Hi Garden Gerald.
In 1954 we being my parents and my big brother moved to a new house in Briddsland Rd Tile Cross, growing up there was great with Chelmsley wood being across the Tile Cross Rd and down a farm track, across several fields and across the small bridge by the Bluebell wood. In those early day we didn't appreciate what we had, Then going past this same wood in the late nineties it looked absolutely beautiful with all the Blue bells in full bloom. Going back to the earlier days, I do recall lots of trouble with gang fights from the Shard End area plus damaging properties, there was also the Glebe Mob and the Lea Hall Mob. Yet in Tile Cross there was never any trouble, OK I've had a clip around the ear by Sergeant Ferris but that was par for the course but never anything serious, Then when he retired there was a bobby who just manned the station a few times a week until Sergeant Clive Ollins arrived by which time we were all in our early teens and got on well with Sargeant Ollins.
By this time I only had one interest which was motorCycles and in the late 60s started road racing as a sidecar passenger and then also raced my own bike too. Our Milk man Mick Casey was a passenger to the BSA legend Chris Vincent, then he went into the sidecar GPs.