Gostelows Boat Yard

A Memory of Boston.

I was brought up near Gostelows Boat Yard, I used to watch them building boats; mainly fishing boats. Loads of tree trunks was piled in the street; it was a dead end, it caused no inconvenience to any traffic.
They had a rack bench outside, the trunks was cut down to planks, Albert would put a chalk mark on the tree, then say to me "when the saw gets up to here; run and tell me". At night we would play amongst the tree trunks.
One time I went to play, a tramp was there, I nervously approached him -he was very rough. He had a tin can on a wire handle, in a gruff voice " fill it with hot water" I ran home to get some; he had some tea in a bag and made a cuppa.
He started to tell me about being in the first world war when he smashed a German's head in with a trench spade; and went through actions how he did it, he fret me to death. Now it reminds me how Pip was in the church yard with Magwitch the convict in Great expectations.
Inside were they built the boats, was barrels of black pitch, we would chip a piece out and chew it.
Albert Gostelow lived in Oxford Street. His brother Herbert lived in Pulvertoft Lane. He had two sons, Young Albert, and Frances who was a dwarf.

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