by Alan Johnson
My mother in the back yard of 107 Southam Street in the early fifties.
Linda and me celebrating the Coronation in 1953.
Roger Mayne’s photograph of Clarendon Crescent, taken in 1957, a few streets away from Southam Street.
On the beach at New Brighton during our trip to Liverpool.
With Lily in our matching blazers at Mr and Mrs Ireland’s in Liverpool.
With Linda in the toy car that had belonged to the Irelands’ grown-up son.
A Southam Street scene as captured by Roger Mayne.
Wornington Road Infants’ School, 1955.
Bevington Primary School, c. 1958.
One of Mayne’s most memorable photographs of Southam Street in 1956.
My teacher at Bevington, Mrs Leadsford, on the right, together with Mrs Gryf.
Christmas 1968 at the night-shift Christmas dinner in Barnes Postmen’s Delivery Office. My daughter Emma was born on Christmas Eve, a week after this photograph was taken.
Wedding line-up, 1968. From left: Andrew Wiltshire, me, Judy, Linda, Judy’s grandmother and our daughter, Natalie.
Acknowledgements
My grateful thanks to:
My sister, Linda Edwards, for relating so many of the experiences recorded here.
My agent, Andrew Kidd, and my friends Charlotte Greig and Becky Milligan for all their enthusiasm, encouragement and help with this book.
Sue Utting, a former Number 10 ‘Garden Room Girl’, whose typing was impeccable.
Doug Young and his colleagues at Transworld.
Caroline North, who my publishers rightly described as the best editor in the business.
My Auntie Peggy and recently departed Auntie Rita for reliving their childhoods for me.
Yvonne Tozer (née Stacey), Colin James, Danny Curtis, Tony Kearns, Arif Ali, Jimmy Robb and the late Carmen Samad for sharing their memories.
Catherine Bramwell and Caroline Reynolds for their out-of-hours help.
Mrs Eve Stonelake for reminding me of some of the vast array of shops in Golborne Road.
Mark Olden, for sending me his splendid book Murder in Notting Hill (Zero Books, 2011) and acquainting me with London’s Newcomers: The West Indian Migrants by Ruth Glass (Harvard University Press, 1960), which provided me with a useful context for my childhood experiences.
Picture Acknowledgements
Unless otherwise credited, all photos are from the author’s collection. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of photos reproduced in the book. Copyright holders not credited are invited to get in touch with the publishers.
Photos here, here and here of the picture section courtesy of Mary Evans Picture Library/Roger Mayne.
Index
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Aberfan 259
Ali, Arif 271
Ambrose, Bert 14
Anthony Jackson’s supermarket 263, 264–5
apartheid 169
Arden, Don 257, 270
Area, the (band) 259, 268, 279; formed 256–7; concert at Aylesbury 257, 260, 269; studio recording 270; burglary 271
Armstrong, Ted 112
Australia 83
Aylesbury College 257, 260
Bakridon, Mike 271, 272
Barker, Annie (née Johnson; aunt of Alan) 23
Barker, Tony (cousin of Alan) 68
Barker, ‘Tottsy’ 23–4
Barnes 46, 195, 276, 278
Bates, Stephanie 268
baths 96
BBC: premises 23, 194; radio 45, 130, 171, 172, 279–80
BBC2 260
Beatles, the 172–3, 179, 187, 206, 280
Berriman, Mr (shopkeeper) 98, 104, 134, 204–5, 208
Berry, Chuck 179, 180, 181
Betting and Gaming Act 49
Beveridge report 99
Bevington Primary School 57, 58, 74, 75, 92, 108–9, 122–3, 124, 140; caning 68, 188; playground 62; swimming 109
bicycles 69–70
Boas, Guy 125, 127
books 59, 60–1, 117–19, 228–9, 249, 250–1, 268; favourite 60, 118, 119, 129, 229
boxing 66, 134
Bright, Pauline 185–7, 206
Brixton College 193
Brook Green Nursery, Hammersmith 193, 204, 258
Burgess Hill, Sussex 188
bus tickets 64
Cambridge Gardens 73–4
candles 16, 199, 202, 205
cards 61–2, 63
Carlen, Peter 248–51, 252, 253
Carlyle Grammar School for Girls 149, 185
Carnaby Street 253–4
Carter, Jimmy 139–40, 141–4, 145, 161, 162–3, 164–6, 170, 171, 175, 197, 206
Carter, Johnny 145–7, 148, 227–8, 246, 247
Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly 141, 195, 249
Cheetham, Ann 260, 268, 272
Cheetham, Irene 260
Chelsea 253–4; see also Sloane Grammar School
Children’s Country Holidays Fund 150–9
Christie, John 147–8
Christmas: Cobden Club parties 43, 60, 117; 1957, parents away 52–3, 86; in Romford with Ron 162; at Southam Street 35–6; 1963 208–11; 1966 262
cigarettes 41, 139–40, 199, 214–15, 273
cinemas 41, 42, 73
Clark, Ian 256
coach travel 31, 32
coal 15, 174–6
Cobden Club 43, 60, 117
Cochrane, Kelso, murder of 89–92, 94
Coronation celebrations 22
Coventry 31
Cox, Albert 58, 59–60, 61, 71, 116, 228–9, 232, 261, 266–7
Cox, Carole 57–8, 60, 256, 261
Cox (later Johnson), Judy 273–5, 276, 278; wedding 283; childbirth 283
Cox (later Johnson), Natalie 273, 274, 276, 283
Cox, Pat 60, 70–1, 120, 208, 219, 232, 259, 261, 265–6
Cox, Tony (school friend) 57–8, 60, 61, 69–70, 71–4, 116–17, 120, 121–3, 125, 126, 127, 183, 259, 267
Crawley, Sussex 48
Cub Scouts 107, 119–20
Curtis, Danny 256, 259, 270, 271
Curtis, Walter 69, 121, 123
Daily Sketch 56–7, 190
Dance, Willie 14
Dansette record-player 50–1, 97, 113, 180, 247
Dante 216
David (Sutton Dwellings) 28, 29
Dawson, Mr (of Tesco) 261–4
Denmark 150–8
dentistry 222
Deram label 270
Dickens, Charles 59; David Copperfield 229, 249
divorce 57, 99–100, 103–4, 207
dog 81–2
Dr Barnardo’s homes 236, 274; Barkingside 237–9
Dulwich 103, 142–4, 145
Durham, Peggy (née Gibson; aunt of Alan) 17, 19–20, 32–3, 103, 225, 229, 230
Durham, Robert (‘Bob’; uncle of Alan) 34
Dylan, Bob 198
Earl of Warwick pub, North Kensington 13, 174
Education Act 1944 107–8
Electric Cinema 73
electricity meters 16, 35, 80–1, 175, 194, 204
Eleven-Plus exam 106–7, 123–5
Elsie (of Sutton Dwellings) 25, 28–9
EMI 275
emigration 83
Farugia, Johnny 264–5, 268, 271, 275
fighting 65–6, 71–2
films: in cinemas 41, 42, 118–19; on lorries 55; at school 128, 129–30; westerns 118–19
Flick Cards 61–2
food 37–40, 104–6, 141, 195, 254–5, 260–1; rationing 37; school lunches 34–5, 125, 128, 195, 254, 260
football 114–17, 119, 141, 148–9, 159; in Denmark 157; in Liverpool 234; playing in parks 120; QPR 114–15, 116–17, 119, 148, 159, 269; at school 149, 175; at Stamford Bridge 177–8
football pools 46, 47, 49, 50; in Big Freeze 177
Foster, Dolly
(née Gibson; aunt of Alan) 30, 31
Foster, Les (uncle of Alan) 30, 31
Fourth Feathers Club 256, 259, 271, 279
Frampton, Peter 280
Freeze, Big 1963 173–7
Fulham 194, 238
Fulham County Grammar School for Girls 97 106, 140
gambling 49–50, 148
gas lamps 12
Gemmill, Mr (headmaster) 92, 108–9, 123
Gibson, Joe (‘Sonny’; uncle of Alan) 30, 229
Gibson, John (grandfather of Alan) 16, 17, 18–20, 32, 230
Gibson, John (uncle of Alan) 30, 225, 229
Gibson, Maria (grandmother of Alan) 16–17, 18, 20
Gibson, Norman (uncle of Alan) 229
Green, Harry (uncle of Alan) 34, 234–5
Green, Rita (née Gibson; aunt of Alan) 19–20, 32–3, 225, 234
Grimond, Jo 93
guitars 50, 113, 114, 119, 184, 185, 228, 247, 252, 257, 271–2, 275
Hackett, Stephen 184, 215
Hamlet Gardens 267–8, 272
Hammersmith 193, 195, 255, 267–8; Brook Green Nursery 193, 204, 258; Register Office 283; tower block 241
Hammersmith Hospital 116, 189, 191, 204, 207–8, 209–10, 211, 216–20, 221, 224–5
Handley, Ronnie 255, 261, 263
Harris, ‘Dolly’ (teacher) 248
Hassam, Sham 271, 272, 275–6
Hayes, Mr (teacher) 68, 109, 110, 188
Hayward, Peter 123
Heath, George (uncle of Alan) 30, 86, 225, 229, 233
Heath, Jean (née Gibson; aunt of Alan) 8, 19, 30–1, 86; after Lilian’s death 220, 225, 229, 233
Henry (Lilian’s suitor) 131–3
Henry, Dr (headmaster) 127–8, 188, 215, 249, 251
Henry’s Radios, Praed Street 196, 198
hire purchase 46–7, 50, 113
Holland Park 15, 120–1, 124; Comprehensive School 124
hop-picking 34, 86
horoscopes 56–7 Hughes, Marilyn 57, 84, 91
Hull 31
Hyde Park 54, 119
illegitimacy 57, 274
immigrants 48, 75–7, 147; Cochrane 89–92, 94
In-Betweens, the (band) 271–2, 275, 279
Ireland, Mr and Mrs 17, 31, 33
[Sir] Isaac Newton Secondary Modern School 73, 107, 123
James, Colin 183–8, 194, 205, 212, 215, 253
Jay, Peter 279–81
Joe Loss Orchestra 280
Johnson, Alan: birth 11; names 11–12, 277–8; childhood in North Kensington 12, 15, 18–27, 28–45, (visit to Liverpool 31–4), (infants school 34–5, 75), 46–63, (Christmas alone 52–3), (primary school 57, 61–2, 75, 92, 108–11), 64–74, (and father 66), (seized by madman 72–3), 75–86, (on father’s leaving 83–6), 89–101, 103–13, (Eleven-plus exam 106–7, 123–5); at secondary school 106, 125–6, 127–30, (eye injury 136–7), 140–2, 159, 168–70, 188, 248–53; song–writing 112, 113, 270; football 114–16, 159, 177–8; Cub Scout 119; and father 144–5, 232–3; works for milkman 146–8, 194–5; holiday in Denmark 150–9; Christmas in Romford 162–6; puberty 167–8; appendicitis 170–3; in Big Freeze 174; teenager 178–90, 193–206, 253–4; while mother in hospital 202–6, 207–18; death of mother 219–20; aftermath 220–30; mother’s funeral 230–3; in Liverpool 233–4; new accommodation sought 235–41; in Pitt House 245–7, 256, 258; writing ambition 249–50, 252; leaves school 251, 252; first jobs 254–6, 261–5; living with Coxes 259–61, 266–7; in Hamlet Gardens 267–8; meets Judy 273–5; as postman 46, 276–8; with bands 185, 205, 256–7, 258, 269–72, 275–6, 279; audition 279–81; marriage and children 283
Johnson, Betty (aunt of Alan) 222–3, 232
Johnson, Emma (daughter of Alan) 283
Johnson, Jamie (son of Alan) 43
Johnson, Jim (uncle of Alan) 23, 222–3, 232, 240
Johnson, Lilian (née Gibson; mother of Alan): family 16–17; birth 7; early life 14–15, 17–18, 20, 117, 230; wedding, 7–8; childbirths 11; politics 93; religion 25, 56; teeth 222; living in Southam Street 12, 15–16, 22, 23–6, 28–32, (visits Liverpool 32–4), 34–9, 41–5, (wins football pools 46–7, 49, 50), 46–52, 55–7, 63, 64, 66–71, 77–86, (on husband’s leaving 83–6), (and death of Cochrane 89–92), 93–4; work 15, 42, 52, 53–4, 97, 102, 121, 126, 140; in hospital 52–3, 100–1, 134, 138, 141, 179, 189, 190–2, 202, 203–4, 205–5; living in Walmer Road 95–100, 103–8, 111–13, 116, 119–20, 123–6, 130–7, 138–41, 144–5, 148, 150–1, 160–1, 99–100; divorce 99–100, 103–4; and daughter 99, 130–1, 138, 191–2, 193; seeks second husband (Henry 131–3, 138), (Ron 160–5); final illness 199–202; in hospital 207–11, 216–19; death 220–5; funeral 223–4, 230–2
Johnson, Linda (sister of Alan): birth 11; character 13–14; childhood 12, 13, 15–16, 21–2, 24–7, 28–35, 39, 42, 44, 50, (CCHF holiday 150), (Christmas alone 52–3), 54–8, 60, 63, 64, 80–3, (pet dog 81–2), (attacks father 82), (on father’s leaving 83–6); teenage years 95–9, 104–6, (works in shops 104, 134), 111–12, (and mother 99, 130–1, 138, 191–2, 193), 131–3, (dates 133–6, 139, 196–7, 199–203), (confronts father 142–5), 160–5, 167–8, 170–2, 175, 179–83, 191–2, (leaves school 191, 193); nursery nurse training 191, 193–4, 258; while mother in hospital 203–11, 216–19; at mother’s death 220–5, 227; subsequently 229–33, 235–41; in Pitt House 245–7, 251–2, 257; in Watford with Mike Whitaker 258–9, 269, 272–3; marriage 258, 261; children 283
Johnson, Nanny (grandmother of Alan) 20–1, 23, 24, 25, 223
Johnson, Sandra (half-sister of Alan) 145
Johnson, Stephen (father of Alan): early life 7, 14–15; wedding 7, 8; career 14, 34, 144; as pianist 14, 15, 33, 34, 78, 114, 132; living with family 12, 15, 20–1, 25, (and Elsie 26, 28–9), (in Liverpool 31–4), 35, 41–5, (party host for Cobden Club 43, 60), 46, 48–50, (Christmas 1957 52–3), 57–8, (teaches son boxing 66), 67, 78–9, 80–3, (and dog 81–2), (and football 114–15), 223; leaves family 83–6, 113; in Dulwich with Vera 103, 142–4, 145; divorce 103–4; as absent father 103, 104, 119, 137, 138, 139, 143, 144–5, 193, 207; confronted by daughter 142–4; and son 144–5, 226, 232–3; on wife’s death 222, 232–3; subsequently 239, 246
Johnson, Vera (second wife of Stephen) 86, 102–3, 142–4
Johnson, Wally (uncle of Alan) 86
Kabin, the 40
Kearns, Tony 256
Keeler, Christine 189, 190
Kelly, Susan 268
Kennedy, John F.: assassination 206
Kenny, Mrs (landlady) 267–8
Kensal Green cemetery 92, 231
Kensal Town see North Kensington
Kensington Gardens 54–5
Kensington Palace Hotel 73
Kensington Post 160
Kensington Register Office 7
Kilburn 181, 182, 259
King, Nosmo 281
Kirby, Linda 109–10, 157
Kirby, Russell 110
Kirk, Stephen 65, 152, 153–6
Ladbroke Grove library 35, 60, 117
Ladd, Alan 11–12, 129
Lads of the Village pub, North Kensington 85–6, 102–3
Langton, Maureen 157
Latimer Arms, North Kensington 97–8, 174
launderette 38
Lawrence, Terry 185, 188, 215
Leadsford, Mrs (teacher) 123
Liverpool 86, 207–8, 225; in Lilian’s childhood 14, 16, 17–18, 20; family visit 29–30, 31–4; visit after Lilian’s death 233–5
London: bands 187, 252, 256–7, 269–72, 275–6, 279–81; fog 22; ‘swinging’ 183, 253–4; see also districts
London County Council 235, 236–7, 241, 258–9
Macdonald, Malcolm 128, 149
Marquee Club, Wardour Street 187, 252
Marsh, Rodney 269–70
Matthews, Stanley 177–8
Mayne, Roger 13, 76
Meehan, Pat 275
Melody Maker 256
Mindbenders, the (band) 279
Mods 175, 179, 180–2, 184, 197, 25
2, 280
Mosley, Oswald 93–5
museums 54–5, 55–6
music 110–13, 114; bands 185, 187, 194, 252, 256–7, 269–72, 279–81 (see also Area; In-Betweens; Vampires); broadcast 130, 172–3, 279–80; folk 198; Stephen Johnson as pianist 14, 15, 33, 34, 78, 114, 132; played at home 132–3; pop 110–12, 173–4, 179, 184; at schools 110, 129, 184, 185; singing 132–3; see also guitars; records
NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) 14–15, 20, 30, 70
National Health Service 11, 99, 172; dentistry 222
Natural History Museum 55–6
Nin (aunt of Lilian) 19
North Kensington (Notting Hill) 24, 29, 33, 42, 48, 120, 137, 146, 159, 190, 201, 245–6, 259, 274, 278; demolition 266; milk deliveries 146–7; parks 55; race riots 78, 79–80; see also Southam Street; Walmer Road
Notting Hill see North Kensington
Old Moore’s Almanack 56
Orwell, George 249, 251
Owen, Wilfred: ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’ 248
Ozorowitz, Alex and brother 152, 156–7, 158–9
Paddington General Hospital 12, 53, 90
Paddington Station 12, 16, 23–4
Pallai, Peter (teacher) 248, 253
Pankhurst, Emmeline 93
Pavilion 257
Peabody, George 24
Peabody Buildings 21, 23, 222, 240
Pepper, Mr (social worker) 237, 238–40, 241, 246, 247, 248
piano, at home 44–5, 60, 112–13, 132–3
pie and mash shops 39
Pied Horse pub, Islington 272, 275, 279
Pitt House, Wandsworth 245–8, 258
Playboy magazine 198–9
Portobello Road 38, 49, 63, 111, 181; market 34, 45, 134
Post Office 276–8
Profumo, John 189–90
Provident 31–2, 47, 134, 207
Prudential 47, 134
Putney Bridge 252
Pye International records 179, 180–1, 195
Queens Park Rangers 114–15, 116–17, 119, 148, 159, 177, 269
Rachman, Peter 48, 75, 190
racism 77–80, 92, 169
radio: pirate stations 279–80; programmes 24, 45, 46, 130, 172; sets 45, 46, 112, 130, 171, 172, 254, 268; see also BBC Radio