Twin Terrors

Twin Terrors (Extract)
by Harry Harding

We (Harry and his family) lived between the Castle and the Gasworks, not far from the ‘Gliderdrome’, the skating rink that had all-in wrestling on a Saturday night.

When we (my identical twin brother and I) were 17 years old, our mother said, “Here’yar, here’s five bob each, go and get a licence.

Your father might buy you a car one day.” So the next day, before we went to work, we went down Alexander Street and bought a five bob license – it was a provisional license. Well when we got home that night, we were sitting in the lounge, and my elder brother said “Ere, you see that car outside. That’s been out there all day. And it’s got its keys in it.” He said “I’ve a damn good mind to run it up to Shoebury and leave it there.” We were saying, “Oh yea, we would.” And all that, he said “Yea, I think that’s what I’ll do.” My twin brother said “Can we come with you?” (Of course thinking they were going to nick a car.)
So we get up to Shoebury and my brother stops the car. He said “Ere’yar, here’s the ‘L’ plates. Put one on the bumper and tie one on the back, and you can start learning. Your dad brought you this car.” (It was a brand new black Ford 'A' from ‘Lambs’ of Dagenham that cost £90.)

Harry Harding in 2008

When we got home and went in, our mother asked, “Well are you pleased with it? You ought to be – your father’s mad!”
I said “Why’s that?” and she replied “Because he had to pay a £2 delivery charge.”

My older brother worked for the Gas Light & Coke Company on the seafront, and he was speaking to one of the foremen of the transport, and he said that he would teach us to drive for a shilling an hour. So he taught both of us. I can’t remember how many lessons we had but when we went up to take our test at Hamlet Court Road, near the station. It was a big house. The examiner came out and asked who wanted to go first, and I decided to go and get it over and done with. We drove around by the Blue Boar, and Victoria Avenue and round that way. Well when we got back he told me that I’d passed. The examiner went inside with the paperwork and while he was away I said to my twin brother Steve “You just wait here. I’ll do your test because I know the way round.” And Stave agreed.

On the driving test, driving round, I said to the examiner “By the way, how did my brother get on. Did he pass?” He said “Yes, he did” and of course I knew, and when we got back I passed again as Steve.
One problem we did have was that when we went into town by car, we usually parked outside Woolworths, because there were no double yellow lines or anything then. Sometimes we came back to it and sometimes found it was gone. It meant a walk down the hill because we knew where it would always be. Our elder brother had a key and used to nick it to take him down to the Britannia Pub on the seafront, and there it would be, parked right outside. So we used to nick it back.

Extract from an interview held on 28th February 2008

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