Life In The Hill In The 50's 60's

A Memory of Wheatley Hill.

I was born in Stoker Crescent in 1950, for most of my childhood I was brought up by my grandparents George and Annie Thomson. We moved to Cain Terrace and I even spent a short period living in the workmens club as my grandad was the steward and ran the club. School day memories of sitting in Baldersaros ice cream shop drinking hot Vimto and challengng friends to eat dry crackers (I think 6 were the best done), ice cream covered in 'monkeys blood', going to the Regal or Royalty picture house. I'm sure as a child I saw the Brooke Bond chimps at the Saturday matinee in the Regal. The youth club that was run at the recreation centre. Where are the people I hung around with, such as Eric (Dickie) Henderson, Robert (Noddy) Waite, Richard Curry, Robert (Mopsy) Harper, Alan Bradshaw and others. In my day the boys school was seperate from the girls school, my school in the High street and the girls school at the top of Cain Terrace. This never stopped us meeting the girls, and the youth club was the place to do it. I left in 1969 to join the Royal Air Force and sadly have not returned very often, but the memories will stay with me forever.