Prefabs

I was born in “Marathon”, Exmouth Road, Laindon in 1942.  In 1945, we moved to Wickford to take up a prefab.  Just using that word gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling, we loved the running water and electric light.  Warm and toasty little houses.  The Yanks were shipping them by 1945 and they lasted 25 years, having been designed to last five.  Not made of cardboard, they were compressed softboard with tarpaper flat roofs.  The coal sheds were made of corrugated steel from left-over Anderson shelters.

Two photos from Laindon:

Top is “Angora” in Woodlands Road where my father Ernie lived.

“Marathon” in Exmouth Road where my mother Elsie Sargent lived.

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  • Hi Michael. Would your mother have been related to the Sargeant’s who lived in The Laurals, Exmouth Road, Laindon, daughter to Samuel Sargeant? The photo looks a bit like the summer house that was at the bottom of The Laurals, as I remember it as a child. Regards Pearl.

    By Pearl (03/03/2020)

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