment with a brief set of his current material. Keith had played guitar on the ‘David Bowie’ album that preceded Bowie’s 1970 ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ album

 

Woody Woodmansey & Tony Visconti’s “Holy Holy” band take to the Roundhouse stage

 

Holy Holy – banging out the tracks from Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ & ‘Ziggy Stardust’ albums – on the Roundhouse stage

 

‘Holy Holy’ – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

70 yr old Woody Woodmansey (drums) & 75 yr old Tony Visconti (bass) – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

‘Holy Holy’ – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

Glen Gregory formerly of the band ‘Heaven 17’ – and now lead vocalist with ‘Holy Holy’ – a brilliant singer and superb deliverer of Bowie’s material

 

The legendary Woody Woodmansey (drums) & Tony Visconti (bass) – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

‘Holy Holy’ – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

Woody & Tony on the Roundhouse stage

 

‘Holy Holy’ – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

Woody Woodmansey (drums) & Tony Visconti (bass) – on stage at the Roundhouse

 

Holy Holy rockin the Roundhouse

 

Woody Woodmansey (drums) & Tony Visconti (bass) -& James Stevenson (guitar) on stage at the Roundhouse

 

Tony Visconti taking a bow at the end of the gig

 

Jessica Lee Morgan (acoustic guitar & vocals) – Glen Gregory (vocals) & Janette Mason (keyboards) look on as Tony Visconti & Woody Woodmansey take their thoroughly deserved acclaim from the Roundhouse audience at the end of the gig

 

Following their 2nd encore, the band say goodbye to the extremely satisfied Roundhouse audience 🙂 from l to r:- Paul Cuddeford – Jessica Lee Morgan – Jannette Mason – Glen Gregory – Woody Woodmansey – Tony Visconti – James Stevenson

 

‘Holy Holy’ take their final bow

 

The cover of Woody Woodmansey’s excellent book “My Life with Bowie” – a really good read, even if you’re not a Bowie fan

 

Me – sinking a quick ‘cheeky’ scotch in the Roundhouse bar before setting off back home, following a truly amazing evening of nostalgia & entertainment

*the “Scenes in the Square” sculptures-Leicester Square & the old “Flamingo Club” in Soho

Posted on by Posted in Art, Parks & Public Squares, Quirky Topics .

Friday was the only decent day of weather here in the ‘Smoke’ last week, and so ‘London Shoes’ took advantage of the sunshine and ventured off ‘up-west’ to Leicester Square, to check out a brand new London attraction, which was only introduced a week ago.

Then following that – for the customary ‘cheeky’ beer, ‘Shoes’ went in search of the location of the site that was once the legendary music venue – the ‘Flamingo Club’ in Soho

Now – ‘Shoes’ doesn’t normally do the more popular touristy sites and locations, but made an exception for this particular initiative – simply because it was new, and seemed like a ‘happy’ sort of topic – something much needed in these current times.

So – first off, the main subject of this week’s London Shoes blog is the “Scenes in the Square” exhibit in London’s busy Leicester Square.

‘Leicester Square’ was formed 350 years ago, and today is one of London’s busiest tourist spots with an estimated 96 million visitors per year.

It is also seen as the home of London’s film world, with its first cinema having been opened way back in 1930, with its very first ‘red-carpet’ premiere in taking place in 1937.

Therefore, it is the ideal location for this new “Scenes in the Square” attraction.

“Scenes in the Square” is an exhibition of 8 bronze sculptures that depict some of the best loved film characters from the last century.

The sculptures are on display in and around the ‘Square’ itself – some of them are immediately visible, but there are a few that are not so obviously seen.

The “8” sculptures depict famous film stars and scenes from a selection of all-time great family films – and throughout the Square or in the surrounding buildings, you will find:- ‘Gene Kelly’ – from Singing in the Rain – ‘Mary Poppins’ – ‘Charlie Chaplin’ – ‘Oliver & Hardy’ – ‘Bugs Bunny’ – ‘Paddington Bear’ – ‘Wonder Woman’ – ‘Mr. Bean’ & ‘Batman’. This wonderful sculpture-trail was created by the ‘Heart of London Business Alliance’ in partnership with ‘Westminster City Council’ – and fully supported by the film industry and their studios.

From what I understand, these statues will be on display for at least the next 6 months, and the plan is to add more sculptures to the exhibition.

The display was only launched on 27th February, and its already pulling in the crowds during its first week, even despite of the awful weather – and it’s hoped that it will bring a bit of life and interest back to Leicester Square – which I have no doubt it will.

It’s especially enjoyable for children as they can have a photo taken of them sitting on a bench next to Paddington Bear or Mr. Bean, or standing next to Mary Poppins as she fly’s in on her umbrella – It’s also fun searching for the more obscurely positioned statues. A really great way to spend a couple of hours.

 

So – having sought out and spent time with Bugs Bunny, Mr. Bean, Paddington Bear and the rest of their pals – it was time for a much needed liquid refreshment – and so I wandered off in the direction of the ‘China Town’ quarter of Wardour Street in nearby Soho – an area I know & love very much, having worked for 4 years at Barclays Bank-Wardour Street branch between the years 1974 to 1978, from the age of 17 to 21.

However, my reason for returning there this time was for the specific purpose of tracking down a site that was once one of the most iconic music venues on London’s music scene throughout the late 1950’s and the entire 1960’s……the legendary “Flamingo Club”.

The Flamingo Club was pivotal for the rise in popularity of jazz and rhythm & blues music throughout London and beyond, and it was a favourite ‘haunt’ of all the top musicians such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles & Jimi Hendrix to name just a few – it was THE place to be seen.

The Flamingo Club really came to prominence throughout the ‘Swinging 60’s’ and was renowned for its ‘all-nighters’.

It was responsible for introducing black music and booking black artists across a wide spectrum of musical styles including ska / soul / jazz / blue-beat etc – and as a result drew audiences from many different cultural ethnicities.

It also had a reputation of being a bit of an ‘edgy’ venue, with a ‘lively’ drug scene.

In fact, anyone that may have watched the recent tv drama about Christine Keeler & the Profumo Affair, may recall the scene where there was a violent fight between Keeler’s two lovers ‘Lucky’ Gordon & Johnny Edgecome – well, that fight took place in the Flamingo Club.

From 1962 through to 1965 the Flamingo’s resident band were ‘Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames’ – whose big selling ‘live’ album ‘Rhythm & Blues at the Flamingo’ was recorded at the club.

Throughout the 60’s all the top muso’s played the Flamingo Club – like:- Rod Stewart – Otis Redding – Eric Clapton – the Stones – the Beatles – The Moody Blues – Pink Floyd – Small Faces.

In the mid to late 1960’s the Flamingo Club was the hub of the Mod movement in London, and all-nighters sessions were an extremely popular attraction down there.

The Flamingo Club itself eventually closed down in 1972, but its upstairs then opened up as the ‘Whiskey-a-Go Go’ music venue, which was then re-named as the ‘WAG Club’ in 1981. In fact ‘David Bowie’ filmed the video for his 80’s hit ‘Jazzin for Blue Jean’ at the Wag Club.

In 2001 the entire music venue closed down for good – and eventually became a branch of the O’Neill’s Irish Pub chain, which it still is today.

A blue plaque is displayed on the exterior wall of the O’Neill’s pub, commemorating the importance of the Flamingo Club to the British music scene – and inside the pub itself there are several visible references to the venue’s historic musical past.

Obviously, it was only right that I take advantage of my visit to the site, by knocking back a swift ‘cheeky’ one there, in homage to the old venue – which went down very nicely.

Strolling back down Wardour Street on my way to Tottenham Court Rd tube, and the journey home – I just had to stop for a while & reminisce outside the old Barclays Bank branch where I used to work, over 45 years ago now (blimey, that makes me sound soooo old!!!) I worked there for 4 years, and me going there in 1974 could be described perfectly for me by Charles Dickens as ‘it was the best of times-it was the worst of times’– however, on reflection, the ‘best’ most definitely outweighed the ‘worst’, and I met & worked with a bunch of wonderful people, some of whom I’m blessed to say, I’m still good friends with to this very day .

So – that was my little London Shoes jaunt out this week – in the glorious and much appreciated Soho sunshine.

In my opinion, the ‘Scenes in the Square’ sculptures are well worth seeing for both kids and adults – a fun way to pass away a couple of hours.

Hope you enjoy the accompanying photos to this piece.

see below for a full gallery of all the photos from this “Scenes in the Square’ blog

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The ‘Scenes in the Square’ story-board at the entrance to Leicester Square

 

Paddington Bear – nibbling on his marmalade sandwich

 

Me & old Paddington – with the famous Odeon Leicester Square in the background

 

Beautiful London sunny skies brightening up Leicester Square

 

Bugs Bunny munching on a carrot in Leicester Square

 

Bugs Bunny in Leicester Square

 

Mr. Bean – watching the world go by on a bench in Leicester Square

 

Not sure who is actually the daftest here

 

Charlie Chaplin observing life in Leicester Square

 

A close-up of the great Charlie Chaplin

 

Beautiful London sunny skies brightening up Leicester Square

 

‘Batman’ – looks down on the comings & goings in Leicester Square – from his vantage point on the roof of the iconic Odeon Leicester Square Cinema

 

A close-up of ‘Batman’ on top of the Leicester Square Odeon Cinema

 

‘Batman’ with the sunny London skies above him

 

Beautiful London sunny skies brightening up Leicester Square

 

The great ‘Gene Kelly’ – ‘Singing in the Rain’ inside Leicester Square

 

A close-up of old ‘Gene’ singing in the rain

 

Me & Gene Kelly ‘singing-in-the-rain in Leicester Square – even though it wasn’t raining (for once!!)

 

Another photo of old ‘Gene’ doing his stuff

 

Now – I don’t know if someone is ‘nicking my act’ – but this is a London Shoes promo photo that was taken back in December last year – it begs the question, did the Gene Kelly sculptor get any influence from this?? – (just sayin’)

 

Good old Mary Poppins sails into Leicester Square on her brolly

 

A close-up of the bronze ‘Mary Poppins’ statue

 

Another view of dear old Mary P

 

The ‘William Shakespeare Fountain’ at the centre of Leicester Square

 

 

‘Laurel & Hardy’ up to mischief on top of the Ticket Box Office in Leicester Square

 

A closer-up of the ‘Stan & Ollie’ bronze statue – perched precariously on top of the main Ticket Box-Office in Leicester Square

 

The ‘Wonder Woman’ statue is a bit tricky to find during the daytime -= but at night its a lot easier because it lit up

 

Strolling into Wardour Street’s ‘China Town’ quarter, in search of the site that was once the legendary ‘Flamingo Club’

 

Me – in ‘China Town’-Soho

 

Entering the China Town quarter of Soho’s Wardour Street

 

The O’Neill’s pub in Wardour Street-Soho – once the site of the ‘Flamingo Club’, one of London’s most iconic music venues – a commemorative blue plaque to the Flamingo can be seen to the far right of the photo.

 

A commemorative ‘blue plaque’ displayed on the exterior wall of the O’Neill’s pub – in recognition of the fact that the building was once the famous ‘Flamingo Club’

 

The entrance to the O’Neill’s pub in Wardour Street-Soho – once the site of the ‘Flamingo Club’, one of London’s most iconic music venues

 

An old b&w photo of the entrance to the Flamingo Club in Wardour Street as it was in the “60’s”

 

A billboard poster from the 1960’s – advertising ‘what’s on’ at the Flamingo Club

 

At the entrance to the O’Neill’s pub, a tiled commemoration recognises the history and importance of the Flamingo Club

 

Me – outside the building that was once the iconic ‘Flamingo Club’ music venue

 

Inside the building that was once the legendary ‘Flamingo Club’ – now an O’Neill’s pub

 

Inside the building that was once the legendary ‘Flamingo Club’ – now an O’Neill’s pub

 

Inside the building that was once the legendary ‘Flamingo Club’ – now an O’Neill’s pub

 

Me – outside 183 Wardour Street-Soho-W1 – a building that used to be a Barclays Bank branch & where I worked between the ages of 17 to 21 – from 1974 to 78

 

Now – again – I don’t want to sound paranoid – but I’m getting suspicious – are ‘Transport for London’ nickin’ my act!!! – A public notice on display down in the tube stations – which one could question, is plagiarising my ‘London Shoes’ brand

 

An old promo photo of my ‘London Shoes’ brand…..just sayin

 

Me – sinking a refreshing ‘cheeky’ one in the O’Neill’s bar Wardour Street – once the location of London’s famous ‘Flamingo Club’

*The “London Police & Crime”-Walking Tour – with ‘The Laughing Policemen’

Posted on by Posted in Crime & Punishment, Historic Buildings, Quirky Topics .

Last week was quite a unique one for ‘London Shoes’, when I received an invitation from 2 highly acclaimed ‘London Walking Tour’ guides, asking me if I would like to accompany them on a ‘new’ tour they’ve designed – as they would value my feedback of the tour, its content and its delivery – before letting it fully off the leash for the forthcoming Spring & Summer tourist influx.

David and Francis are both retired ex Metropolitan Police–Sergeants, who are now fully accredited London Walking Tour guides, and now conduct tours that cover-off a whole range of topics and themes of London’s historic past – something they have done for quite some time now.

As it just so happens, and unbeknown to me – they are also avid followers of my London Shoes website and its blog publications – hence the reason as to why they gave me a shout to see if I would accompany them on a ‘dry-run’ of their new walking tour, as they valued and welcomed my opinions.

Anyway – because of their extensive Met Police background these 2 gentlemen now work under the amusing title of “The Laughing Policemen” and as a result a their personal career experiences and first hand knowledge, David & Francis have designed a brand new and totally unique walking tour of their own, that they have entitled the “London Police & Crime–Walking Tour” – and it was the dry-run of this specific tour that I accompanied them on.

Their “London Police & Crime” Tour is crammed full of interesting material and historic facts relating to policing & crime in the Capital – which walks a punter through the crime ridden, gin soaked London prior to the formation and introduction of any organised policing set-up – and it then ‘walks’ on to London’s numerous historic crime locations throughout the past few centuries, and the infamous notorious criminals and characters that were involved in them.

The tour walks you through the history of how formal policing was created and introduced in London and the lead up to the eventual formation of the Metropolitan Police and the creation of Scotland Yard.

No stone is left unturned in terms of the tour’s content – as it touches on everything – from a poor fella getting arrested for wearing a top-hat – the violent stabbing of one of Britain’s top actors – the introduction of the very first policewoman – the history of the famous Bow Street Magistrates Court – the very first kidnap attempt on a member of the Royal Family – terrorist attacks on London & even the influence of fictional characters such as Sherlock Holmes.

For some of the ‘incidents’ in more recent decades, tour guides David & Francis often have first-hand knowledge and experience – and their input and recollections really help bring all these topics to life – offering something a little bit different from the other walking tours.

My ‘London Shoes’ certainly got a lot out of spending the day walking through the new ‘Police’ tour – as I found out loads of historic stuff that I never had a ‘scoobie’ about, which I can now refer to and cover-off in future blogs.

 

For example – summarised below are just a limited few of the interesting facts that I picked-up on throughout the tour:-

>>The term ‘Coppers’ comes from the copper plating that used to be on the tip of the very early designs of Police ‘truncheons’ way back in the early 1800’s.

>>The term ‘Old Bill’ comes from the time of the official formation of the Metropolitan Police back in 1829 when King ‘William’ IV was on the throne and was a big influence on London having its own Police Force.

>>In 1797 a well to do haberdasher by the name of ‘John Hetherington’ was arrested for wearing a ‘top-hat’ (a fashion style that hadn’t yet been introduced). Hetherington was sent ‘up before the beak’ for inciting a mini riot, that caused several women to faint and children to scream and dogs to yelp!!

>>Then there’s the brutal murder of William Terris in 1897 at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre. Terris was the top superstar actor of the day, and was viciously knifed to death outside the stage door at the back of the theatre, by Richard Prince, another actor, but much lower league, who thought that Terris was having an affair with his wife.

Prince was tried and convicted of murder, but was saved from the death sentence, as the authorities declared him insane, and so he was banged up in the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum – a decision that caused uproar in the media and throughout the acting profession.

 

>>In 1974 Ian Ball became the first person ever to attempt to kidnap a member of the Royal Family, when he forced a car carrying Princess Anne down the Mall, to a halt – shooting 3 people in the process. Ball demanded a £3m ransom which he claimed he wanted to give to the NHS to fund mental health care.

Ball was eventually felled by an ex East End boxer ‘Ronnie Russell’, who just happened to be strolling down the Mall at the time.

The victims of the shootings all survived and were awarded gallantry medals, including Ronnie Russell, who received the George Medal and also had his mortgage paid-off by the Queen. Ball was found guilty and jailed for life, but was judged insane and was initially banged-up in Rampton and is still doing porridge in ‘choky’.

There is a rather sad twist to this historic criminal incident, as only this month it was reported in the national press that the ex boxer Ronnie Russell, who is now an elderly man in very poor health, has had to auction off his George Medal to pay for his health care costs.

>>The tour also takes in the famous Bow Street Magistrates Court – the location of hundreds of high profile trials such as those of Oscar Wilde – Dr.Crippen – the Kray Twins – Emily & Christabel Pankhurst – just to name but a few, who have all been ‘up before the beak’ there.

This famous court house closed in 2006 and is currently in the process of being converted into a 99 room luxury boutique hotel.

 

>>Then there’s the fact that there have actually been 4 Scotland Yard’s – the original Met Police HQ building was at no.4 Whitehall Place, just off of Great Scotland Yard and is still there – and then further down the road is another old Met HQ that is now the Great Scotland Yard luxury hotel and further down the street there is another of the old Scotland Yard HQ’s that is now houses one of the stables used the Met’s mounted division – where the horses are stabled up on the 1st Floor !!!

>>The tour even nips into the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ pub in Northumberland Street, for a ‘cheeky’ one. The pub used to be called the Northumberland Arms – but in 1957 the it changed its name to the Sherlock Holmes and filled the place with loads of ‘Holmes’ memorabilia and artefacts rescued from the 1951 Festival of Britain.

On the 1st floor there is an entire replicated room dedicated to a typical scene from the novels of the world famous fictional detective.

The above are only a few snippets of what “The London Police & Crime”-Tour covers-off throughout the 2hr walk – there are loads more interesting criminally related historical facts, landmarks and locations within its content – great value for money-well worth the £20 cost – and I personally would have no hesitation in recommending the tour to anyone who is up for something just a little bit different in content from the other conventional walking tours.

All in all – I was honoured and well chuffed that the services of my London Shoes was called upon by ‘The Laughing Policemen’ and that the guys valued my feedback on this run through of this new tour venture, and I shall definitely be following its future progress with great interest.

Hope you enjoy viewing the photos accompanying this article – I’ve also attached the promo link to the actual tour itself, should anyone be interested in booking a place on it now or in the future.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/1513309

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Covent Garden tube station – the starting point for the “Laughing Policemen’s” – “London Police & Crime” Walking Tour

 

 

The tour also takes in the famous Bow Street Magistrates Court – built in 1897 & the location of hundreds of high profile trials such as those of Oscar Wilde – Dr.Crippen – the Kray Twins – Emily & Christabel Pankhurst – just to name but a few, who have all been ‘up before the beak’ there.

The original entrance to the famous Police Station that was attached to Bow Street Magistrates Court – The court closed in 2006 and is now being converted into a 99 room luxury boutique hotel

 

The ‘Scales of Justice’ embossed on the old Bow Street Magistrates Court building

 

A street sculpture of ‘Oscar Wilde’ – one of the many famous trials held at Bow Street Magistrates Court

 

One of the many laminates that the ‘Laughing Policemen’ use and refer to during their ”London Police & Crime” walking Tour. This one is of ‘John Hetherington’ who, in 1797, was arrested for ‘a breach of the peace & inciting a riot’ for simply wearing a ‘top-hat’!!!

 

The site of one of the older established hat-shops down the Strand – probably once owned or frequented by John Hetherington

 

The alley leading to the Nell Gwynn pub – that ten leads to the back of the Adelphi Theatre, where in 1897 superstar actor of the day ‘William Terris’ was brutally murdered outside the stage door.

 

An illustration of the time, depicting the murder of William Terris at the stage door of the Adelphi Theatre in 1897

 

Today, a Green Plaque commemorates the spot where William Terris was murdered – in the stage doorway of the Adelphi Theatre in 1897

 

Francis of the ‘Laughing Policemen’ Walking Tours, and co-designer of their “London Police & Crime” tour – standing outside the spot where famous actor William Terris was stabbed to death – outside the back-stage door of the Adelphi Theatre in 1897

 

Another laminate displayed throughout the tour – this one is all about a ‘high end’ book that was published in the late 1700’s, and was a low-down on all the top-end prostitutes that worked the then prestigious Covent Garden

 

Another laminate referred to during the tour, is brought out when the tour reaches the Mall, where in 1974 ‘Ian Ball’ became the first person ever to attempt to kidnap a member of the Royal Family, when he forced a car carrying Princess Anne down the Mall, to a halt – shooting 3 people in the process.

 

A media photo of the aftermath of the attempted kidnap of Princess Anne, by Ian Ball down the Mall in 1974

 

The ‘National Police Memorial’ located at the start of the Mall – The memorial commemorates the 4000 Police Officers killed in the course of their duties in the UK. The Memorial was unveiled in 2005

 

David – one of the ‘Laughing Policemen’ and co-designer of their ‘London Police & Crime’ Walking Tour – takes a closer look at the contents of the ‘National Police Memorial’ that commemorates ex police colleagues who were killed in the course of their duties

 

Me – David & Francis at the National Police Memorial in the Mall

 

Great Scotland Yard (later shortened to just “Scotland Yard”) – just off of Whitehall and where the very first Met Police Headquarters were located

 

There have actually been 4 x Scotland Yard’s – the original Met Police HQ building was at no.4 Whitehall Place, just off of Great Scotland Yard and is still there

 

Further down the road in Whitehall Place, there is another old Met HQ that is now the “Great Scotland Yard Hotel”

 

Various artefacts of Metropolitan Police historic memorabilia, are today respectfully on display inside the “Great Scotland Yard Hotel”

 

Various artefacts of Metropolitan Police memorabilia, are today respectfully on display inside the “Great Scotland Yard Hotel”

 

Another ex Scotland Yard HQ down in Great Scotland Yard, is now used as stables for the Met’s Mounted Division. The horses are actually stabled on the 1st Floor!!

 

A photo of the inside of the Met’s Mounted Division building in Great Scotland Yard – where you can clearly see the ramp that leads the horses up to their stables on the 1st Floor.

 

Another laminate that the ‘Laughing Policemen’ refer to during their Walking Tour. This one is of Edith Smith, who in 1915 was the first Policewoman with the power to arrest

 

The ‘Monument to the Women of WW2’ in Whitehall – on which is displayed the uniform of the WPC.

The ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Pub in Northumberland Street – a stopping off point for a ‘cheeky’ beer during the ‘London Police & Crime-Walking Tour’

The ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Pub in Northumberland Street – a stopping off point for a ‘cheeky’ beer during the ‘London Police & Crime-Walking Tour’

 

Inside the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ pub

 

A portrait of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle on display inside the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ pub

 

A dedicated room on the 1st floor of the Sherlock Holmes Pub is filled with loads of ‘Holmes’ memorabilia and artefacts rescued from the 1951 Festival of Britain – to replicate a typical room from the novels of the world famous fictional detective.

 

‘New Scotland Yard’ on the Victoria Embankment – the home of the Metropolitan Police HQ since November 2016, the fourth such premises since the force’s foundation in 1829.

 

Me – with the ‘Laughing Policemen’ David & Francis – designers of the excellent “London Police & Crime-Walking Tour”

 

* ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ gig – on board the ‘Tereza-Joanne’-King George V Dock-E16

Posted on by Posted in Blog .

Last week on a bitterly cold and windy day, but a beautifully sunny one –‘London Shoes’ took up the opportunity to attend another ‘live’ music event – that was held at an unusual and certainly unique venue – a place that I had never visited or even heard about before…… the ‘Tereza-Joanne’!!!

The gig itself was renowned jazz trumpeter Paul Higgs highly acclaimed “A Brief History of Jazz” set.
However, before commentating on this excellent gig – just a little bit of history about the unique ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue.

The Tereza-Joanne’ is an old Eastern European ‘crane barge’ , that subsequent to WW2, has slowly overtime, made its way to the UK, eventually ending up in London’s Docklands, where it is now permanently moored in King George V Dock at the far eastern end of the old Royal Docks.

Over the past few decades the Tereza-Joanne vessel has been completely refurbished, and since 1997 it has been a floating venue hosting a wide range of events. The venue is regularly used by award winning travel company ‘City & Village Tours’ who host popular and well attended events there every week.

Last week the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ hosted a City & Village Tour Co. promoted gig by renowned trumpeter ‘Paul Higgs’ who performed his highly acclaimed ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ set to 2 coach loads of jazz fans.

Londoner Paul Higgs has played and worked with the very best of them in the music industry, in a career that has seen him employed as a musician, composer, arranger for film, TV, radio and theatre.

For a number of years Paul Higgs was musical director at the National Theatre and also the Royal Shakespeare Company – and his work has seen him perform at many prestigious venues here in the UK and abroad, including the Royal Festival Hall – The Albert Hall – the famous Ronnie Scott’s Club in Soho – the Schubert Theatre in the States and the Berlin Concert Hall, just to name a few.

For his ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ gig on board the Tereza-Joanne, Paul was backed by the excellent trio of musicians:- Chris Ingham (keyboards) – Jerome Davies (double bass) & my good friend ‘Gentleman’ George Double (drums)-my old drum tutor from way back in the 1990’s when I worked at Barclays Bank-Mare Street-Hackney, and ‘young’ George was one of my customers.

 

 

The thoroughly entertaining ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ set, delivers exactly what it says on the tin…..and saw Paul and the band cover-off all the classics from right back to the very origins of jazz music in the 1890’s – comprising of St. Louis Blues – Ragtime – New Orleans styles, and touching on the numerous styles that followed such as Cool – Modal – Latin & Avant Garde jazz – music that was recorded and performed by all-time jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong – Dizzy Gillespie – Miles Davis – Herb Alpert – Chet Baker & Bix Beiderbecke.

Apart from the excellent musicianship, what also made the set really engaging was the detailed commentary provided by Paul Higgs between numbers – highlighting the history behind certain styles and specific tunes – a really nice little touch that the audience on board the Tereza-Joanne clearly found interesting and appreciated.

For me personally, I found being on-board the Tereza-Joanne a rather weird experience, because from its location, at the other end of the King George V Dock, far in the distance – I could see my old workplace, the Barclays HQ at Canary Wharf – where, from my desk on the 24th floor, I often used to watch the planes taking off from the London City Airport, and climbing up through the skies towards the Barclays building and over the top of it.

So it made a pleasant change to be at the other end of the Airport location and to see the arse-end of the planes taking off and flying away from me, as opposed to flying towards me.

I’m always grateful when my old friend ‘Gentleman’ George Double is able to invite me to some of his gigs as part of the band’s entourage – as it enables me to take ‘behind-the-scenes’ photos of sound checks and venues etc – as well as close-up photos of the actual gig performances – all of which I believe help bring a story to life a bit more for a reader.

So a big thank you to George (and the band) & well done to the Tereza-Joanne for hosting such a great gig.

Hope you enjoy the accompanying photos.

Me – down by ‘Albert Island’ on the old Royal Docks – heading towards the unique ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue

 

The floating ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue – permanently moored down in King George V Dock

 

Boarding the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ floating venue – King George V Dock

 

‘Paul Higgs’ – “A brief history of Jazz” set – promoted by City & Village Tours for the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue gig.

 

 

On-board the Tereza-Joanne venue – pre-gig

 

Paul Higgs & his ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ trio – Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double Bass) & George Double (drums) – sound-check aboard the Tereza-Joanne venu

 

Paul Higgs & his ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ trio – Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double Bass) & George Double (drums) – sound-check aboard the Tereza-Joanne venu

 

Paul Higgs & his ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ trio – Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double Bass) & George Double (drums) – sound-check aboard the Tereza-Joanne venu

 

Paul Higgs & his ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ trio – Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double Bass) & George Double (drums) – sound-check aboard the Tereza-Joanne venu

 

Me – on the deck of the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue – King George V Dock

 

A view from the decks of the Tereza-Joanne’ – looking west towards the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf in the far distance

 

A close-up of the buildings of Canary Wharf & its skyline – from the deck of the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ venue. Barclays Bank HQ – my last work place for the final 15yrs of my career – can be seen just in front of the HSBC building

 

Scenes of ‘London City Airport’ – a zoomed in photo taken from on board the ‘Tereza-Joanne’

 

Scenes of ‘London City Airport’ – from on board the ‘Tereza-Joanne’ – with Canary Wharf in the distance

 

A photo taken from on-board the Tereza-Joanne venue – with a plane having just taken off from London City Airport, climbing high towards my old workplace – the Barclays HQ at Canary Wharf

 

London City Airport activity – right next to the Tereza-Joanne’ venue moored in King George V Dock

 

With the soundcheck completed – the Tereza-Joanne stage awaits the commencement of Paul Higgs ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ gig

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

‘A Brief History of Jazz’ – performed by Paul Higgs with trio Chris Ingham (keyboards)-Jerome Davies (double bass)-George Double (drums) – on board the Tereza-Joanne

 

Me – on board the Tereza-Joanne – with the band performing their ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ set in the background

 

A final encore for Paul Higgs & the band

 

Paul Higgs & the band take a final bow – having performed their excellent ‘A Brief History of Jazz’ set – on board the Tereza-Joanne venue

 

Me & ‘Gentleman’ George Double – post-gig, on board the Tereza-Joanne venue – King George V Dock

*Leyton Orient FC – its history & historic landmarks

Posted on by Posted in Quirky Topics, Sporting People .

Last Saturday (8th Feb 2020) saw a ‘first’ for my ‘London Shoes’ – as it was the very first time I had ever undertaken a blog on a football club.

The subject matter was East London’s “Leyton Orient FC”.

Another ‘first’ fore this particular blog, was that I had 3 people accompanying me for the day – Les, James & James’s mate Adam.

Les, James & me worked together at Barclays Bank-Whitechapel branch back in the late 1980’s – and they are both avid followers of my ‘London Shoes’ work – in fact, Les has accompanied me several times on previous ‘Shoes’ exploits.

James & his mate Adam are both bonkers Orient fans, and it was actually James who suggested the idea of me doing a blog on the O’s – and so he acquired tickets for the O’s home game on 8th Feb 2020 v Macclesfield Town – but before the kick-off, the 4 of us spent a good few hours ‘on-the-road’ tracing the history and historic landmarks of this great football club – the 2nd oldest team in London.

The following is my ‘London Shoes’ account of our day out and tribute to the history of the magnificent “Leyton Orient Football Club”:-

The origins of “Leyton Orient Football Club” go right back to the 3rd March 1888, when the ‘Eagle Cricket Club’ (formerly known as the ‘Glyn Cricket Club’) held a meeting at no.36 Dunlace Road-then in Lower Clapton–London E5.

The purpose of this meeting was to pass a resolution to officially form a football club, so that the cricket team had something to do in the winter months, to keep themselves fit.

It was mutually agreed by committee members that this new football section of the cricket club, be called the “Orient Football Club”.

It is believed that the unusual name of ‘Orient’ (for a team based in London), came about as a result of a suggestion by committee member ‘Jack Dearing’, who at that time, worked for the ‘Orient Steam Navigation Company’ (which went on to become the ‘P&O Group’) – the company, 10 years previous, had launched their very first ship the “SS Orient”.

It is also thought that the Orient reference in the Club’s name provided the club with an identity to ‘East’ London where the club was based.

This newly formed football club played in a red coloured kit with an ‘O’ on the back of its shirts (hence the terrace cry “Come on You O’s”) – and initially played its matches on a small pitch close to Pond Lane Bridge near the River Lea.

In 1893 the Orient Football Club joined the ‘Clapton & District League’ – Season 1896/97 saw the Orient join the London League-Division 3 & in season 1897/98 they were promoted to London League Division 2.

In 1898 in an attempt to drum up more local support – Orient FC changed its name to ‘Clapton Orient’ to signify the actual area of east London that the club were from.

For the 1898/99 season the newly named Clapton Orient were playing their football in London League Division 1.

In 1900 Clapton Orient moved to a new home – the ‘Millfields Road’ ground, situated in the same area they were already playing – the Millfields stadium could hold up to 40,000 and was also used for greyhound racing.

 

The 1905/06 season saw Clapton Orient elected to ‘The Football League’ which had been formed a few years previously in 1888.

1910 saw the Clapton Orient football kit change from a red shirt to a white shirt with a large red ‘V’ chevron on it.

During the 1914-1918 WW1 years, the Football League was suspended.

41 members of the Clapton Orient players & club staff signed up to the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, and became the first football club to collectively join the Great War – the largest representation of servicemen of any other football club.

20,000 spectators filled their Millfields Road ground on the last game of the 1914/15 season, to bid their heroes farewell.

During the Battle of the Somme, 3 Clapton Orient players were tragically killed in action – and they were:- Richard McFadden, Willie Jonas and George Scott.

Today, a wonderful memorial exists in a graveyard in the French village of Flers, as a tribute to these 3 fine brave young men.

Following WW1 changes were made to the Football League Div 3 and a new 3rd Division South and a 3rd Division North were created – with Clapton Orient playing its games in the 3rd Division South League.

 

In 1930 Clapton Orient left its Millfields Road ground and moved to the ‘Lea Bridge Stadium’ just down the road. The Lea Bridge Stadium was already an established greyhound racing track, and had a capacity of 20,000.

Their old Millfields Road ground eventually became the Millfields Housing Estate – and today a plaque is on display at the estate commemorating the fact that the site was once the home of Clapton Orient, and also the fact that a match played there in 1921 against Notts County, was the first ever Football League match attended by a member of the Royal Family.

Clapton Orient played at its newly acquired Lea Bridge Stadium for 6 years. Today, the site of the old ground is now a large industrial estate – however, tucked away in a far corner of the estate there is a commemorative plaque displayed on a random wall, and you can still see the remains of one of its old stands.

 

In 1937 Clapton Orient moved grounds again – this time, just down the road, further south, to its current home at Brisbane Road in Leyton-London E10 – and they’ve been there ever since.

In 1946, whilst still in the Football League Division 3-South, the football club changed its name from Clapton Orient to ‘Leyton Orient’ to denote the area of London in which the Club now played.

At that time a new Club Badge was introduced which depicted 2 ‘Wyverns’ holding a football in their claws.

These Wyverns were mythical half-dragon, half sea serpent creatures – and it is said that the dragon part represents the historic City of London crest, and the seas-serpent part of these Wyverns relates to Leyton Orient’s tenuous link to its original P&O sea connections.

Amusingly, the Club’s current mascot, who runs around the pitch stirring up the crowd on match days – is a Wyvern by the name of ‘Theo’……( The O’s…..get it!!).

 

 

Season 1958/59 saw the O’s incorporated back into the newly aligned Football League Division 2 – and in the 1962/63 season they were promoted to the heady heights of Division 1.

1964 saw Leyton Orient record is biggest attendance at its Brisbane Road ground, when 34,345 packed into the stadium for an FA Cup tie against local rivals West Ham Utd.

In 1966 a decision was made to drop the ‘Leyton’ part from the club’s name, and they simply became ‘Orient FC’. However, in 1987 the club’s name reverted back to being ‘Leyton Orient’.

Between seasons 1966 to 1996 the O’s flitted between Division 2 & Division 4 – and in seasons 2004 to 2006 they were in the newly named Football League-Div 1 (which was in fact the old Division 3 – in old money).

Season 2006/07 to season 2014/15 Leyton Orient played their football in League 2 (the old 4th Division).

On 22 April 2017, following years of serious financial and internal upheaval and turmoil, Leyton Orient  very sadly dropped out of the Football League – ending an association that went back some 112 years – and were relegated to the National League.

In November 2017 the acclaimed ex Spurs defender ‘Justin Edinburgh’ was appointed as their manager and very soon, their fortunes on the pitch improved, to the extent that by the end of season 2018/19 Leyton Orient were crowned Champions of the National League – and after an absence of only 2 years, the Club returned back to the Football League.

However, on 3rd June 2019, just weeks after leading them back into the Football League, their manager Justin Edinburgh suffered a cardiac arrest, and tragically died on the 8th June 2019 – aged just 49 years old.

In January 2020, before a game against Newport County, the club renamed its main stand the ‘Justin Edinburgh Stand’ in commemoration and recognition of Edinburgh’s marvellous achievement in getting the O’s back into the Football League.

Throughout the years, Leyton Orient FC have had some legendary players turning out for them, many of whom have been honoured in one way or another by the Club.

One such club legend is record goal scorer ‘Tommy Johnston’ who played for the Club between 1956/58 & 1957/58 and clocked-up a remarkable 123 goals in 190 league & cup appearances for the O’s. In 2008, Leyton Orient renamed its South Stand the ‘Tommy Johnston Stand’ in recognition of his fantastic achievements.

Another O’s legend who went on to become a bit of a global super-star on the football front, was the late great ‘Laurie Cunningham’ – who I had the pleasure of watching play when he was with the O’s during the early period of his career.

Laurie Cunningham was born in 1956 in Archway north London and joined the O’s as a youngster in 1974.

Laurie Cunningham made a total of 75 appearances for Orient scoring 15 goals – before he was transferred to West Bromwich Albion in 1977 – where he formed part of the trio of players – Cunningham / Cyril Regis & Brendon Batson – who were famously nicknamed ‘The Three Degrees’.

In 1979 Laurie Cunningham became the first Englishman to join Spanish footballing giants ‘Real Madrid’ and by the end of the 1979/80 season with them, he had helped them to a Spanish League & Cup double.

Also in 1979, Cunningham made his full England debut, and goes down in history as being the first black footballer to represent an England international team organised by the current national governing body – the Football Association.

In Coronation Gardens right next to Orient’s Brisbane Road ground, there stands a marvellous statue of Laurie Cunningham that was unveiled in 2017, to commemorate this great player’s footballing achievements, and his connections to the O’s.

Sadly, Laurie Cunningham was killed in a car crash in Madrid in 1989 – aged just 33.

There also stands a statue of the ‘Three Degrees’ (Laurie Cunningham / Cyril Regis / Brendan Batson) not far from West Brom’s Hawthorns ground, up in the Midlands – 3 players I am also pleased to say, I had the privilege of also watching them play in person.

So – back to London Shoes blogging day out and the match in question.

Having spent the best part of 4 hours pounding the pavements of the E10 & E5 post codes of East London, searching for the elusive historic landmarks and sites relating to Leyton Orient FC – we ended up at their Brisbane Road stadium in Leyton, where we downed a few ‘cheeky’ beers in the Supporters Club Bar, where even some of the players pop in to mingle with supporters – before taking our seats in in the Tommy Johnston Stand which ‘young’ James had very kindly acquired tickets for – and settled down to watch the day’s match against the opponents, who were Macclesfield Town.

There was a comfortable family friendly & welcoming vibe amongst supporters throughout the game and ‘Theo’ the club mascot kept everyone amused with his lively antics on the touch-lines.

It was an entertaining game with both sides trying their best to get a result – and for someone like me who suffers the pain and torture of having to watch my beloved Hammers struggle week in and week out, it was a pleasant change to be a ‘neutral’ and just watch a decent & honest game of football.

Midway through the 2nd-half, the O’s went 1-0 up and looked as though they were going to bag all 3 points – until deep into injury time when Macclesfield grabbed a very late equaliser.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable day out – which was made all the better by having 3 accomplices on-board to share the day’s experiences with me, 2 of whom (young James & his mate Adam) were fanatical Orient supporters, so it clearly meant a great deal to them too.

I have to say, with this being London Shoes first ever ‘football’ related blog, I thoroughly enjoyed doing all the research and all the post-match composing & publication stuff – and, even though I am a life-long ‘Hammer’, I’m actually so pleased that the topic was all about the O’s

.

Well done Leyton Orient FC – great club – brilliant history – ‘real’ fans.

_______________________________

See below for the full range of ALL of the photographs relating to this Leyton Orient FC blog

Welcome to ‘Leyton’ – London-E10

 

 

The Leyton Orient Football Club – Crest – Displayed on the exterior of their Brisbane Road ground

 

The origins of ‘Leyton Orient Football Club” go right back to the 3rd March 1888, when the ‘Eagle Cricket Club’ (formerly known as the ‘Glyn Cricket Club’) held a meeting at no.36 Dunlace Road-then in Lower Clapton-London E5.

 

Me – outside 36 Dunlace Road – The origins of ‘Leyton Orient Football Club”

 

In 1900 Clapton Orient moved to a new home ground at ‘Millfields Road’

 

In 1900 Clapton Orient moved to a new home – the ‘Millfields Road’ ground, situated in the same area. The Millfields stadium could hold up to 40,000.

 

The site of Clapton Orient’s old Millfields Road ground is now the Millfields Housing Estate

 

The Millfields Housing Estate

At the Millfields Housing Estate today, there is a plaque is on display commemorating the fact that the site was once the home of Clapton Orient, and also the fact that a match played there in 1921 against Notts County, was the first ever Football League match attended by a member of the Royal Family.

 

Les – James & Me (Geoff) – at the Millfields Housing Estate – once the site of the ‘Clapton Orient FC’ home ground

 

In 1930 Clapton Orient left its Millfields Road ground and moved to the ‘Lea Bridge Stadium’ just down the road. The Lea Bridge Stadium was already an established greyhound racing track, and had a capacity of 20,000.

 

Today ‘Rigg Approach’ is the entrance road to an industrial estate that was once the site of the ‘Lea Bridge Stadium’ – Clapton Orient’s home ground from 1930 to 1936

 

Tucked away within the Rigg Approach industrial estate just off the Lea Bridge Road-London E10, there is a plaque displayed that commemorates the fact that the site was once the home ground of Clapton Orient FC. In this photo you can see the plaque in question, just below (left) the Hare Wines sign

 

A close-up of the plaque on display on a wall within the industrial estate – that commemorates the fact that the land was once the site of Lea Bridge Stadium – the home grounds of Clapton Orient FC in the 1930’s.

 

In a far corner of the industrial estate you can clearly still see the remains of one of the stands of the old Lea Bridge Stadium.

 

In a far corner of the industrial estate you can clearly still see the remains of one of the stands of the old Lea Bridge Stadium.

 

Les-James & Me – taking a breather down ‘Orient Way’ 🙂

 

In 1937 Clapton Orient moved grounds again – this time, just down the road, to its current home at Brisbane Road in Leyton-London E10 – and they’ve been there ever since.

 

 

An aerial view of Brisbane Road – Leyton Orient FC home ground since 1937

 

The exterior of Leyton Orient FC’s Brisbane Road ground

 

The exterior of Leyton Orient FC’s Brisbane Road ground

 

The exterior of Leyton Orient FC’s Brisbane Road ground – prior to their home game against Macclesfield Town (8th Feb 2020)

 

An exterior view of Leyton Orient FC’s Brisbane Road ground

 

Me – at the main entrance of the O’s Brisbane Road ground – prior to their league match against Macclesfield Town (8th Feb 2020)

 

In Coronation Gardens right next to Orient’s Brisbane Road ground, there stands a marvellous statue of Laurie Cunningham that was unveiled in 2017, to commemorate this great player’s footballing achievements, and his connections to the O’s

 

The inscription on the statue of the late great ‘Laurie Cunningham’. Laurie Cunningham (b1956) in Archway-North London – joined the O’s as a youngster in 1974. Cunningham made a total of 75 appearances for Orient scoring 15 goals

 

A commemorative plaque displayed on an exterior wall of the O’s Brisbane Road ground, that is dedicated ex-player – the late ‘Laurie Cunningham’

 

In Coronation Gardens right next to Orient’s Brisbane Road ground, there stands a marvellous statue of Laurie Cunningham that was unveiled in 2017,

 

Up in the Midlands, not far from West Bromwich Albion’s ‘Hawthorns’ ground, there stands a statue of the ‘Three Degrees’ (Laurie Cunningham / Cyril Regis / Brendan Batson) – all 3 of which I am pleased to say I had the privilege of watching play.

 

During the Battle of the Somme, 3 Clapton Orient players were tragically killed in action – and they were:- Richard McFadden, Willie Jonas and George Scott. Today, a wonderful memorial exists in a graveyard in the French village of Flers, as a commemorative tribute to these 3 fine brave young men.

 

A commemorative plaque on display above the ticket-office of the O’s Brisbane Rd ground

 

The match-day ticket for the game v Macclesfield Town (08/02/20)

 

The match-day programme for the O’s v Macclesfield match

 

The front cover of the current edition of the club’s popular ‘OrientEar’ fanzine

 

The ‘Leyton Orient Supporters Club’ bar – (our pre-match location for a couple of ‘cheeky’ ones)

 

Our pre-match liquid sustenance in the Leyton Orient Supporters Club Bar

 

A blurry photo of Me-James & Les in the Leyton Orient Supporters Club bar – pre-match

 

Even some of the O’s players take time to come and join supports pre-match, in the Supporters Club bar

 

The stadium – pre-match

 

The stadium – pre-match

 

The stadium – pre-match

 

The stadium – pre-match

 

An amusing public notice in the stadium :-))

 

In January 2020, before a game against Newport County, the club renamed its main stand the ‘Justin Edinburgh Stand’ in commemoration and recognition of ex-manager, the late Justin Edinburgh’s marvellous achievement in getting the O’s back into the Football League at the end of the 2018/19 season.

 

The stadium starting to fill up – pre the Macclesfield match

 

The O’s club mascot “Theo”- amusingly stirring up the crowds enthusiasm – prior to the Macclesfield match (08/02/20)

 

The teams take to the pitch for the Macclesfield game (08/02/20)

 

The teams take to the pitch for the Macclesfield game (08/02/20)

 

Action from the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield match – 08/02/2020)

 

Action from the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield match – 08/02/2020)

 

James, Les & Me – taking in the Macclesfield game from our seats in the Tommy Johnston Stand

 

Action from the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield match – 08/02/2020)

Action from the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield match – 08/02/2020)

 

 

Action from the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield match – 08/02/2020)

 

Adam-James-Les & Me – at the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield game (08/02/20)

 

Club mascot ‘Theo’ – entertaining the crowd at the Leyton Orient v Macclesfield Town game (08/02/2020)

 

Me- James & Les at the O’s – 3 old work colleagues together again after an absence of some 30+ years –

*The “Crazy Coqs”club-Piccadilly & “The Jazz of Judy Garland” with Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio

Posted on by Posted in Historic Buildings, Music .

This week’s London Shoes trek out focussed on one of its favourite blog topics – ‘live’ music.

As with a number of my previously published music related blogs, this week’s subject matter originates from my association with ‘Gentleman’ George Double, my old drum tutor from my days when I was working at Barclays in Mare Street-Hackney throughout the 1990’s – where George was one of my customers. Today, George is one of the most renowned drummers on the London jazz scene

Earlier this week, the amazing ‘Chris Ingham Trio’ (with George Double on drums) backed the excellent ‘Sara Dowling’ in the performance of her extremely popular “The Jazz of Judy Garland” set. Sara Dowling currently holds the accolade of having been voted the UK’s top jazz vocalist of 2019.

The venue in question for this particular gig was the famous “Crazy Coqs” club located in the heart of London’s Piccadilly district.

The ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue itself, is a place with its own amazing history.

 

Crazy Coqs is contained within the ‘Brasserie Zedel’ which was once part of the iconic “Regent Palace Hotel” that opened in 1915 and at that time, it was the largest hotel in Europe, with 1,028 bedrooms and employing over 1,000 staff.

The interior of the old Regent Palace Hotel was designed like the inside of one of the old transatlantic liners of those times, with a grand marble entrances, chandeliers, a winter garden with palm trees and with maid service at its tables.

 

 

The ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ was owned and run by the globally renowned ‘Joe Lyons” of the J. Lyons tea-shop fame, whose aim was to provide posh establishments that the average man-on-the-street could afford to visit and receive ‘silver-service’ treatment.

In the early 1930’s J. Lyons & Co commissioned ‘Oliver Bernard’– one of Britain’s top architects of the day – to completely redesign the entire interior of its Regent Palace Hotel. Oliver Bernard was already working for J. Lyons as a consultant and had been instrumental in designing its extremely popular tea-houses that were scattered across London’s West End, and also its prestigious ‘Strand Palace Hotel’.

His design work on the Regent Palace Hotel refurb, featured all the popular art-deco styles of the day – and was amusingly described by experts as being “just a trifle dissipating and naughty – but not sufficiently so, to be vulgar”.

By 1934 Oliver Bernard had changed the Hotel’s once grand billiard room, into the ‘Chez Cup Bar’ – and it is this room that is now todays “Crazy Coqs” venue, where ‘Shoes’ went to see the Sara Dowling’s ‘The Jazz of Judy Garland’ gig, backed by the Chris Ingham Trio.

Sadly, the Regent Palace Hotel suffered considerable bomb damage in WW2, and over the following decades it fell upon hard times and as a result, its once high standards declined rather rapidly, and the Hotel eventually closed down in the early 2000’s.

However, in 2004 the ‘Crown Estates’ (who owned the land that the Hotel was built on) commissioned the redevelopment of this once grand building, to bring it back to its original art-deco style splendour – and it has gone from strength to strength from there on with its ‘Zedel Brassiere’ restaurant and bars and of course it’s ‘Crazy Coqs’ entertainment venue.

Today, the interior of the building is said to be the best example of an original art-deco interior in the UK – gaining it a Grade II Listed protection status.

So – back to the gig itself.

The ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue was a full-house for the Sara Dowling performance, and because I was fortunate to be part of the band’s entourage for the evening, I was able to get some photos of the venue ‘pre-gig’ before it started to fill up with punters – and also photos of Sara Dowling and the Chris Ingham Trio going through their sound-check.

The ‘Chris Ingham Trio’ consisting of Chris Ingham on piano – Dario DiLecce on double bass – George Double on drums, put in a brilliant performance backing the excellent Sara Dowling as she performed her ‘Jazz of Judy Garland’ set, with classics such as:- Get Happy–Better Luck Next Time – It Only Happens When I Dance with You – The Man That Got Away – The Boy Next Door – plus many more.

 

Between each number Sara provided the audience with an informative story of the history behind each song – which the punters really loved – and I was fortunate enough to be side-stage to capture some photos of the performance.

The audience were very receptive to the performance and lapped it up – and of course Sara & the band were called back for an encore, which obviously just had to be their rendition of Judy Garland’s most iconic song ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’….what else could it have been!!

So – a great night’s entertainment down at ‘Crazy Coqs’ – and another venue added to the London Shoes ‘been there-done that’ list.

Hope you enjoyed my little ‘Crazy Coqs’ & its accompanying photos. 🐓😉

________________________________________________

Below are all of the photographs relating to the Crazy Coqs blog

The front page of the Daily Mail from the year 1915, when the iconic ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ was opened. Today, it is the location of the ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue

 

The ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ building in Piccadilly-London W1 – as it is today

 

The side entrance to the once iconic ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ in Piccadilly – now the entrance to ‘Brasserie Zedel’ which has the ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue in its basement

 

Me – with the old ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ in the background

 

The entrance to ‘Brasserie Zedel’ once the interior of the famous ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ – where inside is located the ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue

 

Me – outside the entrance to ‘Brasserie Zedel’ – making my way to its ‘Crazy Coqs’ club venue

 

The entrance to ‘Brasserie Zedel’ once the interior of the famous ‘Regent Palace Hotel’

 

 

The entrance to ‘Brasserie Zedel’ once the interior of the famous ‘Regent Palace Hotel’

 

An old photo of the interior of The Regent Palace Hotel – that is now today’s ‘Brasserie Zedel’ & the ‘Crazy Coqs’ club.

 

Me – inside today’s ‘Brasserie Zedel’

 

Another old photo of what the interior of today’s ‘Brasserie Zedel’ & the ‘Crazy Coqs’ once looked like, when it was part of the ‘Regent Palace Hotel’

 

The interior of the old ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ was designed like the inside of one of the old transatlantic liners of those times, with a grand marble entrances, chandeliers, a winter garden with palm trees and with maid service at its tables.

 

Me – inside today’s ‘Brasserie Zedel’

 

The interior of the old ‘Regent Palace Hotel’ was designed like the inside of one of the old transatlantic liners of those times, with a grand marble entrances, chandeliers, a winter garden with palm trees and with maid service at its tables

 

The wonderful ‘Sara Dowling’, the headline act for the evenings Crazy Coqs gig – currently holds the accolade of having been voted the UK’s top jazz vocalist of 2019

 

The entrance to the ‘Crazy Coqs’ venue – inside the ‘Brassiere Zedel’ – once part of the iconic Regent Palace Hotel

 

Inside the art-deco designed ‘Crazy Coqs’ – pre-gig

 

‘The Crazy Coqs’ stage – pre-gig

 

The beautiful art-deco styled ceiling rotunda – inside ‘The Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio (Chris Ingham on piano – Dario DiLecce on double bass – George Double on drums) – take to the ‘Crazy Coq’s stage – for their soundcheck

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio on the ‘Crazy Coq’s stage – doing their soundcheck – with my old mate ‘Gentleman’ George Double thumping his tubs

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio run through their soundcheck on the ‘Crazy Coq’s stage

 

Me – inside The Crazy Coqs – pre-gig whilst the band run through their soundcheck

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio run through their soundcheck on the ‘Crazy Coq’s stage

 

The promo for the excellent Sara Dowling’s “Jazz of Judy Garland” set, in which Sara sings Garland all-time classics such as:- Get Happy-Better Luck Next Time – It Only Happens When I Dance with You – The Man That Got Away – The Boy Next Door – plus many more.

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio – performing “The Jazz of Judy Garland” ‘live’ on stage at ‘Crazy Coqs’

 

Following their encore of ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, Sara Dowling & the Chris Ingham Trio take a bow and exit the Crazy Coqs stage

 

Me & my good friend ‘Gentleman’ George Double – backstage at Crazy Coqs post-gig

 

Me – necking down a quick ‘cheeky’ one in the ‘Brasserie Zedel’ bar – post the ‘Crazy Coqs’ gig

* the history of the “Tate & Lyle” Sugar Refinery-at Silvertown-London-E16

Posted on by Posted in Food, Historic Buildings, Historic Docks .

Those of you with a ‘sweet tooth’ may enjoy this particular London Shoes topic – a topic which is stirring and sometimes a bit lumpy.

This week’s London Shoes publication is about a particular factory that has been churning out its product for over 140 years, and is still very much doing so to this very day – and also has been, and still is, one of the biggest employers in the east London area.

The topic in question is the “Tate & Lyle” Sugar Refinery down by the River Thames in ‘Silvertown’–London E16 – and a fascinating little story it is too.

The story of how this global brand originated, starts way back in 1859 when a “Henry Tate” (b.1819) went into partnership with a sugar refiner who happened to have a refinery factory up in Liverpool.

Around the me time, a ship owner by the name of “Abram Lyle” (b.1820), who was making a living out of transporting raw sugar cane to the UK, bought his own sugar refinery up in Greenock-Scotland.

In 1878 Henry Tate expanded his sugar business by opening up a new refinery in East London-down by the River Thames in ‘Silvertown’-E16.

Meanwhile in 1883, Abram Lyle started a sugar smelting process at a new refinery he had opened down at Plaistow Wharf on the River Thames – just 1.5miles away from Tate’s factory.

Abram Lyle’s refinery process focussed on producing a treacle like syrup preserve called ‘Goldie’, that was sold in a distinctive green tin, with a lion on it – and was used for baking cakes or simply as a ‘spread’ on bread etc.

The businesses of both Henry Tate and Abram Lyle were extremely successful bringing both owners great wealth and more importantly providing much wanted employment to the Silvertown area of east London and beyond.

 

Even though their respective factories were almost next door to each other, Henry Tate and Abram Lyle actually despised each other and never met in person throughout their lifetimes.

In 1887 Henry Tate set up the ‘Tate Institute’ opposite the main entrance to the Silvertown factory. The ‘Institute’ was a sort of community type social club facility, for the recreational benefit of the Tate & Lyle workers. The Institute closed in 1933 and the building was used as a local library until 1961.

The ‘Institute’ building is still there today, but sadly is abandoned and all boarded up.

Abram Lyle died in 1891, leaving his successful refining business to his sons.

Henry Tate died in 1899 and also passed his business on to his sons.

Henry Tate bequeathed a large portion of his wealth to many good causes in the East London area – and he left his large and valuable collection of fine art and paintings, to the nation – and this became the ‘Tate Gallery’ down in Pimlico, which is now known as ‘Tate Modern’.

Fast forward 20 years to the early 1920’s – the 2 rival sugar refineries eventually merged, and ‘Henry Tate & Sons’ and ‘Abram Lyle & Sons’ became the now globally recognised “Tate & Lyle” brand.

The factories in Silvertown became one of London’s biggest employers who, at its peak, employed over 5,000 people.

During WW2 and in particular the ‘blitz’, when East London and the London dock areas took a heavy pounding from German bombing – the ‘Tate & Lyle’ factory never ever closed down, and continued its production whatever the circumstances taking place around it. While its male workforce were away fighting in Europe, the Tate & Lyle factory was operated by women, who were nicknamed ‘The Sugar Girls’, and there has been a best seller book published of the same title, written all about their exploits during those times.

In 1949 ‘Tate & Lyle’ launched its iconic ‘Mr. Cube’ brand – that introduced boxes of sugar cubes into everyday life.

‘Tate & Lyle’ have always been one of the biggest ‘users’ of the River Thames with anything up to 45,000 tonnes per year of raw sugar cane arriving at Silvertown by boats, from countries such as Belize, Mozambique, Guyana & Fiji.

In the early 1970’s the future of Tate & Lyle was very much put in doubt, and there was a threat of closure as a result of ‘quota-restrictions’ imposed by the EU (eg the Common Market as it was then).

 

 

 

In 1981 Tate & Lyle’s refinery factory in Liverpool had to close down. 1997 saw the closure of its factory in Greenock-Scotland.

These EU restrictions have continued to have an impact of Tate & Lyle’s production output and workforce numbers, and the business has had to diversify its range of products to be able to compete profitably – a challenge that it has successfully managed so far – and with UK now leaving the EU, and restrictions lifted, it could herald a really positive new phase for the future of Tate & Lyle.

London City Airport which opened in 1987 is situated close to the Tate & Lyle refinery.

Both these businesses are the biggest employers in the London Borough Newham, and both have the most visible presence of anything else in the area – where ever you are in Silvertown, you will always see the factory and have a plane will be flying above your nut.

 

In 2018 ‘Tate & Lyle’ celebrated 140 years of refining sugar at Silvertown – and hopefully, long may it continue.

So – having spent a few hours wandering around a grey, foggy wet & cold Silvertown, it was time to have a quick ‘cheeky’ snifter before heading back off home.

From what I could see whilst ambling through its streets, there appear to be only 2 pubs in the actual Silvertown area – the ‘Henley Arms’ and the strangely named ‘Fox@Connaught’.

The Henley Arms was built in the early 1960’s and is a typical post-war council estate pub. It was shut when I located it, so I didn’t have the chance to have a ‘cheeky’ one in there.

However, the ‘Fox@Connaught’ was open, and so I popped in there to take the weight off me plates and have a quick ‘cheeky’ one.

The ‘Fox@Connaught’ has obviously been designed to cater for the airport ‘traffic’ of travellers, passengers & staff alike.

 

The ‘Fox’ was built in 1881 – and has had various uses throughout the decades. It stood completely abandoned for 17 years and only re-opened again in 2003 – and is the ideal location to have a beer whilst watching the aircraft activity in the skies above or the activity taking place in the tranquil waters of the ‘Royal Dock’ – where (on a clear day) you can see Canary Wharf in the distance, and the cable cars running to and from the O2 and the ExCel arena.

So – that’s all about the history of ‘Tate & Lyle’ in Silvertown for you– hope you found it interesting – and I guess all that’s left to say is ‘one lump or two-madam’?

____________________________________________________

Published below are the full range of photographs from this ‘Tate & Lyle’ Sugar Refinery blog:-

The ‘Tate & Lyle’ Refinery and ‘London City Airport’ – close neighbours and the biggest employers within the London Borough of Newham

 

Wherever you are in Silvertown, the ‘Tate & Lyle’ refinery can be seen

 

A close-up of the ‘Tate & Lyle’ Sugar Refinery – Silvertown-London-E16 – which has been churning out its products from this site for over 140 years

 

In 2018 the “Tate & Lyle” sugar refinery at Silvertown, celebrated its 140th birthday

 

Me – outside the main entrance to the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery in Silvertown-E16

 

“Abram Lyle’s” refinery process at his Plaistow Wharf factory near Silvertown, focussed on producing a treacle like syrup preserve called ‘Goldie’, that was sold in a distinctive green tin, with a lion on it – and was used for baking cakes or simply as a ‘spread’ on bread etc.

 

In 2018 the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery in Silvertown celebrated its 140th birthday

 

The main entrance to the Tate & Lyle factory in Silvertown

 

The “Lyle’s” Golden Syrup factory within the Tate & Lyle refinery plant in Silvertown-London-E16

 

In 1949 ‘Tate & Lyle’ launched its iconic ‘Mr. Cube’ brand – that introduced boxes of sugar cubes into everyday life.

 

More views of the ‘Tate & Lyle’ sugar refinery – in Silvertown

 

More views of the ‘Tate & Lyle’ sugar refinery – in Silvertown – showing the close proximity of the local residential community that makes up 20% of its workforce today

 

In 1887 Henry Tate set up the ‘Tate Institute’ opposite the main entrance to the Silvertown factory. The ‘Institute’ was a sort of community type social club facility, for the recreational benefit of the Tate & Lyle workers. The Institute closed in 1933 and the building was used as a local library until 1961.

 

A view from the side of the old, and now abandoned ‘Tate Institute’ building – showing its close proximity to the Tate & Lyle factory site

 

Me – outside the old ‘Tate Institute’ building

 

Another view from a distance – of the Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery site

 

 

“London City Airport” was opened in 1987 and is situated close to the Tate & Lyle refinery. They are the 2 biggest employers in the London Borough of Newham

 

‘London City Airport’ (to the right) which opened in 1987 – is situated close to the Tate & Lyle refinery.

 

A plane flies above the Royal Dock on its approach to London City Airport

 

Me – with a plane about to enter me old lug’ole

 

Me in Silvertown – with a big metal bird almost touching me ‘filbert’

 

A photo that ‘London Shoes’ took a few months ago when it published the ‘Woolwich Foot Tunnel’ blog (when the weather was decidedly more pleasant) – this photo shows the ‘Tate & Lyle’ factory, taken from the southern banks of the River Thames

 

A close-up photo that ‘Shoes’ took a few months ago when it published the ‘Woolwich Foot Tunnel’ blog (when the weather was decidedly more pleasant) – this photo shows the ‘Tate & Lyle’ factory, taken from the southern banks of the River Thames

 

A close-up of the Tate & Lyle factory from the northern banks of the Thames

 

Looking up the River Thames from its banks at Silvertown, towards the Pool of London – The Thames Barrier ‘lights’ are switched on because of the atrocious weather

 

A close-up of the Thames Barrier – taken from the northern banks of the Thames at Silvertown

 

 

The Silvertown district is well served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – handy for the workforces that are employed at London City Airport and Tate & Lyle

 

The Silvertown district is well served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) – handy for the workforces that are employed at London City Airport and Tate & Lyle

 

Me – on the northern banks of the River Thames at Silvertown – with the Woolwich Ferry pier lurking in the misty background

 

The peace and tranquility of the ‘Royal Dock’ at Silvertown – with the Excel arena to the right and just the outline of my old work place stomping ground ‘Canary Wharf’ in the foggy distance

 

A close-up photo taken from the ‘Royal Dock’ in Silvertown – in which can be seen the cable cars that go back and forth from the 02 and the Excel – and further in the distance is Canary Wharf, where I worked for the last 16yrs of my time with Barclays Bank

 

Me – amongst the peace & tranquility (plus cold & wet) of the Royal Dock-Silvertown

 

Wherever you are in the Silvertown area, the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery is always watching you

 

No.1 Kingsway-London WC2 – Tate & Lyle’s London HQ

 

The Henley Arms pub-Silvertown, was built in the early 1960’s and is a typical post-war council estate pub. It was shut when I rocked-up at it, so I didn’t have the chance to have a ‘cheeky’ one in there

 

The ‘Fox@Connaught’ pub in Silvertown, was built in 1881 and has had various uses throughout the decades. It stood completely abandoned for 17 years but re-opened again in 2003 – and is the ideal location to have a beer whilst watching the aircraft activity in the skies above or the activity taking place in the tranquil waters of the ‘Royal Dock’ – where (on a clear day) you can see Canary Wharf in the distance, and the cable cars running to and from the O2 and the ExCell arena.

 

A cold & wet me -outside the ‘Fox @ Connaught’ pub-Silvertown-London-E16

 

Me – neckin’ down a mandatory ‘cheeky’ one inside the ‘Fox @ Connaught’ pub-Silvertown-London-E16

 

Having been ‘inspired’ by my trek out to the Tate & Lyle factory in Silvertown – I felt it only right to pop into the nearest Tesco’s to purchase a tin of the old Lyle’s Golden Syrup

 

 

* The ‘Stone-Alcoves’ of old London Bridge

Posted on by Posted in Bridges, Parks & Public Squares, Quirky Topics, Street - Fixtures & Fittings .

The most regular type of feedback London Shoes receives every week, is from people who express their surprise and concern that they have walked past a certain historic landmark that ‘Shoes’ has covered-off – hundreds/thousands of times in their lives, and yet never noticed something or never knew what it was or the history behind it !!!

The subject matter of this London Shoes trek out, typifies that sort of scenario – and the topic in question is certainly something that I never even knew existed, even though these specific historic landmarks have been around for over 300 years and are used every day.

This blog is all about the old ‘Stone-Alcoves’ of London Bridge – and an interesting little topic it is too.

Before covering-off these 3 ‘Alcoves’ in greater detail – it may help to take a step back in time some 300 odd years – to understand their origin.

There has been a crossing over the River Thames, where London Bridge stands today, since way back in the 12th Century – but probably the most recognisable and identifiable early incarnations of this historically famous bridge, is from the 1600 & 1700’s, when paintings & illustrations of that period in time, show the bridge as a stone construction made up of 19 arches, with loads of buildings situated on it.

Records from the Tudor period, clarify that there were over 200 buildings located on London Bridge, ranging from residential houses, commercial shops and business – and a pair of large fortified gates at each end.

The ‘arched’ version of the bridge stood in this format for almost 600yrs – and it became more and more overcrowded as the centuries rolled on.

By the mid 1700’s the authorities of the time deemed the entire London Bridge construction to be totally unsafe, and that something had to be done to address the problem.

Between 1763 & 1768 an extensive renovation and re-build of London Bridge took place – which resulted in the complete removal of all the buildings that had been built on it over the previous centuries.

Following the removal of all the buildings on the Bridge, it was felt that Londoners and travellers needed to have some sort of shelter on the new construction, to protect them from the elements when crossing from one side of the Thames to the other – or – something to protect their personal security, to make them feel more safe and secure – or – simply something where they could take the weight off their ‘plates’.

To resolve this issue 14 ‘stone alcoves’ were built and placed on the Bridge – 7 on each side.

These ‘alcoves’ became a noticeable feature of the newly constructed London Bridge, as can be seen from illustrations and paintings of that time.

Fast forward to the early 1800’s, because of London’s rapidly increasing population, it was clearly evident that a ‘new’ London Bridge was needed to cope with its daily ‘traffic’.

By 1831 a new Bridge was designed and constructed by the renowned architect of the day John Rennie-Junior.

Rennie sold off a number of the old Bridge’s original fixtures & fittings, including its ‘stone alcoves’.

Guys Hospital bought one of the ‘alcoves’ for the sum of 10 guineas and two of the others were donated to the newly opened ‘Victoria Park’ in Hackney east London.

The next subsequent re-build of London Bridge took place in the 1960’s. The ‘old’ Bridge was bought by a wealthy American who had its dismantled brick by brick and shipped over to the USA and relocated in Lake Havasa City-Arizona.

Remarkably these 3 old ‘stone alcoves’ survive to this very day, and so London Shoes quest last week was to track them down and see what they are all about.

Just a short walk from Hackney Wick overground station, lies the magnificent ‘Victoria Park’ in Hackney-London-E9, and just inside its eastern entrance, stand 2 of the old London Bridge ‘stone alcoves’ that were once fixtures of the Bridge throughout the 1700’s.

 

I was surprised and pleased to see that these 2 Victoria Park alcoves had obviously been well looked after and were in good condition. One of them even had its own ‘story-board’ and commemorative plaque.

As all the dog-walkers, joggers & cyclists in the park passed by these 2 ‘alcoves’ whilst I was taking my photos– it just made me wonder as to how many of them actually know anything about the origins and history of these 2 permanent park fixtures.

So – having found the 2 alcoves in Hackney, I jumped on a couple of trains and made my way south, down to the London Bridge of today – and just a short walk from London Bridge station, I located the other ‘stone-alcove’ in the grounds of the famous ‘Guys Hospital’.

Situated on a lawn in one of Guys inner squares, there proudly stands another old London Bridge ‘stone-alcoves’ – which again, has obviously been well looked after and cared for throughout the past couple of centuries – and also put to good use, as it is clearly now a place where hospital staff and visitors alike, can sit and relax for a while.

 

On the wooden bench inside the Guys Hospital ‘stone-alcove’ their sits a bronze statue of the famous romantic poet ‘’John Keates” who once trained as a surgeon at Guys Hospital.

Feeling pleased with myself that I had managed to track down these famous old landmarks, and learnt something about them on the way – it was time to find a pub and have a ‘cheeky’ one before setting off back home, and so I popped into a lovely little pub called the “Horseshoe Inn” tucked away in a small side street at the back of Guys Hospital.

Records evidence that there has been a pub on this particular site since 1848, and the current pub building dates back to 1897, when he pub was originally called the “Horseshoe & Wheatsheaf”.

The ‘Horseshoe’ has an interesting bit of recent history about it, as its exterior appeared regularly in the hit TV series ‘Ashes to Ashes’, where it was the programmes ‘Railway Arms’.

 

 

 

So that’s the story of the ‘stone-alcoves’ of old London Bridge – well over 300yrs old and still in practical use today for folks to plonk their ‘arris down on.

Hope you enjoyed this piece and its accompanying photos.

 

See below for the full range of photographs taken to accompany this blog

An illustration of London Bridge from the 1700’s – which clearly shows its ‘stone-alcoves’

 

Victoria Park-Hackney-London-E8 – where 2 of the ‘stone-alcoves’ of the old London Bridge are now located

 

One of the ‘stone-alcoves’ situated in Hackney’s Victoria Park

 

A close view of one of the ‘stone-alcoves’ situated in Hackney’s Victoria Park

 

The ‘story board’ relating to the ‘stone-alcoves’ in Hackney’s Victoria Park

 

One of the ‘stone-alcoves’ in Victoria Park even has its own ‘story-board’ and commemorative plaque.

 

The commemorative plaque situated alongside one of the ‘stone-alcoves’ in Victoria Park

 

A close-up of the commemorative plaque situated alongside one of the ‘stone-alcoves’ in Victoria Park

 

A close-up of the inscription inside one of the 2 ‘stone-alcoves’ in Victoria Park-Hackney

 

Another view of one of the ‘stone-alcoves’ in Victoria Park

 

Me – inside one of the 2 ‘stone-alcoves’ located in Hackney’s Victoria Park

 

Me – & a ‘stone-alcove’ in Hackney’s Victoria Park

 

Absolutely nothing at all to do with the ‘stone-alcoves’ – but I just thought this abandoned building near to Hackney Wick station – was quite amusing

 

Nothing at all to do with the ‘stone-alcoves’ – but I just thought this abandoned building near to Hackney Wick station – was quite amusing

 

Situated on a lawn in one of the inner squares of Guys Hospital – there proudly stands another old London Bridge ‘stone-alcoves’ – which again, has obviously been well looked after and cared for throughout the past couple of centuries – and also put to good use, as it is clearly now a place where hospital staff and visitors alike, can sit and relax for a while.

 

The commemorative plaque displayed at the site of the ‘stone-alcove’ at Guys Hospital

 

An ‘old & new’ photo showing the ‘stone-alcove’ at Guys Hospital – with the iconic ‘Shard’ in the background.

 

Situated on a lawn in one of Guys inner squares, there proudly stands another old London Bridge ‘stone-alcoves’ – which again, has obviously been well looked after and cared for throughout the past couple of centuries – and also put to good use, as it is clearly now a place where hospital staff and visitors alike, can sit and relax for a while

 

Me – and the ‘stone-alcove’ situated in Guys Hospital – with the old poet John Keates eyeballing me in the background

 

On the wooden bench inside the Guys Hospital ‘stone-alcove’ their sits a bronze statue of the famous romantic poet ‘’John Keates’ who once trained as a surgeon at Guys Hospital.

 

Me & old Keat’sie – a couple of old romantics

 

An illustration of the Tudor incarnation of London Bridge, with loads of buildings situated on it – ‘before’ it was demolished and the ‘stone-alcoves’

 

Another old illustration of London Bridge from the late 1700’s – clearly showing the ‘stone-alcoves’ situated on it!!

 

London Bridge as it stands today

 

Me – & a view from today’s London Bridge

 

The ‘Horseshoe Inn’ near Guys Hospital – Records evidence that there has been a pub on this particular site since 1848, and the current pub building dates back to 1897, when he pub was originally called the “Horseshoe & Wheatsheaf”

 

A front-view of the ‘Horseshoe Inn’ near Guys Hospital – Records evidence that there has been a pub on this particular site since 1848, and the current pub building dates back to 1897, when he pub was originally called the “Horseshoe & Wheatsheaf”

 

Inside the ‘Horseshoe Inn’ near Guys Hospital

 

 

Me – neckin’ down a ‘cheeky’ one in the delightfully comfortable ‘Horseshoe Inn’ close to Guys Hospita

 

 

*“V2 Rocket attacks on London-in WW2″-the ‘first’ the ‘worst’ & the ‘last’

Posted on by Posted in Military, Streets, WW2 .

This week ‘London Shoes’ looked back to the latter stages of WW2 and the devastating impact that one specific aspect of enemy attack had on the lives of so many Londoners.

This week’s publication onto the ‘London Shoes’ Website-FB & Twitter portals is entitled “V2 Rocket attacks on London – the ‘first the worst & the last” !!!.

Whilst battles were being fought throughout occupied Europe and in other countries – Germany knew that it had to come up with a new strategy to attack Britain from the skies in order to decimate production and defence, and to crush the morale of the British people.

The ‘Blitz’ had come and gone, and Britain’s ability to defend itself from aerial attacks had been greatly enhanced with the introduction of high tech radar mechanisms and also anti-aircraft weaponry.

Germany knew that it had to develop a more advanced and more lethal method of attacking Britain from the skies – and so it turned to one of its leading scientists in rocket technology-‘Wernher von Braun’ to design and develop a new form of bomb weaponry, that could be launched from the land, in Europe – directed to specific targets in Britain-then be fired across the English Channel – to hit and obliterate the designated targets on British soil.

Being the capital London was obviously a prime target for the majority of these rocket attacks.

The first rocket design that ‘Wernher von Braun’ came up with was known as the ‘V1’ Rocket – the ‘V’ standing for ‘Vengeance’. It became more commonly known as the ‘buzz-bomb’ because of the buzzing noise that could be heard when approaching, and when its engine cut-out, then you knew that it was going to land somewhere very soon and cause death and destruction.

The very first ‘V1’ rocket to hit London, was launched from European soil on 13th June 1944 and hit a railway bridge in Grove Road-Bow-East London, killing 6 people and badly injuring 42 others – all in all, 9,000 V1 rockets were launched on London.

By September 1944, Germany, and in particular von Braun, had started developing a much more advanced and deadlier version of the V1 rocket – which was known as the ‘V2’.

The ‘V2’ rocket was, at that time, the world’s first long range ballistic missile.

The ‘V2’ rocket weighed 23 tons – travelled at 3,000mph – flew so high that it couldn’t be tracked by radar or shot down by anti-aircraft weapons – their approach couldn’t be heard at ground level – and when they exploded, they could leave a crater of anything up to 10ft deep. They were so powerful that their destructive effect would fan-out for up to a quarter of a mile from where they landed.

Germany started its ‘V2’ rocket bombardment of Britain in Sept 1944, and over 1,500 were subsequently dropped on London alone.

So – what were the ‘first’ the ‘worst’ & the ‘last’ V2 rocket attacks on London?

The very ‘first’ V2 rocket attack on London happened on 8th Sept 1944 – and for some unknown reason, hit the quiet little suburban residential street of Staveley Road in leafy Chiswick, located down by the Thames in the far reaches of south-west London. This very first V2 attack killed 3 people outright and seriously injured 17. The blast from this rocket completely obliterated the area of the quiet little street.

The ‘worst’ V2 rocket attack took place a couple of months later on 25th Nov 1944, when the bomb dropped from the skies on a busy Saturday morning, and hit the Woolworths store in New Cross Road, in the Bermondsey district of south London – killing 168 people including babies and children who had been out shopping with their mothers – and its devastation also left 121 people seriously injured.

The Co-Op store next door to Woolworths collapsed as a result of the attack, and it took rescue services a whole 3 days to retrieve all of the bodies from the carnage.

The very ‘last’ V2 rocket attack on London took place on 27th March 1945 at around 7am in the morning, when it hit ‘Hughes Mansions’ – part of a residential block of flats situated at the Whitechapel end of Vallance Road-London E1 – killing 134 of its residents.

The devastation of the V2 rockets (and the V1’s) left thousands of Londoners homeless – or left them with home that no longer had a roof or utility services – but throughout all this tragedy and devastation, the resilience, camaraderie and community spirit amongst Londoners (and inhabitants of all Britain’s targeted cities) eventually saw them through what was one of the darkest periods of London’s history.

Shortly after the Hughes Mansions attack in March 1945, allied forces advanced into Europe and captured all the bases where the V1’s & V2’s had been launched from – and these bombardments finally came to an end.

As for the German scientist ‘Wernher von Braun’ who designed these ‘V’ rockets – he was ‘encouraged’ by the allied forces, to surrender to the US Army, as opposed to the Russians – and was very soon made a full US Citizen, and went on to become one of the leading designers of the early incarnations of the US NASSA space project……… the irony of War eh!!!

Today – it is somewhat reassuring & comforting to know that these awful unimaginable events have not been forgotten – as scattered across London are several commemorative plaques and memorials acknowledging what Londoner’s went through as a result of the V2 (& V1) rocket attacks and the tragic loss of life that followed.

So – for this blog, I set out to visit the exact locations of ‘The First – The Worst – The Last’ V2 rocket attacks – and this is what I found.

In quiet leafy ‘Staveley Road’–Chiswick, the site of the very ‘first’ V2 rocket attack on 8th Sept 1944 – there stands a memorial at the spot where the rocket initially hit. Next to this memorial is a sort of ‘story-board’ that reminds us of, and commemorates the lives of the 3 people who were killed.

In ‘New Cross Road’ south-east London, and not far from New Cross Gate mainline station – the ‘worst’ V2 rocket attack is commemorated by 2 plaques on the exterior wall of an Iceland supermarket store, which is built on the site of the old ‘Woolworths’ department store that was so devastatingly bombed by a V2 on 25th November 1944, taking the lives of 168 people – the ‘worst’ tragedy as a result of these rocket attacks.

Finally, in Vallance Road-E1 just round the corner from Whitechapel mainline station – there is a commemorative stone tucked away in the grounds of the ‘Hughes Mansions’ housing estate that the very ‘last’ V2 rocket hit on 27th March 1945 – killing 134 innocent people. A children’s playground now stands on the actual spot that was the centre of the explosion.

So – having spent the day travelling from south west to south east then east London seeking out the ‘first – worst & last’ V2 rocket attack sites, it was time for a little liquid refreshment before heading off back home – and so I continued walking up Vallance Road-E1 from ‘Hughes Mansions’ towards Bethnal Green, and popped into a legendary east-end pub “The Marquis of Cornwallis” situated on the corner of Vallance Rd & Bethnal Green Road.

‘The Marquis of Cornwallis’ is a typical old east-end type boozer that has a bit of history behind it. Records show that there has been a pub on the site since 1793, and the current pub building dates back to 1835.

It has a bit of notoriety about it as in the past it was often the preferred watering-hole for a lot of the local gangsters, and in fact, the Kray Twins dad ‘Charles Kray’ senior, was once a ‘regular’ – even when he was on-the-run’ from the authorities-as it is said, he often was.

Knocking back a couple of ‘cheeky’ beers in the ‘Cornwallis’ gave me the time to contemplate on just how difficult and terrifying life must have been for Londoner’s during WW2 years – and hopefully, through commemorative plaques and memorials, however big/however small – the courage and resilience of those who lived through this kind of stuff is appreciated and never forgotten.

Hope my accompanying photos help to bring a bit of reality to this article.

________________________________________________________________

See below for the full range of photographs taken to accompany this blog

Before the introduction of the ‘V2’ rocket model – the very first ‘V1’ rocket to hit London, was launched from European soil on 13th June 1944 and hit a railway bridge in Grove Road-Bow, killing 6 people and badly injuring 42 others – all in all, 9,000 V1 rockets were launched on London.

 

The ‘V2’ rocket weighed 23 tons – travelled at 3,000mph – flew so high that it couldn’t be tracked by radar or shot down by anti-aircraft weapons – its approach couldn’t be heard at ground level – and when they exploded, they could leave a crater of anything up to 10ft deep. They were so powerful that their destructive effect would fan-out for up to a quarter of a mile from where they landed.

 

Leafy, tranquil ‘Chiswick’ located in the far reaches of SW-London – the very first V2 rocket attack took place here.

 

The quiet little suburban residential street of Staveley Road in leafy Chiswick, located down by the Thames in the far reaches of south-west London. This very first V2 attack occurred here and killed 3 people outright and seriously injured 17.

 

The memorial at Staveley Rd-Chiswick – the site of the very first V2 rocket attack on London

 

The memorial at Staveley Rd-Chiswick – the site of the very first V2 rocket attack on London

 

The memorial at Staveley Rd-Chiswick – the site of the very first V2 rocket attack on London

 

A photo of Staveley Rd-Chiswick following the devastation of the very first V2 rocket attack on London

 

The memorial at Staveley Street-Chiswick – at the site of the very first V2 rocket attack on London

 

Next to the memorial in Staveley Rd-Chiswick is a ‘story-board’ that reminds us of, and commemorates the lives of the 3 people who were killed.

 

Next to the memorial in Staveley Rd-Chiswick is a ‘story-board’ that reminds us of, and commemorates the lives of the 3 people who were killed

 

Next to the memorial in Staveley Rd-Chiswick is a ‘story-board’ that reminds us of, and commemorates the lives of the 3 people who were killed

 

Next to the memorial in Staveley Rd-Chiswick is a ‘story-board’ that reminds us of, and commemorates the lives of the 3 people who were killed

 

Me – alongside the memorial in Staveley Rd-Chiswick – the site of the very first V2 rocket attack on London in 1944

 

New Cross Gate station – just a few yards away from the ‘worst’ V2 rocket attack on London in WW2

 

A photo showing the devastation of the V2 rocket attack in New Cross, that hit the Woolworths department store on a busy Saturday morning in November 1944

 

Another photo showing the devastation of the V2 rocket attack in New Cross, that hit the Woolworths department store on a busy Saturday morning in November 1944

 

In ‘New Cross Road’ south-east London – the ‘worst’ V2 rocket attack on London is commemorated by 2 plaques on the exterior wall of an Iceland supermarket, which is built on the site of the old ‘Woolworths’ department store that was so devastatingly bombed by a V2 on 25th November 1944, taking the lives of 168 people – the ‘worst’ tragedy as a result of these rocket attacks.

 

One of the commemorative plaques on the exterior wall of an Iceland supermarket in the New Cross Road-SE London – built on the site of the old ‘Woolworths’ department store that was so devastatingly bombed by a V2 on 25th November 1944,

 

Another commemorative plaque on the exterior wall of an Iceland supermarket store in the New Cross Road-SE London – built on the site of the old ‘Woolworths’ department store that was so devastatingly bombed by a V2 on 25th November 1944

 

The site today – of what was the worst V2 rocket attack on London in 1944 – New Cross-SE London

 

Although it could be argued that this has been shabbily put together – at least someone has had the decency and respect to display their own commemoration to all those who lost their lives as a result of the worst V2 rocket attack on London – in New Cross.

 

 

Me – alongside the commemorative plaques on the external walls of the Iceland store in New Cross Rd – that, back in 1944, was the scene of the ‘worst’ V2 rocket attack on London soil.

 

Me – with the site of the New Cross V2 rocket attack, in the background

 

The very’ last’ V2 rocket attack on London took place on 27th March 1945 at around 7am in the morning, when it hit ‘Hughes Mansions’ – part of a residential block of flats situated at the Whitechapel end of Vallance Road-London E1 – killing 134 of its residents.

 

A photo showing the devastation of the V2 rocket attack that hit ‘Hughes Mansions’ in Vallance Rd-Whitechapel on the morning of 25th March 1945, killing 134 people. The very last V2 rocket attack on London

 

 

A commemorative stone tucked away in the grounds of the ‘Hughes Mansions’ housing estate-Vallance Rd-E1. The scene of the very ‘last’ V2 rocket hit on 27th March 1945 – killing 134 innocent people.

 

A close-up of the commemorative plaque tucked away in the grounds of the ‘Hughes Mansions’ housing estate-Vallence Rd-E1.

 

At the ‘Hughes Mansions’ estate today – a children’s playground now stands on the actual spot that was the centre of the explosion of the very last V2 rocket to hit London in 1945.