An interview with Len Bickford
Len Bickford and sister at Weir Pond Rd
Len and siblings at Weir Pond Rd
Part 1
I was born in Rochford Hospital and we lived at 53 Weir Pond Road, Rochford. I attended Rochford Primary School and then the Rochford Secondary Modern (now King Edmund’s School). My dad was a painter and decorator and my mum worked as an orderly at Rochford Hospital, eventually qualifying as an auxiliary nurse.
In all, I spent 21 years in Rochford and Hullbridge before moving to Maldon to take a job with the police.
Because the same children went through primary and secondary school, we made friendships some of which lasted a lifetime. Rochford Primary School then had big playing fields at the back of the school buildings, and I always enjoyed sports days there. One day, a bull escaped from a farmer’s field near Ironwell Lane and got onto the playing fields. Fortunately, it was recaptured safely.
Rochford Secondary Modern opened in September 1961 and I was among the first intake. We had Mr French for Geography and History. My best memories of school were the camaraderie with classmates rather than lessons, though!
I joined the Life Boys (in the congregational church in North Street) and then went on to the Boys Brigade before joining the Army Cadets (until I was 15, when I left school). When I left school, I got a job labouring in Southend and worked on the construction of Coleman House.
I got married in June 1971, after which my wife and I lived in Westcliff and then in Leigh. In 1974, we moved to Hullbridge where a worked as a digger driver and general labourer. An industrial accident made me rethink my career options and in the late 70s, I joined the police in Maldon.
Click here for Part 2