"AA" Places
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Five Bells & Blade Bone Public House, Poplar, East London, E14
This pub was built at 27 Three Colt Street, Poplar, in 1803 and called the Five Bells. It was renamed the Five Bells and Blade Bone in 1845. My grandmother Rose Burgum ran the pub with her husband Whit Burgum from about 1939. They had two sons at the time Charlie and John, both of whom were initially evacuated to Cornwall during the Second World War. However the boys were not well looked after and Rose brought them back to the Five Bells and Blade Bone. However, during an air raid in 1940 Poplar churchyard opposite was hit and a tree tore through the roof. The family were secure in the pub cellar, which was reinforced with railway sleepers. My father described how he returned to his bedroom to find the ceiling and roof had disappeared and he could see blue sky. The tree had cut right through his bed. He said the most remarkable thing was the number of dead birds littering the room, killed by the explosion. You can read his story below.My Father's Early Memories
The Rathbone Arms, Canning Town, East London
After my grandmother Rose Burgum and her husband Whit Burgum were bombed out of the Five Bells Public House, in Poplar, they moved to the Rathbone Arms in Canning Town, with their two sons Charlie and John. The pub stood at 27 Rathbone Street just by the market. The picture shows a pub outing outside the Rathbone Arms. My great uncle, William Rolston, husband ofWhit's sister Mabel, is in the 2nd row back, 3rd from the right.Almost opposite the pub, at 36 Rathbone Street, Canning Town was a shop, an old café called Jack Williams. The front was a café, but the back was an old ice cream factory. Always making money and looking to make more, Rose and Whit bought the café. They would make ice cream out the back and sell it out the front, while in the café they would do tea and toast in the morning for the workers going through to the dock area. One young boy later told me how he hung around outside the ice cream factory and was sometimes rewarded with an ice cream after running an errand. His name was Terry Venables. He later became a footballer and then a football manager, perhaps most famously for Barcelona FC.
You can read more about those early days here - My Father's Early Memories
Kursaal, Southend on Sea, Essex
The Kursaal was opened as one of the world's first purpose built amusement parks in 1901. It has had a chequered life, including a serious fire in the park in 1911. It was closed down during the Second World War, but was re-opened under new management in 1948. The principal attraction was the ballroom and it was there, in the early 1950's, that my father John Burgum met Josephine Gunning, my mother, on a second date. They had a few dances and a drink and then went to the fair ground at the back. The rest, as they say, is history. The resident band leader at the time was Howard Baker, featuring singers such as Vera Lynn and Dorothy Squires. He and his band played there for 21 years!In the 1970's it became a successful rock music venue with acts such as Queen, Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy. The amusement park was replaced with houses, but the Kursaal building was reopened in 1998 with a casino, bowling alley and amusement arcade.
My Father's Early Memories
Rochford Hospital, Essex
A workhouse was built in Rochford in 1837, with an infirmary beginning added in 1858. That later was named Rochford Hospital. Further expansion of the site continued, particularly after World War One. Doug Burgum (that is me) was born here in 1953, as was my sister Susan in 1955. My brother David was born in the hospital in February 1970, while my grandmother Rose Burgum died there on 7th March 1970.Woodlands Road, Hockley, Essex
My parents, John and Jo Burgum lived in a caravan in the driveway at this house in Woodlands Road, Hockley. After a brief spell elsewhere they moved back to Woodlands Road, this time in the house itself in a converted loft area. However my mother was given a hard time by her in-laws and my parents applied for a council house in Hullbridge. They lived there for several years, but moved back to Woodlands Road after my grandfather and father built a house in the large garden for my grandparents to live in. It was my mother's third time of living at Woodlands Road and relations with her in-laws seldom got better. However, for a child like me growing up with a huge woodland area nearby, it was great. I eventually moved out to go to the pilot's college; my parents moved out soon afterwards.The College of Air Training, Hamble
I went for a series of interviews at Hamble, waiting on average about 3 months for the results. The whole process lasted a year but, to my surprise, I was successful I began in June 1973 studying aviation law. aerodynamics, navigation and much, much more, before we began actually flying aircraft. We began on the Piper Cherokee, before moving to the Beechcraft Baron aircraft for the advanced flight. To my surprise I graduated in June 1975, with a frozen ATPL pilots' licence. British Airways announced before our graduation that we were to be given three years off (without pay)!Maple Close, Maidenhead, Berkshire
I began working for British Airways in March 1978, albeit in a temporary ground job. Maidenhead proved to be a pleasant and convenient place to live and my wife Vicky and I managed to get a small mortgage, moving into Maple Close. I believe we were there for five years before upgrading to a larger house, in Furze Platt Road, also in Maidenhead. We eventually needed the extra space with the arrival of two sons a few years apart.Bradley Hill, Blakeney, Gloucestershire
Doug Burgum (me) went to the Forest of Dean in search of his ancestors. He and his wife Vicky immediately fell in love with the area and soon bought a holiday home in Coleford. Eventuallly they took the decision to move from Maidenhead to the Forest of Dean and began house-hunting. Eventually they found their dream house and moved to Bradley Hill Farmhouse between Blakeney and Soudley. The house sat at the top of a hill, surrounded by forest, with views of the River Severn and the Cotswold Hills beyond. Doug had returned to his ancestors roots!Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Frerick Weight (1828-1901) married Charlotte Burgum, of the AA family tree in Bristol, England, in 1849. They both became Mormons and undertook a perilous journey across the Atlantic, then across America to find the Promised Land. Charlotte became very ill crossing the Atlantic and, and gave birth to a son in January 1852 in St Louis. She continued to suffer on the journey across the plains until they arrived in Salt Lake City. Frederick sought work, with a sick wife and a 6 month old baby. Charlotte died in October 1852, aged just 23 years old.Read their story here - Charlotte Burgum and Frederick Weight
Tate & Lyle Sugar Factory, East London
Siddy Burgum (1906-1999) was born in Poplar, East London in 1906, the seventh of ten children belonging to Fred and Mary Burgum. In the 1920's, Siddy worked for Tate and Lyle in East London. In 1926, in a tragic accident, a sack of sugar fell on him from a great height causing physical and mental damage. His parents wanted to keep him at home, but it became far too much for them. Siddy was committed to a mental home at Goodmayes Hospital, in Essex.His story is truely astonishinh and you can aead about it here - Siddy Burgum; his Astonishing Story