Great Wakering

Read and share memories of Great Wakering and Essex inspired by Frith photos

Halfway House

I lived in Halfway House, Common Road, Great Wakering (near Potton Island), from 1957 to 1963. I lived there with my parents, two sisters and three bothers, all older than me.
The primary school was a small red brick building in the middle of the village and the County Secondary school was where the current primary school is now (near the post office).  As we had no lights or brakes on our cycles (not legal) we had to walk to school.  The winter of 1962/63 gave us a brilliant snow storm, and we thought 'great no school today', but my parents insisted we go, so we trailed along in the tracks made by a tractor.  The snow was 6 and 7 ...read more here
Contributed by Heather McPherson

Halfway House

I lived in Halfway House, Common Road, Great Wakering (near Potton Island), from 1957 to 1963. I lived there with my parents, two sisters and three bothers, all older than me.
The primary school was a small red brick building in the middle of the village and the County Secondary school was where the current primary school is now (near the post office).  As we had no lights or brakes on our cycles (not legal) we had to walk to school.  The winter of 1962/63 gave us a brilliant snow storm, and we thought 'great no school today', but my parents insisted we go, so we trailed along in the tracks made by a tractor.  The snow was 6 and 7 ...read more here
A memory of Great Wakering contributed by Heather McPherson

The Yogi Bear test

Hi, I was born in 1960 next to Little Wakering church, my dad Dennis, mum Babs and big sis Sue. The Yogi Bear test refers to a large square of trees at the end of the Parry that you had to climb round without touching the ground, many years were spent doing this and if you did complete the task you had to go round the opposite way which was very difficult for some reason. Without a doubt the Parry and the Wick gave me some of my greatest memories of Little Wakering. Mark Deeks.
A memory of Little Wakering contributed by mark deeks

Good Old Days

I was so pleased to see this photo, as the caravan by the brick building was my grandparents'. We had another one right opposite this one. I had many a happy time on the site. I was born in 1949 & used to be down there every summer until it closed in 1972. My grandparents had them well before I was born. I can remember all the men getting the chairs all in a line, this was the people with tents who didn't know the light shone the through. Us kids used to have water fights, one used to watch for Capt. Townsend to come along. I can remember one year my friend & I were on the site & I ...read more here
A memory of Shoeburyness contributed by Mary Wash