Interview with Tony Stamford

 

 

Born 14 September 1949

 

Educated Buckhurst Hill infants school; Benton Road School, Dagenham; Wilfred Pickles School, Stamford; Dene Park Further Education College

 

Born Paddington, 1949, six weeks premature. Diagnosed with CP at 2. Older sister, Pauline. Moved to Debden Estate, in Loughton. Father worked as a precision engineer in Bow. Parents later moved to Hemingford Abbots in Cambridgeshire. Tony’s earliest memory is having tonsils out at 2 at Great Ormond Street. Tony remembers being pushed around in a pram. Tony walked with sticks or crawled from age 3 or 4. Father was a precision engineer, adapted a “Bona-ped” from Great Ormond Street model. At age 13 or 14, hip operation at Great Ormond Street. Hasn’t walked since 16-17. Smell of Swarfega on father’s hands. Father in Navy during war. Went to day school in Benton Road in Dagenham and CP School in Dagenham. Pre-school in Buckhurst Hill. Physiotherapy. Mrs Stamp, escort to school. Tendon release operation at Tadworth Court, country branch of Great Ormond Street, aged 6. Hip operation at 13. First night at Wilfred Pickles School, aged 9. Remembers Berti Bobath.

 

About 70 pupils at Wilfred Pickles School, with 10 pupils from local area and integrated unit for deaf children with cp. Tixover Grange. Physiotherapy. Friends John Cole, Tony Brown, Terry Barton – shared a two-bedroom room with Terry, who lived in Hull. Article in ‘Spastics News’. Didn’t mix much with girls. Little contact with local community. Listened to the radio: The Archers, Alfie Bass, David Jacobs, Peter Brough. Meet the Huggetts. 78 records. Traditional Jazz. Going to the Theatre. Tony has organised two Wilfred Pickles School re-unions. Doesn’t like term “disabled people”, prefers the term “people with disabilities.” Three-wheeled bike. Trips to pantomimes at Christmas. Family trips to Southend and Hunstanton by motorbike and sidecar. Mr Beaumont, teacher at Tadworth Court School.

 

Stays in hospital aged 14. Local cinema in Loughton. ‘The Rebel’ starring Tony Hancock. Not much contact with children in Loughton. Memories of childhood birthday parties. One of the first families in street to travel to Spain. Camping holidays. Father drove Morris Oxford. At 17, Tony using wheelchair. “Mr Bean and His Funny Machine” – early TV. “The Appleyards” (1st TV soap opera). Beverly Sisters, Uncle Mac, Nellie The Elephant, Burl Ives. Stanley Holloway monologues.

 

No exams because of lost school time due to hip operations. Wilfred Pickles School. In 1967, Tony went to Essex Social Services residential home, Chigwell House, for young people with physical disabilities 16-17 to 40. Jack Clapman. Dene Park Further Education College. Accident in three-wheeled invalid carriage. Basket-making. Rotary Club. Residents Committee. Wine Club. “Kings Head” pub in Chigwell. Married Tracy in 1983, at age 35, with Tracy aged 23. Moved into Shaftsbury Society three months after married. Tracy had spina bifida. Prospects of getting work.

 

Tony has lived in Pitsea since 1983. One wheelchair-accessible taxi in the town. German electric wheelchairs. Tracy died in 1990, aged 28, from kidney failure. Derrick, care assistant in Chigwell House, accompanied couple on short honeymoon. Visiting the pub. 24-hour care. Driving. Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes. Lack of consultation over disabled loo in Basildon theatre. Fundraising for MS. Holidays.

 

Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, member for 15 years. Involvement with Scope. Former chair of East Anglia Partnership Committee. Prefers ‘Spastics Society’ name to ‘Scope’. Memories of grandmother. Basildon welfare rights group and DIAL (Disability Information and Advice Line). Coping with bereavement. Attempt to use Underground in 1970.

 

Tendon correction operation, Squint corrected in right eye. Tonsils operation. Remembers first day at school. Pre-school, Buckhurst Hill. Benton Road School Dagenham, aged 5, plus a CP unit in Dagenham. Memories of teachers. Dinner lady Mrs Emes and school cook Mrs Weatherall. 1s 6d for school dinners. Taking part in a Christmas nativity. Cornwall and Devon holidays when young. Recalls school uniform at Wilfred Pickles School. Hip operation at Tadworth Court (Great Ormond Street), then transferred to Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, staying for 16 months. Walking frame. Shaftsbury Court, Pitsea. Using typewriters at school. Dakotas flying from Lydd in Kent to La Touquet, Paris. Talking books. Bill Hargreaves, a “trailblazer” for people with cp. Organised reunion of Wilfred Pickles School pupils in 1970 at Park Crescent. Pupils include Stuart Metcalfe and Bob Monkhouse’s son, Gary. Mr Tilley’s taxi. Building of school hall. Wickstead Park. Letter writing.

 

Wilfred Pickles School teacher Mrs Gibson, a minister’s wife. Housemaster Mr Frost. Rehearsing for plays and concerts at school. One year at Dene Park, Further Education Centre, Kent. Mr Mayhew (brother of MP) was Principal at Dene Park. Visit by cricketer Colin Cowdrey. Tony was chairman of the Map Club. Tony went to Chigwell House, April 1967 until October 1983. Visits by Round Table. Visits to Kings Head pub in Chigwell. Work opportunities. Workshop at Chigwell House, centring on craft activities and cooking. Weekly income in 1967: 16 shillings to live on and 2s 3d “comfort allowance”. Food free, as was heating, lighting and laundry. Listening to the radio. Trips to Festival Hall in London and local theatres. Millennium grant to write access guide to local pubs.

 

Opportunities today for disabled people in the community. Income from Essex County Council and Independent Living Fund, for live-in 24-hour care. This is administered by ‘Essex Pass’, who organise Personal Assistants. Independent living. Access to London Underground.