Keep off the grass! Arlington Square was very different in the 1950s

Jackie and brother James in ‘the park’ in the early-’50s. Around the perimeter was a wire-mesh fence: the railings removed during the war had still not been replaced.

Next time you lay a blanket on the Arlington Square grass for some relaxing family time, spare a thought for the children who lived here in the 1950s – when that was strictly forbidden.

Jackie Sanderson (née Gordon) was born in 1949 and grew up at 18 Arlington Square with her parents and her brother James, along with her dad’s sister, her husband, their child and his mother.

Jackie well remembers playing in the square (everyone called it ‘the park’), which was strictly controlled by the full-time parkkeeper ‘Parky Mick’. He tended the lawns and the flowerbeds – and fiercely enforced the KEEP OFF THE GRASS rule.

Above: one of the original forbidding notices

Jackie says: ‘Even now, all these years later, I still wouldn’t dare set foot on the grass in the square. He ruled that park like it was a prison camp! Even from the other end of the park he would spot you on the grass and shout orders for you to keep to the path.’

Ball games were strictly forbidden in the park. ‘We used to play in the streets,’ says Jackie, ‘and we’d search any bomb-damaged houses for pram wheels to help make our go-carts.’

On the plus side, Jackie remembers how every month they would be treated to a free concert on the ‘bandstand’ – the concreted hub at the north end of the square (now softened by trees and flowers we planted this century). Even for concerts the audience had to put their chairs on the paths, never on the grass. As a special treat once a year the entertainment was provided by the famous Dagenham Girl Pipers.

Parky Mick’s headquarters was the little hut that still stands at the south corner of the square, where he had a paraffin heater and a methylated spirits stove for his kettle. In the cold weather he would let old ladies into the hut to keep warm.

Do let us know if you have any memories of Arlingtonia in days gone by.