Ushaw Moor Working Mens Club – Committee Members

Ushaw Moor WM Club Committee members

Submitted on behalf of Margaret Thompson

Thought this photograph of Ushaw Moor WM Club Committee members may raise a few memories. Front Row Left – ? Atkinson, Jimmy Gillon, Eb Shuker, Walter Elliott, Back Row Right – ? , My dad Alan Brown, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ? Gibb.

 

Comments from Ushaw Moor Facebook GROUP

• Geoff Metcalf I’m sure thats Bobby Gibb Back row first left
• Margaret Thompson Yes you are right
• Ron Turnbull front row billy atkinson
• Ron Turnbull back row ronnie ellliot

 

School Life, BlackBerry Picking, The HOP. .. Wilf Bell | Ushaw Moor Memories

School Life, BlackBerry Picking, The HOP. .. Wilf Bell

via School Life, BlackBerry Picking, The HOP. .. Wilf Bell | Ushaw Moor Memories.

One of my aunts [she has no objection to the article but I respect her wish not to have her name splashed all over the laptop] moved from New Brancepeth to Ushaw Moor in the 1930s and by 1940 she was almost nine years old. Her parents did not think it was necessary for her and her brother to transfer to an Ushaw Moor School. They cycled and sometimes walked to and from New Brancepeth School. That was a very healthy thing to do. These days most parents would consider that to be a risky arrangement: for one thing there is far more traffic on the roads now.My aunt loved school and recalled that each school day started at 9.00am and finished at 4pm. The lunch break was taken from midday to 1.30pm.Her form teacher was a Mr Trotter and she felt he was a good teacher. He taught most of the subjects himself e.g. arithmetic, geography, history and art, but gardening and cookery were taught by other teachers. There was no streaming of classes and no external examinations. Of course there were reports at the end of each term and invariably my aunt had an above average placing. The headmaster was Mr Aitcheson and my aunt recalls that he was middle aged at the time and more of an administrator than a teacher. She could not recall any incidents of bullying by anyone at school. School lunches were not provided at the school so it was a case of cycling home for a meal and then back to school. There was a hilly element to those journeys so she had to be quite fit.

My aunt struggled to recall just how long the school holidays were during the summer but had a strong feeling that they were less than six weeks! During each summer her family holidays were often based in boarding houses in places such as South Shields and Redcar. The fresh smell of the sea and teeth threatening sticks of rock are evocative memories.

Other activities in the early 1940s included: blackberry picking, potato picking at Hankey’s farm New Brancepeth, dancing at “The Hop’’ which was situated near Ushaw Moor Cricket Club and going for walks [sometimes past Ushaw College and on other occasions to and from Brandon].

It cost four old pence to get into “The Hop’’. Music for it was provided in the form of a drum, piano accordion and a trumpet played by Ebenezer Shuker. As an aside “Eb’’ become mayor of Durham in 1984 and had a period as Overman at Ushaw Moor Colliery. Apart from customers from Ushaw Moor some were also attracted from such places as Brandon, Bearpark, Langley Park, Esh Winning and New Brancepeth. This dance venue had its competitors, for example, The Memorial Hall at Ushaw Moor, Bearpark Institute and St. Margarets in Durham City.

It was only when she started her first job that my aunt felt that she could afford to go to the Empire cinema at Ushaw Moor.

As a complete and probably unnecessary aside, a high explosive [but thankfully unexploded] bomb dropped into an Ushaw Moor churchyard at 11.pm on Monday 22/03/43.Can anyone remember that?

Which churchyard?

Wilf Bell.

Like Tinsel On The Christmas Tree

I spoke to my aunt Doreen earlier today. The main purpose of the call was to see how she was but in passing I threw a few names at her; would she recognise such names as: Nora Jackson, Jacky Watson, Billy Nattrass, Barbara Shuker, Angela Wilson, George Graham, Phyllis Mountain, Ruby Watson, Noreen Dixon and Dorothy Elliot? Well the short answer is no, apart from Barbara Shuker. Barbara is mentioned briefly elsewhere on site and there is a photograph of a Ruby on site – same one?

Doreen could recall Joan Thompson as well as people called Clark and Rothwell – all of whom lived opposite her, that is over the road from the pit. She also recalled a lady called Milly Mountain as living opposite the Working Men’s club in Station Road – possibly in Ushaw Villas. She could also, just about, remember a Brough’s employee called Jackson. Was the person who owned that store called Brough or Broughs? I never know where to put the apostrophe when writing the name. Obviously I have guessed the name was Brough!

In passing, Doreen mentioned that she had recently spoken to Maureen Peel in a local store. I was in the same class as Maureen;  she was like tinsel on the Christmas tree, that is, a lovely girl – not noisy but certainly an attentive scholar. That reference to tinsel is not meant to be a sexist comment – in the manner of a Victorian gentleman treating a women as decorative chattel! I would not describe Edith Smith as tinsel but she was also a lovely girl and a very good scholar. Yes Edith, Pauline Newman and Maureen were good scholars. Edith and Pauline were full of chatter, chatter and more chatter. They were smashing girls – once seen and heard, never forgotten!   

As it stands at the moment I have three articles planned for the site – one for each of October, November and December. So between now and October it would be nice to have a brand new ‘author’ on site.  Just think, a nice new shiny site for your imaginative articles or musings about Ushaw Moor. Have a laugh or shed a tear – bring it on for all to hear. Groan.

WB

Ushaw Moor Memories in the Forties and Fifties part 2

Before I continue with my memories of  the village in the forties and fifties I have been looking at Kelly’s directory’s entries for Ushaw Moor up to 1938 when unfortunately they come to an  end and I thought you might be interested in some of the entries connected with the businesses I have already mentioned.

In 1902 Ushaw Colliery Post office was  run by Mr. Frank Proctor , whose family came to have a close connection with the village in my time.The Russell family had the post office in 1910 and still had in the early sixties.The Bell family ran Cockhouse farm from 1902 with Mr. John Bell running the farm as bailiff to Pease and Partners who owned the colliery.Henry Watson,presumably the forerunner of Stan Watson’s,had a stationery shop in Station Road from 1902.Lizzie Hope established the fishop in Temperance Terrace by 1934 after first opening a grocer’s shop there.Joe and Fred Lowery,Fred Parkinson and Mr. Alderson were all in business by 1925 and Surtees,the greengrocer’s ,was operating as early as 1921.With regard to Joe and Fred I wonder if they took over the business of  the well known local firm of Dimambro who had a shop in the village in 1914.I also noted that back in 1910 Richard Hope had “refreshment rooms” -any link to you Wilf?

I got as far as the Club Hall in my previous account.Behind the club was the “Rec” where we used to pay football and cricket as teenagers.It was a case of using jackets as goalposts and then getting on with a game.When younger the appeal was the swings or the roundabout or the seesaw.There was also a “horse” which as far as I can remember never worked. The best item,however, was something which was basically a plank of wood with provision for seats with steel supports linked to a frame and it was worked by by 2 people,one at either end who forced the plank backwards and forwards through the air and at times it seemed as if it was about to take off.I don’t know what it was called -it was not a “shuggy boat” -all I know it was exciting.Children came from all parts of the village to play there.There was also a community hall in the grounds of the “Rec”.I seem to remember it was a green, wooden hut and I always link the “Over 60’s” with its use.Mr. and Mrs. Jones who lived in Oakridge Road were two prominent members.I never dreamt I would reach an age when I could have joined, but I suppose it is better than the alternative.However,all these facilities have now gone and replaced by a housing estate.I remember there were protests when the housing estate was first mooted but to no avail.It seems that the protests failed on a technical point.In my opinion they were justified as the basketball court which is now there is to me a poor substitute.We did like to play football on the Catholic school field which had proper goalposts but were usually chased off by each and every priest throughout  the years I lived in the village,but we did live in hope we could get away with it!

The “Rec” was separated from the Recreation Ground proper by a fence so you had to go back out and enter via Highfield Terrace.The first thing to note as you went through the gate were two hard court tennis courts which were overlooked by the community hall.You walked down past these to where the groundsman had his office.I remember two groundsmen,firstly Jackie Towns  who I think lived opposite us in Hunter Avenue and  then his successor Billy Ayre,father of Raymond and Valerie. Here you paid for the use of the tennis courts or for a round of putt or a game of bowls.In the late 50’s the bowling green was converted into grass tennis courts as at Wimbledon.Tennis was most popular at the time of the Wimbledon championships.They seemed to encourage people to get out and play.I usually played with friends Robert Clarkson,John Burke and Alan Grainger, but there was an older set consisting of my brother George,George Cowper, who went on to be mayor of Durham, Kenny Snaith, Duggie Dunn, Albert Whitfield, Greta Turnbull,Barbara Shuker and Audrey Wood.The girls who went to the grammar school were always the best turned out,dressed in their whites-Val Cook, Valerie Wilson, Gwen Lewis and Marion Mountain all come to mind..After a game we usually had a small bottle of  Wood and Watson’s pop which was kept in the office.I can’t say we were brilliant players  even though  we imagined ourselves to be Lew Hoad or Ken Rosewall or Pancho Gonzales but we really enjoyed it.The summer of 1959 was one of the best  on record and the tennis went  on through September.The office was at the back of a large hut which also was the cricket pavilion with changing rooms.These were also used for football teams and were entered from the front.There was a ladder to the upper floor where the scorer sat and one of the minions,sometimes me,put the numbers out onto the scoreboard.John Hope,my next door neighbour in Hunter Avenue, was scorer for a while.Mention has already been made of the cricket team on this site but the players I remember best were Gordon Thompson, the professional, Alf Gillespie, George Graham,my cousin,big Frank Proctor and John Mcdermott , who I think modelled himself on Fiery Fred Trueman and really hurtled the ball down.The football team has also had extensive coverage on the site and suffice to say they had very good team for much of the time and drew big crowds in the post-war years.One fixture sticks in my mind when Sunderland “A” team came to play and I found my allegiance stretched.John McSeveny ,who played some games for the Suderland first team,played in the fixture.There is just one last thing to mention in this section and that is the grossly smelly gents’ toilet which was tucked away on the left as you looked down at the pitches.I am not surprised it has gone!

Ushaw Moor’s Magnificent 7?

To be truthful I am not best qualified to compile such a list but I have had a go anyway – to hopefully start things off!  Yes the magnificent seven of all time. A list of residents that have made a difference to the village at sometime during the last hundred years plus.  Just for fun why not contribute your own list?

My list in order of merit:

1 All Ushaw Moor’s Pit Wives

2  Jack Joyce

3  John Thomas Hope

4  Ebenezer Shuker

5 Lilian Sowerby MBE

6 Philip Stoddart

7 Norman ‘Soccer’ Gleghorn