Harpurhey Childhood 1942 1950
A Memory of Harpurhey.
When I was born in William St in 1942, Harpurhey was very different from today. Horses and carts delivered the milk and coal, the horses following the carters down the st, knowing where to stop for the next drop. Mam would let us give the horse a crust covered in jam, as it waited at the step. The rag and bone man was a regular sight, with his cry echoing the surrounding streets. Out we'd run with a few old clothes or some jam jars to be rewarded with a balloon, or if you took something really good a goldfish, that's if mam didn't want any donkey stones for cleaning the steps. He recycled all our rubbish. On May Day the horses were all dressed up with shiny leather and brasses, ribbon and braid in their plaited manes and tails, such big shirehorses but such gentle giants, so resigned to their working lot. There were no cars in our st so it was safe to play out, which all we kids did, after school and at weekends. We played kick the can, rallyvo, hide and seek in big groups, we had whips and tops, skipping ropes, bats and balls, alleys (marbles) and of course footballs. Someone would throw a rope over the lampost and we would have a swing, all cheap but highly enjoyable games. No tv or Ipods then. We had the wireless to fire our imagination, listening to Dick Barton Special Agent and The Man In Black. I remember I always used to run to mam when I heard the title music of the M.I.B it sounded really scarey to me. There were also lots of funny shows on as well, Rays a Laugh,The Cliteroe Kid, Educating Archie which was a ventriloquist!!on the wireless? We read books, and comics, and went on adventures to Boggart Hole Clough, rowed the boats, listened to the band in the park, drank water from a metal cup chained to the water fountain and ate jam butties sat on the grass. How naive we must seem to the kids of today, but we listened and learned, played and had fun, what a great childhood we old un's had. Beryl Dawson nee Mallard.
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Thanks for sharing your memories they did indeed jog my think box but even though I would like to for the life of me can't recall all that much. I was born in Bridlington in Jan 1941 and we moved to 24 Upper Mount Street, just off Conron Street a short time later because we were bombed out which must have been scary for Mum and Dad and baby brother as we were in the house at the time. I went to Alfred Street school where in 1950 and 1951 received prized books for being up there in the class. Mr James was the headmaster and a Mr L Ray was class teacher ( I only recollect these as they signed the books which I still have). I used to walk to school and come home lunchtimes for a piece of bread with dripping smeared over it. With rationing we never had good quality food it was always offal particularly tripe which still sends me right off. Whitsundays was spent marching down Conron street with banners and me in a sea cub hat. We normally played in Queens Park but sometimes the wicked witch gave us such a fright we would take ages to go back there preferring the Red Rec or the tip to play on. We rode sheets of old iron down the tip slopes and one day found a heap of old trikes with ice cream boxes on the front which gave us hours of fun. Christmas and birthdays were fun with some nice presents like Beano and Dandy books, chemistry sets, roller skates and once, a BB gun very similar to an army Colt 45 - I'd like to see you buy one of those nowadays! We had a bath once a week at the Public baths and the smell of chlorine is still up my nose. We could have bathed at home as the condensation continually ran down the walls and pooled on the floors. Always in short pants and flimsy jumpers I'm surprised I have so little arthritis nowadays particularly in some of the heavy winters trudging back and forward to school in the snow (and regularly passing Margaret Rawlings my secret 11 year old girlfriend - she didn't know). I recall ice cream in tablets with top and bottom cone stuff, bits at the fish shop and pinching broken biscuits from some factory near Queens Park. Not much else unfortunately as we moved to Australia in 1952, due to Mums health, where a much more rewarding and wonderful life began. I must dig a bit deeper into Manchester now that I have a bit of free time.
Jim Naylor