Down Milldyke Way

by Harry Bowling

A young mother has some difficult choices to make...Harry Bowling writes a gripping saga in Down Milldyke Way - a story of love, family and tragedy. Perfect for fans of Cathy Sharp and Annie Murray.When Kate Flanagan sits in the Old Bailey court room and hears the seven year sentence for armed robbery being passed on her husband, she knows that now is the time to get free of him and make a new life for herself and her two children.Forced to quit her terraced house in Bermondsey for rent arrears, Kate has to take the unpalatable step of moving to a slum tenement block in Milldyke Street, Dockhead. Here she meets the attractive Amy Almond whose friendship opens new doors of opportunity for fresh relationships. When Kate stumbles over the murdered body of a single woman who lived in the next block, she realises that she, herself, could be a target. She turns to the attractive and sympathetic Sergeant Cassidy for protection and finds that her emotions, as well as her life, are in danger...What readers are saying about Down Milldyke Way :'This is one of Harry Bowling's finest . It is written with warmth, humour and a great deal of local knowledge . It is frequented by a host of colourful characters that come to life and take the reader on a journey into their world, the hardships and the joys are shared in equal measure. A thoroughly enjoyable read''When reading you can picture the area and the people. You can feel the atmosphere of the area and see the people who live there and their families. Very well written '

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

‘I suppose most people would see the ability to tell a story as a talent to entertain, but where I was born and raised, being able to spin a yarn was considered an asset of survival and, at times, it became a necessity…’ he said.

Harry was born in 1931, in Leroy Street, a back street off the Tower Bridge Road, the second child of Annie and Henry Bowling. His older sister Gladys died of meningitis before her second birthday. Harry’s grandfather worked at a transport yard as a carman-horsekeeper. He used to take Harry there to watch him and to pat the horses. He spent his youth hanging around the Tower Bridge Road market or hunting through Borough Market, a wholesale fruit and veg market near London Bridge, exploring the docklands and wharves, and swimming in the Thames.

Harry’s first contact with books began at the local library encouraged by his father, who was permanently disabled after being wounded during the First World War. Henry Bowling was often unemployed and struggled to support the family. Harry was only ten when the Second World War broke out. He could remember the day when Surrey Docks was bombed. His father helped him with his early education and he and his younger brother passed scholarships to Bermondsey Central School. He left the school at the age of 14 to help the family income by working at a riverside provision merchant as an office boy.

Only when his own children began to ask questions about the war, did Harry realise how many stories he had to tell. He started gathering scribbles and notes and wrote his first book. It was a factual account of the war and Harry realised it would probably have only a limited readership. He became aware that historical fiction was very popular and that there was no one writing about the East End of London, and the war, at that time. In his fifties, he was given early retirement from his job as a brewery driver-drayman, and was at last able to devote his time to writing.

He became known as ‘the King of Cockney sagas’, and he wrote eighteen bestselling novels of London life.

Reviews

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly written novel detailing post WWII London. Engaging main character Kate and her two children move to rough tenement neighbourhood in London. Story of how they adjust. Lively array of supporting characters keep the story moving. A little romance and a mystery add spice to the storyline.

A very good novel to read on a vacation. Didn’t require too much thinking and yet entertaining and thought provoking.

[Jacqueline Carpenter]

Brilliant book Harry Bowling was so clever there are so many characters I don't know how he kept up with them all ! Story about a run down old block of flats in Bermondsey, South London after World War Two Tells the tale of happy, carefree, poor days and human nature. I can't wait to find another novel by him !!

[Cory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the books I’m ashamed it to be known I’ve read. Ah well sometimes fluff is needed, as is the cosy predictability of an ‘appy endin’ and strong arms to sweep our heroine into. The murder was rather rushed into the final stretch of the book, and the carefully spelled cockney dialect was frustrating to read, but hey ho, it filled a couple of afternoons of lockdown.

[lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

Brilliant read took me back to my teenage years when I read this for the first time couldn't put it down

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tells of an East End street that is a condemned set of slum homes but there is a delay demolishing them after the war. The kids from this street are looked down on at school, by children and teachers alike, and the boys aim to run off to sea while the girls decide to try for jobs rather than get married and have plentiful babies young.
Tolerance of difference only lasts until an odd person becomes a suspect, like the single man musician who gets scapegoated.
There is also petty crime and fringes of more serious crime as people try desperately to improve their lives.
This was an okay read but I have read better about London and there was little in the way of contrast. The author was recalling a life he had known.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read about life in the london slums of bermondsey just after the 2nd world war

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. A mixture of murder and romance.Not a graphic murder story but enough to stop the book from being just a romance.