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London and Middlesex / Re: Ashford residental home . middlesex
« on: Saturday 10 July 10 09:40 BST (UK) »I was in Ashford Residential Home for approximately 2 years around 1950 - 1953. It was a huge building, and housed children from babies to 15 year olds. i came late 1946 till 1953 then went to bansted
It was very 'dickensian' and doesn't bring back very happy memories to me, but I would be interested in hearing from anybody else who may have been there during that time.
A few things I recall - There were boys one end and girls the other end of the building, with a huge corridor in between. (I recall this particularly, because one of my punishments for running away, yet again, was to get on my hands and knees and scrub the whole corridor - can you imagine an 11 year old doing that now?)
I also recall, that there were long dormitories (which we had to clean daily with a huge ronuk(?) polisher, and we had special name for the mice! I was beaten up on my first day. We used to go scrumping fruit in the orchards at the back of the building. We were always hungry. I got 1shilling and threepence for pocketmoney, and periodically got beaten up in the air-raid shelters and relieved of said money! If not, I, and others got over the wall into the village to buy some cigarettes! Oh, and I recall the 'blacking room' where all shoe polishing was carried out, and I still recoil in horror at the hundreds of cockroachers that scattered on turning the light on!
Apologies for going on a bit, but it's quite theraputic for me I suppose.
When I left there, I was sent to another 'Home' in Banstead till I was 15.
This was all because of my parents splitting up - it was certainly all different in those days................