It was not long before our family began to arrive; 5 of us very rapidly, me being the eldest. Reginald, Norma, Alan, Peter and Betty. By having a big family, we never had money to spare for those extras. Dad loved to gamble, but, of course could not afford it. Now and again Mam would let him keep a florin (two shilling piece) to play pitch and toss. Occasionally he would win, which of course was rare. I can remember on one occasion he must have won quite a bit of money, for each of my brothers and sisters received a set of new clothes. This was a blessing for the young un’s, for clothes were always repaired to the extreme and handed down.



During my growing up years we moved a few times, as work in the mines ran out. Moving was, and still is a bit of a pain. One of the reasons I hated it, every time I started at a new school, there was always that bully who had to tell you he was boss, and of course, you had to fight him to gain respect of the other kids; I always got beat up, no kidding. Sometimes other kids would want a piece of you, so you had to fight them as well. It was the same every time I moved. It was not often I won, for I was not very tall or even had much weight.

Growing up in Durham was not the same as it is today; in those days, you were either playing soccer, street games or raiding the next village, and fighting the kids that lived there. (So much for violence being blamed on T.V. shows these days) We had no entertainment, other than what you made ourselves. Going to the movies was the only break a kid got, and that was not very often.

I was better than average at school, however, they had a system in those days, to sort out those who got a higher education. During your 11th year, you sat an exam, which should you pass, you would at the age of twelve go to high school. I wanted desperately to continue school, but I failed the exam and had to stay where I was. This was a disappointment to me, and my family, including my Grandparents. Everyone felt I had the ability. Many people felt the kids that went on for higher education were picked long before the exam. It could have been, some that went really were not very smart. It depended on who you were in the social grade.

In 1939 war was declared again; Germany once again, led by Hitler, invaded Poland, Holland, Belgium and France. France and the other Allies would suffer so very much during this war. You can read elsewhere how terrible it all turned out.

In the north east of England, we saw very little of the bombing, in fact we saw little of the war at all; we just read how it was progressing through the newspapers, and watch the newsreels at the movies. Friends older than myself were called up to fight in the war, however, I was at an age where I completely missed having to join the army. As coal was needed for the war effort lots of miners retained their jobs..