Brampton Bierlow ~ Concrete Cottages

A Memory of Wombwell.

I was born in 1936 at Concrete Cottages - Brampton. I would appreciate any photos of these old miners' cottages. My sister Margaret died there at the tender age of 10 years. My father was a miner at Darfield Main, we moved to Rother Street when I was 5 years old. I remember moving our few sticks of furniture on a horse-drawn coal cart, I was allowed to hold the reins, I felt like John Wayne in 'Stage Coach'. I remember the prisoners of war working in the fields, we would throw stuff at them and they in turn would throw whatever vegetables they were picking at us scruffy kids, we would collect the veg and take it home to a very appreciative mother. When I was twelve I was offered a part time job with the salesman on Tingles Ice Cream of Wombwell, this was a horse-drawn cart. On my first day we went to Wath, he went into the pub and left me in charge, I could not use the sandwich maker properly and gave every customer sixpenny ices for two pence, I was sacked when he came out of the pub. He made me walk home behind the cart whilst shouting abuse at me, he kept calling a "Little Runt". I know I was little but he couldn't say runt properly, maybe because he had been drinking :-). I started work after leaving school at Whitworths Brewery Wath upon Dearne. I was a team rider with the Wombwell Wheelers Cycling Club, we were poor but we had such great times. My family moved to London when I was 17 years.
We (the gang) would go to Wentworth Woodhouse and climb over the wall into the orchard and greenhouses where there were wonderful fruits growing all year round.
Henry Ellis
Co-author of Positive Aikido