Childhood on Osborne Terrace

Fernville Terrace c1955
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In 1949 the houses on Osborne Terrace were just being built, as soon as they were coming available the council were moving people in, our family moved into no 21. I was 4 years old. It was a lovely place then, nice and quiet, not much in the way of traffic then. There were 4 chip shops on the main road, the only one that is left now used to be called Hartleys. There was a barber's shop called Fred Smith's, all the shops were occupied then, Webs cake shop, Gillibrands the chemist, 2 butchers, Co-Op, Barcrofs grocers was where the machine shop is now. Also Duckworths, where I worked when I was 16. As children we would play rounders etc on Osborne, you would hear the siren go off I think it was from Lee Quarry then we would know it was school time. We always had a big bonfire on what we called the sand hill, always being careful not to get raided by our arch enemy, ie Cuttler Greens. They were happy days.