Old Hall, Cheshire

Memories of a Sankey lad

Although now living over a thousand miles away, my memories of my childhood in Great Sankey will always be dear to me.

Brought up in Hood Lane near the Rose Inn, the endless stream of traffic passing my garden gate  heading to and from the United States Air Force base at Butonwood. I remember saying hello to Cleo Laine when... [more]

Latchford locks

I used to stay with my Aunt at Brian Avenue during the late 1940s early 1950s and whilst there my daily activity was to cycle to Latchford and watch the boats passing through the locks. As a previous person has stated, the favourite boats were the American ones who not only threw packets of sweets onto the lock side but also... [more]

Queen's visit to Warrington

I was stationed at the Burtonwood army depot near Warrington in 1967 through to 1969. I remember taking pictures of the Queen's vehicle as they drove past me. I have four wonderful pictures of the vehicle the Queen was riding in and of the people on the street watching as the Queen drove by. You can see the advertisements on the... [more]

Sad Demise

Sadly we see very few ships passing down the Manchester Ship Canal these days. When I was a kid I lived in Latchford not far from the locks. We used to spend many hours watching the ships pass through the locks on there way to Liverpool or Manchester. We were occasionally rewarded by a pack of cigarettes or sweets thrown by... [more]

The Queen's Visit.

I remember as a youngster my mum and dad talking of the Queen's forthcoming visit to Warrington and how the statue of Oliver Cromwell was to be covered so as not to upset her. They eventually moved the statue to a less visible place and the side of the Academy.

Happy times

The building at the top of the picture with the advert on was a grocers called Hendrey Millings. I worked there as a young man and had my first encounter with the opposite sex!!!

Childhood

My friend and I would await the arrival of American ships on their way to Manchester. We would shout "got any gum chum?!" to the crews. We would occasionally be rewarded by a packet of sweets being thrown from the ship. Far tastier than the English equivalent!

Ike Smith''s Hardware and Bicycle Store

My grandfather, Isaac Smith, had a hardware and bicycle shop on these premises, known universally as the 'Tudor Cottages', from some time towards the close of WW1 to the late 1930s. The premises were owned by Rylands Bros, the nearby wire works, at which Ike (also Ikey) had worked at one time (I infer from census records), and at which his... [more]