Crayke, North Yorkshire

Childhood

Kilburn was always a magical place for me as a child, lying as it does beneath the hillside where the White Horse is carved. As children we would cycle the seven miles from our home village to spend the day on and around the horse. A visit to 'Mousey Thompson's 'workshop was often included. I also remember earlier days being taken by my father to visit some of his friends in the village, and being enchanted with the little stream running by their garden gate.

High Kilburn

I visited High Kilburn with my mother in 1987. She lived there as a young lady. Her name is Laetitia (Thompson) Lewis. Her parents were Lionel and Alice Thompson. We visited the house where she used to live and then went down to Kilburn and through some other villages before returning to Everingham where my uncle lived at the time. His name is Bill Thompson. My grandmother painted a picture from the upstairs window of the house they lived in and that picture hangs on the wall in my mother's house now. 1987 was the last time that I visited England, but I hope to return someday and visit the many beautiful places again, including High Kilburn. Patricia Torres, McMinnville, Tennessee, USA

The Atkinson Family

My Grandma, Joan Atkinson, was born at Linton-on Ouse in 1927. Her father was the lock keeper there for a number of years and the family lived in the house in the photograph. Joan was the eldest of four children, three of whom were born at Linton-on-Ouse including Betty and Ian. The youngest child, June, was born when the family moved to Haxby. Joan's mum, Edna, used to make her own icecream in the kitchen on hot summer days. In the winter the house occassionally used to flood and the family had to escape from the rising waters in a boat which was tied at the back door.

Atkinsons of Linton

My mother, Joan Atkinson, was born at Linton lock in 1927. Her father was the lock keeper. She lived there for a few years before the family moved to Haxby.