13 Hardy Mill

A Memory of Great Harwood.

My dad was away fighting in the war, so mum and I moved to live with my granny and grandad at 13 Hardy Mill Rd.  I remember from about 1945 I had a special friend called Desiree and we used to play across the road where there was a river, many times we got home with our feet wet and got a smack for it. My granny was very strict , she had to be, she had brought up 10 children on just a policeman's wage, grandad was the local bobby and granny used to take in washing from the local butcher to supplement his wage. When she said to do something you did it, no arguing.
Dad must have been home on leave at some time as I had a baby brother born in 1943, he died when he was 10 mths old of convulsions. Dad never got to see him.
Harwood was  a fairly quiet neighbourhood, not many people had cars in those days, but the little girl who lived next door to us got knocked down by a lorry and she died, so I wasn't allowed out for weeks, not even in the front garden. I think I started school when I was 5yrs and I know I could read already. I remember dad coming home from the war with his big bag on his back and I was scared as I didn't know him, shortly after that we moved to Bradshaw, then we got a prefab in Bromley Cross.  My granny lived at 13 Hardy Mill Road till she died aged 98yrs old  in 1978.

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