Prefab 53 Huron Road, SE London

Ron, Bala (Barbara) Burden and their two sons were bombed out of their home in Balham during the war. They were first re-housed in a first floor flat in a terraced house in Huron Road, Balham. Facilites were minimal. They were overjoyed to be re-housed again in a prefab in Huron Road in the early to mid-1950s. They loved their gas fridge, they loved their bathroom, they loved the area they knew so well, but above all, Bala loved her garden. They were devastated when they were re-housed yet again, not only miles away in Southfields, but on the 9th floor of a high-rise block. Yes, there was underfloor heating, yes there was a balcony, yes, the views were spectacular, but Bala was never the same woman again. She loved her prefab.