By Kathy Taylor

Here's my uncle Jack Taylor standing in the doorway of the family's rag shop in Ordnance Road, Canning Town in 1936. The shop, which was originally a bakers was bought by my grandfather in 1916. He ran a very successful business from here and another property and warehouse in Trinity Street.

There were 14 children in the family, not including the two babies who died in infancy.  My mum was born in the room above the shop in 1928 and I lived there for the first six years of my life. We finally moved out in 1957 when the shop was compulsory purchased by the council in the slum clearance.

Photo: Private family collection