Pre Post World War 2

A Memory of Thurnscoe.

Attended Houghton Road Junior School, then in 1944 the Hill School.
Lived 45 Windsor Street. Memories going to school eating breakfast of bread and dripping, transporting a ton of coal from the street to the coal house at back of house. Watching my grandfather roastng a Hedgehog after covering it all over in clay.
Going down to King Street (?) once a week to get a bowl of soup for one penny, though invariably they didn't take the penny.
Remember a group of seven or eight of us lads aged around 9 or 10 walking to Sprotbrough Castle and back. The police found us at 2 a.m. walking down the hill at High Melton. We'd had read to us at school the book Ivanhoe and thought at that time the story was set in the castle at Sprotbrough.
Much later at age of 13, I passed the examination for the Hull Nautical High School and lived in the Hull Church Army Hostel before going to sea as a Navigating cadet aged 16.
Travelled four times round the world on cargo and passenger vessels as cadet and navigating officer. Was in command before leaving the sea to attend Hull Training College and later teaching at Hull Nautical High School and the Nautical College.
Now well retired and living in Cambridgeshire.
My sister, Elaine, lives in Bolton on Dearne. Not visited Thurnscoe for some years now but always think I had a great upbringing there. There was a spirit about this great mining community and I have always been proud to be from there. Am proud to have had ancestors back from my father for at least seven generations, at Hickleton Main, Calow, Cay Cross, and Gornal in Staffordshire.
One other thing stays with me and that's my mother Hannah nee PLATTS saying to me "you're not going down that pit ". Her brother was killed down Hickleton Main in the 20's, my sister's first husband Billy BOWMAN killed down Barnborough main, grandfather Joby FLAVELL's half brother killed down pit at South Kirkby.

Regards: Dennis FLAVELL