Good Old Days

A Memory of Bilston.

I lived at my grandmother's house in Wolverhampton Street in Bilston. My gran's name was Mary Ann Tucker and she had a son called Ralph, my uncle who was only 2 or 3 years older than me (don't ask me). He had a neighbour called Jones and I believe their daughter was called Beryl, she was a few years older than me and as I am 75 now I guess Beryl (if she is still alive) would be about 80 to 83 now. Ralph's best friend, I am sure, was called Leslie? Corbett and I think that he lived in Wolverhampton Street as well, near to the corner of the High Street (it may not be called High Street, but it is the main drag with The Trumpet Pub in it and the very old pub opposite). Sorry about all this bad memory thing but I was only 6 or 7 years old at the time (about 1941/42) and only down there for a few months as I really lived in Sunderland but my mother and I came down while the bombing was at its worse up here. I attended Stonefield School. My grandma cleaned at a pub opposite her house which wasn't very far from where the island on (High Street?) is now.
The house stood about where the church and what I think is some kind of children's day nursery is and as I say the pub was opposite, The 'something' Arms.
I also had an uncle and aunt called Tucker who lived in Thompson Street, and I am sure there was a pub at the (Main Street) end of Thompson Street.
I called in to the Trumpet pub on Thursday 28th of May 2010 and talked to a lot of local people, but none of them were old enough to remember those days.
I also lived for a while when I was in my early twenties with an aunt (again called Tucker) who lived in a street in Ettingshall opposite the railway on the left as you go towards Wolverhampton. The front faced the railway and the back looked onto Sankeys and we used to listen to Sankeys Brass Band practising every Sunday. Her husband George Tucker worked for British Oxygen. This was about 1955/6, I worked for a plumbing firm called Roberts in Bilston, I can't remember the address but Mr Roberts had two sons
that worked for him, the oldest was Ron and the younger was Neville. Ron was a couple of years older than me and Nev a little younger, both were motorbike mad. If anyone reading this knows either of these lads please tell them that Derek Dunn still remembers what great guys I still think they were and I am sure (God willing) that they still are.
As you can see I have many very fond memories of Bilston,
Oh yes! and of Sedgley where I joined Sedgley Weightlifting Club.
If anyone reading this knows any of the people I have mentioned I would be very pleased to hear from you, my e-mail address is derek.dunn@hotmail.co.uk