My Dad's family

Year: 1963

My Dad's family

As far back as I can remember I used to visit my gran in Carlin How.  My dad and his brothers and sister grew up on Westray Street.  I can remember the big common where they used to build the bonfire for Guy Fawkes Night.  My dad Harold Appleton was the youngest son of Robert and Eliza Appleton.  My dad had brothers named Johnny, Dennis, Leslie, Richard and Raymond and one sister, Floss.  My Uncle Raymond used to fish from a cobble boat off the beach in Skinningrove.  My aunt's husband and sons used to race pigeons from Skinningrove.  My dad left Carlin How after he was de-mobbed in 1948 and worked at St Luke's Hospital in Middlesbrough where he met my mum.  Carlin How has lots of memories for all of us.  My dad also worked on the steelworks.

In 1941, my dad remembers going to school in Skinningrove and watching the German pilots use Skinningrove Beck to lead them to the target they were supposed to bomb.  To remain safe, all the school children were led down the mines until the air raids were over.  Many times they would not know what had happened outside until they emerged.  One time they emerged and the Skinningrove Iron & Steelworks had been bombed.

Our family emigrated to Canada in 1973, and we did not return to Carlin How once my gran passed away in 1968.  We have visited in Skinningrove and Loftus over the years.

Memories are some of the greatest things that one can possess. These are just a few of them.