Charles was born on 1st October 1958 in Hillingdon West London. His family connections with Kings Cross related to him and ‘little reminders of my family story’. Through his understanding of London and its transportation system, Charles gives us a rich tapestry of memories centred on his father’s and grandfather’s flats in the now demolished (1953) Stanley Building. He picked up a goldmine of information about the area from his father.
- Battle Bridge Basin his father’s uncle Tom was caretaker there. Fishing in the basin. Westinghouse Brake and Saxeby Signal Company works where his father’s uncle worked.
- Family connections with the area. Talks of his grandparents. Picture of grandfather working on trains on the Circle Line, then Aldgate. Grandfather worked for Metropolitan Railway from 1905 and mother met around 1910.
- He shows picture of his grandparents’ wedding in 1915 Percy Road Canning Town. Mentioning his first experience of an outside toilet, he recounts how they moved to 56 Stanley Buildings (Pic/map). Using a 1953 Ordinance Survey map displaying the premises numbers. They moved top nuber 58 after the War
- His father born in 1917, and was a young boy when he came into Stanley Buildings. Was a railway worker. Had a long childhood illness (Tuberculosis)
- Tibby.wav Tibby the Cat in 1920s a real character around the Stanley Buildings and set up a longterm affinity for his father and cats.
- Fathers schooling (Map) Medburn Street School until 1928. and then The Leyov Stanley Scool which provided a technical eduction. But didn’t get an apprenticeship. Seems to be confusing his father and grandfather??
- His father’s friend Charlie worked in the Light Engineering Works (Map)
- Romany’s Ironmongers he visited with his father.
- When his relatives visited Stanley buildings, they used to bring rockcakes made by his grandmother’s sister and his grandfather, Charles Henry Oscar Horsey, found that their best use was to scare the cats away.
- Tells of the waste chute in Stanley Buildings, his grandfather used to give courting couples a shock by dropping a lemonade bottles down.
- The War… firewatching duty…
- Working on the Kings Cross platform announcements in the 1990s designing them ‘not to wake people up’. So long as people are in semi-conscious state they follow guidance easier. Making clear announcements relate to saving seconds for the changeovers of trains but also keeps people safe.
- Used to go to Babingtons at the bottom of Pentonville Road for jewelry and also Model Shop up the York Road. His father told him about the tram tracks and how they used tram poles to push trams along if they got stuck.