Darwen, Lancashire

Rain, cold and fun.

Memories of shopping with my parents, Jack and Ellen, when I was 9 years old is always a pleasant thought, although it was not all pleasant, when it was raining the water off the canvas covers would drip down your neck, and if it was windy it would blow the canvas up and you got more than you had bargained for... [more]

Nurse Training

I started my SRN training in 1973. In those days the Nurses' Home still exsisted but the view was obscured by the more recent additional buildings to the Infirmary, which included the Education Centre. However the Home was still well used. Some nurses still 'lived in' in this building but we all used the building too. We... [more]

Shopping days

This photo is as I remember Church St when I was a little girl. I had three younger brothers and when Mother took us to town she often went into Woolworths. We were told that if we became lost we had to find the weighing machine. It was huge and stood near the doors. She said that... [more]

Infirmary Memories

My first memory of the Infirmary is when I was four years old. I had my tonsils and adenoids removed because I was very, very deaf. After the operation I could hear but it would be many years before I learned that I only had hearing in one ear. When I was six I had another operation to... [more]

School Speech Days

When I was a pupil at 'Blackburn High School for Girls' we used to go to Blackburn Cathedral for the morning sevice on Speech Day. In those days the Cathedral was dark and dismal with masses of dark wood and lots of box pews. I particularly remember walking over what I believed were graves - scary to an eleven... [more]

Childhood memories in Blackburn

My first school was St Michaels and All Angels in Whalley New Road. We all had to have our gas masks over our shoulders and hang them up on our own little peg. I can remember we all had school dinners, I don't think we paid, we had no money. Also all the very young children had a sleep for a... [more]

Growing up

This is actually Withnell Fold. I grew up here from 1962 until 1977 when I left to get married. It was a fantastic place to live. My dad Terry West was a maintainence joiner originally, at Wiggins Teape paper mill until it closed. My mum Glenda worked for a while as a cook at the old folks home, which had been... [more]

Alan & Hilda

Alan and Hilda Slater were my Uncle and Aunty and lived at the post office for many years and were quite possibly the funniest people I ever knew. Stanhill Post Office is reputedly haunted and Uncle Alan took every opportunity to use the story of the white lady to frighten unsuspecting guests. At one party there he pre-prepared a mock up... [more]