Charlie Hayward (nick-name 'Spiv')

Pamela Hayward tells their story

My mother was born in Salthouse and my father in London, they met in London when my mother was in service there and my father was a policeman.

My mother, father and I, aged 2 years, came to Salthouse from Croydon in Surrey as our house there had been bombed. We came to stay with my grandparents, Evangeline and Charles Brown who lived in the council houses in Back Street ['Back Street' was the local name for what is now known as Purdey Street and Bard Hill ].

Not long after we had been with them my mother and father were able to secure our own home in Church House at the top of Grouts Lane, it was a lovely house with a big garden. My father was a self-employed tailor/upholsterer so he did a lot of work from home. Two years after we had been there, my sister Janice was born so my mother was kept busy but she was helped by Granny and Grandad Brown.

There was a bungalow owned by three sisters at the back of the house, their name was Harrison and they were lovely ladies who let Janice and I have their summer house as a play house. They also had a sundial in the garden with wild strawberries growing around it that were lovely and sweet. I used to love to chat to the ladies each day. One thing that sticks in my mind was that there was always a bucket of eggs standing in the hallway. They had very old-fashioned ways but were very nice people.

Keith, Pamela, Charlie, Norah and Janice

At this time my father secured a contract with the Weybourne Army Camp to do alterations etc. to the servicemen's uniforms. He used to walk each day to the camp at Weybourne from Salthouse along the coast road, sometimes I would walk with him but he walked so quickly that I had to run most of the way to keep up with him.
At this time we were one of the first people to have a television set and my friends used to come round to our house and watch it with us.

In 1953 the floods came and I can remember that awful sight of people's belongings in the water with masses of straw-like substance entangled in everything. As we at Church House were at a high point in the village, lots of people came to our house to take refuge. Mrs Lynn had a heart attack and a doctor had to come to attend to her. my mum and dad did what they could for everyone. The church was fitted out as a clothes store for people who had lost their possessions. I must confess to having seen a pair of high heeled shoes, putting them on and taking them home - I don't think anyone would have minded. At this time another addition arrived to our family, our brother Keith was born, a fine blond haired little boy.

My dad secured contracts at other army camps, West Rainham and Stiffkey, now he was getting really busy. The house next door called 'the Nest' became empty so we took that one as well and dad had his shop there. He worked in there on his treadle machine and at times had a couple of people helping him. Next came a contract with the American Camp at Sculthorpe, and Americans brought uniforms back and forth, so Janice and I got to see all these handsome young men to-ing and fro-ing.

Being a tailor, my Dad made most of our clothes in the house - a piece of cloth in the morning would be a dress to go out in, later that same day.

Fishing has always been popular in Salthouse both in the sea and in the cricks on the marshes Keith and other boys of the village used to catch eels in those cricks.

When we reached the age of 10 or 11, we took part in the Sunday School events, we appeared in anniversaries and had prize-giving days. My mother helped at Sunday School and I enjoyed singing with her. We had sewing classes every Thursday at Mary Dawson's house, and we used to have a Christmas dinner with the sewing party at Salthouse Hall. The Hawley family [who ran the Hall as a Guest House at that time] were very hospitable.

Charlie Hayward Tailor to the Military

The Chapel Sunday School

Mary Dawson (centre) and Norah to the left(?)
Pamela and Janice are there too somewhere: Janice top right? John Cooke extreme right, and Richard Cooke in the front, second from left . . .

Our house was always full of people, Mum and Dad made everyone welcome. It is sad now that barely any of those people bother to visit Mother now.

I could go on forever about our family life at Salthouse, they were certainly happy times. After moving to Holt, Dad carried on tailoring until he died in 1993. Mum is still alive aged 92 and still living in Holt. Janice lives in Bedford, and is married with 3 children, Keith lives in Field Dalling, married with five children, and I live in Whittesford near Cambridge, married with two children and three grandchildren.