Part 18

A Memory of Middle Rainton.

Monica and my mum were brought up together and were the best of friends all their lives. My mum was also brought up by Gt Gran in the Fox, across the street from Liza and Billy, and in later life would visit her in Chichester whenever she could, for a chat about old times. Monica and mum left Durham in about 1937 together, and first of all worked in the hospital at Maidenhead, before both going to Arundal, and Chichester where my mum met dad and got married. Monica must have met her husband about the same time, as both girls were married and became pregnant. Both husbands were then in the armed forces, mum's in the BEF in France, and Monica’s in the RAF. Both girls then came home to Rainton, where Ann (who was named after my mum) and I were eventually born.

Nora Stevenson (nee Wilson) had died young of breast cancer. She had a daughter, Eunice, who lives about 10 miles from where we are now. She was hard done by, by her stepmother and also her dad, gran Wilson was NOT impressed.

Ann Smiles, (nee Wilson) who as I said lived with us at the fox & Hounds with her collier husband, Joe, never had any children.
John Wilson, (Bait) who had worked in the Adventure pit before joining the DLI, was killed at the battle of the Somme 1916 and was not married.
Mathew, my granddad, married to Kate. He was her second husband, her first husband, Michael Bone was also killed in WW1. She had two children by her first marriage, Peggy and Freda.
And my mum, Ann, named after Ann Wilson, and Austin (who never married) by her second marriage.
Peggy married Billy Walker and had a daughter, Freda, named after her sister. Freda married Johnny Johnston and had a son, Austin, named after her brother, my Uncle Austin. Her son, Austin, also never married, and he is now a Vicar in the C of E in Stanley, Co Durham. We last saw him a year ago at his mum’s funeral. Aunt Freda was a great pal with my wife, Eileen.
Matty was bright, but liked his drink, and it caused problems. They ran a fish and chip shop in New Bottle St in Houghton. Kate would be running the shop while he was in the pub. She had been known to take the fish into the pub for him to cut and fillet, as he was too busy with his dominoes. But like most of the Wilsons, he was great with kids. I loved him and he took me around with him, collecting scrap, demolishing buildings (he said churches were best, more stuff left in them) pubs and all. They moved from Houghton to East Rainton, where again they ran a chip shop, and Matty mellowed with age.

Charlie Wilson was a collier, and played amateur football, he moved to the Nottingham coalfield where he was killed in a mine accident. He also married and had children, but that is all I know.
Robby Wilson was also married and lived in Houghton le Spring with quite a large family, some of whom, must still be about but I do not know where. He worked in Walter Wilson’s sweet factory in Houghton (no relation) and he would take me to see the candy rock made. They had a special machine that made candy rock with the name running through. This was done in a big block that was then stretched out to the correct thickness, and then cut to length.
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This may not be entirely correct, but it was 50 years ago now and is how I remember.

John Charles Harvey May 2008

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