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On Behalf of Pen Ort

I first visited in 1963. I used to stay with Tan Williamson and Harry Salvidge. They lived at 1 Deerness View, but prior to lived in High View and ran the fish shop near there.

The reason I went there (I lived in Wembley) was because my mam who was from Low Fell joined the ATS and was billeted with Tan and Harry in 1939. She was stationed at Brancepeth Castle.

I have many fond memories of Ushaw Moor, also pictures, mainly of people but a couple of the colliery shaft, which was all that was left in 1963. I also have some old 8mm film which I must get to one of these days.

Most of this would be around Lilac Park where my friends Linda and Sheila Williamson lived. I used to stay with them when I came up in the summer holidays.

Posted on behalf on Pen Ort

I went to st josephs catholic school from 1970/ 76 i used to go to my mams work [neeshams brewary] down station road at dinner time and get fish n chips from swetty bettys they were the best lol.

Posted on Behalf of  Julie Tindle

My Grandad was Martin Gallagher who built and ran the little grocers shop at the top of Arthur Street with his wife Ruby. They had two daughters, Shirley and Isabel (my Mam). Auntie Shirley and her husband, Tom Wilson (from Bearpark), succeeded to the shop then it passed to my Auntie Lily and her husband Bert. It finally closed around 1979/80. My Mam and Dad were living at 13 Arthur Street when my sister and I were born in 1964 and 1966.

We moved to Gilesgate in 1969 but I still spent a lot of my childhood visiting relatives in Ushaw Moor, by then my Grandad had moved to 11 Whitehouse Lane. I remember my sister and I being taken up to the allotments – to me it was like stepping into another world, pigeons everywhere! We would go for walks along the College Road then call in at “the shop” where we were allowed to choose a cake each. My favourite to this day is a peach melba.

Broughs store at the bottom

of Station Road operated a delivery service which covered a large

area of the Deerness Valley. They created employment for at least

22 people in 1914.

I lived at Brandon but went to Deerness Valley Comp 84-89. I used to love nicking off outta school gates and going down to dents for a chip stottie..which l always halved with my mate Angela Graham coz she bought the ciggies lol! Or going to the van for kets n chewy. Just had to be careful going back into school after lunch break in case STRETCH (Mr Armstrong) was watching for ya’s oh happy days !!!

Posted on behalf of

Ashley Bewick

I lived at brandon but went to Deerness Valley Comp 84-89. I used to love nicking off outta school gates and going down to dents for a chip stottie..which l always halved with my mate Angela Graham coz she bought the ciggies lol! Or going to the van for kets n chewy. Just had to be careful going back into school after lunch break incase STRETCH (Mr Armstrong) was watching for ya's oh happy days !!!

Thousands of women living in the North East were !  During WW2 they worked at the munitions plant doing very brave and very dangerous work. A lady called Gladys Stoddart was one such angel but whether or not she was part of Phil Stoddart’s family I have no idea. Certainly a lady called Doris Findlay worked there and the last information I had was that she lived in New Acres Ushaw Moor. My mother was also one of those angels!

There is a lot of detail about the Aycliffe Angels on the web including photographs and stories. One such story tells us that Winston Churchill – later Sir Winston of course – paid a  WW2 visit during the month of May. There had been a lot of snow but by the time he was due to visit much of it was dirty. Some of the angels went to adjoining  fields to get some fresh nice white snow to put over the top of the dirty stuff -  just to please him. One of the angels gave him a big kiss.

To read the fascinationg story of the Aycliffe Angels just go into the  Google search box by using: Aycliffe Angel – just those two words will bring it all back! The choice of sites will then be in front of you on page one. I like the Communigate feature very much.    

WB

Does anyone have any photos or info about the explosion down the pit as my Great Grandad William Timmons died in that. There was a massive funeral and photos but the photos we had as a family were given to the newspaper and they lost them.

Posted on behalf of Gillian Vargas

via Facebook | Ushaw Moor Memories.

Ushaw Moor Kitchen

Originally uploaded by Ushaw Dude

Photo of typical kitchen in Ushaw Moor Colliery House 1938.

Anyone got any memories of this photo, does anyone know where it was taken ? Who is the lady in the picture ?

Hope this photo brings back some memories for some of you.

Paul

 And that does not count the first website! There you are - I love starting a sentence with and – what an almighty rebel.

If you are a local football lover, as well as an amateur historian, I thoroughly recommend  you to go onto the Durham County Schools Football Association website at www.durhamcountyschoolfa.org.uk . Over the years there have been several very local schoolboys donning the shirt of the full county schoolboy team and you can see their names on site if you look carefully.

One of them was Jimmy Dodds from New Brancepeth School. He played outside left for Durham against Northumberland in 1911. If I had only known, when I played for Durham and District Boys [selected from about 26 schools] that my great uncle Jimmy had donned the shirt of the full schoolboy county  team [in the same position!] I would have surely had a sense of history. Ofcourse playing for Durham and District was not quite the same feather in the cap as playing for the full county side.

Blow me at outside right was a lad called Vasey – this is weird. It could not be John because I am sure that he is not presently 113 years old.

There was a player in the 1911 match – playing alongside our Jimmy from New Brancepeth - that went on to be very famous – Warney Cresswell – on that day in 1911  he played right half for Durham. Later he earned the sobriquet ‘the Prince of Full backs’ . He won 7 caps for England as well as helping Everton to win the Football League Championship twice and the FA Cup.

WB