Page 86 - ‘A Blaker Family History’ The family history of Joseph Blaker (1916-2007; ‘Joe’)

© The Blaker Society
© The Blaker Society

3 June 1944, St. Luke’s Church, West Norwood, London

After their marriage, for a period of 18 months, they lived at 15
Wolfington Road, before living for 6 months with ‘Beat’ and ‘Les’ Cook in
Croydon.

At that time, ‘Joe’ used to cycle to and from his work in Hither Green,
London – a considerable distance. On Saturdays, ‘Joe’ typically travelled to
work by tram and train. On 25 November 1944, ‘Joe’ had a lucky escape
from certain death. On that day, he missed his usual tram, which was
fortunate in the extreme, as the tram was destroyed at New Cross, when a
V2 rocket hit the Woolworth’s store, on New Cross High Street. It was the
worst loss of life from a V2 rocket during WWII, with 168 people killed
and 121 seriously injured. Fate had looked after my father that day!

Following a recommendation from a work-mate, ‘Joe’ and ‘Peg’ moved to
rented accommodation in rooms at 159 George Lane, Lewisham (with
Mrs. Marion Devereux; 1893-1975), close to the large Mountsfield Park.
This location was close to his place of work in Hither Green, London.

The family knew Marion Devereux (nee Nickless; 1893-1975) as ‘Dev’. She
was born in Birmingham in 1893, and was married to Frederick Richard
Devereux (1891- ). She had a single child with Frederick, who was
named Rita Laurian (1923- ). ‘Dev’ was a lonely woman, as her husband
had deserted her and her daughter chose to emigrate to Southern
Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe), where she married. Rita Fogg, as she
then became, did not have any children.

‘Dev’ became part of ‘Joe’ and ‘Peg’s’ family, sharing her house – in which
she occupied rooms on the ground floor at the rear of the property - and
allowing her to take their children to the local park, where ‘Dev’ was
proud when passers-by would stop to admire her ‘grandchildren’.

By this time, ‘Joe’ had moved to ‘The British Engraving Company’, whose
factory and offices were in Friern Barnet, London, some 12 km north of
Charing Cross.

159 George Lane, Lewisham, London: Contemporary View

In 1953, shortly after the birth of their twin daughters, ‘Joe’ and ‘Peg’

bought a semi-detached property at 45 Sherwood Avenue, Potters Bar,
Middlesex. It had taken ‘Joe’ and ‘Peg’ 7 years to save the £250 deposit for
their new house.

‘Joe’ and ‘Peg’ with Graham, Anne & Christina

‘Joe’ had a vision for his new garden – a sunken lawn. After months of
toiling with family and friends, moving tones of clay soil, he awoke one