Happy Diamond Jubilee

Air force service speeds Phyllis’ delivery to new post-War estate

In the spirit of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations Kent resident Phyllis Collier shares her memories of being an Affinity Sutton resident for 60 years.

“I spent the first two months of my tenancy supplying tea to the workmen finishing the estate,” says Phyllis Collier, who has lived in Tillingbourne Green in Kent, for almost 63 years.

In October 1949, Phyllis and her husband moved into the Affinity Sutton estate amid snow. “They were still building, so it was all mud and cement, with woods all around,” she says. “It was beautiful.”

Before moving the couple rented a one-bed flat in Bromley from the Greater London Council (GLC). “It was clean but I had the most dreadful landlady,” says Phyllis.

Luckily, their wartime service in the Royal Air Force – where they met and courted – gave them priority and they sped away. “My husband called and we quickly got this lovely house,” she says. “We were amazed at how big it was. Having been in two rooms it was like a mansion to us.”

“It poured with rain and all the neighbours made two long tables full of food. There must have been 50 of us and we had a lovely party and singsong”

Now an 89-year-old widow, Phyllis strongly recalls fantastic times with friends and family, particularly the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. “It poured with horrendous rain and we walked to nearby Coronation Hall with our picnics,” she says. “All the neighbours made two long tables full of food. There must have been 50 of us and we had a lovely party and singsong.”

But times have changed. “No one celebrated like that here for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, but I’m a royalist so I glued myself to the television.”

As the Queen and one of her slightly older subjects have matured, the latter’s weekly rent has risen from nine and sixpence in 1949 to £124 now. Her husband never bought the house because it was made from Cornish stone, which the GLC said would only last as long as pre-fab homes. Yet, six decades later, it’s still standing.

Having brought up her family, Phyllis now dotes on eight great-grandchildren and has enough happy memories to fill a royal bank. “I had a wonderful social life with lovely friends and lots of fun dinner parties,” she adds.

“But in the 1950s the estate had no attraction for young mums. We used to meet in the shops until a friend organised the Five Oaks Women’s Club in 1962.” Phyllis became club chair and for 25 years around 50 members enjoyed drama, dance and entertainment every Tuesday night.

“They were some of my happiest times on the estate.”