Memories Of Heysham

A Memory of Heysham.

My paternal grandparents, Ernie and Sally Featherstone, lived at 11 Burnsall Avenue, Heysham with their son Jack (my dad) during the 40s and 50s. My maternal grandparents, Sid and Olive Wilson, and their daughters Mavis (my mum) and Norma lived at Cosy Nook Cottage, a few yards from Half Moon Bay in Old Heysham Village during the same period. My mum tells me that they didn't have a bathroom so when they wanted a bath they used to fill a tin bath in the kitchen. And when she was a baby her father used to go to the Bay to collect buckets of sea water to boil to bathe her in, as sea water was supposed to be good for babies.  My mum used to be a member of the local amateur dramatics who would put performances on at the Winter Gardens. My dad and his dad used to work at ICI near to Half Moon Bay. When my parents married they moved to a bungalow at 56 Rylstone Drive, where I was born in 1955 and then my sister was born in 1958. When my dad was at work mum would take my sister and I up to Strawberry Gardens shops, where we'd buy cakes from Faradays the Bakers, and maybe call into the nearby hairdressers where my mum worked. Then we'd walk around past the old pub and along to Half Moon Bay, going past the shop that sold Granny's nettle beer, and maybe have a home made ice cream from the little shop opposite. Then we'd go and meet my dad from work. I remember there was always a strange smell around the works and the docks! I remember we'd get the (green) bus into Morecambe, and go to Happy Mount Park. At one time there was a Guinness clock display in the park and I well remember the toucan.! I also remember the smell of Littlewoods store near the prom - lovely!
Our family church was St.Peters in Heysham village, where my parents were married and my sister and I were both christened, and we used to be involved with the Sunday School there. The vicar at the time was Mr.Gillespie, and his wife ran the Sunday School. I can remember taking part in a couple of children's church processions, I think one was Easter, and the other was the Harvest Festival procession - "We Plough the Fields and Scatter" at full blast! I have a couple of photos (sadly both including me dressed as a fairy!), one of which is a group of small children dressed up for a Christmas concert at the Sunday School. It was taken on the stage.
When I was about three I attended Gypswick Nursery School, although it seems to have disappeared from the annals, I can't find any trace of it anywhere. I don't know if anyone else has any memories of it? I left Gypswick when I was four to go to Sandylands school, and we moved down to Hutton Crescent in Morecambe to be nearer. My gran (Sally) was a dinner lady at the school, and I remember her once taking me to the Winter Gardens to see the school choir who I think were in a competition there. We sat in the back stalls with them while they were waiting their turn to go on. I was about four at the time and remember all the children who were in the choir, who were aged about eight or nine, walking from their seats down the aisle and up the steps to the stage - so I just followed them, to roars of laughter from the audience, while my gran was desperately searching around the stalls looking for me!
I can remember the very strong winds we used to get when we lived there, it used to rattle the roof tops, I was very scared of that, but somehow I remember all the days as being hot and sunny - magical days eh?! Sadly we moved to Yorkshire in 1961 and I haven't been back to Morecambe for years, but I still have some good memories to keep.