Thursday, 23 October 2008

My Early Memories 0 - 10

I was born at St. Mary's maternity hospital in Armley, Leeds(www.secretleeds.com) on 7th October 1954. I lived in Galway Terrace, Holbeck/Hunslet, Leeds. (Our house was near the border between Holbeck and Hunslet two working class areas near the City centre). In the same street my Grandparents (Tillotson) lived and my Great Uncle lived. My other grandparents lived in Shand Place, Holbeck and my Grandad Furness had a bookies shop near their house which was near to Ninevah Bridge.
During the Second World War my grandad had made the cellar into a bomb shelter so his friends could stay there during bombing raids. Near to my Grandad Furness's house there was a theatre called The Queens(www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Leeds/QueensTheatreLeeds.htm). My Mother went to Princess Field school(www.leodis.net) which was nearly opposite Shand Place. My Grandad Furness died in 1961 when I was at Junior school. He was in Leeds town centre paying somebody's electric bill. He was very popular and the route to the cemetry(Elland Road) was lined with people coming to pay their last respects. I can't remember my Grandad Tillotson working but I seem to remember a scrap yard ? My Grandmother Furness worked as a cleaner in a warehouse opposite their house. She worked until she was 70 !

My father was a printer and he worked in a print works in Beeston which is farther out of Leeds above Cross Flatts Park called Waddington's. My mother used to make clothes and she worked in clothes factory in Marshall Street, Holbeck called Hay and Flocktons. She used an electric sewing machine and she had one at home as well. She only worked afternoons.

My first memory was when someone visited us to look round our house and I found out we were moving. Our house was a back to back house with two bedrooms, a living room, a small kitchen and a cellar. Our toilet was in a yard down our street which was used by other families. My elder sister tells me I was about 2 years old and I think we were moving because my younger brother was on the was, he was born 8th May 1957.

Our new house was situated over the main road, Hunslet Hall Road, and it's address was Northcote Street. Although it's front door was on Hunslet Hall Road it's postal address was Northcote Street and that was only a narrow street down the back of the main road. This street was only used by the postman, milkman, dustbin lorry, the coal merchant and the pop lorry. This house was a through terrace with four storeys consisting of a large bedroom at the top of the house(which I shared with my brother), two bedrooms(first floor my parents and my sister), a dining room, a living room and pantry(ground floor) and downstairs a bathroom/kitchen, a workshop and a coal cellar. At the front there was a garden on to Hunslet Hall Road and on the back there was a yard with our own toilet leading on to Northcote Street. It was very big !

Although we had a bath downstairs we couldn't afford to heat the rooms downstairs. We had a tin bath that we used every Saturday. My parents filled it from a geyser(gas appliance) above the kitchen sink. My sister went first, my brother, me, my mother and my father. When one of us got out my dad used to top the bath up. It took about an hour to bath us all. I remember when I went swimming, a lot, I didn't have a bath because I went in the shower at the public baths.

Northcote Street was the longest street in the area called the Northcotes which was a triangular area that started on Hunslet Hall Road and went towards Beeston to Lady Pitt Lane. The Fish & Chip shop was on Lady Pitt Lane. Nearly every street had a shop at the end of it. Northcote Street had an Off-Licience and a Newsagents. Also one of the residents was a money lender who used his house for his business. At one end of Northcote Street, the same end at the newsagents, lived Mr Kaye the undertaker and joiner. He put a window in our bedroom. His boy was older than me but he played with us. Also there was a family whose parents were deaf and dumb. They had two children, a boy and a girl.(twins ?) . One of our favourite games was 'kick out ball' it was like hide and seek but instead of counting one person was nominated to kick a ball and the person who was the seeker had chase the ball and return it before he could start seeking.

At one end of Hunslet Hall Road there were traffic lights with Dewsbury Road the police station, the library, St Peter's Church of England(see Leodis) and the Junction public house. After the traffic lights there was the Moorhouse pub, Hunslet Moor which was a park with tennis courts, bowling greens, children's rides (swings, slides and round-a-bouts) and a football pitch which we used when playing the school football team. Much later on the M1 motorway split this park up ! There was a public house called The Blooming Rose near the football pitch. The rugby league pitch was near to Hunslet Moor but next to The Garden Gate public house.

At the other end there was Beeston Road with a children's nursery, a small park which we used to play in and The Golden Lion public house. We used to go to the shops in Beeston Road using the butchers, bakers, post office, barbers and the handymans. At the handymans we bought records to play on our record player and radio which were cheap because they were not recorded by the original group.
On the other side off Beeston Road the next road was Elland Road and next was Holbeck Moor which was similar to Hunslet Moor.

I used to go out with my Grandad Tillotson by bus to Dewsbury market, Otley and to a farm which was situated near Brimham Rocks near Harrogate. The farmer used to pick us up from the bus stop and take us to his farm in a Land Rover. My grandad was friends with the farmer who had cattle and sheep. My grandma Tillotson died in 1966 I don't remember much about her, she was older than my grandad and she had a glass eye. My grandad died soon after in 1967. I can remember one Christmas when my Grandad took my sister to see Father Christmas's Grotto in Lewis's. They were the first in the queue and were photographed in the Yorkshire Evening Post. I also remember my grandad had an article in about him saving man in the River Aire but I never saw it. Grandad Tillotson told me about the time he saved a bloke who had jumped off a bridge over the river Aire in Leeds city centre.

Presents I got for Christmas were electric tractor, electric train, chemistry set and scalextric. My dad built a railway for my train. I used to play with this a lot because it was in the kitchen/bathroom downstairs. We used this room to play with our toys when it was raining. In our bedroom my brother and me had a small snooker table and we used to play billiards, snooker and subbuteo on it.

My parents were friends of 'Uncle' Bill and 'Aunty' ? Bill used to play Piano in a pub at the bottom of Domestic Road and us three children stay in our car a Ford Popular.

When I was eight I had piano lessons, choir practice, swimming club, cubs and lots of activities through school. I don't know why but my mother got me to take piano lessons at home, we had a piano in our lounge. As did my grandparents Furness.. I did not like them and would rather play out with my mates. My teacher taught my sister to dance in a Methodist church on Beeston Road.

Early memories are my Infant School, Bewerley Street was situated at the end of Northcote Street. Although it was called Bewerley Street the Junior school was about 200 yards away on Bewerley Street nearer the City centre. In the Infant school there was a medical centre and a dentist located with the school. I only spent 3 years there BECAUSE me and Ian Rudge, the 2 oldest who both lived in Northcote Street were moved up a year because we were bullies. I didn't realise this until I sat my 11 plus exam at 10 years old. Because the infant school was only across one road from our house I can remember going to school by myself.

At that time there were not many cars about. We got a car in 1963, it was a new Ford Popular. In Northcote Street, at first, there were only 3 residents who owned cars, the Off Licience, the Wood's and the Tillotson's. My dad garaged it in some garages that belonged to a Shell petrol station on Beeston Road. At the time petrol cost 6s 8d a gallon(compared with 2011 petrol costs £7 a gallon). It stayed this price until 1972. My dad used to get new cars every 2 years through his work at Waddingtons. Other cars he had were Ford Cortina Mark 1, Ford Escort, Vauxhall Viva and Toyotas.

I can also remember there was a workshop where older boys use to go for joinery classes but they were not from the junior school. They were from Ingram Road School which is further up Dewsbury Road. I went home for lunch because I lived near the school and my mother was home to cook our lunch. The only thing that I remember I did was to learn to read and write at Infant School.

There was a lot of children living Northcote Street and we all played together, sometimes we played in a small park that was situated at the end of Hunslet Hall Road next to Beeston Road. Sometimes we used to play football or cricket in the infants school playground or we use to climb and play on the school roof. Other children I remember were the Rudges(2 boys Ian was my best friend and his brother was older) Brian Wood(he lived next door no. 37 and was the same age as my brother), the Lindleys (2 boys).

My mother took my sister, my brother and me to St. Peter's church which was on Dewsbury Road at the other end of Hunslet Hall Road. I can remember two young women taking us to Sunday school while my mother attended church. In the church halls I also attended the cubs and the youth club. I ended up being a sixer in the cubs which I was in charge of five other cubs. I used be in the church choir with my brother. Rehearsals were on Friday, weddings on a Saturday(you got 2s 6d) and Church on a Sunday. I can remember one Saturday we attended 4 weddings so we got 10/- each.

I can remember going ,with other children, to the pictures on a Saturday afternoon. It was called the Malvern, on Beeston Road and we used to go every Saturday afternoon.

I also remember one year 1963 when it snowed until Easter and we used to go Greenmount Terrace which was a steep hill but at the bottom of the hill there was a place where we could use our sledges and this run lasted for about 100 yards. Normally when it snowed we used the delivery entrance to Shaftbury House which lasted for 20 yards but this year we started using this run.

Bewerley Street Junior School memories were the headmaster Mr Blakeborough who was very keen on sports. In the last two years there I joined the Rugby League team, the Football team, the Cricket team and the swimming team. I played Rugby League age 8 against boys age 11 because I moved up one year plus I started playing the school team in 3rd year. Our home pitch was on Hunslet Moor or for Cricket was a pitch on Middleton Ring Road near the Rex cinema. If we had a match we used to catch a bus on Dewsbury Road(No. 3 or 12). In my last year I won best bowler for cricket which was a tennis ball. Mr Blakeborough threw to me in assembly and he told me if I dropped it he would keep it. Our swimming baths was Hunslet public baths but we used another school's baths in year one called Hunslet Lane. At first we joined Hunslet Club but we changed to Holbeck Club because the coaches were good, In the last year at Bewerley school I was picked to join a swimming club that trained on Tuesdays at Roundhay School and on Thursday at Lawnswood school. A girl Hilary Munroe went as well. I became very good at swimming as I was picked to represent Leeds and began training with Leeds Central Swimming Club.

At Bewerley Street I can remember some teachers, Mr Naylor, Mr Llewleyn, Mr Roberts and Mrs Shaw. When I was suppose to take my 11 plus exam I had 'yellow jaunice' so I had to take it later after 2 weeks at home but I still passed at 10 years old. As well as being a good swimmer I came first in the District for diving. My teacher Mr Llewleyn used to make me practice my position by standing on a desk in the classroom everytime we had some spare time. I found it hard because all my mates would watch.

Mr Blakeborough used to take us hiking to various places in Yorkshire. In the last year at Bewerley Street we had the chance of going to the Lake District for a week. We went to a hostal near Keswick and joined another school. We climbed several mountains and went to the seaside for a day as well. I became friendly with a girl from the other school.
We still had corporal punishment and Mr Blakeborough once hit me, on the bum, with table tennis bat for misbehaving while a student teacher was in charge. I can remember all the school attending while two older boys were caned for stealing lead from the school roof. At Bewerley Street school Mr Blakeborough use to organise boxing tournaments for schools in the district. Children I remember from Bewerley Street Junior Street were Tate, David Chance, Ian Storey, Kevin Pattison and Hilary Munroe.

I can remember playing football with all my mates near a very large hostal Shaftbury House. The front door was in Beeston Road but the grounds came near our street. It was huge, it was men only. My mother told us to keep away because the residents were not nice. We went all over during the holidays and sometimes went to Middleton park through the woods.

Every Saturday morning we went Leeds shopping. We went to Leeds market to buy the vegetables and the cooked meat. We went to Woolworth's to buy a joint of meat for our Sunday dinner and our weekly shopping. We used to get the No. 1 to Leeds which stopped at the cafe on Beeston Road and we got off outside the station near City Square. A bus ran on Hunslet Hall Road from Belle Isle to Bramley No. 46. Sometimes we used the buses from Dewsbury Road to Leeds City Centre which were Nos 2, 3, 12, and 20.

While I was at Bewerley Street Junior School I was asked to join a special group of children throughout Leeds who were very good at swimming. I had to go to swimming lessons, twice weekly at Rounday school and Lawnswood school. Hilary Munroe was picked as well. They told me to move to Holbeck swimming club because it was better than Hunslet. Through this I was able to join Leeds Central Swimming Club though I had to pass their time trials first. When I joined Leeds Central I went swimming everyday. I went to Cookridge baths on Mondays and Fridays and Holbeck baths on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesdays I went to Holbeck baths training for Leeds Central from 19:00 - 20:00 and training for Holbeck from 20:00 - 21:00. I remember one Tuesday I went swimming with school in the morning, after school we had a winter squadron match swimming against another school, I had training with Leeds Central and training with Holbeck. That night I was the cleanest kid in Leeds !
At school we entered a team in the Winter Squadron League each school had 3 competitors who swam indivdual in either back stroke, breast stroke or free style and a team race. Mr Blakeborough took us to these events in his Morris Traveller.

Because Leeds Central's main night was on a Friday I couldn't go to choir practice at the church and I stopped going to Scouts on a Thursday. I enjoyed going training and to representing Leeds at swimming galas. Eventually my sister and my brother joined Leeds Central Swimming Club. It became our family theme. I used to swim with kids from all schools in Leeds. I met few girls I got friendly with.

If you played football for your school sometimes you got free tickets to watch Leeds United. I used to go and went in the junior section (later this was called Gelderd Road - The Kop). One Saturday my mates (Dave Chance) dad took me and Dave to Old Trafford to watch "The Scum" BUT we wanted to see George Best. We went on the train to Manchester and went on another train to Old Trafford. We had planned to go to Manchester Airport before going to the match but Dave was sick so we did not go to Ringway. It was a very long day and I fell asleep on the way back. If Dave's father took us we used to go into the Scratching Shed which was the home supporters end.

Another memory was in October/November all the kids use to go 'chumping' for Bonfire Night. At Beeston Road end of Northcote Street there was some derelict land where we had our bonfire. About 1 month before Bonfire Night we use to go collecting wood for a bonfire. Also we use to pinch wood from other bonfires and vice versa. Sometimes this would become battles with other gangs.

Other families we used to visit were Aunty Jean who lived in some flats next to Holbeck Moor. The flats she lived in were very modern, were 10 floors high and had under floor heating. Uncle Alan, Aunty Milly, Stephen, Brenda and Pauline who were relations on my Dads side. They lived near Ninevah bridge in Holbeck and moved to Belle Isle when their house was demolished by the council. Uncle Bill and Aunty Edith lived near Domestic Street. Uncle Bill played a piano in a pub near Domestic Street in Holbeck. On a Saturday night we would all go out to the pub but we (the kids) would stay in our car while my parents went in the pub or we went to Canning Street Club where children could go inside situated just off Beeston Road near my grandmother's house in Shand Place. On Sundays we went to my Uncle Joe's (my mothers brother) who lived in Moortown on the other side of Leeds. He was a solicitor who had his own firm and had two offices one in Leeds town centre and one in Garforth. He was married to Aunty Kathline and had four children John, David, Andrew and Gillian(twins). Sometimes we would visit my Grandad Furness's sisters Aunty Sarah, Aunty Ethel, Aunty Violet or my Grandmother Furness's relatives in Methley near Leeds. My Grandmother Furness came from Sunderland but most of her family lived in Methley.

Every year we used to go to Bridlington in August and stayed in the same guest house in Trinity Road. It was full board and we all slept in the same room. At first we went in a taxi but later we went in our car.

On Sunday afternoons we use to go out in our car usually to Otley sometimes we would go into the swimming pool or Ilkey swimming pool or round the dales just for a change of scenery.

My dad worked different shifts at Waddingtons earlies 06:00 - 14:00 and lates 14:00 - 22:00. The building moved from above Cross Flatts Park to over Dewbury Road behind The Broadway public house.

Even though I was only 10 I can remember getting girlfriends !

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing your memories. I really enjoyed reading them. I am from Hunslet Hall Road and went to Bewley Street Infants and juniors. You have am excellent memory.

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