A Childhood At Sutton Flats, Pendleton

A Memory of Salford.

I was born in 192 Sutton Flats and Christened at St. Thomas's. My older brother Johnny and I were very happy there and both attended Halton Bank School. Our auntie, uncle and cousins lived close by in another block. (We were the Davis family.) In 1954 we moved to number 507. The little park was more or less at the bottom of our steps and the playground was at the back of us. School was literally just across the road. We were within easy walking distance of the shops, Buille Hill Park, cinemas and bus routes. My brother was a wolf cub and a member of a little concert troupe.

I can very vaguely remember the Queen's coronation in June 1953 and all our parents gathered around one tiny TV while we children played outside.

I have many memories of Sutton Flats but my biggest is being brought back home in a big, shiny, black police car at around the age of 5 because I had wandered off with my little friend Geoffrey Seddon and gone on to the main road. The police saw us there and took us home. It seemed to me that I was gone hours but it was probably about 10 minutes!

Another memory is the visit of the Queen in around 1955. We were all given flags and lined up at the side of the road to wave and cheer. I saw her so clearly and thought she was beautiful.

We had a wonderful childhood there with loving parents and many friends. Our parents didn't have much money, many possessions or a car and we had to share a bedroom but we had a great time. We always managed a summer holiday and Christmas was a joy.

We moved to Gorton in Manchester when I was eight and Johnny was eleven. We finally got a bedroom each and life progressed as it should. We never forgot our time at Sutton Flats and still look back affectionately to our childhood there.