Terry Martin's Stuff

Mum - Mary Irene Davies
Maternal Grandmother Doris Eliza Friend
Maternal Grandfather - Ernest Leonard Davies

Dad- Bernard Terence Martin
Paternal Grandmother - Alice Maud Bourne
Paternal Grandfather - Charles Halliday Martin

Born- 24th October 1951
 
Initially lived with my maternal grandparents in Felhampton Road. New Eltham. Moved to Onslow Gardens, Sidcup, Kent in 1952.

• Fell into garden pond when I was 2 and "nearly drowned" according to mum!

Contracted Whooping Cough when I was 3.
As I was a self-willed little sod, I refused to take the prescribed Erythromycin. My parents tried everywhich way to get it down my throat..to no avail and I ended up with a collapsed lung and was admitted to Farnborough open air isolation hospital for several months. I had no contact with family other than visists and communication through safety glass ! 

I remember my Nana giving me my first haircut "when you go to the barbers they'll always snip a bit of your ear off" enough to turn me off for life ! - I've only ever been to the barbers a couple of times. I always have had by hair done by professional lady hairdressers !

When I was 4 my dear sister Kathryn Mary was born, we moved from Kent to Stewards Close in Epping, Essex. My Dad was a banknote printer at Loughton, Essex.

Soon after I was admitted to St Margarets Hospital for a tonsillectomy. Disaster ! I was given a meal just befor the operation, vomitted during the operation, tonsils came out but throat severly lacertaed by the scalpel- still a bit traumatised by that episode.

There were 22 houses in Stewards Close. 20 detached houses and two detached bungaows. It was a new estate , built by Deans, between 1952 and 1954. All the residents took up occupancy within these years. It had a good community spirit, (unlike today where one hardly knows or rarerly speaks to ones neighbours) with my mum being one of the main drivers of this side of things. We lived at number 1. The others in this initial 'social group' were: Dorothy & Phil Rodgers (number 5) Sylvia & Clarrie Herbert ( number 11) June & Robert Sale ( number 13) Charlie and Iris Field ( number 15) and my favourite people in the whole world- the Newmans - Madge, Alec, Janet and Paul at number 14.

Number 1 Stewards Close was a three up, two down semi detached house. I loved living there. It had a back garden which, looking from the house had no.3 on the right and a fence that ran all the way to the end on the left. On the other side was an access road which lead to our garage.

Apart from Richard Goatcher at number 16 and Janet Newman at number 14, I was the oldest child in 'the close'. Richard, was quite a manipulative and devious bully. He relieved me of such things as my football programmes and collectible stamps. But I looked up to him. He got me the job working on Coopersale Hall Farm.. some of the happiest times of my entire life were spent there. I think I started off working hours a day for a cigarette Then my 'wages' increased to 3d per week and when I stopped working there I think I was earning about 6d an hour ! I never minded working hard, and there were times when there were spin-off rewards !

At number 4 was the Buckleys. Norma and Raymond were the children and their father was a lunatic in the truest sense of the word. Every full moon he would throw extreme verbal and physical 'wobbles' although I don't know whether he actually turned into a werewolf !!

Of course, these times were only 10 years on from the end of WWll. I was fascinated by this and would often browse Japanese atrocity books in Epping library. They had graphic pictures of POW's being filled up with water, barbed wire wrapped around their middles and then planks laid over them upon which the Japanese guards would stamp up and down upon. Such an evil thing is man.

When I was about 8 I drew a swastika on the post of our bannister. My father thumped me. My mum shouted at her husband "Don't hit him, he doesn't know what it means" Obviously the war was still fresh in my dad's mind.