Pie 'n' Mash & Prefabs: My 1950s Childhood

by Norman Jacobs

The Blitz had made many families in the East End of London homeless. One solution was to erect prefabs on fields and open spaces to give temporary accommodation to those who had been bombed out. It was in one of these 'modern' boxes that young Norman Jacobs grew up through the 1950s and 1960s. In a lively, detailed and humorous picture of a postwar Hackney childhood, Norman takes us back to an age of rationing, bomb sites, street markets, colourful characters and camaraderie. And in reminiscing about stodgy school food, jumpers for goalposts, Listen with Mother, greyhound racing, pie 'n' mash, holiday camps, and the advent of American-style burger bars, he provides a glimpse into a way of life that has vanished for ever.Set against a backdrop of Rock 'n' Roll, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassination of President Kennedy, funny, poignant and sometimes sad, Norman's is a story full of innocence and happiness that will take you back to the best of times - the days we thought would never end.

Genres: Memoir

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2015

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tale of childhood has no wartime stories or serious trauma; it's just a cheerful, rubbing-along type of growing up in bombed out London. Norman's father was a Jewish man who was not religious, so they grew up much the same as other kids in the Hackney area of north east London. The family lived in a prefab which was made available to returned soldiers and their homeless families but it was never intended to be permanent. However it was clean, spacious enough and their own.

We hear about all the food, drink, comics, films and TV of the day, with radio shows and locally held sports as well. Schooldays, games, conkers and gangs. Family holidays in the proudly owned first car. Then on to getting accepted into more senior schools, discovering girls and Young Socialist meetings at the same time. I found it quite ironic that Norman did not get good enough marks to study at university, so he applied to train as a teacher.

I do think it is important to record what life used to be like for ordinary folks, and how childhood and teenage years used to be experienced. I enjoyed the read and the publisher evidently produced a series of such memoirs.
This is an unbiased review.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an important piece of history, especially local history to the area of London, to have recorded. But it is very much like sitting down with an elderly relative for a few hours who repeats themselves and goes on tangents

[Philip Glanville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very pleased I invested in a copy from the Leabridge Labour Party stall at the last Chats Fest. A wonderful and light canter through a Post-War childhood in Hackney and the wider East End. Well worth a read for anyone who wants to read up on their local social history and discover how the area has changed, but also a good reminder that change has been a consistent feature of this part of London for decades. Has a real sense of how important social housing was in improving the lives of families in the area.

[Terena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this one through knowing the author via speedway. Norman takes us from his earliest memories up to leaving school, which include both the everyday life events such as family, school, friends, pastimes and also the historical events in the UK which occur during this time, when life seemed somewhat simpler. I enjoyed this book, it is very well written which is no surprise really!

[Lorelei · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting that the magic of childhood lies in the experience itself of growing up, so long as home life is stable and secure. Even in light of it being the post-war era, so many things seem simpler in Jacob's memoir than the world our children are growing up in today. A pleasing read, sweet and simple.

[Rachel Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. This book is a combination of British 1950s social history and stories from Norman about his childhood. :-)

[Tracy Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this book; I enjoyed the historical side of life from the 1950s onwards and I did Google some of the streets and places mentioned, which was great to do - you could see the space where the prefabs was, and it really made you think about what life was like in the past.

Norman's family came across as a really lovely, warm and welcoming family unit and it was lovely to see this tight family unit covered lots of generations and continued throughout Norman's childhood.

Having said all this however- and I did enjoy the book - I did find it a bit of a struggle to get into at times. It wasn't a book that I couldn't put down; sometimes it was a book that I had to force myself to read and sometimes it felt like a challenge to get to the end of it.

It did become easier to read when the Chapters were shorter - I think the lengths of most of the Chapters were too long and that's why I found it a struggle to get through.

Overall however, it was an enjoyable read - it was warm, welcoming, funny and the historical elements were interesting and educational at the same time - but it would have been easier to get into if the Chapters had been shorter and a little less tedious.

[Cockneylen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it because I'm only a few years younger than the author, and many of the things that were going on at the time are memories I share. Got a bit bored with his story towards the end, as this became more personal to him, and of less interest to me as an outsider. However, it's his story.

Despite being a child of East London I have never shared his socialist views, but definitely agree wholeheartedly with his opinion that pie 'n' mash is wonderful. Thought he was a bit of a wuss at times, but then again applaud his honesty. I wouldn't dismiss reading another of his books.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite funny in places and brought back memories of prefabs that I could see out the back window in Poplar where I lived. The first telly, the first car, the first girlfriend become reminiscients of my own growing-up in the East End. Only thing I don't understand though is how Norman, as a Londoner, missed mentioning the Rolling Stones during the chapter on the '60's. But still a pleasurable read.

[Jackie Sykes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memory recalled

I also was brought up in a prefab and this brought back memories of the house and my childhood. Remembering the freedom of the sixties the Constance development and freedom for the working class

[Tracy Birrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought back so many memories of how I grew up.

[Lisa Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t think I would like this one but I actually really enjoyed it 🙂

[Louise Ashdown · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice reading about what happened in the 1950's - 1960's. Especially learning about the shops and restaurants such as whimpy. Overall an interesting read on history.

[Nick Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice book. Brought back many memories of my childhood in the 50s and 60s

[BERYL HILLIER · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is not there?

I did not enjoy this book because it was devoted almost entirely to the authors family and none of the other prefab dwellers! WHY?