Morris Johnson

A further interview in July 2012 yielded some additional information which is revealed here.  On the subject of scout masters Stan Fisher only became the sea scout leader after the regular one was called up and his assistant, with a germanic surname was  unfortunately interned for the duration of world war 2 . While he could not recall his name, Morris does remember that after the war he started a boatyard on the Stour, hiring out rowing boats. After the scouts, Morris’s social life revolved round the yacht club and a succession of boats, including his clinker built dinghy “Winsome” seen in the photo showing the sea cadets. Also worked on the launch Hilfranor, a Dunkirk little ship.

Church Creek was his playground, but you had to be wary of being stranded onthe mudbanks under the railway bridge.  Many of the yacht club boats were laid up there during the second world war. The first bridge across to Canvey was the Colvin bridge,an electrically operated  sliding bridge, which opened in the middle to allow boats in and out. The bridge operator would make use of a  power supply located in a shed on the Benfleet shore and the bridge first lifted, then rolled back on both sides. The bridge was far more practical than the ferry, but the right of way for boats caused some huge traffic jams. Perhaps the last words should come from Betty Johnson, who witnessed the flying fortress crash on Canvey. Early on in the last war she was evacuated from Benfleet to Ilford, ! It soon became apparent that Benfleet was a lot safer as East London suffered greatly because of the proximity of the docks. Again towards the end of the war the family luck held when they sold their Ilford house two days before it was hit by a V2…