“I even send daffodils to Wales,” said Mr W. Croot, Vice President of the Wickford No 2 OAP Association. He made them for many years, it being one of his favourite pastimes. Mr Croot, who had been born in Holloway, and served in WW1, moved to Wickford in 1928. At that time the land he bought was surrounded by fields.
The flowers he produced were surprisingly delicate, made of flimsy paper, and lasted longer than their real counterparts.
He spent his spare time devoted to helping the elderly, when he arranged trips, holidays and outings for the members of clubs he supported.
Comments about this page
Add your own comment
Bill Croot was my wife’s grandfather. My wife’s name is Rita. Her mother’s name was Dora and she had sisters, Lillian and Ruby. Dora married Harold Clements. They lived in Egbert Gardens and had two children, Terry and Rita. Terry has since passed away two years ago.
Rita has often wondered if there were distant related family members. It was good to find this page and the details mentioned by Bob Croot and Gillian Price. If they read this and want to connect we would be happy for them to do so using my email address jmurray150@hotmail.com
He was my dad’s uncle so I reckon he was my great uncle. He lived at the top of Waverley Crescent which had so many Croots living there in the 40s and 50s it was called ‘Croot Crescent’.
Uncle Bill was a real character, all the family had flowers. He was my Dad’s uncle but we all called him Uncle Bill. He used to roll crepe paper into all sorts of flowers.
Thank you for posting the picture and item about our Great Grandad Croot. My older brother and sister remember him well. Before moving to Runwell he ran a corner shop in Islington. He built his house in Runwell himself and originally had a little shop attached to it.
His eldest daughter and her husband George Harrison moved to Church End Lane in 1938.
His eldest grandson, also George Harrison, joined Wickford Council School in the summer of 1938 going on to Wickford Senior School in 1939. He became school captain and left in 1942.
Any other information you come across on William Croot we would love to hear about.
Many thanks again for posting about Great Grandad.
Kind regards Gillian Price and family
Add a comment about this page