One hundred years of one house in Chorlton part 68, ...... the hot water bottle, the alarm and a bit more on Joe and Mary Ann

The continuing story of the house Joe and Mary Ann Scott lived in for over 50 years and the families that have lived here since.*

The house in 1974

Now I have no doubt that Joe and Mary Ann would have used a hot water bottle.

They were and are a very cheap and effective way of warming the bed on one of those cold winter nights.

We still use them and have done so since the kids were little.

Even now when they stay over and especially when they have gone out on the town for the night I will fill the bottles and slip them in under the sheets.

It is something dad did in Well Hall Road over sixty years ago and remains a natural thing to do.

And as you would expect there is an art to it.

The water must be just off boiling, having been left for a few minutes, and you must never fill them to the brim.  Instead there should be a space and above all that space should be purged of air.

That way the bottle will allow you to manipulate it around your feet more easily and it has to be placed in the bed at least half an hour before you go up.

The other end of the terrace in 1958

All of which would have been familiar to Joe and Mary Ann, who lived in the house when the only heating were open fires which were rarely lit in the bedrooms.

Less familiar to them would have been the house alarm.

We installed it over thirty years ago and knowing a little about Joe I suspect he would have had one added when the house was built if the technology had been in existence back in 1915.

Ours was put in by Ian Henderson who I have known for something like 35 years and it was while talking to him yesterday as he serviced the system that I learnt a little bit more Joe and Mary Ann.**

I know the bare biographical details and there are plenty of people who still remember them but both died a long time ago and have left little of a trail to follow.

From Ian I have a bit of a physical description and more stories of their love of animals.

That love of animals led them to leave the house to the PDSA on Mary Ann’s death in 1974 and more than a few people have asked about the dead pets they buried in the garden which I can testify to on the rare occasion I have done the gardening.

Looking down Neale Road, 1958

But Ian may have the odd old rent book from when his family lived on Neal Road and other bits and pieces.I had always thought that most of the properties on Neile along with Provis had been built by Mr Scott for rent.

As such they were according to Ian always painted green but when his mum bought the house it was from the estate of a Miss Wilton which is intriguing.

Now the Wlton family go back to the early 19th century in Chorlton but the last I thought had died out in the 1890s.

Nor is that all because Neale was also the name of the butcher on Wilbraham Road who Joe was friendly with.

There may also be more because Ian’s grandfather worked for Joe and who knows somewhere in the family collection may be a picture of Old Mr Henderson standing beside Joe Scott, now that would be a find.

Pictures; that demand, 2016, and the house in 1974 courtesy of Lois Elsden, 3-51 Beech Road, built by Joe Scott’s father, m17663, taken in November 1958 by R.E. Stanley and Neale Road with some of Joe Scott’s houses in the distance, 1958 R.E. Stanley, m18135,, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass

*The story of house,
http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/The%20story%20of%20a%20house

**HBA Alarms.Co.UK, hbaalarms@aol.com

On trams David has seen .............. Manchester tram number 3118

Now there will be those who collect stamps and others who have spent a lifetime on the edge of railway station platforms jotting down the numbers of passing locomotives.

Recently I even encountered a group of four middle aged men at Oxford Road animatedly discussing just where was the best spot on the Sunderland to Newcastle line to observe passing rail traffic.

To these I can add my old friend David Harrop who is two off collecting the entire set of tram numbers for the Manchester Metro fleet.

He tells me “that so far they run from 3001 to 3120 and I have just seen my last tram 3118 in Oldham.”

And not content with that he also supplied me with a picture of an Oldham tram about to arrive at Market Street.

All of which took me off on one.  I pondered whether to reflect on the hobby of collecting “things” or instead to explore some of the different trams I have come to know.

I am too young to remember the old stately ones which graced our streets during the early 20th century having been born in the year the last Manchester tram completed its last trip, although I was taken to see the last LCC tram complete its final journey into the New Cross depot in 1952.

So I have to be content with that new generation of trams.

And of these pride of place has to go to our own yellow ones.

But I won’t be sniffy, and must mention the Sheffield ones who according to our Josh and my friend Patricia have a “clippy.”

Now I bet David didn’t know that.

Although he cleared up my confusion over the letters  A and some a B which appear after the number and just "indicate the tram end."

So I an now in the market for pictures of Sheffield trams and pretty much anywhere else.

Location; Manchester

Pictures; tram 3105 at Exchange Square, and 3069 in St Peters Square, 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simpson and tram 3064 coming into Market Street, 2016 courtesy of David Harrop

On Market Street a century and a bit ago

Now I can't be remember when the first photograph was taken but it wull be sometime at the beginning of the last century.

I did research the picture in detail and looked through the directories to match the shop names with a year, but I am being lazy and haven't gone looking for the notes.

So instead  I will leave you with a bit of Market Street today as it looked on a very wet day just a month before Christmas, 2016.

And the rest as they say is for you to spot and compare

There are no prizes for just how many interesting and different things separate the two.



Picture; Maarket Street circa 1900,from the collection of Rita Bishop, courtesy of David Bishop and In 2016 from the collection of Andrew Simosom

Today at Southern Cemetery at 1 pm

Emma Fox, of Manchester Guided Tours, and local military historian David Harrop will lead people around the cemetery visiting:

• Commonwealth War Graves
• Graves of recipients of the Victoria Cross
• Civilians who lost their lives in the Blitz
• First and Second World War memorials
• Graves of those who fought in other wars including Zulu, Crimean and American Civil War.

The unique display in the Remembrance Lodge of World War memorabilia, curated by David Harrop.


Meet inside the main cemetery gates on Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, M21 7GL.

These are opposite James Hilton Memorials, 245d Barlow Moor Road, M21 7QL.

There will be a charge contact  Emma Fox
on 07500 774 200 or email showmemanchester@yahoo.co.uk 

Location Southern Cemetery









Pictures; Southern Cemetery, 2015, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

One to do on Sunday ............... Southern Cemetery Remembrance Tour

Now I have no intention to do anything more than quote from Emma and David who will be your guides on the tour.

The original and only authorised tours of the cemetery!

Let us remember the lives of sailors, soldiers, airmen and civilians who have taken part in conflict.

Emma Fox, of Manchester Guided Tours, and local military historian David Harrop will lead people around the cemetery visiting:

• Commonwealth War Graves
• Graves of recipients of the Victoria Cross
• Civilians who lost their lives in the Blitz
• First and Second World War memorials
• Graves of those who fought in other wars including Zulu, Crimean and American Civil War.

The unique display in the Remembrance Lodge of World War memorabilia, curated by David Harrop.

Opened in 1879 Southern Cemetery is the largest municipal cemetery in the UK, and one of the largest in Europe.

Read about Emma's other cemetery tour in the Manchester Evening News

NB £1 from each ticket sold will be donated to the The Royal British Legion
FAQs

Where do we meet?

Meet inside the main cemetery gates on Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, M21 7GL.

These are opposite James Hilton Memorials, 245d Barlow Moor Road, M21 7QL.

NB do not meet at the crematorium. Please arrive a few minutes early.

Is there an age limit to enter the event?

No, the tour is suitable for anyone able to walk and stand for two hours on paths and grass.

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?

The cemetery gates will be locked, as it is a Sunday, but there is plenty of parking available on Barlow Moor Road, in the side roads opposite the cemetery.

Are there any toilet facilities at the event?

Yes, but bring your own loo roll!

Where can I contact the organiser with any questions?

Contact Emma Fox
on 07500 774 200 or email showmemanchester@yahoo.co.uk 

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

No

What if it's raining, snowing or 40 degrees C?

Tours take place whatever the weather. Please dress appropriately!

Who are Manchester Guided Tours ?

We are the largest group of qualified, insured, professional Manchester Green Badge and North West Blue Badge tourist guides working in Manchester.


Location Southern Cemetery




Pictures; Southern Cemetery 2012-14 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

“I think he must have been uneducated, he had a northern accent”

Now I wish I could report that this was the product of some gormless over privileged member of a TV reality show from deepest Surrey which would at least pander to my opinion of such shows.

Union Street near Traffic Street, circa late  1940

But no it was a carefully created piece of dialogue from an episode of Scotland Yard which ran through the 1950s.

The episodes were produced as short cinema features supporting the main film and lasted for 30 minutes.

They were based on “real life cases from the vaults of London’s Metropolitan Police headquarters” and were introduced by “Edgar Lustgarten the famous Criminologist.”

I have to confess I am a sucker for all these old 1950s and 60s dramas which form a large chunk of my Christmas requests and this year the wish list was fulfilled, so along with Scotland Yard and The Blue Lamp were a few Ealing Comedies and The League of Gentlemen.

What they have in common is that they offer up a wonderful slice of how we lived and yes right down to the that assumption about the North.

Long before “Loadsofmoney” poked fun at how we lived north of Watford Gap there were whippets, cloth caps and slag heaps which alternated with cheery Cockneys consuming vast quantities of jellied eels and the odd pie and mash as some of the nation’s stereotypes.

There was a time when I would get quite cross at such lazy portrayals of great sections of Britain, but they do tell us something of what the attitudes of those who made the films at the time far more than they represent an accurate picture.

And there will be someone who can point me to the scholarly paper which explores popular culture and its relation to the class prejudices of those engaged in writing and producing British films, plays and radio broadcasts.

Well I hope so.

And in the meantime  I think everyone should take 30 minutes out and watch an episode of Scotland Yard.

Picture;Union Street near Hope Street, late 1940s, from the collection of Cynthia Wigley

Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces ......... enaging young people in the story of the past

Now I think a love of history should start young if only because then you have heaps of time to explore the past.

The performances ......... tomorrow and Friday

And that takes me to an exciting project run by the Together Trust who for nearly 150 years have been helping young people.

It started in 1870 as a rescue operation offering destitute boys from Manchester and Salford a bed and a meal for the night.

The charity quickly extended its work to include girls as well as boys,and  provide more permanent homes offering training for future careers along with holiday homes.

It also campaigned against some of the worst cases of child exploitation taking negligent parents to court and arguing against the practise of employing young children to sell matches on the streets of the twin cities.

And now under the direction of their archivist the Trust is involved in bringing the story of the charity to a group of young people who in turn will be performing a slice of that history.

Philip on admission to the charity

“It is now only a few days until our two HLF performances of Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces. The young people involved have been working hard to create a theatrical extravaganza to entertain and educate the local population about the Together Trust’s past.

It’s been an interesting few months for the group as they’ve learnt acting skills and design skills, as well as more about the history of the Together Trust. 

It’s an area that most knew very little about, especially the journey that some children took across the seas to Canada. Part of the project’s aim was to create a sense of empathy from the young people today with the stories of children who had received services from the same charity as themselves. 

Although circumstances surrounding admission to the various Together Trust services has vastly changed, the charity still exists to help young people in the local area.

The project has allowed them to imagine being in the position of the orphans themselves and how they might have felt if they were to leave the country. 

Learning a trade .......... in the Rrinting press department

Through the project we have studied the journeys of a selection of children who travelled to Canada from the Manchester homes. 

From handling unique archives through to experiencing Victorian activities, it has allowed for the past to come to life for the individuals involved.”*

Now that I think is a pretty good way of bringing history alive.

So that just leaves me to suggest you follow the link to the Trusts’ blog where there is lots more about Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces.

Location; Manchester

Picture; courtesy of the Together Trust

* It's performance time... Getting down and dusty,

The silk postcard from France, and a museum in British Columbia

Now a few days ago I featured one of the silk embroidered postcards from the Great War.

Souvenir de France, 1917

I have been a fan of them ever since I began the book on Manchester and the Great War and my friend David Harrop showed me a new one which carried the name of the RMS Melita.*

And as you do I went looking for the ship which I found along with quite a bit of interesting history, but what really caught my eye was an article by Annette Fulford who had written about the Canadian War Brides some of whom went over in the Melita after the war.**

The nuseum in 2015

It was a fascinating story and pointed up that I knew nothing about these war brides.

Of course most of us will have heard of the GI Brides from the Second World War who left a drab and tired Britain still recovering from the war.

And grim it was.

Rationing didn’t stop until the early 1950s, there continued to be shortages of all kinds and for a kid like me growing at the time, bomb sites were a natural place to play.

But it never occurred to me that there should be Canadian War brides and certainly not from the Great War.

Thus is ignorance challenged and what a story it is.

Inside the museum, 2015

And that led me to a conversation with Ms Fulford who shared an article about another Canadian silk which simply carried the message Souvenir de France, and the dates 1914, 1915, 1916 and 1917.***

On the reverse Private A Wildgoose,  nu 234719 of the 52 Battalions, Canadians had written to his mother in November 1917.

The message is short, reassuring but records that “I have had no mail for over a week.”

Annette went on to research the story behind Private Wildgoose, but for that you will have to follow the link to the article which was published in the Family Newsletter of the Maple Ridge Historical Society which is in British Columbia.

The Phonograph, 1950 on display at the museum

All of which means that by degree not only have I met someone new, learnt a bit about a Canadian soldier but have “bagged” another historical society.

And so while other people collect stamps, bottle tops and those small picture cards with came in packets of cigarettes and tea, I hoover up historical societies.

I don’t join them all but I read their newsletters revel in what they have to say about the history of their locality and pass on the link to friends.

So I shall just close with the description of their museum which tells me that is “located in Maple Ridge between the Lougheed Highway and Haney Bypass at 22520 116th Ave.

Silk with the regimental badge of the Manchester's circa 1916

The museum is housed in the former Manager’s home for Port Haney Brick & Tile. 

We are a community museum featuring First Nations Prehistory, history of settlement and prominent families and feature a world-class model railway diorama of the Port Haney area at the height of the railway logging era..”****

All of which leaves me to reflect just how far you can travel with one silk postcard.

Location; Maple Ridge BC

Pictures; silk postcard, 1917 courtesy of Annette Fulford, the Maple Rdige Museum, 2015 courtesy of  Maple Ridge Museum & Community Archives and remaining silk postcards circ 1916-1918 from the collection of David Harrop

*Manchester Remembering 1914-18 by Andrew Simpson will be published by the History Press in February 2017

**Canadian War Brides of the First World War

***Capturing a moment in time Souvenir Postcard from WW1

****Maple Ridge Museum and Community Archives, 

The FA Cup Final, a body and two trips to London

Now I have to give it to my friend Ann, when she introduces a new story she does it with style.

So yesterday I received this picture of a ticket for the 1934 FA Cup Final with the simple message, “my Dad only went to London twice in his life, once to this Cup Final, and once to collect a body!”

I can think of lots of other reasons to travel down to London but given that he was a City fan and an undertaker they both seem perfectly sound choices.

I am guessing he would have been on one of the 15 special trains that left Manchester for London and took his place along side the other 53,000 who stood to watch the match and the remaining 40,000 who paid that bit extra to sit.

Ticket prices ranged from 21 shillings down to 2s 6d but ticket touts were charging 25 shillings for a 5 shilling ticket and 45 shillings for one costing 21shillings.

That said Ann’s dad had already secured his 5 shilling ticket and sat in seat nu 25 on row 7.

Now that I have to say is indeed attention to detail, which just leaves me to say he must have been a very happy chap given that City beat Portsmouth 2 goals to 1.

Someday I will ask Ann about that other trip although I doubt that she has any memorabilia from that one.

Location; London

Pictures, FA cup ticket, 1934 and Man City season ticket 1952-53 courtesy of Ann Love

One to do today ............ Meet at Chorlton Green at 2 pm

On parade ...... the missing men and a clue in Colwyn Bay

This is one of those photographs which I suspect will remain a bit of a mystery.

The date on the card is 1915 and it was sent to Private Tom Smith of Wellington Road in Rhyl.

But who sent it is unclear, other than that Tom Smith was a friend.

The card begins “Dear Chum” and goes on to thank Tom for a photo, and reports that there is no news of a transfer or when he will get leave.

The rest as they say awaits someone to recognise where the men are on parade.

That said there is just one possible clue and that comes from the photographer who produced the card.

He was Alfred Haley of Penrhyn Road, Colwyn Bay who was active marketing pictures of Colwyn Bay from at least 1910 well into the 1930s.

So perhaps we are in Colwyn Bay, if so I doubt Mr Haley had far to walk on the day he captured the men on parade.

Penrhym Road is just behind the sea front and still presents an elegant mix of shops many of which have impressive canopies of cast iron and glass.

At one end of the road is Metropole Hotel and round the corner the “Picture House” both of which will have been familiar to Mr Haley.

So that is about it. I have only visited Colwyn Bay twice and cannot pretend to be an expert on the geography of the place but someone might know where the men are standing.

And no the postmark does not help. I know the card was stamped at just after mid day on March 15 1915 but the location of where it was sent is missing.

And no sooner had the post gone out and Bill Sumner came up with the answer, "we are on Princes Drive, the houses on the right still exist, in front of the men may have been a sea view but to their right a hundred and fifty yards round the left hand bend was the station which I think was the destination. They are just about to move off."

BIll went on street maps and found that the houses behind them are still there but the houses to the right have gone.

A little further along Princes Drive there are some tall Edwardian buildings with the half timbered top gables.

And that as they say is that.  Thanks to Bill

Location; Colwyn Bay.

Picture; men on parade, from a picture postcard, 1915 from the collection of David Harrop

The silk postcard that spans the ocean

Now I have been meaning to write about this postcard for a long time.

It belongs to my old friend David Harrop and comes from his huge collection of memorabilia from both world wars.

Embroidered silk postcards predate the Great War and continued into the 1920s but they seem to come into their own during the conflict.

Many were made in France and Belgium and were sent back from troops serving on the Western Front.

Some carry sentimental messages or references to towns behind the lines, but many use regimental badges and come also with a selection of the flags of the allies.

And this one from RMS Melita is a favourite of mine.

The ship did the Canada run from the end of the war through the 1920s before being sold in 1935 to an Italian shipping company and was scuttled off the Libyan coast in 1941.

All of which has prompted the start of a search to see what the connection might be between the Melita and British Home Children.

I know other ships of the shipping line were involved and it may be that there are people who can confirm that one of their BHC travelled the ocean on board the Melita.

And in the course of starting the investigation I came across an excellent blog on Canadian War Brides of the First World War which pointed to the fact that  our ship was involved which offers new  insights into the connection between Britain and Canada.*

All of which brings me back to my own great uncle who arrived in Canada in 1914 only to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force the following year and find himself by degree on the Western Front via his home country.

It was a journey replicated by many other British Home Children some of whom are buried here in Manchester having died of their wounds in the local military hospital.

They lay in graves besides those of British, Australian and New Zealand soldiers and some at least feature in the new book on Manchester and the Great War.**

Location; Britain, Canada

Pictures; embroidered silk postcards, RMS Melita, 1918, To My Daughter, 1918, and Souvenir from France, 1917, from the collection of David Harrop

* Canadian War Brides of the First World War

**Manchester Remembering 1914-18 by Andrew Simpson will be published by the History Press in February 2017

Manchester and the Great War to be published in February 2017

Now the book has been a long time in the writing, but Manchester Remembering 1914-18 will be in the shops in February of 2017 

It is a book I have long wanted to write and draws on official reports and newspaper accounts as well as letters and photographs and a multitude of other personal items.

Much of this material has never been seen before and some of it is unique in that it allows us to follow families through the whole conflict challenging many of those easy and preconceived views of the war.

So here is the story of George and Nellie Davison of Harpurhey and Hulme, including his years at night school while living in Chorton before they married, her regular trips to stay with him in London and Ireland and his final letters home before his death in the June of 1918.

Across the city and over the river we learn of Miss Rebecca Chapman’s first week as a Salford tram clippie, and Mrs Fannie Jane Barlow’s juggling act of bringing up two young children while working long houses in a Red Cross Voluntary Hospital.

And amongst all these stories there are those of the thousands of children on “part time education” because their schools had been taken over to look after wounded soldiers.

Much is also made of the opposition to the war, the campaigns against profiteering and the unequal status of women in the workplace.

So it rather has the lot.

And to mark the event the book launch will be held in Central Ref on Saturday February 18th.

The event will include military en actors in period uniform, live contemporary music and a selection of memorabilia featured in the book from David Harrop’s collection

Pictures; Clara in the uniform of the East Lancs, date unknown,  courtesy of David Harrop, Central Ref, 2014 from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Location; Manchester









*Manchester Remembering 1914-18 by Andrew Simpson will be published by the History Press in February 2017

The story of St George, the dragon and Tosspot .... along with much more ......... tomorrow the mystery history walk

One to do tomorrow.

In the hurly burly of this year's Chorlton Book Festival the organisers squeezed me in between  the greats back with another history walk, starting on the old village green opposite the Horse and Jockey.*

There will be a mix of tales from dark deeds with more than a few murders and a burial scandal.

Actually there will be the story of two burial scandals one from 1880 and a second almost a century later.

Added to this there will be a selection of our old rural customs including “hunting the sparrow,” “heaving the stranger” and ever popular St George and the Dragon, which of course included St George, a dragon and the chap dressed as a woman and called “Tosspot.”

And that is all I will say for now.

Tickets are £4.75 including refreshments at the Dressing Room cafe at The Edge Theatre and Arts Centre after the walk.  Booking in advance I am told is advisable which can be done by the following the link.**

Meet at Chorlton Green  opposite the Horse and Jockey M21 9HF at 2pm on November 20.

I promise it will last for no more than an hour ............ unless I get carried away with myself.

And for those who want to do their homework in advance and then try and catch me out with a question why not buy my book The Story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy available from Chorlton bookshop ........ such outrageous self promotion!***

Which just leaves me to say that there are plenty of other interesting, exciting and fun events which will last from November 18-26.

Most of the events are free unless otherwise stated, and if you don't fancy going on line to find out what is happening, there is always the telephone @ 0161 227 3700 or just call in at Chorlton Library.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy






Picture; the Horse and Jockey, Chorlton Green, by Derrick A Lea circa 1955 and Mary Moore's gravestone, 2011 from the collection of Andrew Simpson


*Chorlton Book Festival, http://www.chorltonbookfestival.co.uk/

**Booking for the Mystery Walk, https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chorlton-mystery-walk-tickets-28605123695

***The Story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Andrew Simpson, 2012, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/the-story-of-chorlton-cum-hardy.html

Chorlton-cum-Hardy’s F. A. Cup Final “triangle” ............. another story from Tony Goulding

I have written previously about the footballers who resided in Chorlton-cum-Hardy during the 1960’s and 70’s. 

It has now been brought to my attention that a number of soccer stars had lived in the area a decade earlier

In one of those quirks of history ( which so intrigue this writer ) all were associated with one of Manchester City’s F.A. Cup Final triumphs

Roy Paul, was City’s captain at both the 1955 final when they were defeated by Newcastle United 3-1 and the victorious final in the following year when Birmingham City were beaten by the same score.(1)

He lived at 27, Vaughan Road.
Nearby, at 25, Wyverne Road lived Frank Swift who played in goal for City and England either side of the Second World War.

As a young 20 year old he was part of City’s team which won the F. A. Cup in 1934.  He famously fainted at the final whistle and had to be helped to collect his winner’s medal. (2)

Tragically Frank was one of Manchester’s losses in the Munich Air Disaster of February, 1958.

At the time he was working as a journalist for the “News of the World” reporting on Manchester United’s European Cup matches.

There are still more connections however as also on board that plane was United’s manager, Matt Busby, who not only a  team-mate of Frank Swift during the 1930’s (also appearing in the 1934 Final ) but also had a house just around the corner at 214, Kings Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy.

A final coincidence is that when Manchester City next triumphed at Wembley, their manager Joe Mercer was living at the nearly adjacent 71, St. Werburgh’s Road.

Whilst checking the information I’d been given regarding these men and carrying out further research I unearthed from my eclectic collection of football memorabilia these items which have social history interest as well as the obvious link to the history of football.

They belonged to my late uncle, Denis, a City supporter who not managing to acquire a ticket for the 1955 final apparently watched the game at the old Gaumont theatre on Oxford Road which was screening live television pictures. Incidentally, as the ticket stub and match programme pictured above seem to indicate, he was somehow able to obtain a ticket for the Final the following season.

Finally I discovered some revealing details concerning the homes of footballers from the 1930/s through to the present day.(3)

It was very evident from both the 1933 street directory of Manchester and the 1939 national register that the football stars at that time were a very long way away from the lifestyles of to-days super-rich megastars.

Many of City’s cup winning team of 1934, including top goal-scorer and England star Eric Brook, lived within walking distance of their place of work as was the norm among the urban working-class for over a century.

Some players stilled resided among the terraced streets which encircled the Maine Road Ground most had moved to the new council housing between Lloyd Street and Princess Road.

During the next two decades footballers saw a slow increase in their living standards in part reflecting a similar rise in those of the skilled working class – of which they were still considered a part. It was not however until the impact of abolition of the maximum wage and other restrictions in, 1961, (4) began to take effect in the mid to late 1960’s that a significant change took place in top footballers lifestyles.

The “triple-whammy” of the introduction of the Premier league and the expansion of Europe-wide club football competitions, the massive media rights revenue this has generated, and in turn the huge foreign investment this has stimulated has catapulted today’ s “Eric Brooks” into the realms of the mega-rich.

© Tony Goulding, 2016

NOTES  
1) Roy Paul is alleged to have echoed City’s 1933/4 captain Sam Cowan’s consoling words to his team after the  1955 losing final, which became the rallying cry for the following year’s cup run, “Don’t worry lads we’ll come back and win it next year”.

2) In his auto-biography, “Football from the Goalmouth”, (an excellent early example of both the genre and his journalistic talent) Frank Swift recorded the following story. Frank was quite distraught at half time , believing he had been at fault for Portsmouth opening goal  and shared his worries with  City’s centre-forward that day Fred Tilson.    To quote the book, ‘Fred replied ”Tha doesn’t need to worry. I’ll plonk two in next half”. Which of course he did.’

3) As always there are exceptions to these generalisations.  Alexander (Alec) Bell was one of the early stars for Manchester United in the first decade of the 20th Century, when they won two league championships and one F.A. Cup. He was also Manchester City’s trainer for ten years including at the 1934 Cup final described above He lived at 58, Brundretts Road. He died suddenly in November, 1934 and, after a funeral service at St. Clement’s, was buried in Southern Cemetery on 3rd December, 1934. (Grave – A 672).

4) These reforms took place following prolonged agitation by the players union, the P.F.A., and only agreed after the real threat of strike action. One of the prime movers during the negotiations on the players union side, was Jimmy Hill later to become both an influential manager, then chairman of Coventry City F.C., and a pundit on and presenter of BBC’s “Match of the Day”

Finally, since finishing this piece I’ve been advised of another Manchester City footballer of the 1950.s with a connection to Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Ronald Phoenix. He was born on 30th June, 1929 and lived on Derbyshire Lane West, Stretford where his father worked in the I.C.I. chemical works.  Ronald, a wing half, made his debut Vs. Arsenal on 26th, January, 1952 and made a total of 55 appearances for the club scoring twice in a career which spanned virtually the entire decade. His final game was on 31st October, 1959 Vs.

Tottenham Hotspur at Maine Road After leaving City  he played two seasons for Rochdale and finished his playing career with non-league, Altrincham. Like many ex-footballers of that era Ronald opened a shop on his retirement in the Stretford/Urmston area.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Frank Swift’s book –“Football from the Goalmouth” edited by Roy Peskett 1948
“A Short History of Saint Clements Church, Chorlton-cum-Hardy”- Ida Bradshaw
Conversations with local residents; Anne at “Post Box” Café, Linda Rigby and Ron Phoenix’s sister Hilda Mason at Chorlton Good Neighbours.

Rain, and sleet, and more rain .............. yesterday in Manchester

Now adventures don’t always turn out the way you want.

Even the camera wouldn't work

And yesterday was one of them.

Tina was flying out from the airport and this I told myself promised to be a day out.

I thought I would catch the train back into the city and spend a  morning wandering across into Salford with a camera.

But as everyone knows the weather was against me.

The hard and persistent hailstorm just after 6 should have been taken as a warning of things to come, and come they did.

Primark in the rain

The journey down to Victoria Railway Station on one of those freebie buses was accomplished without much of a hitch but the driving rain which chose to become sleet at regular intervals was enough to wipe away the idea of a morning in Salford.

Like any sane person I opted to spend some time in the railway station but eventually headed out across Cathedral Gardens in another downpour.

I made it into the Arndale and from there got to Market Street.

At which point I have to say that for the first time in my life I could see the advantage of a Shopping Mall, less for the retail experience and more because it offered the opportunity to traverse a big chunk of the city in the warm and dry.

Looking across to Debenhams and spotting the windblown litter

Of course most of the shops had yet to open and all the lavatories were closed, each with a sign that directed you to another set of lavatories which were also unavailable.

Meanwhile  the rain and the sleet showed no willingness to abate.

All of which left me with no alternative but to retreat to a coffee bar from which I watched the weather get worse.

And when I finally ventured out I took a handful of pictures.

Location; Manchester

Pictures; Market Street, 2016, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

Salford I am discovering for the first time part 2, Ye Old Nelson

Another from the archive.

Now it isn’t so much that I haven’t discovered the places in this series, just that I have passed them by without much of a second glance.

So here over the next few weeks are a selection of pictures from Andy Robertson who was out and  snapping buildings he likes and ones that I am being drawn to.

This is Ye Old Nelson whose story I will look up in the fullness of time, and perhaps sooner rather than later.

And yet again that appeal for anyone who has stories or pictures of the place in happier times would welcome for the blog.







Pictures; Ye Old Nelson, from the collection of Andy Robertson, 2014

The button box ............. when every home had one

Now if you can remember Sidney the knife sharpener who called every fortnight, along with those plastic flowers given away with every packet of Daz then the button box will be equally familiar.

In that age of “make and mend” which pretty much lasted until the 1960s buttons were bought and more importantly saved from all old and discarded clothes and were stored in the button box.

My mum had one and so did my Nana and I bet yours did too.

So when my friend Ann sent me these pictures the memory of the button box flooded back.

She told me “went upstairs to put something away, and decided to look through a box, found my Mum’s button collection.

Thought this might be of interest.

Not often you get buttons which 'will not break in the mangle' these days!”

And of course that set set me off with the mangle.

Ours was big, and green with heavy rollers and a giant hand wheel.  It stood in the corner of the kitchen and was only abandoned when mum got one of those top loading “Service” washing machines which had an electric mangle.

This electric mangle was positioned above the tub so that the excess water would go back into the drum.

The new machine almost took the drudgery out of wash day but not quite, because you still had to fill the washing machine with water, and drain it by means of a tap at the bottom.

It would not be until 1964 that we got a“Bendix” front loader which was connected directly to the water supply.

All of which is a tad away from Ann’s buttons but not so because as she said they were mangle friendly.

And like so much of that period these buttons were sturdy, long lasting and reliable, unlike the plastic ones mum bought for the cardigans she kitted for my sisters.

Even the electric mangle which was more delicate than the old one could destroy these “arty farty” buttons or at the very least so render them chipped and broken. that they were all but useless.

So the development of the all in one washer which spun and dried the clothes was a distinct advance.

And that perhaps hastened the demise of the old fashioned button, along with the growing use of plastic alternatives and the end of making or repairing your own clothes.

In turn that pretty much spelt the end of the button box for many people.

Moreover it would render obsolete a whole range of dressmaking accessories like the small instrument for spacing buttons and button holes which Ann also found in that button box.

Location; 1940s

Pictures; buttons & a guide to dressmaking, from the collection of Ann Love