Sydenham Town Forum

Does anyone know anything about a man called Montie Garrard who had a shop on Kirkdale during the war? He sold various things including musical instruments and he was an organist. He was a good friend of my Dad although somewhat older so he clearly must have died some time ago, but I would like to ...

As David already knows (he is my second or third cousin), I sadly have to report the death of my mother Muriel Brannan née Tripp last Sunday. She was born in Coombe Road in 1926 and moved at the age of 7 to Prospect Road, where she lived until she got married in 1950. Her father Arthur Tripp was a ...

One other photo of the same corner from a different angle. This is my great great grandmother Sarah Hemmings (1851-1943), with her cat, at the front gate of her house at 2 Taylor's Lane, looking across that road and across the front gardens of "The Wells" to the side wall of no. 119 Wells Road.

Muriel and Les Tripp in back garden, Coombe Rd, abt 1932 (I think that's the back of Bradford Rd houses behind)

Muriel Tripp in back garden of 8 Prospect Rd, abt. 1943
You can just see the bath hanging behind!

Other photo of old Coombe Rd mission - lady seated at front, second from left, is Mrs Wright

Photo of old Coombe Rd Mission, probably late 1920s, showing Mr Jackman in front.
The ladies in front, far right, are Lily Hemmings (right) and Sarah Hemmings, her mother (left) - my gt gt grandmother.
The lady behind them leaning slightly on the fence is Mrs Chamberlain.

Here is the photo I mentioned of the London City Mission outing (to Bushey Park) - it must have been 1938. The bus is parked outside the old Mission on Coombe Road, showing the Talma to the left of it. This is my Mum's identification of some of the people: Les Tripp – boy in front far right / Mary T ...

Thanks Michael - yes, those chimneys are certainly distinctive! That one looks like a nice house too.
I asked my Mum about those poles you can see around the garden - she remembers that her grandfather used them to grow beans.

Just a correction about the poppy seller picture - it was 1943, not 1945, and in fact just a few days before his father's accident. The lane in the picture was Lower Crosswood Lane. Maureen, the thermometer business was founded by my grandfather Sydney Brannan in 1913 and they had various workshops ...

I would like to pay tribute to my Uncle Leslie Tripp, as he died last Wednesday. He was born in Coombe Road in 1931 and moved to 8 Prospect Road shortly afterwards. He once wrote the following about the house where he grew up: **** Let me tell you about the house in Prospect Road. It was a terraced ...

Thanks to Mary's explanations about the renumbering on Kirkdale, I've just found my ancestor's house on Google - there are a few similar houses next to it in the same style.

I think this picture could be taken in the garden of The Wells looking left towards the back of the houses in Coombe Road. The two men behind are Lowing Tripp on the left and his son Arthur on the right. Incidentally, it is interesting to compare the milkcart picture above with that in Coulter and ...

Thanks for checking the directory. Thanks to you I have managed to get a second-hand copy of the Coulter and Seaman book. The Flew's dairy picture on page 120 is actually one that I have and it shows my grandfather Arthur Tripp standing in the cart on the far right. It's useful to be able to date it ...

Thanks - yes, it's certainly the same family; Leslie Tripp is my uncle. The accident concerned my grandfather Tripp, who was a coal merchant at the time and had a yard on Kirkdale, where the horse in question was kept. My parents met through the mission and married in 1950, then moving away from ...

Thanks very much for explaining this one too! If the house on the left is 119 then I presume the left side of The Wells, where the family lived, was indeed 121 (on another thread it was suggested that 121 could not have been The Wells, but this confirms that it must have been). On the 1911 census ...

Dear Michael Thanks very much for that - it ties up with the fact that the Tripps lived in The Wells (or at least one side of it). I'll have to get the book you mention. On other threads I have posted a picture of my grandfather's milkcart outside the Wells and in another location, possibly Coombe ...

And here's the beginning of an article from the Sydenham, Forest Hill and Penge and Borough News, 19 Nov 1943, about the tragic death of my grandfather A. Tripp when he was knocked over by his horse and cart.

lower part of article

My mother had kept this old cutting from the Borough News of 1910 with information on the history of Sydenham wells. This will be posted in 2 parts and sorry for the poor quality - the paper is very brown.