The former manager of Ilford Town Centre has described Margaret Thatcher’s “close links” to Redbridge.
Reg Woda met the former prime minister several times when he was a member of the Wanstead and Woodford Conservative Association.
He said her friendship with Norman Tebbit, who was the MP for Chingford, endeared her to the area.
Mr Woda added: “The connections with us locally were considerable.”
He recalled her visit to Sir James Hawkey Hall, in Broomhill Road, in April 1997 ahead of that year’s election.
Lady Thatcher met local Conservative activists and Iain Duncan Smith and gave a speech.
Mr Woda said: “I sat next to her for most of it.
“She was a lady who would listen, a lady who would give opinions and quite caring in her way and I think she had a longstanding connection to Woodford so she was at ease with us.”
Lady Thatcher paid what is thought to be her last visit to Redbridge in 2000 for a fundraising dinner at Bancroft’s School, in High Road, Woodford Green.
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