Early Residents of Bromfords Drive

John Welch came into a Memory Desk in Wickford Library some months ago to tell us about some of his family’s history in Wickford.

His grandparents, Jack and Lavinia Morrell, were builders (H. Morrell & Sons) in London, and they moved into a house on the south side of Bromfords Drive, at the junction with Nevendon Road, in 1936. The house was called ‘Waylands’ and stood there until about 1960 when it was demolished, and a number of bungalows and a chalet were built using bricks from the house. They were built on the land which the house occupied, for members of the family. John spent a large part of his childhood, with his family  in a bungalow in Bromfords Drive, although his father was away in the army during the war.

The photographs below show John’s grandparents, the house ‘Waylands’ and John’s mother during the war, on the right in the picture, in her uniform with the plain apron.