David Boddy of Becontree Avenue, Dagenham

The artwork of ‘Double Agent Boddy’ and dozens of fellow Barking and Dagenham residents has been documented in a new free book.

Community Matters brings together a three year programme of the same name which involved people from Becontree, Eastbury and Goresbrook wards exploring their local area through visual and performance art.

The work was then displayed in local businesses, like hair salons and chip shops.

Among the individual projects were Personal Plaques, which saw individuals position plaques on a building or in a street where an event had taken place. A photo was then taken of the person next to the plaque.

One of the plaques, placed outside the Roundhouse Pub by Mavis Morrison, read: “My Uncle Samuel Tapster Sold Peanuts Here. 1950. Confessions of a Nut Nicker.”

In the book, Mavis, who is Samuel’s niece, says: “I can see him standing outside the Roundhouse Pub where he sold peanuts out of a wicker basket with two straps... There was four of us that would help him. He kept a sharp eye on us, but we managed to nick a few...”

Another project called Operation Becontree asked participants to become ‘operatives’ with a shared mission to capture the forgotten, disregarded and unnoticed aspects of the place. One of those “operatives” was David Boddy, of Becontree Avenue (pictured as a double agent).

Liza Vallance, from Studio 3 Arts, said the aim of the project was to bring different parts of the community together.

“We wanted young and old people and those from different cultures and religions to communicate with each other to improve cohesion,” she said.

“And it really worked. People who would never have spoken to one another were now having conversations and enjoying each others company.”

Participant, Joyce Lock, said: “It was a very worthwhile community project which brought so many people together as friends.”

A launch of the book, available for free at Studio 3 Arts, was held at Portvgalia cafe, in Ripple Road, Barking on Thursday.