An East End Childhood
Aerial view of Docklands Image credit: Katie Chan Reg Varney was born on 11 July 1916 and brought up in Canning Town, near London’s Docklands, one of the most deprived parts of the capital at the time. ‘For three-quarters of the year,’ Reg wrote in his autobiography The Little Clown , ‘the sun was rarely seen and even in summer it was hazy, struggling through the polluted atmosphere.’ Even today, despite being a neighbour to many modern Dockland developments, Canning Town, according to Wikipedia (October 2015), remains among the 5 per cent most deprived areas in the UK with local people suffering from poor health, low education and poverty. The area is currently undergoing significant regeneration. According to Newham borough council: 'The Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration Programme includes the building of up to 10,000 new homes, creation of thousands of new jobs and two improved to...