Memories Of Norton 1920 Present.

A Memory of Norton.

My dad was born in Pontefract but moved to Norton around 1920. Their family name was Howcroft and they lived at 3 Mount Royde from 1929 -1957, when my grandma died. My grandfather was an ambulance driver in the 1914-18 war. He served in the transport division in France and Italy. He went missing for sometime and was found in a field hospital suffering the effects of mustard gas. They first lived in the Co-op building which is in the village. In 1928, my grandfather died and they had to move house to Mount Royde. There were 6 children by this time; Percy, Ronald, twins Dorothy & Margaret, Norman and Eric. A month after my grandfather died, Eric died, he was 4 (I think). My grandma cleaned for people to make ends meet. My dad worked on a farm, then at the pit in Askern. He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1940 and saw active service in France. He was wounded in Normandy in July 1944. He met my mum in Essex when he was stationed in London and they were married in 1945. We often visited Norton to spend time with my grandma. Across the field stood a windmill and we walked across to the farm. The farmer was a friend of my dads. I still remember a couple of names... Mrs Hulme, the Carrs and Cawthorn rings a bell. A few years ago I went up to Hull and stopped on the way home and living in No.3 was Harold Carr Jnr. He remembered my dad. I still drive through Norton Campsall and Askern on my way to visit relatives. The village hasn't changed too much. A part of my heart will always be in Norton. My dad sadly died in 2008 at the age of 94, a proud Yorkshireman.


Added 30 November 2013

#306691

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