| Name |
Reminiscences |
More |
| ARTINGSTALL, ERIC |
Reminiscences August 2001
Eric Artingstall
Before she was married my mother-in-law was called Hilda Kidger. She lived at the post office by the bottom forge at Park Bridge. When she married Jimmy Whitehead in 1940 they went to live at Bellsfield opposite Briaracre at Fairbottom. Then in 1948 they bought Alt Farm from Charles Buckley, a solicitor. His father, Sidney Buckley was living in... |
|
| DUNKERLEY, DOROTHY |
Reminiscences March 1998
Dorothy Dunkerley, aged 85.
I was born in December 1912 in a house near the bottom of Abbey Hills Road, Oldham. Then we moved to 4, Manor Road, Oldham at the bottom of Abbey Hills Road. It used to be a private road. They used to shut the gate once a year to keep it private. My father was called William Buckley and he was the son of Charles Buckley who was either... |
|
| FAIRHURST, JOHN |
Reminiscences October 1999
John Fairhurst, aged 56.
My Father was in the Grenadier Guards in the First World War and in the Second World War he was in the home guard and was Works Manager in Park Bridge Ironworks from 1938 – 1961. He didn’t actually retire. He had two heart attacks, which my mother said Park Bridge had caused. He was works manager under Lowther Lees, who lived... |
|
| FOSTER, BERNARD |
Reminiscences May 1996
Bernard Foster, aged 68.
I was born in 1928, at 23, Dingle Terrace, one of six children. The house was quite small with two rooms downstairs, the house and a kitchen. Mother cooked the meals on a black leaded stove that had an open fire and a side oven. She did the washing in a set pot, made of bricks with a metal liner, under which a fire was lit to heat the water.... |
|
| FOSTER, JOE |
Reminiscences February 1996
Joe Foster, aged 78
I started work at the ironworks at Park Bridge, when I was 15, cutting up scrap on the shears at "Spion Kop", the scrap yard in the Top Forge. In my 20's I was promoted to the engineering side of the business and looked after the works boilers in the Bottom Forge. It had two Lancashire boilers and five waste heat boilers over... |
|
| FREEMAN, BOB |
Reminiscences July 2000
Bob Freeman, aged 80.
I was born on the 15th December 1919. This was just twelve months after the end of the Great War or World War I. It became necessary later on to differentiate between World War I and the second terrible conflict now known as World War II.
My father and mother both worked in a munitions factory during the first word war. Father was a skilled... |
|
| HIBBERT, SAM |
Reminiscences January 1998
Sam Hibbert, aged 80. (Died Sept. 1999)
I was born in Bailey Street in Stalybridge in 1918 when my father was away at the war. Later we lived at 15, Smallshaw Lane, Ashton under Lyne in a small stone cottage, one of four, which I believe now have a preservation order on them. I come from a large family. My father, Edward Hibbert, better known as Ned and Mother,... |
|
| HOLLAND, MAUREEN |
Reminiscences 5th April 1999
Maureen Holland, nee Taylor, aged 57.
I started work in the offices at Park Bridge in 1959 when I was eighteen. The offices, opposite the Bottom Forge gates, at the bottom of the hill at the end of the Cotton Mill, were three storeys high. The top storey had a tower with a winding stone staircase.
My first job in the morning was to light the coal fires... |
|
| HOPWOOD, BRIAN |
Reminiscences July 2001
Brian Hopwood, aged 57.
We moved to Park Bridge in 1957 off Ashton Moss. My parents were Harry and Hilda Hopwood. My sister Elaine lives at Dukinfield and Brother Philip lives at Hyde. Philip was just born when we moved into Mill Brow House. Dad was born in 1919. He worked there (Park Bridge ironworks) since he was fourteen. He started off sorting scrap up on Spion... |
|
| HOWISON, LESLEY |
Reminiscences December 2001
Lesley Howison
I am the daughter of Bessie Yates, the twin of Norman Yates, who now lives in Canada. When I was young I lived at Ten Houses. My Grandma and Granddad,
Florence and Frank Yates lived at 10 Dean Terrace next to the Co-op.
Louisa and Anne Cooper were Sunday School teachers at St. James, Park Bridge. Louisa Cooper was also a school teacher at... |
|
| JONES, SAM |
Reminiscences 1998
Sam Jones, aged 78.
I lived at Rycroft, Ashton. I used to come to Park Bridge on the train when I was ten or twelve. It was 11/2d return from Oldham Road station. A ‘push and pull’ train with two coaches and one engine went from Guide Bridge to Oldham. It was pushed one way and pulled the other. It never turned round.
We played on the meadow in front of... |
|
| KIDGER, JACK |
Reminiscences February 2002
Jack Kidger, aged 78
When I first started work I signed up with Boots as an unindentured apprentice. The job was counter work and some dispensing under supervision. Then I went in the forces. When I came back all the jobs had been taken over by the girls, there was no dispensing to be done so the interest wasn’t there. So I had a sudden change of plan and... |
|
| LAISTER, PEGGY |
Reminiscences January 1996
Peggy Laister, aged 80.
Childhood days in our village were very pleasant. The village school was about twenty minutes walk from my home, over open fields, up several hills, but we thought nothing of the journey. There were no school meals so we made that journey four times daily. We set off singly but almost always joined up with others long before arriving. The... |
|
| MALONEY, BILLY |
Reminiscences September 1995
Bill Maloney, aged 71.
I was born in Stalybridge. As a boy I lived in a cottage next to Pickford Hall at Fairbottom. We then moved to a cottage next to Fairbottom Sunday School. My father was out of work, so mother took in lodgers to make ends meet. They were men from Park Bridge Iron Works.
I went to St. James' School, Park Bridge. The headmaster then... |
|
| PICKUP, EDITH |
Reminiscences ... |
|
| SMITH, EDNA |
Reminiscences ... |
|
| YATES, NORMAN |
Reminiscences April 1997
Norman Yates, aged 83. (Emigrated to Canada)
It is quite apparent that dates of happenings seventy odd years ago are somewhat elusive, but it seems fairly certain that 1920 was the year that Bessie and I, along with Jimmy Whitehead, Marion Kidger and others graduated from the infants to standard one in the 'big room'. Just at what point we left Alt - before... |
|
| HURST, LILLIAN |
Lillian Hurst nee Turner.
HAPPY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF PARKBRIDGE DAYS.
One Sunday afternoon when I was about eleven, my Mum, Dad & I set off for our usual Sunday afternoon walk- but this time we went a completely new way, because we were going to visit some friends my dad had met at work. He was a Goods Guard stationed at Glodwick Rd. Oldham and his “turns of duty”... |
|
| HOLT, MAUD |
Reminisences
Maud Holt nee Slater wrote a list of the villagers she knew.
(When the vicar was Rev. Wolf, 1902-23 and the curate was Mr. Timothy, 1912-20)
Tenants of Dingle Terrace;
No.1, Mr. & Mrs. Williamson, he was manager of the Top Forge. Children-Arthur, Alice, Charlotte, Harry & Emiline.
No.3, Percy & Laura Marshes. Children-Dora (died), Lizzie, Janet, Clara,... |
|
| HUMPHRIES, EDGAR |
REMINISCENCES JULY 2002
EDGAR HUMPHRIES AGED 81
I joined the Gas Board in 1950 working at Oldham Rd, Ashton. I came to Park Bridge on my bicycle, got the book from the main office and read all the meters in each part of the works and all the houses, every three months. The readings were returned in the book back to the office so Mr. Lees could send the villagers a bill. Once a month the... |
|
| JOHNSON, DAVID |
Reminiscences January 1998
David Johnson aged 57.
I was born in 1940 in Werneth. My Dad was born at Tan Pit Fields in the end house nearest to Westerhill. He was called Wilfred Johnson and my Mother was called Mary. My grandma, Sarah Jane and my grandad, Thomas Johnson, my Dad's mother and father lived at Station House in the early 1940's. My Granddad worked on the railway. I've... |
|
