In the heart of Dagenham is the largest council housing development in Britain and its unique history has been documented and researched for a film which set to be screened on BBC 2.
Stories of Becontree, was created by project leader Ioannis Athanasiou and backed by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It saw 12 youngsters from social enterprise Catch 22, at risk of social exclusion and anti-social behaviour living in the wards over the Becontree Estate, be trained as filmmakers and oral historians.
Over the summer, the young people aged between 14 and 19, delved into the lives and stories of 14 elderly residents who have lived in the Becontree Estate.
The film, which was launched in September as part of the Local History Fair at Valence House, Dagenham, was screened to residents at Kingsley Church Hall in October.
For their part, the young people received an Arts Award qualification and for Shannon Humphreys, 16, of Rowlands Road, Dagenham, there was an overwhelming feeling of achievement.
She said: “I’m very proud of what I did and it was an amazing feeling to tell my family about it.
“Doing the interviews and getting to know the residents and how they lived was really interesting because I have lived in Dagenham since I was born and when you think about what they had, I felt they had it so much better back then.
“I want my children’s children to know about what it was like in Dagenham and the project was a great way of doing that.”
The group explored the archive collections at the Local Studies and Archive centre at Valence House, including the early history of the area.
Rihanna Walsh interviewed Stan Buzer, 81, who was born in Valence Avenue, Dagenham.
Stan joined the Royal Signal as a dispatch rider in 1950 and went to Germany where he drove motorcycles and jeeps delivering messages between barracks.
Soon after his return to Dagenham in 1952, Stan married Brenda and settled in the borough and had three children.
But such was Stan’s love for Germany, he joined the Adult College of Barking and Dagenham, Fanshawe Avenue, in 2004, learnt the language and made a remarkable discovery.
He said: “I was told about my family history by my cousin and found out that a member of my family sailed from Hamburg to New York in 1871.
“His name was Henrik Buzer and he is one of my relatives but I’m not sure which one. I heard that I had another cousin called Gott Buzer who also sailed to Ohio.
“Unfortunately I don’t get the chance to speak German very often but I’m told that when I do, it is very good.
“I’m not fluent but I still read books at home and try to keep it up because I like to speak to people.”
Having lived in Kingsley Close for 50 years, Stan was ideal to educate the youngsters about how times have changed in Dagenham.
“I liked that they were very interested, that they wanted to listen and asked loads of questions,” he added.
“The area has changed a lot because before everyone knew each other and people could settle in terraced houses and didn’t lock the door. But you can’t do that nowadays and people don’t talk to people like they used to.” In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most influential Civil Rights Movement characters, visited Kingsley Hall. And buildings such as Kingsley Hall and the Civic Centre played an important role in telling the story of life in Dagenham.
For Jaeden Condappa, a student at Eastbury sixth form, living so close to them was an eye-opener.
Jaeden said: “I live near the Civic Centre and I found it really interesting to interact, learn about the history and hear the stories of how buildings got their name like Sydney Russell School which got its name from a priest who used to work at the Kingsley Hall Community Centre.
“We are the next generation and we have to pass this knowledge on because Becontree is a good place.
“I used to look at these buildings as just a building but they have survived wars and bombs so finding out about things that happened right next to me from the people who lived through it was a once in a life time opportunity.”
The film is due to be shown on The Great British Story: A People’s History on a date to be confirmed.
n To view the film, visit the programme’s website www.storiesofbecontree.com and Catch22’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/Catch22charity).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here