youthful recollections by john ruscoe brignal

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Taken at Harry Petty’s Café, Hackins Hey, Liverpool By John Ruscoe Brignal 1896-1985

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Page 1: Youthful Recollections by John Ruscoe Brignal

Taken at Harry Petty’s Café, Hackins Hey, Liverpool

By John Ruscoe Brignal 1896-

1985

Page 2: Youthful Recollections by John Ruscoe Brignal

By John Ruscoe Brignal 1896-1985

Typed by John Duncan Brignal with photo’s copied from

From 17th April 1974

It is a corollary of old age that one’s thoughts more and more frequently turn to earlier years and one’s

childhood days and the changes that have taken place in the way life is lived since those times.

It occurred to me that it might be of interest in the years to come to look back on those changes so I am recording here as many of them as I can recall and which I feel will, in some instances, seem incredible to the youngsters of today.I am now in my 79th year and believe my generation has experienced, seen and felt more startling changes than in any similar span of time since the Industrial Revolution

Queen Victoria died in 1901 when I was in my fifth year. England then was a supreme world power, one might say at the peak of her ascendency. Since then changes have began and we have slowly given up as leaders in world matters. Other nations have advanced educationally and industrially and have realised their own power and the value of their own natural resources so that today countries whose population were little more that slaves, now play a part in world affairs undreamt of when I was born.

Their influence as a result of these happenings has changed our day to day living standards even down to some levels we thought as solid as rock. But it wasn’t on world matters I found my thoughts were dwelling when I started these notes. In fact some of the changes I shall mention would appear to belie the real proof that England has lost her world leadership. However when one talks of a country’s prosperity it should not be forgotten that the resulting wealth is in the hands of a minority of the population and that hidden away there is and always will be a level of comparatively poor wage earners. Fortunately this situation is changing mainly due to the work of the Trade Unions and Labour Governments and this class of people is slowly passing away.

Improved educational facilities and opportunities to hold posts of importance and responsibility in the Government and business life of the country have affected all aspect of our living standards. Children enjoy a greater scope for leisure pursuits and educational facilities that was not possible in my young days. Wages and salaries have risen to an extent that permits home life to become totally different in nearly all respects.

It is at this point in the changes I have in mind that I speak from experience for to a child home is the first impact on their life, so let me remind you:

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Me in younger days

Working men he vast majority of working men at the time I speak of, married, raised a family and maintained a respectable

appearance not without a struggle on wages of not more that 25/- a week. Obviously this could only be achieved by careful planning by the housewife in laying out her money and by ‘make do and mend’ activities especially with children’s clothing. Nothing was wasted but also many things had to be forgone like holidays and many other things that are now taken for granted today.

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A fully qualified tradesman for example joiner or engineer could command about £2 a week and was looked upon as men of higher social order. They may have been able to rent a house for 7/6 or 8/- a week (40p-45p) and one which may have included and inside bath.

I belonged to the 25/- a week class and lived in a street for many years that had a variety of houses, single and double story which ranged from 6/6 to 9/6 a week.

Childhood friendsonsequently my childhood friend’s were as varied socially as the rents of the houses they lived in. Two of

them became ships captains, one a newspaper reporter another magistrate’s clerk and another executive engineer in my own line of work. One I have mentioned in my ‘war

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experiences’ lies buried in Poperinghe, Belgium, a victim of the 1914-18 war. Another whose family was closely connected was drowned on his way home to retire after a life spent in the Colonial Service in Africa after his ship was sunk by a German submarine. Others have just gone into the mists of time and are lost to me. Of the girls in our street, one became a teacher and another who I met after many years, a supervisor in the Central Telephone Exchange in Liverpool. I reminded her of an occasion when I pushed her off the fence in Sefton Park and ran away frightened at what I had done, I might have been 7 or 8 at the time.

Housingt was only on the outskirts of Liverpool generally speaking, that people lived who owned their own homes Vast areas

of the City were covered by streets built with houses to rent. Of course these varied in design from the awful ‘courts’ where two and three storied tenements faced each other and only having one or two communal toilets and one cold water tap, to the more respectable double fronted bay window type.

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Like all big cities that spread themselves over the years one finds large properties that were once on the outskirts which have now become hemmed in by another swathe of houses and now become ‘to let’ as apartments. The landlords of which were only interested in profits and spent little on maintenance and the upkeep of their properties, consequently they soon fall into disrepair and become slum areas.

I have seen Liverpool extend her boundaries by several miles taking in outer townships like, West Derby, Speke, Woolton, Garston etc and partly by new building. ‘House to Let’ was to be seen in almost every street, unlike today when there is and since the end of the 1914-18 war a permanent shortage of houses, even to purchase, let alone rent. Of course two wars with only 21 years between them when all house building practically ceased, must have been a contributing factor to the present position, but other causes could be, population increase, early marriages, soaring costs both in materials and labour, the high price of lands and speculators cornering the money market.

Well the foregoing outlines some of the reasons why the way of life has changed for most of us, so now I will try to describe how I have seen conditions that were common to

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us children pass away to become just memories, sometime almost unbelievable on reflection.

My early home ncluding the house in which I was born I can recall having lived in five different addresses and four temporary ones

up to my marriage ( 28/8/1928) since when we have moved four times. (* see NB) The last move brought me to Neston and made me an owner occupier. My pre-marriage homes were all rented houses and as they existed up to 1914 it bears out the fact that up to that time rented houses were to be found in all areas of Liverpool.

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The last house, from which I was to leave to marry in 1928, was the one in which I had spent most of my childhood active days and therefore the one which I can best describe as it affected my youth. It was a three bed-roomed house, although the smallest room was only big enough to hold a single bed. The property was old when we moved in and very much in need of repair. For example a crack in one bedroom wall permitted a creeper growing up outside to come through the wall. In the ‘scullery’ there was as well as a small fireplace with a hob, a copper with a small fire-grate for washing clothes. A cellar with another ‘copper’ and fireplace had been installed. The cellar had a cold water tap, a walled off area for coal storage. The coal was delivered down a shute through a grid in the flagged area in front of the house. A small window opened into an ‘area well’ to give light from the street. Railings ran round the front of each house but not enclosing any garden. This cellar was never used except for coal and the gas meter (a penny in the slot type). I remember once finding on the low partition wall separating the cola from the other part of the cellar, several very old ‘Georgian Pennies’ (which King George I forget). They were very heavy and much bigger than the current coins and would not have fitted the gas meter.

My Mother

The ‘scullery’ had a shallow unglazed sandstone sink from which a waste pipe (without ‘U’ bend) went through the wall to a grid in the yard. It was quite usual on coming downstairs in the morning to find the sticky sort of semi-florescent trails of yellow snails al over the wooden drain-board that had come up the drainpipe in the night. A pinch of salt would dissolve them.

The house was gas lit each fitting using inverted ‘mantles’ as opposed to the taller vertical type. When a new mantle was fitted it had to be lit with a match and set alight before it could be ignited by the gas supply. There was no gas light in the small or middle bedrooms where candles were used when necessary. I and my brother Bill slept in the middle bedroom and I can still recall soon after we moved into the house, waking up to see bugs walking or crawling over the wallpaper.

My Mother reported it to the Health Dept and the visiting inspector took a knife and cut a small square in the wallpaper and found four layers of paper, a usual method of decoration and very good for housing bugs. One day my mother asked me had I taken some tomatoes she had left on the table in the scullery. Of course I hadn’t taken them but one day later we heard a squeak coming from the fire area to find a rats head sticking out from the side of the iron hob fireplace. As it was stuck there I hit it and killed it. We were to hear later that the area around ‘Lodge Lane’ was infested.

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Refuse collectionhere were no dust bins, an open ‘middin’ served as a waste disposal unit and it served the need of the

adjacent house as well. Neighbours would chat across the middin walls. Once a week men would come to empty these places. One man got in the middin and forked the garbage etc over the wall into the entry where another man filled a shallow basket, carried it on his head down the entry to the side passage to a horse drawn cart waiting in the street. The carts were open topped allowing dust paper and other rubbish to blow out.

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Although the back entries were brushed after a section of houses had been dealt with , the filth, dust and smell need hardly be described, especially in the summer, one can hardly be surprised There were no dust bins, an open ‘middin’ served as a waste disposal unit and it served the need of the adjacent house as well. Neighbours would chat across the middin walls. Once a week men would come to empty these places. One man got in the middin and forked the garbage etc over the wall into the entry where another man filled a shallow basket, carried it on his head down the entry to the side passage to a horse drawn cart waiting in the street. The carts were open topped allowing dust paper and other rubbish to blow out.

Although the back entries were brushed after a section of houses had been dealt with the filth, dust and smell need hardly be described, especially in the summer, one can hardly be surprised at the existence of rats. This type of property was not uncommon and was done to improve the health hazard that these conditions created. Eventually ‘dust bins’ replaced the open middin

In their efforts to improve conditions, ‘Cleanliness’ orders were given to landlords, one of which was to remove the fronts of the lavatory pan seats which had always been boxed in. It could be breezy around ones bum on a cold windy winter’s night but from a health aspect it was cleaner.

Washing here were no indoor baths or toilets and just one cold tap in the scullery. All hot water required to be heated on a

fire or gas stove. Baths were taken in zinc portable baths brought into the kitchen in front of the fire, so certain nights were selected each week for this function. As I grew up I patronised the public baths where plenty of hot water and one course linen towel cost about 2d or 3d.

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Pestshe common house fly was a real pest in those days, all part of the ‘middin’ problem. It was just not possible to

leave any food uncovered. The answer was seen in many houses with the use of ‘sticky fly catches’ hanging from a gas bracket in the kitchen and sculleries. There was a variety of methods for catching flies but the sticky tape was quite effective. I can still hear the buzz of the wings of a trapped fly or blue-bottle struggling to release itself.

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Anther disgusting nuisance in this old property was ‘cockroaches’We had them in our kitchen. If you came in at night and pulled the ‘By-pass’ on the gas light(the device to increase the gas flow) there would be a scuffle and half a dozen of these hateful creatures scurried away under walls, skirting boards or into the cupboards at each side of the fireplace. By the time one opened the cupboard doors all signs of them had disappeared.When found, my method of killing them was to sweep them out of there roosts and poor boiling water on them. It worked

Page 6: Youthful Recollections by John Ruscoe Brignal

for a time but they came back and it required another dose of the treatment.

Pollution he houses were draughty with ill fitting doors and windows which didn’t help and outside especially in

winter the smoke from hundreds of chimneys made dreadful air pollution unheard of today. One wonders how we survived this smoke laden atmosphere and can only wonder at the efficiency of the human lungs. Housekeeping was very arduous work for the housewife as there were no vacuum cleaners. Carpets and rugs were taken outside and shaken. Fitted carpets were just brushed and the dust fell elsewhere.

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Transporthe great majority of street transport was horse drawn. The motor car had not yet become a commercial vehicle

so be they bread vans, milk carts, funeral hearses and all types of lorries’ were drawn by horses. It follows from this that the streets and roads were constantly bespattered with horse manure. Men were employed doing nothing but to sweep up droppings. However passing traffic would churn up the mess into a powder or liquid if wet, and on windy sunny days you can imagine what we were breathing in.

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1907To alleviate the problem the streets were sprayed with water from a cart carrying a big barrel. The driver sat up

front and by means of a lever could allow the water to spurt out from a pipe fixed across the back of the cart. Holes in the pipe spread across the street in very hot weather it was a delight to remove our shoes and stockings and run behind the water cart dashing in and out of the cold water jets.

Another road nuisance in those hot days was melting tar used in road repairs. Granite blocks were used for road paving and surfacing and tar was poured between the blocks. Most side residential roads were surfaced in Tar Macadam. This was just a layer of small stones that was hardened by a steam roller until the surface was flat and firm. Mention of these dusty roads and streets brings to mind the undreamed of or ignored health hazards we were exposed to in those days.

Food needsMany of the day to day food needs were sold from

horse drawn carts that followed a regular round of streets in their area. One I always thought the most liable to contamination was the dairyman. A two wheeled cart holding one or two milk churns from which milk was sold. Customers would attend with jugs or bowls and the dairyman would ladle out ½ pints from a metal measure. The horses so well trained would move slowly from house to house with just a ‘click’ from the mouth of the dairyman.Bread unwrapped and vegetables were sold in the street in the same manner. There were no means of hand washing or toilets during the days work for these vendors.Common salt was often sold from handcarts. The salt man would announce his presence with a shout which sounded like ‘sort’ ‘sort’. Large blocks would be cut up with a saw for sale. Most houses had a wooden box into which this was placed to be crushed for use.

Street TradersA Variety of street traders and odd job men, skilled

and unskilled were always around.I remember a ‘window mender’, a man of Jewish extraction and on his back he had a wooden frame. Pieces of glass of various sizes rested on the bottom ledge of the frame and a leather strap across it kept the glass in place. Up and down

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the street he would go looking for any cracked or broken windows.

Another trader not now seen was the ‘Cane Bottom Chair Repairer’. This type of chair was very much in demand and would be found often in bedrooms. The seat of woven thin strips of cane was springy but with time would give way. The repairer would sit on the pavement edge to do his work and carried a supply of cane of varying thicknesses. Bamboo was also another common type of furniture of that time.

The ‘Rag & Bone Man’ was a regular visitor to our streets. Generally pushing a hand cart and calling out a particular ‘call’ he would slowly proceed, stopping every few yards to see if his voice had brought any trade. He would offer money in exchange for suitable rags or give balloons to children as an encouragement. Although known as the ‘rag & bone’ man I cannot recall him doing any appreciable trade in ‘bones’. Usually very dirty and unkempt individuals I’m sure today’s hygiene regulations would not allow such street traders.‘Knockers Up’ one usually associates with the Lancashire mill towns, but even in the city suburbs there was a demand for their services. Armed with a long pole with a thin cane at the end he would come along at 5 or 6 O’clock in the mornings and rattle on the bedroom window until he was satisfied the sleeper was awake.

There was also the ‘Lemon Woman’ who carried a bag of lemons and oranges on her head. To ease the weight she wore a small padded ring of cloth. Of course her arrival announced by the cry of ‘Oranges & Lemons’.

The ‘Fruit Carts’ also came round and were small open two wheeled hand drawn carts which carried a selection of fruit and vegetables. Also carts selling paraffin and oil in stone jars. The jars empty jars being exchanged for full ones.

Gas lampsPractically all streets were lit by gas lamps. Electric

lamps were not used for lighting other than in Lord St and Church St in Liverpool which had ‘arc lamps’ down the centre of the road. A coloured glow from the arc burning between the ends of two carbon rods encased in a globe shaped glass cover. One could hear a ‘click’ from the

mechanism which made the rods move closer as they burned down to keep the arc active.Gas lamps were lit each evening and extinguished each day by men belonging to the Liverpool Gas Company for gas like electricity was owned and run by private companies. Nationalisation had not yet arrived. The men carried a pole that had a perforated metal tube at one end in which some kind of inflammable material gave a flame. A metal part of the pole was used to turn on the gas which was then ignited. A small trap door in the base of the lamp closed as the pole was withdrawn thus making the lamp draught proof. The glass was regularly cleaned by visiting staff who carried on their leather protected shoulders, a ladder which rested on one of the two arms that protruded from each side of the lamp stand.These arms were used to throw a rope over to use as a swing. The rope tightened as it wound round the lamp and unwound as it swung round the other way.

HorsesWith a preponderance of horses around the streets

meant that points had to be arranged for a water supply which the carter could use to fill there buckets and carry to the horses as they stood between the shafts of the carts. Water Hydrant Stands were used for this purpose and served a double use as a metal cup on a chain provided a drinking facility for the younger members of the street.

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Dale Street 1909On the Liverpool ‘Dock Road’ there were long stone

water troughs on the edge of the pavement for the same use. As the water level lowered water was restored by a valve arrangement at one end under a metal casing.Horses were fed from ‘nose bags’ suspended from their heads as they stood on the pavements still harnessed to their carts, their ‘bits’ having been removed. The carters would sit in their carts or lorries and eat their midday meal at the same time.

Electric Tramshe ‘electric tram’ was a comparatively recent addition all previous trams had been horse drawn the trams running

on lines. One of the original stables which had the tram lines running into them was still in tact in 1930 in Beaumont Street, Liverpool. I remember being taken to Woolton by my Grandmother in a horse drawn bus, although not on lines. Also I travelled on a similar service from Liscard to Wallasey Village during the three years I worked as a messenger boy for the ‘Eastern Telegraph Company’ (1910-1913)

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1909

Other kinds of public transport were the ‘Hansom Cab’ (named after its designer) and the ‘Four Wheeler’. Sometimes referred to as ‘the growler’, I don’t know why, both were single horse vehicles. The hansom cab was an astounding example of the application of the cantilever principle, for it was entirely the weight of the horse in the shafts that prevented the whole device from tipping up backwards thus preventing the driver who was perched high up behind. He sat there in all weathers in a small box seat with just enough room for his legs. A small trap door in the roof enabled him to communicate with the passengers (it held two). Folding doors enclosed the passengers.

The ‘Four Wheeler’ was designed to carry four people comfortably, two on each side. With four windows and half glass on the doors, people would enter by a small step. The ‘cabby’ sat on a wider seat in front again exposed to all weather conditions and depended on cloaks and capes to keep out the rain and wind.

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Large lorries one saw on the Liverpool ‘dock road’ were almost a distinct class of transport themselves. They were long and heavily constructed with iron tyred strong wooden wheels. Loaded with goods such as timber, sugar, bales of cotton etc they would require two heavy draught horses were employed to pull them. Where a steep hill was to be negotiated an extra ‘chain’ horse would be hooked up. An example of this was the Pier Head ‘floating roadway’ up from the river when the tide was out, the slope was really steep.

The drivers were skilled men who were poorly paid, worked long and hard hours between dock quay and the warehouses situated parallel with the dock road and the side streets off it. How they manoeuvred their team and heavy loads especially going down hill when they had quickly to turn on the hand brake, but sometimes these were inadequate and a strong short chain would be passed through a wheel and the ends hooked onto the lorry body to prevent the wheel from turning and acting as an additional brake. As the wheel skidded, sparks would fly and the metal tyre heat up. These drivers would also help with loading and unloading at each end of the journey and at the days end groom, water and feed the horses in the stables Generally a ‘stable man’ was employed to clean the stalls and bed the horses with clean straw. These stables could be big long buildings owned by large companies situated usually in the poorer quarters of the city.

Public Housesn the property areas of the working class of people in the city, facilities for shopping and public houses were

usually adjacent to the closely sited streets or the main roads crossing the residential areas.

IIt is a fact that the so often dismal monotony of the poorer streets with their terrace construction, back yards and smelly badly lit back entries’ to the houses attracted an excess of the ‘brewers liquid refreshment’. One could find a ‘public house’ on almost every street corner. In my own district ‘Lodge Lane’ a road half a mile long, had nine pubs in it. All this brings me to the question of drunkenness and to its effect on the lives of poorer families.

Public houses were open all day from morning to night and beer was cheap and strong in alcoholic content... They all had ‘public bar’ and ‘parlours’. At the bar men would stand and drink and smoked sometimes ‘clay pipes’

given free by the publican. They spat into a shallow sawdust layer on the floor. One could look through the door of a public house and see through the smoke and haze a line of men standing with big heavy pint glasses in their hands and much noise from the cross talk, conditions giving comfort and social life from the squalid houses and courts. The breweries took advantage of this state of affairs to enhance their profits. The outcome of this way of life of many of the working classes resulted in the deterioration in their home life and the neglect of their children.

Tobaccoobacco called ‘thick twist’ or ‘thin twist’ a leaf tobacco heavily impregnated with molasses and pressed into a

kind of thin or thicker square section coiled rope which the tobacconist shop would cut with a guillotine. Another way this same tobacco was made was in thin slabs about four inches long and half an inch thick. The smoke from men’s pipes was very strong and no doubt responsible for the spitting habits in those days.

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Children eglect of home life as described above affected the children. It was therefore quite general to see ‘barefoot’

children in the streets in poorer areas. To try to reduce this deplorable state of affairs the ‘Liverpool City Police’ organised a charity fund among the force which gave corduroy suits, grey woollen stockings and stout leather boots to children of families fallen to this low state.

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Drink was not the only hazard to which people were subject although no doubt it had a considerable bearing on this next one.

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1934

The Pawnshophese shops with their well known sign hanging outside of three brass balls, gave temporary relief to families in

financial difficulties and of course excessive drinking was often the contributing factor. Household goods such as suits, boots, bedding and a host of other portable things could be exchanged for money and redeemed in a specified period. For this service the pawnbroker made a percentage fee according to the value of the risk taken. Goods not redeemed within the legal period were forfeited and sold.

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Moneylenders offered a similar basic service but this method was not so popular among the poorer people because their interest rates were not so strictly controlled. Excessive profits were known to be made by them.Poverty

ontinuing the effects of poverty I am reminded of a scene I witnessed on many occasions as I walked home,

passing the works entrance of a well known firm of ‘safe’ manufacturers called ‘Milners’. As men flooded out in the

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evening children would surround the men pleading ‘any bread left’, meaning the remains of their midday sandwiches which most men carried to work. Such a scene today would raise a storm of protest, yet then it was regarded as a normal aspect of life

Children’s earnings lingering reminder of some of the ways children earned a few extra coppers each day of the week was and still is

the ‘paper boy’. Other occupations at the weekend were ‘’Butchers boys’ Grocery and ‘Greengrocers boys’ and even ‘Chemists’ used boys to deliver their products. Boys probably a bit older also delivered bread from small hand drawn vans. Each loaf was accompanied by a small ‘cob’. A piece of loaf cut up to make up the weight, legally required I suppose.

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Two local evening papers in Liverpool were the ‘Echo’ and the ‘Express’. Morning papers were usually the ‘Morning Post’ and the ‘Mercury’, all of which were printed at their works in Victoria Street. The evening papers were delivered to the shops and street corner vendors in ‘Pony Traps’. They were part of the daily scene standing outside the building in Victoria St waiting for the off as they dispatched the papers all over the city. Should any special piece of news like murders or war in a country, then the ‘Echo & Express’ boys would run along the streets carrying placards in front of them announcing the news in bold print calling out the news as they went. I recall my mother had kept one of these notices which had on it ‘PEACE AT LAST’ with a drawing of a dove above it. It actually referred to the end of the ‘South African’ war in 1901.

Newspaper printingy Uncle Tom (my paternal grandfather) worked in the Echo office once took me around the printing works in

the basement of Victoria St and showed me the ‘linotype’ machines that produced matrix’s in cylindrical form ready for fitting on the printing machine rollers. A linotype operator in a few seconds on his keyboard typed my name in capitals and small print. It came out of his machine in a small thin

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metal strip about ¾” wide and 1/8” thick, the letters being on the edge.

Barber Shopsy earliest recollection was of a dowdy establishment run by a woman who cut our hair with scissors, clippers and

a comb. There were no electric shears then. If you behaved you may have been awarded a slate pencil without any extra charge. A more usual sight was the red & white striped pole. Usually two chairs were used to provide a non stop service in busy times. Whilst one was being shaved the other would be having his face ‘lathered’ by the lather boy (an apprentice) whose job would be to vigorously rub the face to soften the hairs. Cutting children’s hair would be their first steps in learning before being allowed to practice on men.

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Safety razors had not been invented so all shaving was done with an open type sometimes called a ‘cut throat razor’. The barber would place a square of paper ion the customers shoulders upon which he would wipe excess lather from the razor as he worked around the face. Friday nights were always very busy ones and woe betide anyone asking for a hair cut & shave as the waiting queue grew angry.With the introduction of the ‘safety razor’ the task of shaving was so much easier, such that a decline in the barber being asked to shave people was very noticeable. I can still hear the sound of the hollow ground razor blade as it rasped its way over the stubbled chin of the labourer who probably had several days’ growth. Butcher’s Boys

ike ‘lather boys’ the ‘Butcher’s Boy’ was a graduate from the shop school where his training took place. First taking

out ‘orders’ to customer’s houses, then cutting up meat in the shop until he became familiar with the carcases of various animals and how to make the ‘cuts’ of meat required. For some years my brother followed the trade which reminds me of the hardships of those days. The long hours shops remained open for the Act of parliament controlling shop opening hours and the hours assistants could be employed, had not yet become law. My brother worked on the other side of Liverpool about 6miles distance and he had to be there at 8.0am finishing at 8.0pm Monday to Friday but Saturday he may work until 11.0pm and near midnight when he got home. Sunday he had to work until midday. No question of extra pay it was all part of the

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working week. Something not seen these days is the ‘steel’. A metal steel rod hanging from the butcher’s waist and used to sharpen his knives. Butchers shops were open fronted with joints of meat on marble slabs and even on wooden tables out in front of the shop. Floors were well covered with sawdust even round the outside on the pavements. In winter when the evening darkened early, fish tailed gas burners on flexible jointed arms would be lit and extended out from the sides of the open window. It was common to see the butcher with his cleaver, splitting a lamb carcase hanging across the doorway the hind legs being suspended on hooks on each side of the door frame.

Shopsne cannot leave the memories of shops without mentioning the individualism of their businesses. For

example a shop would sell exclusively tea, sugar, coffee. The tea could be blended from a selection of types. Sugar was always made up into bags in the shop in 1lb blue paper bags. Another shop would confine itself to sell Butter, margarine, cheese and eggs in a variety of brands. Assistants would handle wooded butter pats, always kept wet, to slap a piece of butter into shape as he sliced pieces off a large lump to make the required weight for the customer. Again being able to accurately slice a piece of cheese to a required weight at the first cut.

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Greengrocers seldom exceeded the range green vegetables and potatoes.Tobacco and cigarettes were sold exclusively at the Tobacconists who may also have sold ‘snuff’.Newsagents sold papers, books, periodicals and postcards, never sweets or tobacco.Sweet shops only sold sweets which were balanced out on scales. A brass weight on one side and the sweets tipped out from large bottles stacked on shelves would be packed into paper bags for you in ¼lb measures. . Penny & Sixpenny Bazaars were popular where everything would not exceed sixpenceHeb shops were popular where unadulterated brews of ginger beer, cider, sarsaparilla, lemonade etc, were made. Monkey nuts, sticks of liquorice and another root we called ‘sticky lights’ were on display for our attention.

Boot and Shoe Repair Shops

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ne outlet for employment on leaving school, normally at 14 years, were the Shoe shops. This trade didn’t require

an apprenticeship period but was learnt by starting at the unskilled end of the job as a ‘finisher’. Sitting on a box with an apron draped from his shoulders he applied way to the edge of the boots or shoes. In front of him a gas pipe supply with a ‘fish tail’ burner would flare through a hole in a metal plate attached to the pipe. The tools used were wooden with a steel tip designed to spread wax over the edge of the shoes and would be positioned to keep warm in the gas flame. Black or brown wax known as ‘heel ball’ was kept in a semi-melted blob and would be spread around the heel and sole of the shoe with the tools. One cheaper foot ware the soles were scraped then smoothed with a glass paper, then wiped over with a solution of milk and ammonia which gave the surface of the leather a clean new look. Crouched over their work it was given a vigorous rubbing with a rag to give an even polish all over, finishers worked very hard, especially if more than one cobbler worked at the bench doing repairs.

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Cobblers could have done a complete resoling and heeling. Stitching on soles by hand or sometimes a foot operated sewing machine for small patch work.I have watch the cobbler working quickly knocking nails in the heels of foot ware. He would toss a handful of nails in his mouth and then feed then out one by one with his tongue to guide them to his lips as he knocked them in initially with the flat of an old heavy file then hammer them home with a heavy hammer.. Bonfire Night

or several weeks before Christmas or Guy Fawkes night children would save money by joining a ‘sweet club’ or

‘fireworks club’ in either the sweet shop or paper shop. A card was made out with your name on and the amount you paid weekly would be entered. When the day arrived, a box containing sweets or fireworks appropriate to the value of your club card would be handed over. The excitement of opening these boxes at the time was immense as they had been anticipated for so long

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Bicycles

Very few children possessed a bicycle it was not until their teens that these luxuries came along. Most bikes

were ’fixed wheel’ nor were geared ratios variable. One either had big or small gearing. Brakes were operated with two levers from the handle bar, the brake blocks being pulled onto the underside of the wheel rims. My first bike had cane rims to the wheels. One girl’s bike I recollect, the front wheel brake was designed to press down on the front tyre. Girls wore long skirts as did ladies so to prevent their skirts being entangled with the rear wheel, a guard was provided by lacing a cord from a small plate at the hub of the wheel to a number of holes round the edge of the mudguard thus forming a fan shaped screen on each side of the wheel.

Tramcarst first they were uncovered on the top deck so passengers had to protect themselves in wet weather.

An improvement on this was a cover over all but a curved seat at the top of the stairs. A sliding door at each end gave access to the covered part. The passenger cover was not extended to the driver or conductor who stood on open platforms in all weathers. The driver was supplied with a waterproof cape or heavy overcoats and gloves. An electric control was used to control the speed and the brake worked on a ratchet principle to the cog wheel and tooth, being operated by the driver’s foot.

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1908

On places on the tram lines where ‘points’ had to be turned to divert the tram onto another route, the driver would jump off his platform and with a crowbar would lever the movable line over. At busy junctions such as the Pier head, where so many junctions met, a boy would be employed for this work. At the terminal point the trolley which connected the overhead electric cable to the tram was pulled off the cable and turned to the other end of the tram. Multi-coiled spiral springs gave the upward pressure to keep the trolley wheel on the electric line. The driver would then walk to the other end where the controls were duplicated. This saved having to turn the whole tram around.The back of the seats was swung on pivots to face the opposite direction by the conductor.

Indicators of the trams destination (later numbers) were shown on revolving drums fixed to the front at the top of the tram. Tickets were printed to show the fare stages on the route and the conductor’s machine punched a hole at the appropriate point for the fare. The Post Office at one

time experimented with post boxes (detachable) on the trams leaving town and at Christmas boxes for customers to leave contributions for the staff.

I remember trams on the Sefton Park,- Pier head route having 1st class downstairs, painted white with blue upholstery (No 18) a route which served a more prosperous area. Improvements continued until the last type produced where the ‘’Green Goddess’. They were in operation until 1956-7 and many sold to Glasgow for their tram system. As the trams ran in the centre of the road there were no shelters at tram stops and one just stood in the rain etc. A foot operated clanging bell operated by the driver gave an indication the tram was approaching. I was not so happy when they were withdrawn as their leisurely pace suited my temperament an there was no petrol fumes from them.

Cinemahe cinema was in its infancy and was only introduced since my birth. Our entertainment of a like nature was

the ‘Magic lantern’. The word magic in itself is some indication of the primitive nature of our pleasure, because after all, the pictures thrown onto the screen were only photographic plates coloured to give a sense of reality. Very infrequent, our excitement was great as we waited outside the door to see a picture relating to some travel experience with the commentator making an animated story. A click could be heard as he requested the next slide.

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Sunday Schools or some body associated with a current effort to reform us, such as the Anti Cigarette League or Missionary charities would be behind these shows showing us how busy they were teaching the backward races how to live like the white man in the name of Christianity. Experience over the years has thrown some doubt on the expediency of these good intentions.

The earliest Cinemas or Kinemes, were the Bioscopes and the first one of these I recall was in Picton Hall in Liverpool. The mere fact that the figures in the film moved and the scene changed so often was in itself something to excite our wonder The cinema I patronised was called the ‘Sefton’ as it was opposite Sefton Park (In 2009, a DIY shop opposite a garage in Smithdown Rd/Ullet Rd) and was housed in what was old stables for horses which pulled busses from Greenbank Road to Woolton Village. (A horses head is situated above the door). When money was

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plentiful this was my Saturday afternoon enjoyment and would sit in the cheapest seats in the front row within arms reach of the screen watching the Wild West in staggered silent movements. Life was hotting up for us but it would be many years before these silent episodes were to come alive with the spoken word.

ActivitiesWe walked long distances for our fun and adventure

as money for trams was not available. A favourite spot was an old wooden windmill in Woolton Road, Wavertree known as Kings Mill. It had been working in the 19th century but then the body was still intact and we would climb the stairs to reach the big shaft that once carried the sails. Part of the wooden cogs wheels and the millstones were in situ. Along side was a very deep sandstone quarry, exhausted but used by a miniature rifle club. Rain had made a sizable pond in the centre and we played with a home made raft for our excitement. Fishing for ‘sticklebacks’ or ‘jack sharps’ at Picton Clock or romping on the river shore at Otterspool not to mention parks that blessed the south part of Liverpool were all available for our enjoyment.

Sefton Park with its mysterious caves, aviary, stepping stones, the big boating lake where model yatch and steamboat races were held were all available. If frozen enough in winter we could skate on the lake. The ‘Review Field’ was used by Territorial Army battalions held some of their displays and the ‘Liverpool Scottish Regiment’ drilled there every week. Their swinging kilts as they marched back to the barracks to the pipe music were a sight to remember.

Parksefton Park, Princess Park, Greenbank Park, Wavertree Park and Wavertree Playground, called the ‘mystery’

because the public benefactor who gave the ground would not let his name be disclosed, although years later it was found to be a member of the ‘Holt’ family, a well known shipping company. A dozen or so small gardens and estates in the south of the city surrounded mansions some ranging from 13th century ‘Speke Hall’ to the late 19th century, ‘Calderstones’ contained old English gardens where high walls wouldn’t stop us removing apples, pears and peaches if the opportunity arose.

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Myself & Gladys at Otterspool (2nd & 3rd from left)1935

Paddle Steamers sailed to Eastham, named after gems such as Ruby, Pearl etc. There were pleasure gardens and woods, swings and roundabouts, but the most exciting was the ‘Loop the Loop’. Nothing much left there now other than a sandstone building which had been the ticket office and the Ferry Hotel.

Sunday School & its Treatso qualify for an outing one had to attend regularly the Sunday afternoon class. I went to several denominational

places of worship, but never the Church of England. I remember a Scottish Presbyterian Church where I must have had a notion of becoming a member of the Boys Brigade for I distinctly recall doing some sort of exercise or drill with a disconsolate army rifle; it may well have been a carbine. I also in my teens supported a Baptist Chapel, but because it was nearer home the Wesleyan Chapel seemed best.

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I’m ashamed to admit that the teaching of those sincere and devout voluntary bible pushers has largely passed over my head and I have only retained a hazy conception of what Christ achieved in his wanderings. The strongest impression being that he had more sympathy for the poor humble people of his day than he had for the rich prosperous ones and so even now I find a greater affinity with people I meet who display a sense of humility. Otherwise those Sunday School and Church years have simply left a considerable number of unsolved mysteries about the hereafter and Justice on earth that have made me

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doubt the authenticity of the original authors of the Bibles pages.

That I grew up with a sense of right and wrong as such things were conceived in those days, there is no doubt, the pity being that we also believed that any departure from the narrow path of the pious life meant suffering some everlasting remorse under the guidance of that universal tempter ‘Satan’ and even worse that our sins would be visited on the following generation after our departure from this earthy abode. Really no wonder the ‘Sunday School Treat’ was such a distraction from these weekly exhortations to be chaste and honour our father & mother and pray.

Can one really believe that since the year 1AD, any of these stories or even the saintly sacrifices endured in their cause, has the slightest effect on human behaviour. Wars, famine, floods, national hatred and colour problems still bewitch this world that was created in six days.

All these evils were forgotten on the day the ‘Sunday School Treat’ took place, we gathered outside the church, sometime carrying our own cups. Generally the means of transport was by horse drawn wagons where we sat on each side down the length of the vehicle facing one another. Excitement prevailed, we laughed, shouted. Sang and generally went off our heads at the prospect awaiting us at the end of our journey. There would be races for various age groups with prizes for the winners. We would have ‘coppers’ to spend on little side shows and the sun would shine on us dressed in our best clothes (we were very formal then), but perhaps best of all would be the tea in the big marquee, set up at the edge of the field. Bread & butter with perhaps jam. Cakes and tea in out own cups, what a spread. Then if money would allow, perhaps a bag of sweets. We ran & raced & tossed & jumped, played games until we were exhausted. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of those halcyon days. The homeward journey was not so boisterous but just as satisfying as we clutched our sweets and cups, if we hadn’t lost them. Sometimes trips were made on trams and trains, ferry boats and busses. No matter where we landed the events of the day followed a similar pattern. I wonder if Sunday Schools of today evolve the same emotions that thrilled our minds and bodies of the past.

Telephony & Telegraph boys

he transmission of messages by radio was coming into use using the Morse Code, but the transmission of

speech by radio or ‘wireless’ had quite a few years to go before it became a commercial possibility.

TMorse code was transmitted over overhead wires on

poles joining the bigger towns and cities, controlled by the ‘Post Office’. Countries were connected by cables laid on the sea bed and owned by private companies one of which I worked for on leaving school, it was called the ‘Eastern Telegraph Company’. Others were the ‘Commercial Cable Co’ and the ‘Western Union Co’ who were wholly concerned with the cotton trade in Liverpool.

Initially ‘Morse’ messages were transmitted by hand operated machines and received on ‘Morse sounders’, copied down by trained ‘telegraphists who interpreted the Morse signals. The telephone system was in early stages of commercial exploitation so communication relied on the ‘telegram’. Urgent messages in the business world relied on this service and they were delivered to home and the city offices by messengers. Telegraph messengers wore a distinctive uniform. A ‘pill box hat with a peak and chinstrap, a single breasted jacket with close fitting stand up collar and brass buttons, long trousers and leather boots together with a red braid stripe down the side of the trousers completed the uniform. A G.P.O. badge on the front of the cap and a leather belt carrying a small pouch around the waist completed the outfit. Adorned down the trouser outer seam was the ubiquitous red braid. At suburban offices where messages were less numerous than the busy city, it was possible that the messengers received a fixed wage, but in the city at head Post office and Exchange Post office, they were paid on a rate per delivery. So one never saw a dawdling Telegraph Boy, they were always in a hurry to get back for another telegram and another 1/2d. Bicycles were used for longer distances, painted red and a common site around the towns.

The Cable Company’s also employed messengers to deliver ‘cables’ to city offices and they also had a distinctive uniform for each company.

Street Gameselevisions had not been invented at this time, we did however find endless enjoyment in our street games, T

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which whilst not perhaps educational. Provided all the physical exercise we needed. Tug of War was one where two opposing sides tried to pull a rope hard enough to force the opposing side to topple over. Our fun lay in dragging the opposition to the ground which as the street was cobbled, did our clothes no good at all.

Another game, also a trial of strength was for four boys bending down behind one another the first holding on to the railings of a house and the others holding the hips of the one in front. A boy would then take a run and leap as far as he could in an attempt to reach the back of the boy holding the railings. If he didn’t fall off, the next boy would attempt to land as near as he could to the first boy and so on until the weight of all the boys collapsed the line. This was known as ‘Jockeys’. The collapsed boys would then have their go as Jockeys and the others would be the ‘Horses’.

Popular for both boys and girls was rolling ‘Hoops’. Running along with a stick hitting the hoop to keep it rolling and made from laminated wood about ½” across and 2½ feet diameter. Wealthier families could afford steel hoops with a curved steel rod which could be hooked onto the rim to keep it rolling straight. We thought this was cheating, but it taught us to run fast even at the expense of our footwear.

Girls played a game called ‘Jacks’. This game employed the use of small cubes of muggen material slightly larger than a cube of sugar, which were kicked along the pavement whilst the player hopped in front on one foot. The cube had to come to rest in a certain square of a chalked out pattern on the pavement. Flagstones provided a suitable pattern by virtue of their size and position. The ‘Jacks’ then had to be further projected from one square to another without the player loosing their balance or touch the ground with both feet.

Skipping ropes, both used singly or in two’s when a long rope was used was popular with the girls. Marvellous patterns could be achieved by crossing the hands as the rope was swung over their heads and by dancing various footsteps. The long rope (big enough to cross the street) when swung high enough, the watching participants would dash through the rope one at a time. A queue might consist of half a dozen or more girls and they chanted songs as the rope swung. Faster and faster it went until exhaustion overcame them.

Marbles, was a favourite game for boys, which called for skill in judging the distance and direction. There were two forms of the game using different kinds of ‘marble’ and different techniques in shooting them. One form required three holes into which the marbles hard to be rolled As most of the road surfaces were Macadam finished, it was a simple matter to loosed with a penknife or nail several stones, enough to make a small round hole. One on each side of the road and one in the middle, with four players ‘to reduce congestion. The first to get his marble over and back across the road was the winner. But to achieve this he had to overcome opposition from his playmates. The first boy would roll his marble ( made of stone), if it didn’t fall into the middle hole it would be left there as the next player followed. The game progressed in turn until the holes were reached. An option would be that other boy’s marbles could be ‘shot at’ to make it more difficult for them to reach the holes. The prize would be to win your opponent’s marbles.’

The other alternative marble game (glass smaller ones) was to hold the marble between the second joint of the first finger and the thumb nail so that pressure from the thumb would shoot them from the finger the object being to hit a target marble some distance away. If you missed the next attempt could be from a further distance.

‘Rounders’, was a game requiring four ‘bases’. A lamppost, and railings outside a house served our needs, a soft ball out of respect for the numerous ‘parlour’ windows around and the bat was any piece of wood we could find. It was popular with boys and girls. The team of about six would all have a go at batting and fielding. A run out meant dismissal and a full rounder counted.

‘Peggy’, a game fraught with certain risks consisted of a ‘peg’ a piece of wood about 4” long with pointed ends. It was laid overlapping on a brick and with a stout stick would be hit on the end projecting causing it to fly in the air the object being to hit it as far as possible. The danger being obvious that street windows etc were a possible target.

‘Whip & Top’ was another game. The tops being various in design with usually a metal tip on which it spun. A string wrapped round the stem was pulled to start it spinning and then it would be lashed with the whip and the skill being to keep it on the pavement

The ‘Diablo’ was a pastime which came and went after only a few years. It looked like this

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and was made of wood and about 4” long. Two sticks either end of a cord on which it sat were used to pull it up to spin it. As the speed increased it would be thrown up in the air and caught as it descended. Skill in tossing and catching was the thing. Metal ones were available but a local wood turner made them for us.

‘Cheery Stones’, a very seasonal game was another street amusement we had. All that was necessary was the bottom of a rainwater spout up which we would throw our cherry stones. You threw your stone up the spout and your friend then threw his. If on coming down it hit your stone, he took it. If it missed it stayed put and the first lad threw his second stone up the spout and hoped he would get his own back or with a bit of luck, both of them. So it went on until the stones were lost by one lad.

Winter time, when we were cold, those who didn’t have gloves made do with a small oven to warm our hands. Coleman’s Mustard tins (they were oval in shape and fitted better in the palm of the hand) were improvised by punching a hole in the ends with a nail to make it possible to blow through. Inside we placed old rags ignited and left smouldering. By blowing through the hole we could keep them warm enough warm the hands but not too hot to burn our fingers.

Or course throwing and kicking balls in the street was frowned upon as windows were susceptible to the balls. Lampposts as wickets although the street was a bit narrow for cricket but our teams varied numerically but would never involve 22 players. Bats were home made and bails unnecessary as the lamppost hit was the end of the innings. Chalk for the batting crease and the wicket keeper usually solved any disputes. All other rules were strictly observed. Batsmen’s scores always accurately recorded and bowler’s successes never exaggerated. The various seasons played their part in determining our street games and pastimes and naturally winter played its role here. It does seem even now that our seasons had a more reliable pastern an their behaviour than is the case today. Our summers could be relied upon to come to their proper time and produce the sunshine we expected. Winter almost invariably iced up the lake in Sefton Park and skating could be seen each year. Sefton Meadows fields were

flooded each winter and hundreds of people travelled by train to skate there. In our street we had to be content with the usual snowball battles and snowman sculptures.Lanterns were made by scooping out the insides of turnips and making two eye holes a nose hole and another for the mouth. Inside, a piece of candle be lit and secured to the bottom. The effect was quite good seen in the dark.

As we hadn’t any skates we did the next best thing and slid in the snow. A slide was made near the kerb by a succession of us each following one another until a hard snow packed surface turned into ice, shinny and long enough to let us travel along until we came off some twenty feet away.

Entertainers

he ‘One Man Band’ would entertain us on the doorstep. With a drum on his back and drumsticks fastened to his

arms. Cymbals on top of the drum were worked by a cord secured to his boot heel. A concertina was played in front. One wondered how he moved he seemed so bound up with gadgets. He might even have a mouth organ secured in front of his face

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The most common of the street musical instruments was the ‘Barrel Organ’. These were mounted on a two wheeled base and looked and sounded like a piano’s and not organs at all. A handle in the front was turned (always at the same speed) for every type of piece of music. I like them and would stand and listen until the repertoire was exhausted and the ‘Organ Grinder’ moved further along the road.

Another of the street entertainers was a small organ called a ‘Hurdy Gurdy’. A small organ propped up on one leg. They usually had an Italian operator and sometimes a small monkey on top that would pick a card out of a box and give it to the person putting money into a tin cup. The card told ones fortune on a non Zodiac principle.

‘Merry go Rounds’ mounted on small horse drawn carts which could accommodate four or five children was another street amusement. It was turned by the operator turning a handle at the side whilst the children sat on ‘hobby horses’ as it went round.

Photography

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fascinating and interesting enjoyment nearly all of us indulged in was to dabble in an elementary aspect of

photography. For a few coppers we could buy a ‘negative’, a wooden frame and glass and a kind of sensitive blue paper. The negative would be a picture of some unknown scene or building and by putting the negative behind the glass in the frame, and the paper behind that and a piece of cardboard behind that to hold the paper tight up against the negative, holding the frame to the sunshine a picture would appear on the paper. The fact that every picture was blue in colour and fairly quickly faded and eventually faded altogether didn’t detract us from the feeling of success at having made a photograph. A few years on as we grew older and had more money we could buy for 5 shillings (25p) a very reliable box camera (Kodak). Then with the aid of the necessary chemicals, a red lamp and a ‘dark room’, we would develop our own negatives and print our own pictures.

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Lewis’st comes to mind having mentioned balloons, that ‘ready made’ suits bought at Lewis’s were accompanied by a gift

of a balloon. It was not an uncommon sight to see a little boy holding a balloon in one hand and his mothers hand in the other walking down Lord St or Church St, Liverpool

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Lewis’s had other attractions for children, one being a very fine big rocking horse, built on a strong wooden frame with steel wires to the horse’s feet to give a swinging action. The other was always a puzzle to me even now. It was an electric clock set in the middle of a sheet of glass suspended from the ceiling. There were no wires visible to the clock through the glass but it seemed to work even though.

The things that have changedany things which today (1974) are so common place that one doesn’t give a thought about them, were non

existent when I was a boy, such asMBuses – Radio sets – Valves or transistors – cassettes – television – aeroplanes – flush toilets – electric supply to the working class houses – fridges – electric washing machines – gas or electric fires. When aeroplanes did begin to appear there was someone who lived in the Crosby district who was a pilot and he had to land his primitive machine on the sands between

Egremont and new Brighton. He caused quite a commotion being such a rare sight.Motor cars were comparatively rare and only owned by the wealthy people who employed a chauffer. We had a man on our street who was a chauffer for a doctor and I remember how, when he came home for dinner he would park the car outside his house. An early open topped type with large brass headlights and a rear seat much higher than the frond ones. Other types like Rolls Royce had the driver exposed in the open and the passengers covered or boxed in.

Horse transportransport except trams, were usually horse drawn and the result of so much animal waste meant that streets had to

be constantly swept. Also my memories of the mighty flushing down of the main city streets during the night, is very vivid. Men with hoses and lanterns on hand carts started in Victoria St outside the Fruit Exchange flushed the road of the day’s accumulation of dust, manure and vegetable matter. Continuing along North John St, Dale St, past the Town Hall, down Water St and finally flushing the frontage of the Pier Head.

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Night Work and TelegramsAs I have recorded earlier, I worked at thirteen and a

half for the Eastern Telegraph Co as a messenger delivering telegrams to offices in the City. A night duty rota was required and it was whilst performing this duty that I saw the above cleaning work.Whilst working I learned the Morse Code as it was a good opportunity when being in the ‘instrument room’. Being I the days before wireless or transatlantic telephone cables had advanced enough to be a viable proposition to talk over, all overseas messages and all telegrams inland by the Post Office were transmitted in ‘Morse Code’. The Eastern Telegraph Co at that time covered the Eastern Countries and had undersea cables to places such as Egypt & India etc. The on duty telegraphists would allow us to practice on the spare machines so that in return we would go out to the Public House nearby for their supper ( beer ) This was before it was against the law for children to enter such places.

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The ‘Hole in the Wall’ in ‘Hackins Hey’ was one such place we went to for the beer. Pickles and cheese were available free on the pub counters and also ‘clay pipes’ for the smokers.

Morse Code updatesbout this time an improved method of transmitting messages was introduced by a firm called ‘Creeds’ A

Messages were all tapped using a Morse Key by hand which was comparatively slow despite the speed attained by a trained person. With the Creed system, the messages were first imprinted on a thin wax impregnated paper tape about ½” wide.

This tape had perforation holes down the centre which would engage into a sprocket in a small machine. The machine had three punching studs on it The middle stud when pressed would move the tape along one space, the left hand stud would punch two vertical holes in the tape above and below the centre (representing a DOT) and the right hand stud would punch two holes ‘off set’ above and below the centre (representing a DASH)

By this method a man could prepare several tapes ready to be sent perhaps to the same station in the morning when the station opened

The punched tape was fed into another machine for transmission and thus speed was very much greater than hand sent. (I assume the receiving machine would convert these holes into a morse message).

Some years later the Post Office trialled a machine called the ‘Baudot System’ and a German one called ‘Siemens Holsk’, both designed to transmit six messages simultaneously over one line. I saw them in operation in the Head Post Office instrument room in 1913 but never heard the outcome.

At the receiving end of the ‘simplex’ morse code circuit the receiving code operated a machine through which ran a paper tape A small ink fed wheel, dropped on the tape responding to the dot and dash impulses and imprinting a long or short ink mark which the telegraphists could read as it passed along. At the same time a ‘sounder’ would respond to the dots and dashes which would be recognised by the operator. Very often messages would be taken and written

down directly the tape being saved to be available in case of errors...

As the cost of telegrams was linked to the number of words, to economise the cost, codes would be used to represent certain words and long sentences would be reduced.

Morse Code was overtaken by the ‘teleprinter’, and the advancement in the cables laid to various countries. Although even these days (1974) I can still hear morse code being sent as I sift through various short wave radio channels.

Home Entertainmentp to now I have confined myself to outdoor activities and neglected home activities so far as youngsters were

concerned. It is a surprising thing that one can walk down a road or for that matter around a district these days (1974) and never hear a note of music coming from a piano in a home. In my youth it was quite usual to find a home equipped with a piano, and at least one child of the family would take lessons each week from a music teacher. Consequently every evening and not infrequently some mornings, five finger exercises and scales would be pounded out on the piano. Regretfully due to the years of practice involved in becoming proficient at this skilful art, not many children achieved perfection or passable dexterity, but not until the arrival of music on tap by radio, gramophone records, cassettes etc, did people try to discover the existence of a master pianist in the family and the sounds of their efforts have disappeared from our streets.

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The early gramophone or more properly the ‘Phonograph’ played a cylindrical record made of wax; it was some years before the double sided disc came. All machines of course were clockwork driven and had to be wound up by hand for each record played.

Modern electrically driven machines with crystal stylus replacing the old steel pins which had to be frequently replaced were the next improvement. With the vastly improved methods of recording music and voices they have completely revolutionised the music industry. Now (1974) reproduction techniques bring almost perfection to discs. The ‘long playing ‘disc is another improvement on the old fashioned 78rpm records.

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Home made entertainment n the absence of present day facilities entertainment had to be ‘home made’. Parties at Christmas and New Year or

on Birthdays relied of volunteers who would sing, recite or play the piano. Games like Hide & Seek, Postman’s knock, Guessing games, putting dried peas into a tumbler using knitting needles, jigsaw puzzles, memorising many items on a tray for 20 secs, perhaps ‘Lantern Slides’ and musical chairs were all types of our games. Small prizes were awarded to the winners in the form of sweets or little presents.

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Card games were not indulged in except for harmless ones like ‘strip jack naked’, ‘snap’, and elementary slight of hand tricks.Gambling card games were not encouraged other than when small sea shells were used as currency.

Bonfire NightBonfire night ( 5th Nov) and commemorating ‘Guy

Fouke’s efforts to destroy Parliament Buildings and King James 1 are still a current event but more dangerous than in our day. Our fireworks were simpler in design and the accident rate was insufficient to arouse public outcry as is so common today. We were happy with a few Chinese crackers, wizzbangs, and squibs, Catherine Wheels and rockets were controlled by the adults.

Paradeshe Horse Parade’ and the ‘Bicycle parade’ were annual events aimed to assist various charities in the City. Both

circumnavigated the city suburbs covering many miles and taking many hours to complete. Prizes were awarded by judges who scrutinised the various vehicles, horse and bicycles. All the big commercial interests as well as smaller businesses took part in the parade. It so happened that the route of these parades passed very near to where I lived. By some strange grapevine news agency, we always knew just at what time they would pass so some hour in advance hundreds of children and parents would cover the pavements lining the route. The excitement was intense and our expectancy was never disappointed. The decorous designs on horses and vehicles were so numerous that one never saw a duplication of any patterns. Real and imitation

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flowers, coloured ribbons, balloons and gleaming horse brasses, leather work and metal parts were all immaculate. The horses themselves were groomed until their coats gleamed. Many hours must have been spent with brush and curry comb and cloth, even the horse’s hoofs were polished. Every type of horse from ponies to the heavy shire horses took part and commercial vehicles ( all painted and polished) were to pass our wondering eyes. People on the vehicles would hold out long poles with bags attached to collect money and would shout ‘Help the Hospitals’ ( they weren’t Nationalised then and depended upon voluntary support and gifts)

The Bicycle Parade Like the Horse Parade, these were an annual event

usually on a Saturday afternoon. They too were charity inspired and collected coppers etc as they moved along the route. Bicycle Clubs were very popular and many of them took part in the parade. Tricycles, tandems and sometimes ‘freak’ specimens that had two wheels but an elongated frame on which three or four sables were fitted to carry to propellants. Like the horses, the riders of the machines were decorated with ribbons and flowers in a blaze of colours and designs, each one relying on their patterns to create some original design that capture the prizes to be given at the final judging on St Georges Plateau later.

These two events were a very special attraction for us young people and caused great excitement as the parade days approached. I forget when the ceased to continue, probably after the 1914-18 war which had killed many who had thrilled to the thoughts of the |Horse & Bicycle Parades of their youth.School Days

The school I went to for almost all of my schooling days was called Chatsworth Street School, after the name of the street in which it stood. Initially we paid 1d a week for our education. I started in the Infants and finished in standard X7, leaving at Christmas 1909 at 13½ years of age to go to work. Normally boys would leave at 14 reaching standard 7. It sometimes happened that due to coming top in the annual class examinations a boy would skip a class and arrive at standard 7 a year early and consequently would have to stay on another year in X7. This was the case

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with me. The extra class so far as I recall added little or nothing to my attainments for I functioned as a handyman for the teacher, helping in the class, running messages and generally going though a repetition of earlier lessons. My earliest recollection of instruction was being taught how to sew a button on a piece of cloth. That was in the Infants and my final memory is of the offer of the teacher Mr Gough to give me private painting lessons at his home. He was to me through my young eyes, a middle aged man, but probably was really quite young. His habit of standing in class legs apart, stroking his Roman nose is very clear even now.

Just prior to me leaving school he married and I was often called upon to go to his bachelor lodgings and carry small items to his new home, all in school time. The urgency for me to earn money to support the home, precluded me from taking up his offer of painting lessons, however his interest in me and the instruction he gave us in art have remained with me and I shall always remember our visits to the Liverpool Art Gallery with the class walking in crocodile formation from the school down into town.

Fire EscapesWalking along city and residential streets one sees

many changes. I am reminded of one that has disappeared and was very noticeable years ago. This is the ‘man handled’ Fire Escape Ladder.

Fie stations where the main Fire engines were housed were few and far between, the principle one being Hatton Garden in the City. This served all the city area and most of the Dock Estate. It was many years before outer stations were constructed to cover the expanding city boundaries.

1900To provide some fire protection facilities for the

existing residential areas, long extending ladders mounted on two large wheels, where the public had access to them, were placed at selected sights, usually at road junctions. In the event of a fire the public was expected to assist a policeman to push the nearest ladder to the scene of the fire. It was said but I never verified this that people doing this could claim one shilling reward for their assistance. Two of these ladders were placed at the junction of Upper Parliament St and Smithdown Lane and one by the old Rotunda Theatre at the junction of Scotland Rd and Kirkdale Rd. In accordance with the accepted colour scheme for the Fire Service, the ladders were painted bright red.

To us children the sound of the Fire Engine bell as the machine raced to a fire was the height of excitement. I should that the firemen wore brass helmets, brightly polished and they sat or hung onto the sides of the engine.

Petrol driven the engine had at the back, to provide pumping power, a vertical steam boiler at encased in polished brass casing with a chimney sticking up out of the top from which smoke poured as they sped to the fire, the bell clanging all the time. The engines were kept

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permanently ‘fire up’ in the station and so easily ‘stoked up’ to gain steam pressure on the way to a fire.

Workplace Health SafetyProgress was slow in safeguarding personnel at work

in those days. One of the hazards we encountered in the telephone industry was seen when using lead covered cable and wiring in offices and buildings were there were damp situations. It was not until one of our men contacted lead poisoning that we were supplied with hand towels and soap.

PantomimesOur visits to the theatres were almost invariable

confined to the annual pantomime. I picture in my mind the long wait in the queue for the cheap gallery seats at the Pavilion or Royal Hippodrome and the over powering smell of oranges sold by women, when we were settled in our sets.

The Pavilion was only a minutes walk from my home (22 Moss Grove, Lodge Lane), but when we went to The Hippodrome it was a case of ‘legging it’ the four miles, for there was no money for a tram. The Pavilion Theatre was built whilst I was still at school and I had to pass it on my way to and from school. It was quite a thrill as I ran through what was to become the stage door onto the partly built stage itself. Little did I think that I would live long enough to see it become little better than a ‘Bingo Hall’.

Theatres & Music Halls he entertainment places existing when I was young although I did not go to al of them were:-T

The Empire The RotundaThe Royal Court The LyricThe Shakespeare The WestminsterThe Tivoli The Royal (Breck Rd)The Prince of Wales The PavilionKelly’s Theatre The ParthenonThe Star (Playhouse) The Park PalaceThe Royal Hippodrome The OlympiaPaddington Palace

Of all these places there are only two now stage plays and musicals, the remainder are either Bingo Halls or

Cinemas. There is no doubt that the advent of radio and television has been the main cause of this changing aspect of popular entertainment.

As our years advance our street games were slowly abandoned in favour of more interesting and less childish pastimes. One of the changes was the direct result of Sunday School and church influences. Here as we advanced in our classes new companions were met and the idea of weekend activities that would maintain our associations were discussed.

Ramblinghe principle activity arising from our deliberations was Rambling. These open air walks took us quite long

distances during a Saturday, generally on the Wirral as the countryside was unspoilt by building operations. Villages existed unaltered from their early foundations and numerous footpaths connecting villages, remained.

T

So with our sandwiches and suitably attired to meet all weathers we would take a tram to the Pier Head to catch a boat to Woodside, New Ferry or Eastham. The party could be up to fifteen strong, boys and girls of much the same age. We would perhaps embark from the boat and according to which destination we had decided, start our walk from the ferry or perhaps take another tram to the outskirts of Birkenhead

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Raby Mere 1913 (I’m at the back with a flat cap)

So we would walk and talk or sing are songs as we ambled along. Some of the songs are still sung today. ‘Clementine’, Oh who will o’er the downs with me’, ‘Cockles & Muscles’ etc, they were happy days when friendships were made that have in some cases, lasted a lifetime, for some of my friends of those days are now perhaps rambling over celestial fields, Bromborough, Bidston Woods, Parkgate, Thurstason Common, Irby, Barnston dale, Arrowe Park all came within our scope.

Today, the urban spread has completely spoiled some of the villages as such and it also expanded the demand for transport. Where we had to walk, one can now ride. However the rambling idea did eventually lead to the formation of the Y.H.A which I seem to think originated in Liverpool. So today the whole of the British Isles is available to the successes of the Saturday Rambling Clubs.

Scoutsne of the results of the South African War or as it was commonly called ‘The Boer War’ , was the start of ‘The

Boy Scouts’. The instigator was General Sir Baden Powell a O

well known figure of the time. All over the country ‘Boy Scout’ units were organised, very often by Sunday School teachers, but also by other good intentional souls. Like many others in my area I joined a group associated with the Liverpool Gymnasium in Myrtle Street, but later joined one run by the Prices Gate Baptist Chapel, Princes Rd. The only thing the various groups had in common, was the felt hat which was a copy of those worn by the army scouts in the war, otherwise shirts, ties, stockings, flashes and jerseys varied over a wide range of colours.

We were formed into patrols with a leader who carried a pole on which was a pennant flag bearing the symbol by which the patrol was known and recognised. It might be a wolf or a beaver or some other animal. Simple drills were taught so that we were tidily marched when necessary. A variety of outdoor crafts were learned such as following tracks by the signs and marks left on the ground or trees. Simple meals cooked on simply constructed fires, map reading but mainly a set of rules laid down to be strictly observed and which we, on our honour, promised to obey. There can be no doubt that those activities did help us lead a decent law abiding life and whilst looking back on it now, we were better for it. At any rate we grew up with an appreciation of the open air and how to make use of our leisure.

Church Influencehurch influence was felt and applied in many ways to the young, outside it’s religious line. For example we were

urged to join the ‘Anti-cigarette League’ and gymnasiums were often available on the churches premises. Choirs and lectures were other things arranged and sport had its place with church cricket and football teams quite common around the City.

C

Yes a lot of young pastimes and influences had their beginnings in the church. My Sunday School teacher at Lodge lane Wesleyan Chapel ( Mr Cory Dixon), later became Lord Mayor and another , I found out later, became the Chief Clerk in the Telephone Manager’s Office.

You will notice that I had quite a wide ecclesiastical education ranging from Scottish Presbyterian through Babtistism to Wesleyan. From each something was gained I suppose but I must confess that beyond a deep seated sense of right and wrong I have retained very little of the

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Bible teachings. Modern scientific progress seems to be undermining the conception of a Supreme Being so that what puzzled old Omar Khayyam is just as big a mystery to us today.

One other church activity that was aimed at making us ‘good boys’ was the Boys Brigade. This in its way had military taint and I recall the old fashioned breech loading rifles we drilled with at Earl Road Presbyterian Church. I wouldn’t suggest that such training made basis soldiers even, but discipline was inherent in the idea. Otherwise we were organised to regard the church as essential for our good and regular meetings and instruction had always a religious background. Boys were kept together and guided along paths that led to a good life.

The Illuminated TramI am reminded by Gladys my wife of another annual

event that was a thrill for the young and I suspect the older folk as well. It was the ‘Illuminated Tram’. I have already mentioned that when I was young and for many years the trams were ‘open topped’ affording no protection from the weather. These were gradually replaced by the modern improved types but ay least one was kept and until the event was ceased, was used one night each year. As an event it had no other object than to provide an evenings entertainment for the Liverpool citizens. From top to bottom, along every rail were a lamp could be attached, even up the trolley pole, the tram was ablaze with hundreds of coloured electric light bulbs, presumably all of which were the old carbon filament type for the gas filled metallic filament were not available. To add to the excitement the approach of the tram was heard long before it could be seen for occupying all the seats on the top deck were the Liverpool City Police Band, a very fine band. The route taken, I recall the No 26/27 which supplied service in both directions around the City circular route, touching all the midway suburbs, so that people from both sides of this loop could be reached. It started and finished at South castle Street, by the Victoria Monument. No doubt the band were glad when the journey ended. Each year the old tram was brought out to do its duty and quietly put back to bed in one of the Tram Depots. I shouldn’t be surprised to find it still hidden in some dark corner in one of the huge sheds.

(NB – A tram of similar age is used as a tourist trip in Birkenhead now 2009)

Reading matterp to now I have said little about our reading habits, the kind of books we liked, where we got them and how we

got them. First let me say that there were no school libraries nor did we receive any sort of guidance as to what to read, a point in later life I always regretted. There was a public library and also ‘Carnegie Libraries’, so we had every opportunity to obtain a range of reading matter, but it was not until we were into our teens. There were no ‘children’s libraries’ and much of our pleasure came from reading the weekly issue of the ‘Gem’ or the ‘Magnet’, in which school stories were the main feature. Few schoolboys were unaware of the activities of ‘Harry Wharton’, Tom Merry, Billy Bunter or Ram Singh’. We looked forward each week to the exciting adventures of these characters at their college St Dominic’s (I think). Never was our weekly pocket money more willingly disposed of than when it brought these. To satisfy our search for laughter there were a couple of papers always to be had by or by swapping. These were ‘Comic Cuts’ and ‘Puck’ and they were I suppose, the forerunners of the comic strip and TV cartoons that show similar antics.

U

The Police Gazettehere was another weekly publication which by modern standards would be regarded as unique. In those times it

was not uncommon for some periodicals and daily papers to employ artists to draw sketches of incidents which today would be better illustrated with a photograph. One paper was called the ‘Police gazette’. It was printed on pink paper ( as was the Liverpool Echo) and concentrated almost exclusively on the Police Court cases giving special attention to those involving murder, rape, burglary etc. All pictorial affects were done by artists. These sketches stressed very powerfully the gory details of the crimes. They were experts at depicting the horror of the incident by the mass of blood bespattering the victims and the surrounding walls etc. Of course the paper had no actual association with any Police Force but simply relied on that service to supply the material they needed and which they could obtain freely by attending the court.

T

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I used to stop in front of a shop in Park Lane, to gaze at the Police Gazette displayed in the window. It was a frightening experience to my innocent mind.

Pen NibsAbove this shop was a large enamelled sign

advertising pen nibs. The pen nib and it’s holder have now for most of us become a thing of the past but when I was young it was the universal implement for writing. Nibs were made with several shaped points to suit an individuals’ style of calligraphy and this sign advertised three of them. It said ‘They come as a boon and a blessing to men, The Pickwick, the Owl and the Waverly Pen’ Fountain pens and ball pointed pens have now superseded the old hand pens as it in it’s day had ousted the quill.

MusicAnother personal delight for me was the love of

melodic music. Of course we were taught to sing at school, songs that have remained with me to the present day. A method used at school to read music was the ‘tonic sol far’ by which the eight notes of the scale were called doh, ray, me far, so, la te, doh. All this was before I had left when I was probably 11 or 12.

Living with us and probably the main support of the home, for my brother and sister, was my Uncle Bob, mothers step brother, the offspring of her mother’s second marriage to a mister Woodall. He was by trade a boot and shoe maker and as I grew older and more discerning, discovered he was a very intelligent mad. Among his interests was the love of music and he was a good sight reading pianist, mainly self taught. As we had a piano I could sit and listen to him playing for his own pleasure. Whether he noticed my attentive attitude on such occasions, I don’t know, but he decided to extend my range of interest for whenever he went to see the lighter operas that came the ‘Kelly’s Theatre’ in Paradise St, he took me with him. We could not afford good seats and invariably stood in the ‘pit area’.

So early in my youth I found myself singing the tunes from ‘Faust, Carmen, The Bohemian Girl, Martha’ etc. Operas that are seldom staged today except perhaps for Faust. To enlarge my musical vocabulary there was the music of the comedies such as ‘The Bell of New York, The Arcadians, Our Miss Gibbs, The Quaker Girl, etc’ that my mother would sing as she worked in the house.

There was no radio or TV then to feed our musical appetites, all was the result of visits to the theatres and concerts from which were carried home the tunes heard. Later of course the gramophone with its records began to take its place in the home and a wider audience was reached. So I grew up counting music as one of my pleasures although classical and pop music have never really appealed to me.

Recent excavations on the Neston roads has taken my mind back to the ‘night watchmen’. First I should explain that at the time I have in mind there were no mechanical machines such as bulldozers, shovels, trench excavators or motorised skips for removing earth etc. nor any compressed air machines for lifting material used on road works. None of these things had been invented. All excavation work on roads or building foundations was done by hand. The men used picks and shovels and crow bars where obstructions were met. So road operations involving the laying of water pipes or gas mains or telephone cables where trenches were required could take several weeks. Whilst roads were opened and dangerous, a ‘night watchman’ came on duty when the workmen had finished for the day. He was invariably supplied with a small hut just big enough for him to stand up in and with a seat for his comfort. His job was to ensure that the oil lamps along the excavation were kept alight and that the tools etc were safeguarded.

In winter he would have a coke fire in a brazier in front of his hut with plenty of coke to maintain it throughout the night. The hut being light in construction could easily be moved and turned to back onto any wind. I’m afraid I must confess we used to annoy these old men who usually did this job and we were to our amusement, chased by the ‘cocky watchman’. Why ‘cocky’ I’m not sure?, but that was our name for these toilers of the night. Their glowing hot coke fires on a winter’s night will ever remain with me. The winds

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blowing through them spread a warmth that made the old men warm as they sat in their huts a few feet away.

ScaffoldingAnother job that has changed with the passing years

is that of scaffolding. These days it is all done by locking together long lengths of steel tubing, quite a common sight now. But years ago such erections were all done with poles which had to be lashed together. Where they stood in public foot paths and pavements they were always embedded in barrels of earth as a protection from passing people and vehicles. It was skilful work and one never heard of them collapsing. Considering the heights they sometimes reached and the apparent absence of any facilities for anchoring them to any existing walls this was something to marvel at. I was young enough to see the erection of the Liver Buildings especially the fixing of the Liver Birds on the top of those domes. Also the erection of the Cunard Building and saw it grow on the site of the old Georges Dock. As also was the Dock Board Offices as the remains of a dock side quay remained for many years behind that building until a Mersey Tunnel ventilation shaft was built there.

Working days have said my school days finished at Christmas 1909, when to augment the family income I was employed as a

messenger by the Eastern Telegraph Company, whose offices were in a wing of the old Exchange Buildings on Exchange Street east. (That building was demolished and on rebuilding on the same site it had two wings named Derby House and Sefton House.)

I

So one might say my young childhood days had come to an end, for as a messenger I performed a variety of duty hours some running to the late hours and later involving night attendance. The freedom I had known was now very much restricted. Saturday afternoons were no longer free and old childhood acquaintances slowly were lost. Unknown then but in a few years I was to be a soldier in the 1914-18 war doing my ‘bit’ in France. Now looking back on my 82 years I see how much we youngsters packed into our young years and how much pleasure and enjoyment was

found in our simple games and pastimes. I marvel now when I glance across the road and see a school boy (although aged 17) driving his own car to school and think how we had to walk in all weathers as did all others to school, regardless of the distance. There were no ‘school trams’ free for our travel, or school meals or leisure halls or bicycles.

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NB I don’t know how long my father took to write these memories but his writings finished at this point. He died on 15th Feb 1985 after developing cancer of the stomach He had undergone surgery some twenty five years earlier for the same and had lived since with a colostomy. This did not restrict his life and he never complained or mentioned the fact.

I have researched our family history and it resides on the ‘genesreunited’ website.

My father always had an interest in the fact that his mother came from a little village in Cheshire, Great Barrow and he never understood how she came to marry a Liverpool sailor. This after research I was able to find and it has been a shame that he did not have the technology afforded to us to find out for himself. He knew his family came from Newcastle on Tyne. His grandfather came to Liverpool and was an editor of the Daily Post & Echo.

This interesting fact has also emerged.

On the 1901 census for 41 Cheviot View, Byker, Newcastle on Tyne I found the following.William Brignal M Head 35 Chief CookElizabeth F Wife 32Fanny M Dau 12William Son 9John R Son 4The family must have been there but my father has not remembered or known they had lived there. He knew that the family came from Newcastle.

Typed by John Duncan Brignal 2009.