Compulsory purchase?

The building in the above photos (click on either for a larger view) is one of the landmarks of Erith. It is the first thing many visitors see when they enter the town for the first time, but it is also one of the least memorable. The large and nowadays rather run down and scruffy brick building is called Electricity House – though many locals are unaware of this. It was built back in 1938 and opened in November 1939 as a showroom and offices for the local electricity company, which at the time was run by the council. Pre – war services such as gas, water and electricity supply were quite commonly managed and supplied by local councils; the idea of private companies being involved was something that did not happen until after the war had ended. Electricity House was also a place where new electrical customers could view domestic appliances which they could buy via hire purchase (it sounds like an early version of BrightHouse, but without the crippling interest rates). As well as the showroom, Electricity House was home to what contemporary accounts say was a very upmarket dance hall with a fully sprung Canadian Maple floor; there was also a small Pathe cinema. The local electricity business was astonishingly successful – probably much helped by the fact that it offered the cheapest metered electricity in the entire UK at the time – one penny per unit. Ten thousand local people signed up for electrification in the first month alone, attracted by the offer of free connection to the local power grid – unusual at the time – many suppliers would even charge for the copper cable to connect new customers. In 1939 the Erith electricity board made a (for then) massive profit of £13,000. The idea was that the money would be used to improve local services and amenities for all, but the advent of war meant that early in 1940 Electricity House was handed over for war work, and once peace was restored, the money intended to benefit local people was absorbed by the LEB during nationalisation, and nothing was ever seen of it. Much of Erith was still lit by gas until relatively recently. I believe that some houses in West Street did not get electricity until 1947 when the London Electricity Board was formed, and the local council control of power was nationalised. For the last six years I have been writing about how Bexley Council had plans to compulsorily purchase the building, and redevelop the large site as a new gateway development for Erith. I have had some inside information from a number of confidential sources on the project, but was asked to keep quiet on certain subjects - until now, when Bexley Council have made the following public announcement:- "At its meeting next week (25th February) the Council’s Cabinet will consider options to improve the top end of Pier Road near the Queens Road Roundabout to create a new welcoming gateway for Erith town centre. The Council has been buying properties on Pier Road since July 2017 as part of the Erith Regeneration Programme and wants to create a high quality, mixed use commercial and residential area that provides a more welcoming entrance to the town centre. Cllr Louie French, Bexley’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth said: “We want Erith to become a vibrant riverside town again and upgrading the gateway to the town centre at Pier Road is an important part of this. We have been working hard over the past few years to secure the site and are now at a stage where we need to make a decision about how best to move things forward.” One option that will be considered at the meeting is whether or not to use the Council’s compulsory purchase powers to buy properties and identify a development partner to help redevelop it. If it chooses this option, the Council will work closely with those affected and keep them informed at all stages of the process". I wonder what the reaction was of the owners of the newly refurbished kebab shop in the block - what used to be Town Kebab, which closed nearly two months ago after it was sold, and the new owners extensively (and expensively) gutted the old shop and refitted it with an impressive new interior and kitchen. It has been renamed Best Kebab and Chicken. I hope that Bexley Council will properly recompense them when the compulsory purchase goes through.

Last week I wrote a long piece on wartime SOE agent Violette Szabo. I got an Email from a somewhat unexpected source as a consequence. Caroline Field of Orbit Housing Association wrote the following, very surprising article:- "I was fascinated to read your piece on Violette Szabo. I have a very loose family relationship to her – through my in-laws by marriage.  This is how we discovered it….  Long ago my 12 yr old son was extremely disgruntled to be asked to ‘find a love poem and write about it’ as homework.  I’d recently read Leo Marks’ book and gave him the ‘The life that I have’ poem.  This went down very well, spies, ciphers  and sabotage helping to make the love poem theme  a lot more palatable. Ten years or so on my father-in-law had just died.  He was a lay minister and all through his terminal illness he carried on conducting funerals, taking great care to personalise each ceremony with the bereaved.  He died the day he conducted his last funeral, having left no indication of his preference for his own.  The order of service for his last one was on the table so we turned to it for inspiration.  It included the Violette poem and my mother-in-law suggested that she would like it. I told her the story behind the poem, which she hadn’t known. ‘Violette Szabo was related to us’ she said. Not surprisingly we then decided to use the poem for the funeral and memorial service. It transpired that Aunt Brenda (mother-in-law’s sister)  had long ago travelled to Australia by sea.  Someone discovered that distant relatives would be on the voyage and put them in touch with Brenda, who would be otherwise be travelling alone. These relatives were Violette’s parents and her daughter, Tania.  Tania and Brenda have stayed in touch ever since."

It is 76 years this month since the world's first stored program digital computer was first switched on. On the 5th of February 1944, the MK1 Colossus attacked its first cipher challenge. Contrary to some erroneous accounts, Colossus was not used to break the German Enigma code – that work was done on a separate set of electromechanical analogue computers called Bombes. What Colossus did was crack the daily key settings of an even more fiendishly complicated cipher system called Lorenz, which was exclusively used by the Nazi High Command to communicate with each other. Colossus was designed and built by a team headed by an amazing electronic engineer called Tommy Flowers, who was born and raised the son of a bricklayer in Poplar, East London. Flowers was ferociously intelligent, and whilst an  apprentice electrician at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, he undertook  evening classes at the University of London, where he was awarded a BSc in Electrical Engineering. He later became the head of the Post Office Research Station in Dollis Hill, where prior to the war he was instrumental in the design of the first automatic telephone exchange. I have a personal connection with this piece of history; my late Great Uncle Horace worked in the Dollis Hill Research Station during the war. We know very little of his wartime experiences, but we do know that as well as being exempted from military service, he was also exempted from Home Guard or fire watching duties, which was extremely unusual at the time. He never said anything about what he had been doing, but it remains very likely indeed he was part of Tommy Flowers’ Colossus design and construction team, which was the most secret allied project of the war, classified even higher than the Manhattan Project to create the first nuclear weapons. Uncle Horace’s full name was Horace Payne. After the war he became the chief telephone exchange engineer for the City of London, and was based at the old international telephone exchange in Upper Thames Street (or it may have been King William Street - my memory is hazy - I was very young, and it was a long time ago), which handled all phone lines to America. He was one of only two people who had the key to the international hotline that linked London, Moscow and Washington DC, which was in a room made to look like a store cupboard.  When I was seven or eight years old, during a school holiday I got to spend the day with him at work. He showed me the hotline room, and actually it was not very impressive - no flashing lights as you would see in a cold war thriller. Instead it was very plain, and painted with what appeared to be war surplus battleship grey. There were a few panels with unlit lights, and a patch panel with some cords attached to it. There was also a small table and a matching chair, and that was about that. Reality did not match the fictional “James Bond” image, which was very disappointing for a small boy. In his office Uncle Horace had a big Victorian roll - top desk, and propped against it was a very tatty and battered looking cricket bat. I recall I was sat with a carton of Kia Ora drink whilst he made some phone calls whilst smoking a horrid roll - up cigarette. For some unknown reason he smoked roll – ups at work, but at home he smoked conventional boxed cigarettes; he had a large collection of vintage cigarette cards, some in albums, and others in large piles which he kept on top the fireplace in his back room. I would imagine that nowadays they would be worth a small fortune. A junior engineer came in and said that there was a problem with a relay rack (the City exchange was the last one in London to be converted to digital, and at this time was still electro mechanical). Horace slowly got up, stubbed out his fag, then picked up the cricket bat, before winking at me as he said “come with me lad”. We went into the open relay floors, where tens of thousands of electro mechanical relays were clattering as they made automatic phone connections. The junior engineer pointed to a rack where the relays were not moving - they appeared to be frozen or jammed. Uncle Horace said “Stand Back!” to me over the din. He then took a great swing with the cricket bat at the relay frame. There was a loud bang, and the  frozen relays all jumped back into life!. He then fished around in the pocket of his waistcoat for a piece of chalk, and marked a cross on the side of the relay frame, before saying to his assistant “we’ll take this one out tonight - get it booked”. Now - this really impressed me! That was the only time I ever got to see what he did at work; he was extremely diffident about his past, and always managed to steer the conversation elsewhere if the subject came up. Ironically I am now sitting here typing this whilst wearing Horace’s Omega dress watch, which I inherited from him when he died. He was a real enigma, and a lovely man. Colossus was an amazing feat of engineering - It occupied the size of a living room (7 ft high by 17 ft wide and 11 ft deep), weighed five tonnes, and used 8kW of power. It incorporated 2,500 valves, 501 of which are thyraton switches, about 100 logic gates and 10,000 resistors connected by 7 km of wiring. Reading 5000 characters per second (faster than anything ever produced commercially), Colossus found the start wheel positions of Lorenz-encrypted messages to enable the decryption of 63 million characters. Typically, it took Colossus up to four hours to establish the start wheel positions of messages. It is often surmised that the Allies might have been reading some of the decrypted messages even before they reached Nazi High Command. By the end of the war, 63 million characters of high-grade German messages had been decrypted by the 550 people working on the ten functioning Colossi at Bletchley Park. After the war, some of the Colossi were destroyed, and the remaining ones moved to GCHQ, where it is said they were in operation until the mid 1970’s. By the early 1980’s the story of Bletchley Park and the Colossus computer was finally coming out, after over thirty years of total secrecy. Great Uncle Horace never said a word, and it is to my great regret that we only discovered after his death what almost certainly was his involvement with the astonishing feat which has gone on to change the world. Comment and feedback to hugh.neal@gmail.com.

Uncle Horace's best friend was the highly acclaimed amateur astronomer, comic actor and film star Will Hay - a name largely forgotten today, but a comic actor whose best work influenced the likes of The Goon Show, and Monty Python, and his most famous film "Oh, Mister Porter!" was a direct influence on "Dad's Army" - in fact,  Jimmy Perry, in his autobiography, wrote that the trio of Captain Mainwaring, Corporal Jones and Private Pike in Dad's Army was inspired by watching Oh, Mr Porter!  Born in Stockton in 1888, Hay’s family moved him south to Suffolk before his first birthday. As his father became a jobbing engineer so the family’s mobility quickly increased – moving next to Hemel Hempstead then to London and finally to Manchester where Hay Senior established his own firm. Wanting independence, Will refused to join the family company and started instead as an apprentice engineer for Westinghouse. Yet Hay was no typical engineer and his humour hid by the fact that, by the age of 19, he had learnt German, French and Italian to such a high level that he was able to leave engineering and became an interpreter. His nineteenth year also saw him married to fellow teenager Gladys Perkins and when his daughter Gladys Elspeth was born some eighteen months later Hay decided he could make a better living for his new family in the pre-Great War music halls. Stealing some of his sister Eppie’s staff room reminiscences – she was a full time teacher – Hay began to develop his pompous, bumbling schoolmaster act. After working for over three years with the Fred Karno troupe, where Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin had developed their craft, Hay swiftly found himself the talk of the town: selling out Britain’s biggest music halls, playing sets for the Prince of Wales and successfully touring America, South Africa and Canada. Then came Boys Will Be Boys (1935) his first starring film role with a screenplay written by Hay himself. The story wasn't overly deep – a prison teacher cons his way into a boarding school job and helps stop a diamond theft – but it did have its moments. And it was the perfect frame for Hay’s idiot teacher routines…Then, in 1937,  Graham Moffatt joined Moore Marriott as Hay’s two sidekicks in the finest comic film any of them would ever be involved with, Oh, Mr Porter! wherein Hay discovers the (Northern) Irish railway station he’s been sent to run, Buggleskelly, is actually a run-down mess. Gun-runners, ghosts, secret windmills and missing trains – Hay and his two stooges come out on top in a film that is, even now, genuinely funny, at times hilarious. Oh, Mister Porter! (1937) was a deserved box office smash in its day, taking some £500,000 in British cinemas alone – the equivalent now would be over £15 million. In the immediate pre - war years, Will Hay was the second highest paid entertainer in Britain, earning a reputed £800 per week - narrowly pipped in the earnings stakes by George Formby. Outside of show business, Will Hay was a dedicated and respected amateur astronomer. He constructed a personal observatory in his garden in Mill Hill and built a glider in 1909. He became a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1932 and is noted for having discovered a Great White Spot on the planet Saturn in 1933. The spot lasted for a few months and then faded away. He also measured the positions of comets with a micrometer he built himself, and designed and built a blink comparator. He wrote the book Through My Telescope in 1935, which had a foreword by Sir Richard Gregory, formerly Emeritus Professor of Astronomy at Queen's College, London. When Hay died, a few items of his equipment were bequeathed to the British Astronomical Association. Some years ago I came across a long out of print book on the life of Will Hay, and it had some photos taken of his garden and his private observatory; in one of the early shots, the construction of his observatory is shown; several people are helping with the digging of the observatory foundations. One chap is seen stripped to his string vest and leaning on a shovel - it was my late Great Uncle Horace on what must have been a very hot day for manual labour. I wish I had a copy of the book. In 1947, Hay suffered a stroke which left him physically disabled. He died at his flat in Chelsea, London after a further stroke in 1949, and is buried in Streatham Park Cemetery, London SW16.

Pac-Man, the biggest arcade game of all time, turned 40 years old last week. Released by the Japanese company Namco in February 1980, Pac-Man was like nothing else at the time. At a time when Space Invaders and Asteroids and other games with abstracted, monochrome graphics ruled the arcade, Pac-Man offered a striking, cartoonish design with an appealing central character. It revolved around eating, not shooting; and it was designed to appeal to young women and couples, not spotty nerks in anoraks (although they all played it too). The colourful design and unique collect-the-dots maze gameplay—plus the wonderful tension of running away from those ghosts, then scrambling to eat them once you got a power pellet—made Pac-Man almost instantly addictive, eating ten pence pieces as rapaciously as its protagonist swallowed pixels. By one count, Namco sold 400,000 Pac-Man machines, head and shoulders above anything that had come before, or since. And it is still highly playable and popular in a way its contemporaries are not—few people are paying for Asteroids or Space Invaders updates today, but Namco Bandai still makes and sells variations on Pac-Man on every platform imaginable. Pac-Man’s ubiquity was our first indication that games were about to become the dominant entertainment medium of the information age. (It also arguably marked the beginning of Japan’s impending pop-cultural invasion of the rest of the world, even if players at the time didn't know where it came from).

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:-

"This knife was recovered by an alert resident of Northumberland Way whilst out walking his dog in Castleton Avenue on the evening of 18th February. He saw a vehicle pull up next to a BT green box, saw a woman get out and then heard something metal drop behind the box. When the vehicle drove off he looked and found a 12' knife. The knife is now in possession of the police. Good news again for Barnehurst as we did not have many crimes. The Barnehurst team have been visiting residents this week and have been offering crime prevention advice. We are more than happy to come to your home and offer you crime prevention advice, so please give us a call on 02087212577. We have noticed that there has been 3 Theft from Motor Vehicles around the Colyers Lane area as we are urging residents to make sure that their vehicles are locked. We have had one burglary on Castleton Avenue, whereby entry was gained via the ground floor front door. The team also arrested a male for GBH and are continuing to provide proactive patrols across the ward. Please join us for our community contact day on TUESDAY 3rd MARCH at 11:00 hours at Barnehurst Golf Course. We will discuss any ward issues that you have and we will also provide residents with crime prevention advice". Belvedere ward:- "Overnight on the Saturday 15/02/2020 to Sunday 16/02/2020 at Jutland House, little Brights Road several of the mailboxes were broken into and contents thrown on the floor. Unknown who did this at present but enquiries are ongoing with the estate management regarding CCTV enquiries. On Sunday 16/02/2020 a burglary occurred on Orchard Road in the early hours. Someone had gained entry via the kitchen window. Documents were taken. On the Friday 14/02/2020 there was a commotion on Picardy Street whereby a male started arguing with another and a fight took place. The dental surgery also suffered damage in this affair. Investigation ongoing. Officers conducted a weapon sweep around Picardy Street on Sunday 16/02/2020 after the incident the day before and a chisel was found dumped in the bushes opposite the shops. Blade was rusty but could still cause damage if used for a nefarious purpose". Bexleyheath ward:-"Tuesday 11/02/20 1720 Robbery Air Pods Broadway. Wednesday 12/2/20 2100 – 13/2/20 0600 Theft From Motor Vehicle Martens Avenue - change stolen. Between Wednesday 12/2/20 2200 and Thursday 13/2/20 0630 Theft From Motor Vehicle Sterling Road car broken into nothing stolen. Between Friday 7/02/20 and Wednesday 12/02/20 Theft From Parking Meters Cineworld Car Park coins taken. Between Saturday 8/02/20 1500 and Sunday 9/02/20 1400 Criminal Damage Henfield Close rear gate damaged, no entry gained to property. Thursday 13/02/20 1900 Burglary Broomfield Road suspects have forced door, resident has been alerted to noise and shouted at suspects who have left scene. Friday 14/02/20 1545 Purse dropped on BROADWAY went back and found it however money and travel card were missing. Friday 14/02/20 1755 Robbery Air Pod case stolen by youths near Subway on Broadway. Saturday 15/02/20 0030 – 0600 Theft of Motor Vehicle Land Rover Latham Road. Saturday 15/02/20 1225 Robbery Russell Park. 3 suspects arrested Sunday". Crayford ward:- "We are happy to report that Crayford hasn't suffered any burglaries this week. We have managed to locate two stolen vehicles this week one was a motorcycle that was dumped by the thieves in a quiet cul de sac and car that was too badly damaged to be returned to its owner . The team have made a couple of arrest over the last few days, one for ABH after a male had assaulted an ex-partner at their home address and another male was arrested for a breach of a court order. ASB around the ward has improved lately, although we are still getting reports of youths causing issues in and around the Town Hall Square area. During evening patrols around the Dale Road area of Crayford, officers witnessed what they believed to be a drug deal in a dimly lit alley way, as they approached the two males they ran off towards Dale Close where unfortunately they were lost. However, officers retraced their steps after seeing objects fall out of the pockets of one of the males which was discovered to be a quantity of cash (notes) We have also conducted six stop and searches with some positive results". Erith ward:- "One burglary from the last week, Rear door forced open, and items of jewellery taken. We have a few sets of Smart Water left so if you would require one please email us and we will do our best to get one to you. 3 theft of motor vehicles and 2 thefts from motor vehicles. Vehicle crime is by far the largest crime across Erith. If you park your car on a drive way or outside your house it might be a good idea to invest in a camera, CCTV cameras are getting cheaper all the time, just a suggestion worth thinking about. Crimes of note from the last week: Theft of Motor vehicle Wednesday 12/02/2020 Queen Street, Residential burglary Wednesday 12/02/2020 Bramble Croft - Entry through locked rear window. Untidy search. Watch and jewellery taken". Northumberland Heath ward:- "No burglaries in the last week. 2 vehicles broken in to overnight on Thursday 13/02/2020. A log book and other paperwork were stolen from a vehicle in Camrose Avenue. A mobile phone was stolen from a vehicle in Belmont Road. Please do not leave any valuables in your vehicles at any time or any important papers etc. Due to staffing levels there will be no Community Contact Session until early in March. PCSO Lorraine is continuing ASB patrols in the park, Sussex Road and Becton Place whenever possible". Slade Green and Northend ward:- "A burglary took place between 10am and 3pm in Sun Court on Friday 14/02/2020. Items taken included a tv, car keys and jewellery. Entry was made via the kitchen window (situated at the rear of the property. Please ensure all doors and windows are locked each time you go out. We have had 3 vehicles damaged in 3 separate roads in the past week, all on different nights. A windscreen was smashed in Bridge Road, all windows smashed in Duriun Way and a wing mirror ripped off along with scratches on the car door in Hazel Road. It is unclear if these are all linked but if you happen to see anyone loitering around during night time hours, please call 101. Due to the weather we had to cancel our Smart Water event in Egerton Place last Saturday. A new date will be sent out in due course. Our next Community Contact Session is from 2.30pm on Thursday 27/02/2020 at Slade Green library". Thamesmead East ward:- "No burglaries this week Motor Vehicle Crime Kale Road Wednesday 12/2/20 between 1:00am -5:am an unknown person ,managed to gain entry to a vehicle without causing any damage, steal trainers, an iPad and a wallet containing £20.00. Hartslock Drive Saturday 15/2/20 between 12:55pm and 1:05pm the catalytic converter was stolen from a parked vehicle. Criminal Damage Glimpsing Green Between Tuesday 11/2/20 6:00pm and 7:30am on Wednesday 12/2/20 a resident reported that her post box had been damaged. Walsham Green Wednesday 12/2/20 between the hours of 3:50pm and 11:20pm ,eggs, flour and tomato ketchup had been thrown at the front of the residents property, hitting the door and windows. Good News PC's John and Nana, over the weekend, the group of youths who had been involved in shoplifting attended the Thamesmead East police office were given strong words of advice as to their future conduct and had to write letters of apology. The youths attended with their parents or an appropriate adult". West Heath ward:- "Excellent news this week no burglaries and no vehicle crimes have been reported on West Heath Ward. The Ward officers have been working collaboratively with East Wickham and Crook Log officers on proactive burglaries and motor vehicle crime patrols. On Monday 17th February 5 males were stopped and searched for drugs at various locations on the wards, one stop resulting in an investigation for possession of cannabis with the intent to supply. On Tuesday 18th West Heath officers took part in a Knife Arch Operation at Slade Green BR where three arrests were made for various offences including a suspect carrying a knife".

To celebrate the ascension to the throne of King George V, Bexley Urban District Council commissioned Walter Maxted Epps to design a clock tower for Bexleyheath town centre. Early professional cinematographer Harry Pease shot this film of the inauguration of the clock tower in July 1912. It is part of the archive film collection at Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre. Look out for the firemen standing on their horse-drawn engine. Please feel free to Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

GEM.

Wates Residential organised an event last week, that was designed to educate local primary school pupils of the dangers of playing on building sites. Reader Julie writes:- "Ivor Goodsite (the mascot shown in the photo above - click on the photo to see a larger version) visited Peareswood Primary School to deliver a site safety assembly about the dangers of construction sites and to launch a competition for the children to design artwork for the nearby Park East construction site. The project, which is being delivered by Wates Residential and Orbit, in partnership with the London Borough of Bexley, will see 320 new homes built, of which 80 per cent will for affordable rent and shared ownership to ensure a mixed, aspirational and sustainable community for local residents. Ivor was joined by Wates Residential Construction Manager, Lawrence Baxter. The names from the photograph are: Victoria Oshunkoya (Year 6), Amelia Walker–Kane (Year 2), Millie Wade (Year 2), Laila Menebhi (Year 6), Mason Humpheries (Year 1), Amelia Rackley (Reception), Clayton Walker (Reception), Lincoln Walker (Year 1) Charlie Costen (Reception), Tommy George–Pankhurst (Year 2). Amelia, year two, said what she liked about the assembly, which took place last month, was “when I had to wear the hat because it was funny”. Victoria, year six, added: “What I liked about [the event was] when the builder came in and we got [to] see what they wore and told us what they do when they’re working.” If this initiative keeps just one child safe, then in my opinion it has been worth it. Observations and comments can be sent to me by Email to hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

Early last week, Caroline Field, the Head of Regeneration at Orbit Housing Association Emailed me. Over the last month or so, she has been researching local historical figures. The reason for this is that the forthcoming Park East development in Northend Road, Erith will need new road and apartment block names. Caroline is keen for the new housing development to represent local identity. Whilst undertaking her historical research, Caroline came across a story that I had not heard before. As I have written in the past, during The Great War, a large number of women took over jobs previously done by men. Many of these jobs were in heavy engineering and weapons manufacture in factories located in both Erith and Crayford. I had always assumed that the women were exclusively working class people from the local area, but Caroline's research has uncovered a different story, which may well surprise many readers. In a contemporary magazine article, an unknown journalist wrote:- "The first contingent of Titled Society ladies who volunteered to work for Messrs. Vickers, Sons and Maxim as shell makers. In this group are Lady Gertrude Crawford, sister of the Earl of Sefton; Lady Gatacre, Lady Colebrooke, Mrs Pearson, Mrs Greig and other well-known ladies. The caption details that 'delicacy of manipulation is a feminine instinct' and therefore the work is certainly not 'unsuitable'! In August 1915, Eve in The Tatler was also listing some of the new workers at the Vickers’ factory: "Erith is the latest craze. Here, at Messrs. Vickers’, a gallant band of women are really doing it. Not just playing about, you know, but living at a hostel and taking the regular rate of pay – I think it’s not quite enough to pay for two stalls at the newest revue each week. Lady Gertrude Crawford and Lady Colebrooke are among the toilers, and Lady Gatacre too … Lady Scott, Captain Scott’s widow, is also working at this particular factory, but hers is skilled electrical work. (*Kathleen Bruce, Lady Scott, spent much of 1917 manufacturing electrical coils at the factory. She also devoted time establishing an ambulance service in France, working at the Ministry of Pensions and, in 1918, put her talent as a sculptor to use helping to reconstruct the faces of wounded soldiers). Vickers are willing to take a lot more women to train during the week-ends so as to have them ready for work at the new munition factories, for there won’t be enough men to go round, I’m told." Lady Gertrude Eleanor Molyneux was referred to as GEM by her close friends and family. The lower of the two photographs above his is of her, which taken September 2nd, 1890. GEM became the first Chief Superintendent of the Women’s Royal Air Force – otherwise known as "the penguins". Article from inaugural edition ‘RAF Spirit of the Air’, 1st April 1918). She did not remain in this position long, feeling that she was little more than a ‘figurehead’ in the organisation. Shirley Grey - In 1901 Lady Gertrude was living in 3 Willow Place, Knightsbridge with 6 servants. Her brother Richard was a Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards, living in Hyde Park Barracks. Before the war Gertrude practised ornamental turning, like her father and grandfather. Ivory was turned at Croxteth Hall on a lathe. Gertrude continued this hobby after she was married to Captain John Halkett Crawford and she was awarded prizes at the Worshipful Company of Turners. Members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) worked in the air stations of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RFC and RNAS were to merge to form the Royal Air Force (RAF), however to ensure the specialised female workforce remained a separate service, the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) was formed on 1 April 1918. In 1918 Gertrude became the 1st Chief Commandant for the (WRAF). This organisation aimed to provide female mechanics to free up men, who were needed to fight on the front. Large numbers of women enrolled for various occupations, such as drivers and mechanics. Gertrude would have worked on a base in Britain. In May 1918 Violet Douglas-Pennant became the second Commandant for the WRAF. The WRAF was disbanded in 1920.

Recently I have had  number of relatively new readers who have been asking me the same question. They all wanted to know where the name of this blog came from, as it appears so surreal and unusual. Well, I have told the story before, but it was rather a long time ago, and I seem to have picked up quite a few readers since, so I suppose the story could do with repeating. It all dates back to the beginning of 1987, when I first got involved with Bexleyheath based FM pirate station Radio Lumberjack (see the photo above of me taken in the Lumberjack studio in March 1987, a couple of years before I moved to Radio Caroline, and a big step up in the radio world). I got named “Arthur Pewty” by the chap who ran the station, after the meek and mild accountant character from the Monty Python sketch. Now I had a radio pseudonym, I needed a name for my late night show, which featured mainly album tracks. I was reading a book on the history of offshore radio at the time, and had come across the story of John Peel and his show on the offshore station Radio London, which was called “The Perfumed Garden”. I was trying to think of a suitably satirical alternative to this, when an incident from a few years previously popped into my mind. For a couple of years I took up coarse (fresh water) fishing, and would spend much of the school summer holidays either at Dartford Lakes or at Horton Kirby, unsuccessfully trying to catch a few fish. I sometimes used to go with a friend, who had a somewhat unique idea of practical jokes. On one occasion I was about to take a bite of a cheese and coleslaw salad sandwich when I noticed something wriggling around in the filling. I opened up the sandwich to find a small mound of maggots! My compatriot had filled the sandwich from his bait tin when I was not looking. Nice chap. Anyway, the idea came to me that how could I combine the bland and anodyne (Arthur Pewty) with something uniquely revolting (the Maggot Sandwich) and the name for my show was born. When I started blogging nearly fourteen years ago, it seemed logical that my web based voice to the world would follow my radio based venture from years before. The idea stuck, and back in 2010 it was voted the most unusual blog name in London, at the Online Conference hosted by Ofcom. So now you know.

The terrible, stormy weather we have had recently has had a knock – on effect with local drainage. A Thames Water pumping lorry has been parked by the foul water drainage pumping station in Appold Street, near the far corner of Morrison’s car park. I talked to one of the Thames Water operatives, and apparently the drains have been blocking up on an almost daily basis. The have rodded and jetted the pipes to remove the blockages, but they keep coming back. I recall this happened back in January 2012, when I wrote about how Morrison’s drainage contractors had to run a remote controlled robot equipped with a camera along a waste pipe that ran from Morrison’s to the waste pumping station. It would appear that the same thing is happening again, but from the opposite direction. The huge amount of additional rainwater that has been dropped on the area has also made the problem worse.  I would not be at all surprised if Thames Water end up digging up Appold Street to replace the pipework underneath; one beneficial side effect of this would mean that for a short period it might discourage fly tippers from dumping stuff – for some reason the road is a favourite for them. Only a couple of days ago I found an old, stained and smelly mattress dumped in the street. It had been carefully rolled up and tied with a length of rope, so the person dumping it had clearly planned the operation. The problem in Appold Street, and as previously mentioned, the nearby Morrison’s recycling centre, is that they are relatively quiet and secluded; someone with a van full of old lorry tyres or worn out furniture can easily dump their load and be off with little chance of anyone actually seeing them do it. I have spoken at length in the past to the Environmental Crimes Unit at Bexley Council, and they are acutely aware of the problem. The have told me that the area spanning Appold Street, James Watt Way and the recycling centre in Morrison’s car park has historically suffered some of the worst incidence of illegal fly tipping of anywhere in the whole London Borough of Bexley, though in recent months this has improved considerably. There are some plans afoot to further reduce fly tipping, but at this point I don’t know the details – and even if I did, it would probably not be wise to publish them.

Local technology guru and occasional Maggot Sandwich contributor Miles has a strong interest in electric vehicles; recently he sent me the photograph above - click on it to see a larger version. Erith has now got a couple of dedicated electric vehicle charging points. Miles writes:- "Not the most thrilling content I'll admit, but I decided to take a trip to the two Erith based EVSE chargers, looks like a collaboration between Bexley Council and BP Chargemaster. Both installations. I checked Sainsbury's Erith Road, and the London South East Colleges – Bexley Campus charger locations. They look quite nice, plenty of parking room and interestingly enough, Electric Vehicle only (I bet that'll go down well with the regulars). In theory both chargers can accommodate 2 cars where parking allows, both are close enough to the curb not to be an annoyance to any wheel chair or buggy pedestrians".  It will be interesting to see how much use the dedicated electric vehicle chargers get, as they do not appear to have gained much publicity at the time of writing. What do you think? Email me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the murder of one of the most heroic figures in 20th Century history; and something that has not been commemorated as I feel that it should. Violette Szabo was a major hero due to her work for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II. Violette was born Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell in Levallois Paris on the 26th June 1921. Her father Charles was English while her mother Reine was French. Violette had four brothers and the earliest part of her childhood was spent with her aunt in Picardy as her parents moved to London because of The Depression. Finally when Violette was eleven years old her family were reunited in Stockwell South London, while they ultimately settled at 18 Burnley Road where Violette is commemorated with a blue plaque. Violette was somewhat a Tom Boy probably due to the fact that she spent much of her time with her four brothers and cousins who were also boys. The competition to be as athletic as the males in the family must have been tremendous and Violette excelled at athletics, gymnastics, cycling and even shooting as her father taught her how to fire a gun. Violettes petite stature - she was only five feet tall, did not hinder her at all as she was said to be as strong as the next man. School days were spent in Brixton and Violette was a popular student who was much admired as she not only spoke English but French fluently. Violette left school at the age of fourteen and worked for a French corsetiere in Kensington, while later moving to a somewhat less exotic sounding Woolworths store located in Oxford Street in London. Violette had a happy childhood and although doted on by her father (who spoke only English and would sometimes feel left out of conversations) was head strong and would often have raging rows with him with one row resulting in her making her way back to France alone. By 1939 Violette was working in a department store in Brixton called Le Bon Marche where she sold perfume. In 1940 she joined the land army strawberry picking in the countryside followed by working in an armaments factory in London. In 1940 her French mother asked her to go out and find a French soldier who would come and spend Bastille Day with the family. It was while searching for a suitable candidate that Violette met Etienne Szabo, her future husband. The couple hit it off instantly falling in love and marrying within a very short time. Etienne was thirty one, while Violette was a mere nineteen years old but never the less knew her own mind. Once the couple had married Violette went to work as a telephonist at the GPO, while Etienne returned to duty in Senegal, South Africa, Syria and eventually North Africa where he was killed during an act of extreme bravery, as he led his men from the front in the Second Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. Violette had meanwhile joined the ATS but following her initial training found that she was pregnant so had to return to London. Her daughter Tania was born on the 8th June 1942 and Violette returned to work, this time in an aircraft factory, while Tania stayed with a child minder. It was only three months after Tania's birth that Etienne was killed in action therefore he never saw his daughter. Violette was devastated by Etienne's death and soon joined the SOE in order to become a field operative and courier. Violette would be extremely useful to the SOE as she could speak both French and English. Violette subsequently became Section Leader of The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, a title that was created in order to keep her real missions secret and undercover. Violette took part in strenuous paramilitary training in Scotland where she was instructed in Field Craft, Weapons, Demolition and Night and Day Navigation. Violette then attended training in Hampshire where she learned communications, cryptography, weaponry, uniform recognition and escape and evasion tactics. Finally Violette learned how to parachute jump out of a plane and passed the second time around as her first attempt resulted in a badly sprained ankle. Violettes first mission was as courier to Phillipe Liewer who was head of the SALESMEN circuit in Normandy. The poem "The Life That I Have" was given to Violette as her code poem by Leo Marks, Cryptographer at the SOE. This assignment was mooted to be extremely dangerous, not something that fazed Violette. She travelled to Rouen alone under a false identity in order that she could investigate the circumstances surrounding the capture of Claude Malraux and an SOE wireless operator the month before. Violette reported back that over one hundred French Resistance workers had been captured by the Gestapo. Violette returned to Liewer in Paris where she had left him to say that his network was crushed. The couple returned safely to England together.  On June 7, 1944, the day after Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, Szabo was dropped back into France to disrupt German communications. She quickly established contact with resistance forces, including a young man named Jacques Dufour, and on the morning of June 10, the two set out on a mission by car, Szabo’s bicycle thrown in the back and her Sten gun up front. As they approached Salon-la-Tour, they came across a German road block. Dufour stopped the car about 50 yards from the soldiers and told Szabo to be ready to run. He leapt out and began firing his machine gun—and noticed, to his surprise, that Szabo stayed with him, firing her Sten Gun and hitting several Germans. He ordered her to run toward a wheat field while he provided cover, and once she got there she fired at the Germans from the flank, enabling Dufour to join her. The two began to run, taking cover in the tall wheat as they headed for the woods. Soon they heard vehicles in pursuit. Running, crawling, they tried to retreat to safety but found nowhere to go. Szabo was bleeding and her clothes were ripped; exhausted, she told Dufour she couldn’t go any further. She insisted that he flee while she tried to keep the Germans at bay, and fired judiciously for a half-hour while he found refuge under a haystack. When she ran out of ammunition, the Germans closed in. Dufour could hear them questioning her about his whereabouts. Szabo simply laughed. “You can run after him,” she said. “He is far away by now.” Szabo was turned over to the Gestapo, who interrogated, tortured and sexually assaulted her. She refused to cooperate, however, and was transferred to Paris, held by the Gestapo and tortured some more. Fearful that the Allies might mount a rescue mission, the Germans transferred her to a series of camps and prisons. On one transfer near Paris, British planes strafed the prisoner train carrying her. The German guards exited to take cover, but a group of male prisoners were trapped as the bullets hit. Szabo secured a jug of water from a bathroom and crawled to the wounded, even with another woman chained to her ankle, so she could pass jug around and calm them. By the end of 1944, Szabo had arrived at Ravensbruck, still wearing the dress she’d been captured in months before. There, she joined Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe, where they were put to hard labour, digging wells and clearing boulders for an airfield. They were subjected to more beatings, and women around them were succumbing to tuberculosis and dysentery; Szabo hatched several plans to escape, but to no avail. In August of that year Violette, Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe were deported along with thirty seven others to Saarbrucken Transit Camp located just inside the border of Germany. Their train was bombarded by allied aircraft and it was during this attack that the three women managed to get water for the other prisoners. Ten days later the three women were taken to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp North Germany, where thousands of women died during the war, then on to Torgau. The women were put to work in Torgau and survived under horrendous conditions albeit they were left in a much weakened state. Returning to Ravensbruck the women were placed in solitary confinement where they were brutally assaulted. Around February 5th 1945 Violette Szabo was executed by a shot in the back of her head aged just twenty three. Her two companions Denise Bloch and Lilian Rolfe met the same fate although these two brave women were so weakened that they were unable to walk to their deaths. Cecily Lefort who was also an agent of the SOE was put to death in the gas chamber, while all the bodies were cremated in the camp crematorium. The SOE had fifty five female agents of which thirteen were killed in action, twelve were executed, one died from typhus, and one died from meningitis. All the operatives who died whether in camps by execution or otherwise were listed as killed in action. Violette Szabo was the second woman to be awarded the George Cross for bravery. Her award came posthumously on 17th December 1946, and was collected by her daughter Tania. Violette was also awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French government in 1947 along with La Medaille de la Resistance in 1973. Violette is also listed on the Valencay SOE memorial as one of the SOE agents who died liberating France. Violette and Etienne were the most decorated married couple of World War II.

Now for the weekly local safety and security updates from Bexley Borough Neighbourhood Watch Association. Firstly the report from Barnehurst ward:- "There have been no burglaries reported in the last week. The team have made two arrests, of offenders wanted for failing to appear at court and for breaching a court order. We have also been patrolling the ward and have searched several people for drugs. We continue to patrol drug hotspot areas. There has been mainly vehicle crime reported in the last week, three vehicle stolen and a further two number plates stolen. Between Friday 7th and Saturday 8th Feb – Silver Honda, GK52MPU, stolen from Eversely Avenue. Between Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th Feb – Registration plate stolen, ML60PKV from Swallow Close. Between Sunday 9th and Monday 10th Feb – Registration plates stolen, KY63BHU from Parkside Avenue. Tuesday 11th Feb – Black Yamaha, LG61WND, stolen from Parkside Avenue. Between Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 2th Feb – Black BMW, BD60VEM, stolen from Parkside Avenue. Please remain vigilant and report and suspicious activity, that you have seen around these locations. If you can assist with any information in relation to any of these incidents please make us aware". Belvedere ward:- "Recently, there was a reported burglary that took place at a vacant property in Gideon Close. Access was gained to the property via the wooded area of Franks Park that borders the rear of the property and the back door was damaged to allow access. As the property was vacant there were no high value items taken from within. The team have continued to carry out several high visibility patrols of affected areas/ surrounding areas. There also appears to have been a significant decrease in garage burglaries on the ward in the last few weeks. Over the last few months, we have been made aware of several discarded vehicle registration plates that have been found in Halt Robin Road. Should anyone witness any suspicious activity around that area of the ward, or discover any of these discarded items, please contact the team. We have also been made aware of several males that have been gathering from time to time to the rear of houses in Ripley Road. There have been several mopeds observed at this location when the males are present and it is suspected that drug dealing is taking place – the team have included this area in our patrols but have not seen any activity taking place thus far". Bexleyheath ward:- "01/02/20 1355 - 1410 Theft of Purse from handbag The Works Bexleyheath 29/01/20 1030 – 1200 Catalytic Convertor Stolen from Broadway Car Park 01/02/20 1430 Robbery of phone, bag and personal belongings, knife seen Town Park behind Asda – suspects arrested 01/02/20 1800 – 02/02/20 0600 Gravel Hill Close Theft from Motor Vehicle, damage to Motor vehicle x2 – coins taken from car, also car scratched and another car wing mirror damaged 02/02/20 1430 Attempted Burglary Gravel Hill Close male knocked the door, tried the handle and had another male waiting in a vehicle parked across the driveway. No entry gained 01/02/20 2250 – 02/02/20 0900. Criminal Damage - Bexleyheath Methodist Church window smashed by bottle being thrown at it. 03/02/20 1125 -1130 Theft of Purse Asda Car Park. Purse was put in open top of handbag and as victim was putting shopping in the car a male approached and spoke stating there was an issue with the car underneath getting her to look. He distracted her and after he left the purse was missing. 04/02/20 1200 – 05/02/20 0440 Theft from Parking Meter – coins taken Albion Road Car Park 04/02/20 0620 – 2230 Damage to Motor Vehicle Broomfield Close 06/02/20 1145 – 1200 Criminal Damage to Roof – male knocked the door pretended that roof tiles had fallen off got paid £60.00 to repair but roof wasn't in need of repair – resident has been deceived 06/02/20 1250 – 1400 Burglary car and keys taken entry gained through rear window Meadow Close 06/02/20 1900 – 07/02/20 0730 Criminal Damage to Motor Vehicle Braemar Avenue 09/02/20 1900 – 2100 Burglary Rydal Drive. Building items and tools stolen 09/02/20 – Attempted Burglary Braemar Close damage to back door and window – No Entry gained and nothing taken 05/02/20 0000 – 09/02/20 1805 Theft from Parking Meter – coins taken Albion Road Car Park. It appears that there are opportunists going around trying to gain money by deception and looking for properties to target. Please please do make sure that properties are as secure as they can be; thankfully although there are a couple of attempted burglaries they have been foiled by having excellent locks, lights, cameras etc".  Crayford ward:- "Just four crimes of note this week. Between 22.00 on 05/02/2020 and 10.00 on 06/02/2020 someone has badly damaged a garage door to the rear of shops in Crayford High Street, buckling the door, rendering the garage unusable, nothing was stolen. Front and rear numbers plates LV54HZX were stolen on Tuesday 11th February between 09.00 – 17.00 from a grey Fiat Punto whilst parked in Mayplace Avenue, close to Thames Road. On Saturday 8th February at 04.00 photographic equipment was stolen from a Vauxhall Astra whilst parked at Mulberry Court, Bourne Road Industrial Site, the suspect who was riding a bicycle was seen on CCTV smashing the vehicle window to gain entry. On Tuesday 11th February at 18.10 a motorcycle, registration number GD14OOH was stolen without keys whilst the owner was at the ATM at Sainsbury's, the victim saw two males wearing black crash helmets". Erith ward:- "Theft from and of Motor Vehicles across Erith is still high, we are getting out patrolling the areas that are worst affected, this is in both uniform and plain clothes. We have been carrying out weapon sweeps, so far we are pleased to say we haven't found any weapons in and around Erith.Theft of Motor Vehicle, Thursday 6/02/2020 West Street, Theft from Motor Vehicle Saturday 8/02/2020 Winifred Road, Theft of Motor Vehicle Saturday 8/02/2020 Erith Road, Theft from Motor Vehicle Monday 11/02/2020 near Farmfood, Erith High Street, Shoplift value £200 Tuesday 12/02/2020 Wilkinson, Erith High Street, Making off from petrol station,Tuesday 12/02/2020 James Watt Way". Northumberland Heath ward - no report received this week. Slade Green and Northend ward:- "Great partnership work this last week by our SNT along with Orbit Housing, Bexley Council and London Fire Brigade. Threats were made to a flat in Orchard House last week. We conducted door to door enquiries for reassurance and to gain intel on if anyone saw anything. Steps were made by the council and Orbit to get the victim out of the property and the flat was made safe by Orbit and LFB. Reassurance patrols will continue by us over the coming days. An attempted shed burglary was made overnight on Saturday 8th to Sunday 9th of February in Ely Close. Access was not gained and the door has been made much more secure now". Thamesmead East ward:- "Attempted Murder - Manordeane Road On Friday 7/2/20 6:03pm A 28 year old male received a gunshot wound to the stomach, two suspects have been arrested and charged to court. Residents from Grange Crescent, Manordene Road were visited by the team to give reassurance. Motor Vehicle Crime - St Martins Close Tuesday 4/2/20 10pm – 5/2/20 8am Number Plates removed by suspect/s unknown. Kale Road Tuesday 4/2/20 midnight – 6am Passenger side wing mirror removed by suspect/s unknown. Pointer Close Friday 7/2/20 6:30pm – 8:30am Front and rear number plates removed by suspect/s unknown. Thamesbank Place Sunday 9/2/20 8:20pm – 8:40pm victim disturbed a male under victims Lexus with a torch probably looking at the catalytic converter. On Saturday PC's Nana and John attended The Thames Innovation Centre to give a talk about violent crime, youths from Lion of Judah International Christian Ministries age 11 and above attended". West Heath ward:- "Excellent news this week no burglaries have been reported to us. On Monday February 3rd at just after 4am, two males were seen trying car doors in Canberra Road he first male was described as being in his late twenties, F600. The second male was described as being quite small and younger than the other male. The next drop in police surgeries will be held on Friday February 7th at 2pm, Thursday February 13th at 4pm and Saturday February 22nd at 1pm. These sessions will be held at the Bostall Library, King Harolds Way. One residential burglary in Preston Drive on Sunday 9th February between 02.59 – 03.01.The victim was woken upstairs to hear the dog barking downstairs . The victim looked out of the upstairs bedroom window and saw a vehicle running and parked in front of her house in the middle of the road. The vehicle was black and the victim believed it looked similar to a Toyota Prius but could not see the number plates. It was not until the following morning that the victim realised that a burglary had taken place. Entry was gained via the front door and a black North Face jacket was stolen. Two commercial burglaries in Hadlow Road and the Pantiles both in the early hours of Sunday February 9th.On both occasions an attempt to gain access to the premises was made by damaging the shop shutters. Entry was not gained. One theft of a front registration plate in Osbourne Road between the hours of 1200 on Sunday February 9th and 20.20 on Monday February 10th. A set of number plates were also stolen from a vehicle parked in Burcharbro Road Saturday February 8th between Midday and 22.30. Theft of a catalytic converter in Knee Hill on Thursday February 6th at 13.20. The team spoke to a female in Leckwith Avenue following concerns that she had been sleeping in a vehicle with the engine running all night .The female had recently been made homeless and left the location after speaking to officers and has not returned".

The end video this week features Erith Model Railway Exhibition 2020, which took place over the weekend of the 26-27th of January, and was held at the Longfield Academy. Please feel free to leave comments by Emailing me at hugh.neal@gmail.com.