Good (Great) Old Days

A Memory of Hetton-Le-Hole.

I was born at The Four Lane Ends but really the only thing which I remember about that is the day we moved to South Market Street. Since then (about '46) I have always been proud to refer to myself as being amongst the "Boysofhetton". My home mates all lived within the three rows of "Officials Houses" which where all identical and comprised of the last 6 houses in South Market Street and the rows of six each behind which were Victory Street and Victory Street East. All 18 of the houses were so identical that whichever of them you were welcomed into it just felt like home!
In no order of merits my mates included Kenneth Nutman, John Tubby, Brothers Jack and Joe Lawson, Roland Scuise and by chance they were all at least four years older than me. I've always thought that the reality of my direct peers all being older, and bigger, all contributed to my "bringing up" and therefore when at school playing footie with my own age group was found to be much easier. A.N.Other mate soon moved in to the end house in Victory Street East and he, Jimmy Emery, soon found out (and held it a superiority) that he was two days older than me. I am proud to say that I still consider all of these lads as my mates and I still see most of them "around".

I first went to the Infant School at the bottom of Caroline Street (now a Gym?). I transferred to Eppleton for the last of my infant years and then all of my Junior years. It must have been relative to my birthday but I found myself in the top / eldest class for two years. The very important aspect to that chance happening was that I played two full seasons for the footie team, the fellow players which I remember were; "Skinny Archbold", Mcbeth, the Sproates brothers (John and Allan), Ming (sorry I don't remember your proper name mate), I remember calling in for you every Saturday morning before travelling to our match on a Northern Bus.

I was (and still am) proud of my cousin, Kenneth Fisher, who like my other mates was 4 years older (and better) than me and when he was called for a trial at Chelsea I must have told everyone in County Durham. My grandad (on my mother's side) was Joe Clark who lived right in the centre of Lyons Avenue which had a massive / open field out front indeed right over to the cricket club fence.
I actually thought my grandad owned the loco / engine shed at Lyons because certainly I was always welcomed therein and sometimes a driver would even stop a coal train and gimme a lift up the line to the depot. (A. Jobsworth would have a heart attack if anything like that happened now!) One of the "sheds" is still there now in the industrial estate below the footie pitches which are infact the old Lyons pit heap. I cannot mention that heap without mentioning, in reverence, that my mate Brian Aspinall fell into the fiery innards of that "dead" heap and was never found again. I do sincerely hope that my recollection has not opened any old family wounds.

The loss/death of Brian was the only serious downside which I remember of "those days" and when I remember the schools, the 20+ man a side footie every Sunday in the Store Field, the times up the Bull Wells, the weeks collecting for the bonfire, the damming up of the stream under The Northeastern, the rotating seasons of marbles, hide and seek, chucks, and regular going to Bartons or The Imp - still permit me to remember them as 'The Good Old Days'.

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