Born And Bred On Sunderland Road

A Memory of Gateshead.

I was born at 65 Southey Street, Sunderland Road in 1934. My family, the Towns family, had lived there for years. I went to Sunderland Road School and two of my teachers, Flintoff and Comway, taught my uncles. On leaving school I worked as an office boy at Clarke Chapmans, St James Road. As school kid me and my mates used to stand on St James bridge, at 5 o'clock when the factory came out, it was like a football match as over 1000 people worked there. We used to say "Any spare bait mister?" and sometimes we would receive a pork pie or a sarnie. We thought they tasted great! I have been trying to get photographs of Sunderland Road, if any one can help me please get in touch.
Derek Towns Bell, ex apprentice Lumsden Machie Tool Co, Hawks Road 1950/55