As I got to know Betty I found out that despite living in Essex, she was a Girl from Bermondsey, she was born in St Olaves Hospital which is close to Surrey Docks on 10th September 1926.

I lived in Bermondsey from 1965 through to 1980 when I married Marion.

Betty moved from Bermondsey due to the war when she was evacuated and following the bombing of her home she moved to North East London where she met Ed and eventually married. During their young lives Betty and Ed were keen cyclists and had many trips and holidays on their tandem. We had many chats and shared memories about our different times in Bermondsey and we had a couple of trips to her “old manor” where we took her to Abbeyfield Rd where she lived, The Blue where she shopped, the cottage hospital where the nuns took her in when she ran from a German fighter plane. We showed her Surrey Docks which was being developed and she recalled seeing the skies red from the fires in the docks during the blitz. It turned out that Betty’s dad worked in Shuttleworth’s, a local sweet and confectionary factory as did my mum. Betty and I also went to the same junior school, at different times though.
After the war Betty and Ed moved to Rainham, Essex where Marion was born. Geoff, Betty and Eds son having been born at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson hospital in 1952 . The house in Rainham was a new build on an unmade road with pig farms and cherry orchards around them. At the time their family wondered why they were moving to “the back of beyond”, how things have changed. In 1994 Betty and Ed moved from Rainham to Pertwee Drive, South Woodham Ferrers, their son Geoff had passed away in 1987.
After Ed’s passing Betty found the upkeep of a detached home too much. So after some discussion we took her to Tylers Ride to see if she would like an apartment. To our surprise she jumped at it, and in 2008 she moved in.

Betty was lucky to watch her two grandsons grow up and she was able to attend both their weddings and she was privileged to watch her three great grandchildren grow. During Betty’s last days we told her that there was to be a forth great grandchild and showed her the grainy scan image which she was able to acknowledge saying “wonderful”.