Stan James Dyson (B. January 1945) married Joan Lilian Adams (B. March 1944) at St Marks Church, Silvertown on 7th September 1963.  They had been courting each other since Stan became fascinated as a 15-year old schoolboy sitting opposite her on a 669 trolley bus in September 1959 and finally plucked up courage to knock on her door and ask her for a date in June 1960.  Been together now for 48 years and given the chance would do it all again. 

Submitted by Stan Dyson

Photo: Private family collection

Catherine Ellen Guinee (born in Westwood Rd West Silvertown in August 1915) married Alfred Stanley Dyson (born in Auberon Street North Woolwich in February 1916) at St Barnabus Church West Silvertown on Christmas Day 25th December 1943. 

Alfred Dyson (but always called Stan, never Alfred) was a soldier in the REME and was due to join British forces fighting the Germans in Europe.  Dad (according to his sister, Alice Dyson) was still uncertain as to whether he should marry the happy go lucky Cathy Guinee who he had courted for years, or the other more serious girlfriend he had at the time the very night before the Wedding Day.  He deliberated over this for some hours before deciding that it would be Cathy as she was such a fun person to be with and he thought that she deserved the widows war pension more than the other girlfriend, as he did not expect to survive the WW2 conflict.  They were married with dad in his REME army uniform.

This magnificent lion guards the entrance to Tate & Lyle's Plaistow Wharf, in Knight's Road, West Silvertown. He originally adorned the western end of the  main office building at Plaistow Wharf which was demolished when the company moved its Golden Syrup operations to Silvertown Refinery.

The plaque is of Portland stone and the recumbent lion is surrounded by a swarm of bees, the motto reads ‘Out Of The Strong Came Forth Sweetness'. Goldie and the bees was registered as the trademark of Lyle's Golden Syrup in 1904.

On the 18th May 1984, the Thames Barrier was officially `opened` by Her Majesty the Queen, eighteen years after it was first considered as the answer to the possible flooding of London.

It cost £435M to build and has been described as the Eight Wonder of the World.

In 1972 the Thames Barrier & Flood Prevention Act was passed by Parliament and construction of the Barrier begun in 1974.

It became operational in October 1982 and was first used in February 1983.

It was said that a Tug Captain could follow the River Thames not only by the Reaches and the Buoys, but also the sights and the smells from the Riverside.

So lets go back over 50 years and imaging a ride aboard a Tug from the entrance of the Royal Victoria Dock to the entrance of the King George V Dock on a summer’s day.

Entering the Royal Victoria Dock by gate No.3, we walk along to the Tidal Basin to pick up our Tug.

Lyle Park, on the banks of the River Thames, is a tucked away at the end of Bradfeild Road, Silvertown.

This new private housing development is built on the site of Thomas Ward's scrap metal yard at Silvertown. This view is from Pontoon Dock DLR station and is overlooking Barrier Park. In the background you can see Tate & Lyle's Thames Wharf factory.

This view is from the recently built Pontoon Dock DLR Station, overlooking the Graving Dock. Millennium  Mill is one of the few surving warehouses in the Royal Docks. Originally built by W. Vernon & Sons in 1905, it was destroyed in 1917 by the Silvertown Explosion but was rebuilt. Vernon & Sons was later taken over by Spillers Ltd.  In the background you can catch a glimpse of ExCel, the large exhibition centre at Custom House on the north side of the Victoria Dock

The memorial stands under the Docklands Light Railway on North Woolwich Road. It was erected by Brunner Mond Chemical Works to commemorate the employees who were killed in the Silvertown Explosion and those who died in the two world wars.

The factory originally produced caustic soda. After the outbreak of the first world war and with pressure from the government it switched production in 1915 to TNT for use in high explosive bombs, despite the fact it was in a heavily built up area.