Probably the most significant thing for the immediate post war years was rationing and little money. For families it must have been especially hard for mothers and hardships continued as for a decade following 1945. What is more surprising they are all within a person’s lifetime and have no relationship to present-day austerity.

As children we only had new clothes at Eastertime and these were purchased from the Co-op Emporium in Liverpool Road, Stoke, with the ‘divvy’ mother received on what we had spent at the co-op over the year. I was totally fascinated by the overhead wires carrying the Dart Cash Carriers from every corner of the store to a central elevated cashier’s desk.

Just a short part of an interesting view of life in the early 1950s. 2 pages

One of the highlights was when our landlord Mr. Bourne decided it was time to replace the ducket lavatory with actual clean fresh flushing one. The whole yard was dug-up for a water supply from the kitchen. I could not believe it; it was flushed with clean water you could drink – such wonders of the world I thought. But having water laid on brought a whole new set of problems in the winter months with freezing. Old rags were used as lagging to wrap around the pipe, but this was not sufficient. So, in addition a paraffin lamp had to be secured and placed by the pipe to keep the water from freezing ultimately leading to a burst-pipe and possibly no water for weeks.

My guess is that the words ‘highway robbery’ or ‘stand and deliver’ conjure up words that belong to the past and probably have little equivalent in use today. However, in the 17^th and 18^th centuries they were frequently used so was ‘money or your life’. There was however a distinction between ‘highway robbers’ who were people on foot, whereas ‘highwaymen’ were on horse-back and promoted by the most famous highwayman of all Dick Turpin. Turpin had a short life of thirty-four years 1705-1739. He was the son of an alehouse keeper, and apprenticed to a butcher, but later known for his cattle stealing. He joined a notorious gang of deer stealers and smugglers in Essex later turning to highway robbery in Lincolnshire with his partner Tom King. After shooting his partner by accident he fled to Yorkshire and changed his name. In 1739, he was caught and jailed for horse theft in York.

The thought if Dick Turpin could be duplicated, yes his rewards would be far greater that those of North Staffordshire where you would rob and receive severe custodial punishment for just a silk scarf or a sheet. The author uses accurate press reports to illuminate life and the consequence. A great read and an asset for school, colleges or humanities. Three pages. Nearly 1500 words.

The formal opening of the majestic, the latest picture house in the district situated in Campbell Place Stoke was held before a large invited guest list.in . The building is architecturally admirable, ihaving  so many advantages over other buildings used for the same purpose that it is certain to become extremely popular place of resort.

A gallery, holding around two hundred, is so well pitched that every seat holder can be sure of an uninterrupted view of the screen, and at the same remark applies to the holders of eight hundred seats on the ground floor. The seats themselves are exceedingly comfortable, and there is a roominess about the place which will be generally appreciated. In another respect the architect Mr R T Longsden of Stoke and Burslem is to be congratulated. The building is splendidly ventilated. Notwithstanding the crowded state of the hall the atmosphere on Saturday afternoon remained practically the same throughout the 2 ½ hours that the entertainment lasted. Early in the proceedings a message was thrown on to the screen from the Mayor and Mayoress, (Alderman Philip Elliott and Mrs Elliott), were spending a short and well-earned holiday in Harrogate, expressing regret of being unable to attend, and successful future. One feature which is to distinguish the house of entertainment will meet with public recognition. The management has engaged a small band consisting of a piano, a violinist, a cello player, a clarinettist, and a double bass player. The men are very capable players and have good instruments. On this occasion, they provide music which synchronised with the picture subjects. Thus, during the exhibition of the principal film, a four-part historic picture ‘Napoleon,’ the band played the Marsellaise and snatches of the famous 1812 of Tchaikovsky.  The pictures also included the Kentish industries, Tiny Tim, the Letter Writer – a drama, With Eyes, so Blue and Tender, Troubles of a flirt, That Suit So blue, General Bunco’s victory and the Pathe Gazette. Tonight, will be given exclusively a sporting drama, in the hands of London crooks. One additional feature of the new cinema that it had tip-up seats. A nice piece of Social History at 1000 words in two pages with photographs.

Bluebird 1935 land speed car in storage at London Road, Stoke during WWII.

The resurgence of the name Bluebird as the speedboat in which Donald Campbell was killed in 1967 as it crashed on Coniston Water in his attempt to break his own water speed record and now following years of restoration following its being brought to the surface years after the crash has once more finally been tested in the water.

His father, Sir Malcom Campbell was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water and holder of 13 world speed records during the 1920s and 1930s.

Campbell broke the land speed record for the first time in 1924 at 146.16 mph at Pendine Sands near Carmarthen Bay in a 350HP V12 Sunbeam, now on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. He broke nine land speed records between 1924 and 1935, with three at Pendine Sands and five at Daytona Beach. His first two records were driving a racing car built by Sunbeam.

I wonder if there is anyone reading this who remembers the car in storage at 245, London Road as it would be great to receive their memories. Two pages of the life of Malcolm Campbell.

Although this article is a history of the Newcastle Canal its origins stem from the opening of the Trent and Mersey canal in 1766. It’s from this time that the industrial revolution in the six towns took off as this new mode of transport from roads to canals.
It enabled raw manufacturing materials and coal delivered almost to the door at a smaller cost, quicker with less damage to good than previously. This advantageous mode of transport gave an urgency to extend its waterways for others to take advantage of increased sales at lower costs. One such emphasis was to create a branch from the Trent and Mersey at Stoke through to the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme to bring coal from the mining village of Silverdale to markets both in the Potteries and further afield. And in addition to bring much needed materials to the manufacturing town of Newcastle under Lyme. In 1795, the year of Wedgwood’s death, this new canal was cut from Stoke to Newcastle but because of the hills of Penkhull and Hartshill it was necessary to take a route the long way around on level ground of four miles. Its purpose, according to the preamble of the Act, was to provide for Newcastle and the establishments and manufactories near to it with a link to the main canal at Stoke and thereby the whole of the midlands and the Liverpool docks and to assist the agriculture of the neighbourhood of the canal by a supply of materials. A four x A4 pages long and nearly 2000 words long it follows the growth and the decline of the canal.
It also covers events that occurred because it was a canal and the drowning of a Bus Conductor whilst saving the life of a little girl. Other drownings are also listed as well as the Spittles Workhouse and Newcastle dumping raw sewage and with-it major health issues. A further good article for the study of social history as well as humanities.

The land discussed here was Doody’s messuage comprising of all the land and other properties from between Kirkland Lane and St.Thomas Place.

A long barn stood facing Penkhull New Road. This was converted by Spode into ten small terraced houses, going by the name of Ten Row. There was another large property, standing back from the highway and facing St Thomas Place. This now forms four cottages converted from one.  Unfortunately, the records are not very conclusive. It could have been assumed that this building, long and narrow was a barn or a group of stables, but evidence from the manor court rolls point to the fact that it was more likely to have been one dwelling house owned by Thomas Doody.

A further entry then provides the necessary evidence: a dwelling house has for many years been subdivided into and occupied as four dwelling houses, which servants belonging to the family of Josiah Spode and his late father now deceased. This conversion must have taken place after 1811 and before 1827.  Further evidence of this is contained in records for November 1858 when the owner James Dean finally paid off the mortgage on the cottages: All those four several dwelling houses situate in Penkhull, lately converted out of a certain dwelling house known as Doody’s Messuage. The next record is dated June 1899 when the court records make note of the fact that Richard Nicholls, a timber merchant from Stoke had died the previous year.

The 1841 census records Richard Nicholls,  By 1851, Richard senior was listed as a grocer from Stoke who with his wife Anne, aged 53, had handed over the timber business to his son Richard. Twenty years later in 1871, Richard junior was the only son left at home living with his widowed father.  From the document dated 1899 the row of cottages was purchased at some date before then.

Three A4 pages. This illustrates how Penkhull started to develop from the early 1800s.

From the early days of the workhouse, Christmas was celebrated with the prospect of additional fare of roast beef and plumb pudding with a little entertainment for the children whilst the adults had additional tobacco for the men and tea for the women. As early as 1899, pressure was placed on the Spittals Workhouse by the Local Government Board in London that children should no longer be brought up in Workhouse Institutions where they were exposed to many of the undesirables of society. It was finally accepted that individual large homes, grouped together, each under the control of a ‘house mother’ was to become the norm where children could have the experience of a home and attend local schools and churches along with other children.

Mother used to get us to write a letter to Santa with three items we would like but Mother said we might be lucky and get just one. Most would ask for writing or drawing set or perhaps a toyshop, little things like that or a game, but it was not an expensive one like today.

An insight into life in a children’s home in the 1940s. Great educational aid.

Three x A4 pages