Island History Trust

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Visiting Us

Make an appointment, by phone or email, to see the Photograph Collection and find out if there are any references to your family and friends in the Island History Ephemera Collection Ring 0207 987 6041 or 07704541652 or email us at eve@islandhistory.org.uk We are now in St. John's Community Centre, 37-43 Glengall Grove, London E14 3NE Conveniently located alongside ASDA car park, where buses 135 and D3 stop near bus D7 in Manchester Road, and two minutes walk from Crossharbour Station on the Docklands Light Railway And there's limited parking at the rear of the building! It couldn't be easier.
Memories of Glengall Grove Not everyone remembers that there between 1952 and 1954, there was an RAF unit based here. John Willoughby was one of the young men serving there and he recalls: My recollection is of an area surrounded by high concrete walls inside which there were four or five large wooden buildings. I doubt that any local residents ever saw inside the place as the entry gates were guarded by Ministry of Defence Police. There must h ave been about 80 RAF personnel ons ire, plus about six civil servants. We were there to arrange shipments of RAF equipment and to deal with imports of the same. I was actually based in a small caravan within the West India docks. The immediate area around the RAF compound consisted of pre-fabricated housing, taking the place of blitzed properties. Almost the only building of pre-war vintage was the public library, which was almost opposite the compound gates. We used bikes to get from Glengall Grove to the caravan and also around the dock area itself. Apart from a nightly security rota of three or four individuals (goodness knows why as the Police were there all night) we were billeted at leafy Kidbrook, so our route between Kidbrook and Poplar was either by lorry via the Blackwall Tunnel, or in a coach which had to go over Tower Bridge. The latter was the popular choice but it took longer. If you slept late, breakfast at Kidbrook had to be missed and the Tunnel route taken. However, there were plenty of cafes around and the locals always made us welcome. The image below shows a view over the St. John's area in 1958, looking over the prefabs towards Launch Street and across East Ferry Road. This photograph was taken soon after John Willoughby did his RAF duty there. Today the prefabs have gone, replaced by blocks of maisonettes. Photograph: Island History Trust Collection

Make an appointment, by phone or email, to see the Photograph Collection

and find out if there are any references to your family and friends in the

Island History Ephemera Collection

Ring 0207 987 6041 or 07704541652

or email us at eve@islandhistory.org.uk

We are now in St. John's Community Centre, 37-43 Glengall Grove, London E14 3NE

Conveniently located alongside ASDA car park, where buses 135 and D3 stop

near bus D7 in Manchester Road, and two minutes walk from Crossharbour Station on the Docklands Light Railway

And there's limited parking at the rear of the building! It couldn't be easier.

Memories of Glengall Grove

Not everyone remembers that there between 1952 and 1954, there was an RAF unit based here. John Willoughby was one of the young men serving there and he recalls:

My recollection is of an area surrounded by high concrete walls inside which there were four or five large wooden buildings. I doubt that any local residents ever saw inside the place as the entry gates were guarded by Ministry of Defence Police. There must h ave been about 80 RAF personnel ons ire, plus about six civil servants. We were there to arrange shipments of RAF equipment and to deal with imports of the same. I was actually based in a small caravan within the West India docks.

The immediate area around the RAF compound consisted of pre-fabricated housing, taking the place of blitzed properties. Almost the only building of pre-war vintage was the public library, which was almost opposite the compound gates.

We used bikes to get from Glengall Grove to the caravan and also around the dock area itself. Apart from a nightly security rota of three or four individuals (goodness knows why as the Police were there all night) we were billeted at leafy Kidbrook, so our route between Kidbrook and Poplar was either by lorry via the Blackwall Tunnel, or in a coach which had to go over Tower Bridge. The latter was the popular choice but it took longer. If you slept late, breakfast at Kidbrook had to be missed and the Tunnel route taken. However, there were plenty of cafes around and the locals always made us welcome.

The image below shows a view over the St. John's area in 1958, looking over the prefabs towards Launch Street and across East Ferry Road. This photograph was taken soon after John Willoughby did his RAF duty there. Today the prefabs have gone, replaced by blocks of maisonettes. Photograph: Island History Trust Collection

Below: Comments from Our Visitors' Book

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