Treasured Memories Of

A Memory of Cossall.

I was born in 21 Newtons Lane, Cossall, in 1936, and my paternal grandparents lived in Ilkeston Junction. I now live 1000's of miles away in the City of Sunshine, eight miles west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and have done for the past 60 plus years. But my memories of Cossall are strong, The old 'Cossa' pit and Colonel Hewlitt; attending the old Cossall School that was on the Ilkeston side of the aqueduct. That school - Mr Martin was the Headmaster and just about everything else if I recall correctly - was a school straight out of a Dickens novel, but I loved it and still do. I can remember very clearly when the Glebe was called 'the Jitty' that led into open fields, those of Sissons Farm on the left and Wheatley's Farm ahead and to the right backing onto Abbott Street, Awsorth. I remember "Cossa Choch" as it was pronounced in those days, and being shown the WW1 memorial with a great Uncle's name on it. I remember as we came out of the Church - not that we attended all that often, turning right at the gate and heading back towards Babbington through the big paddock that ended next to the Blackboards, but more especially the Conker tree that stood near the bottom there. It had the best conkers in Nottinghamshire on it - can't get them here! 'Babbo' woods! Who could forget them? How I still miss the old oak tree that stood near the stream just a little way up Redruffs, as we called it. The times we had there playing Robin Hood and swinging over that stream. I remember the little shop, a small general store it was - No 1 Newtons Lane, I think it was, we knew it then as Kytes where we got our kindling sticks, chewing wood (lollies as we call sweets here, were very few and far between in those days). I can remember Christmas in Cossall standing on our back steps and looking across the snow covered valley - a veritable wonderland. It gets cold here, but no snow, and no church bells pealing out the season mixing their peals with those of Eastwood and Ilkeston. A big memory of Christmas then was Carolling - going from door to door singing carols in the hope of a coin or two, sometimes, and on those times one had to be careful of the ARP or PC Riley, we would have a lit candle in an old jam jar with a wire handle. First sign of the ARP, PC Riley or the air-raid siren and we snuffed the candle - one learnt to be be crafty and quick in those days! I clearly remember the Bonfire Night that we had after the war, wood and stuff was gathered from everywhere and the fire was built in the field that the Glebe now leads into - albeit it is now built upon. We used to scrounge some old clothes and make a Guy Fawkes to burn on bonfire. That's after parading it all over the place in an old pram or something, begging coins. You could do it then - not now! But the best part of all that was chucking a Cossall grown potato into a Cossall built bonfire and roasting it until the skin burned black - lovely! My wife, whom I met quite by accident while on a return visit to England in 1958, came from Awsworth. Back in those days she was Betty Binch until she met a bloke from the Royal Australian Navy walking from Strelley to Cossall one Sunday in May whilst listening to the church bells ringing out. We will have been married 53 years come 2nd October, 2012, and have three grown-up sons, five granddaughters and one grandson. I have memories of Cossall that I will treasure throughout the rest of my days. My greatest wish is that I could share those memories as living memories with our grandkids.