Post by Tom Garnell on Oct 25, 2010 17:22:31 GMT
I'm Tom Garnell, founder of this site.
I was born on 19th November 1936 at 38 Beatrice Street, Plaistow, just behind the Old Grand Cinema.
We moved twice before the war, to 39 New Barn Street, Plaistow and then to 31 Dale Road, Canning Town.
Bombed out in the raid that damaged Saint Margaret's Church and School so we moved temporarily to Slough and then to Leicestershire for the remainder of the war. Lived in the very street where Sue Townsend, authoress of the Adrian Mole books, was born and she went to my old school in Glen Hills.
Moved back to London in July 1946. We lived in a nissen hut in the shadow of Saint Luke's Church close to Raffy, Hut 1, Radland Road.
I went to Saint Margaret's School from July 1946 to July 1948, always in Welshie's class. Thus I saw Peter Welsh, Brian Doherty and many others leave in 1946, John Hart and most of the football team leave in 1947 before linking up with my own age group for the 1947/8 academic year.
Went to Saint Bonaventure's in September 1948 and left in July 1953.
Worked for the London Trustee Savings Bank from August 1953 to February 1955 at the Stratford Branch.
Did my National Service in the RAF, mostly in Germany, from February 1955 to February 1957.
Returned to the Bank but had lost interest and moved on in September 1957 to Jenson & Nicholson, the Robbialac paint company, in Carpenters Road, Stratford. I worked in the Purchasing Department.
During my time there I met my wife Grace and we became engaged in December 1958 and married on 20th May 1961.
I left J&N in December 1961 to work at the W.T.A. Travel Agents in Stratford Co-Op.
Late in December 1962 I moved back in buying with Arthur Scull & Son in the City.
Grace & I had lived in her parents' house until we bought our first house in Snodland in Kent. On the day we received confirmation that our mortgage had been approved Scull's announced that they were moving to Harrow, thus increasing my journey.
After 3 months travelling from Kent to Harrow I moved on to another Heating firm in the City, Hinton Jones.
In 1965 I moved on to Wiggins Teape, the paper firm, also in the City.
I spent over 4 happy years at WT, during which time I won two National Awards for treatises on Buying and started part time lecturing in Kent and Croydon.
I was promoted to the post of Chief Buyer at WT's Belgian Mill in Nivelles, south of Brussels in October 1969. The family moved over in January 1970. We stayed there until August 1971.
I had been appointed a Lecturer at Aylesbury College of F.E. for September 1971. I stayed there until March 1978 when I was appointed Director of the Small Businesses Unit at Brighton Tech.
We moved into a cliff top bungalow in Peacehaven in 1978 and remain there today.
Grace & I have two sons, John, born 1965, and Paul, born 1968. Both were born in Snodland.
John has 3 children and Paul has 2.
I am now mostly retired but I continue to do some accountancy work, something I started to do in 1988 and took up as full time when I took early retirement from the College in 1991.
Grace & I are due to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary in May next year.
I was born on 19th November 1936 at 38 Beatrice Street, Plaistow, just behind the Old Grand Cinema.
We moved twice before the war, to 39 New Barn Street, Plaistow and then to 31 Dale Road, Canning Town.
Bombed out in the raid that damaged Saint Margaret's Church and School so we moved temporarily to Slough and then to Leicestershire for the remainder of the war. Lived in the very street where Sue Townsend, authoress of the Adrian Mole books, was born and she went to my old school in Glen Hills.
Moved back to London in July 1946. We lived in a nissen hut in the shadow of Saint Luke's Church close to Raffy, Hut 1, Radland Road.
I went to Saint Margaret's School from July 1946 to July 1948, always in Welshie's class. Thus I saw Peter Welsh, Brian Doherty and many others leave in 1946, John Hart and most of the football team leave in 1947 before linking up with my own age group for the 1947/8 academic year.
Went to Saint Bonaventure's in September 1948 and left in July 1953.
Worked for the London Trustee Savings Bank from August 1953 to February 1955 at the Stratford Branch.
Did my National Service in the RAF, mostly in Germany, from February 1955 to February 1957.
Returned to the Bank but had lost interest and moved on in September 1957 to Jenson & Nicholson, the Robbialac paint company, in Carpenters Road, Stratford. I worked in the Purchasing Department.
During my time there I met my wife Grace and we became engaged in December 1958 and married on 20th May 1961.
I left J&N in December 1961 to work at the W.T.A. Travel Agents in Stratford Co-Op.
Late in December 1962 I moved back in buying with Arthur Scull & Son in the City.
Grace & I had lived in her parents' house until we bought our first house in Snodland in Kent. On the day we received confirmation that our mortgage had been approved Scull's announced that they were moving to Harrow, thus increasing my journey.
After 3 months travelling from Kent to Harrow I moved on to another Heating firm in the City, Hinton Jones.
In 1965 I moved on to Wiggins Teape, the paper firm, also in the City.
I spent over 4 happy years at WT, during which time I won two National Awards for treatises on Buying and started part time lecturing in Kent and Croydon.
I was promoted to the post of Chief Buyer at WT's Belgian Mill in Nivelles, south of Brussels in October 1969. The family moved over in January 1970. We stayed there until August 1971.
I had been appointed a Lecturer at Aylesbury College of F.E. for September 1971. I stayed there until March 1978 when I was appointed Director of the Small Businesses Unit at Brighton Tech.
We moved into a cliff top bungalow in Peacehaven in 1978 and remain there today.
Grace & I have two sons, John, born 1965, and Paul, born 1968. Both were born in Snodland.
John has 3 children and Paul has 2.
I am now mostly retired but I continue to do some accountancy work, something I started to do in 1988 and took up as full time when I took early retirement from the College in 1991.
Grace & I are due to celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary in May next year.