Les

.

Green Fields To Urban Sprawl

When I moved from Lambourne End to live in Hainault in early 1940 as a 13year old most of the present day postal code IG7/6 was green fields.
There were no houses in New North Road past Lime Grove and Tunstall Avenue on the opposite side of the road, from here the road became narrower with only a farmhouse before meeting the Romford Road where the Hainault Oak public house stood [now a block of flats].

No buses ran down New North Road you had to walk to the Maypole public house at Fencepiece Road to catch the bus to Ilford

The School I attended in the area was Fairlop Upper Boys School in Fence piece Road which had separate buildings for Girls and Juniors

From Hainault Railway station steam trains went to Ilford you changed trains to go to Liverpool Street Station.

In 1945 single storey Pre Fabricated houses started to be erected when houses would be needed to accommodate families after the war ended.
Prisoners of war help to install roads and the foundations for these buildings.

At this time I was 18 years old and was called up for the army and went abroad for nearly 3 years. When I returned in February 1948 to my surprise the area had completely changed with two storey pre fab. And other types of houses built and being built turning green fields into a large housing estate.

Relative links: