mercurydancer

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Posts posted by mercurydancer

  1. Its been a fascination for me, not to just understand the soldiers and what they did, Cpl Bartle returned from Normandy having earned the Military Medal, no mean feat, but to their homes, the pubs they went to. 

    What started me off in this was a visit to La Boiselle in France. 1 July 1916. Centre of the Somme assault. A little and beautiful cemetery is the last resting place of Cpl Croft, from Belton St, just next to Goodliffe St, and I started to wonder who these people were, and most of all, their leaving of their homes, some returned, some did not. 20 years ago, I wore their uniform and boots and marched their routes as a recreation. the boots were abominable, and stripped the flesh off my feet quickly. I learned very quickly why the soldiers hated cobbled roads. I did spend a night in what  remained of a trench, but it was  a beautiful bright warm night in Somme. And I had Calvados.  

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  2. In the early hours of the night,  British 6 Airborne landed in Normandy. 77 years ago tonight. As far as I( can tell, Cpl William Bartle of Goodliffe St in Hyson Green was one of them, the first Nottingham soldier I can find to land there. Not far from the Merville gun battery, which could have caused astounding damage. 

    For all of the brave soldiers who fought that day, please raise a glass. I will. 

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  3. Major the dog deserves his own thread. I joined Notts police and Major was something of a legend then. Not with major, but in training, I put the padded  suit on and the dog attacked on command. I was possibly at that point one of the fittest constables that notts constab had.  I fought like hell against the dog but it took me down. 

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  4. Hi jamhel

    The factory across the road was not quite a brass foundry but a castings factory for huge valves used mainly in the north sea oil industry. 

     

    I would very much like to hear about your grandfather's military experience. 

    I still have a toy duck your grandfather made for me. 

    I am saddened to hear of Jeffrey passing away. 

  5. I feel I need to explain about Mr Sutcliffe. In the playground, he apprehended me accusing me of swinging round him as if he was a pole, whilst running in some playground game.  I have no recollection of that, at the time or now. He picked me up and shook me like a rag doll for quite a long time. I was deeply upset and terrified of him ever after.I   do remember hiding behind a cupboard to avoid him. Quite clearly this was an assault on a child that today would not be tolerated. 

    I dont know if he is still alive, but if I got the chance I would explain to him how badly it affected me. I have never forgiven him for it. I am still not sure that if I met him I wouldnt pick him up and shake him like he did to me. 

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  6. On 5/10/2021 at 7:37 PM, Jill Sparrow said:

    @mercurydancer

     

    I had a chat with Mr Chandler recently. The chap on the photo whom you identified as Mr Sutcliffe is indeed him. Although he and Chandler did not teach at Berridge at the same time, they were friends for many years. Sutcliffe later became deputy head at Burford on Oxclose Lane. Sutcliffe and  Berridge head, Jack Baugh, apparently didn't get along too well.

     

    Chandler did not remember you but clearly recalled your cousin, Steven and his older sister. He thinks Steven went to grammar school. I don't know where Steven went after Berridge. Mundella, possibly?

     

    A further bit of information gleaned is that Jack Baugh had previously taught at The Elms, the Junior Department of Trent College in Long Eaton. On being appointed head of Berridge in 1961, he was the oldest newly appointed head in Nottingham. Ironically,his predecessor at Berridge, D A Griffiths, was the youngest head teacher in the city.

    Steve is still close to me. He didnt go to Mundella, I did. His older sister was Susan. For reasons I dont fully know, she became the black sheep of the family, but nothing sordid. My dad kept some communication with her, but as he grew old, this stopped. 

  7. On 5/9/2021 at 8:13 PM, Jamhel said:

    I realise this is an old thread but..my grandma and grandad were Annie and William Wiley who lived at 88 Bobbers Mill Road. This thread has really interested me - I recognise some of the names from visiting my grandparents in the 1960's/70's. I have passed the link to my dad (Peter Wiley) who is mentioned in one of the posts as he will possily have other memories of the area.

    I lived next door. I have many memories of the Wiley family. Mr Wiley had a workshop in his attic and was really talented with woodwork. He showed me some basic tool handling with wood.

    I can recall the night he died. His neighbours really did get together and gave what support they could. I also recall Mrs Wiley. My father maintained her garden for quite some time. He did it for nothing but Mrs Wiley became quite imperious and saying that the work was not good enough, so my dad had nothing more to do with her garden. 

    Vaguely I recall some relatives to the Wileys who had Northern Ireland connections. 

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  8. I recall with great affection the time my mum and dad spent with me on Janet and John books teaching me to read. I found it hard and remember struggling at times, in tears, but gently they persisted. By the time I got to Berridge I was way beyond my reading age. Its never gone away. I read voraciously now, and have done for many decades. 

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  9. I remember the Old General, Owd G with great affection.

    To this day, I am sure that I am one of very few who have been in Red Square in Moscow and Old Market Square in Nottingham in the same day. I got on the tram, but despite the huge amounts of luggage I had with me, I had to pay a call to the Old General pub.  Last time ever, it was. 

  10. 19 minutes ago, philmayfield said:

    Very many years ago the local policeman used to pop into the Full Moon at Morton and join us at the lock in after hours. No doubt we would all be  arrested today.

    I doubt it Phil, Pandemic rules accepted, it was a way of maintaining contact with the community. Just having a copper in there drinking quietly could ensure that the pub closed down quietly. especially in rural areas. 

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  11. Another pub which has closed recently was the Canal Tavern in Worksop. In the 80s is was a coppers pub. The landlord, Ray, welcomed it as there was never ever any trouble. I recall Ray with affection. If we were busy and it got late on a night and we wanted a pint, he would open the back door. Well, who was going to report him to the police? 

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  12. I recall the Clinton with affection. When I used to work Traffic from Ollerton, particularly six to two, or nights, the shift could take us to Central nick. Sometimes those shifts were endless. The best call was prisoner transfer from either Retford or Worksop or Mansfield to Central. Even better if it was midday. We knew we were not getting back that day. It could be 7pm at least before we knocked off.  Usually we had to find accommodation in central nick, but I went home to my mum and dad in Hyson Green. We had bomber jackets over our uniforms and went for a pint in the Clinton. Hardly masking who we were. The girls knew who we were and didnt stop. I usually had a couple of pints then went to Mogul E Azam, not that far away.  

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  13. On 8/21/2020 at 12:33 PM, Jill Sparrow said:

    Letsavagoo has gathered an interesting cache of Berridge photos, many going back to the early 50s.

     

    I wanted to start with this one because it was posted on another site by someone whose older brother was with me right through Berridge. He was Gary Walker and his younger brother was Dean. I remember Dean in his pram!  Ain't I old?

     

    Dean was born in 1962 which means he started Berridge in 1967. He said he thought this photo was around 1968. When I first saw it, I thought the teacher could be Kathleen MacDonald who married fellow teacher, Alan Parr.  

     

    On closer inspection, it isn't. This can't be 1968 as I was still at Berridge then and I don't recognise the teacher. Secondly, Dean is on this photo and if it was 1968, he would only be 6 years old.  These are junior aged pupils. My guess would be 1972ish.

     

    Someone who could help here is MD. He might even be on it!  I can't name any of the pupils but perhaps he can.

     

    I cant place anyone on that photo. I was certainly at Berridge in 1968 but possibly not my class.

  14. When I was clearing out my parents house, i took some books from my childhood, precious things to me now. One was 123 ABC and was in Gerry Machins handwriting (as it was clearly not my fathers handwriting) and said. This book belongs to PT on his 5th birthday from Kim and Gaye Machin. I was looking at it today.