In those days Spring Hill School was known as an Elementary School – To me that means basics. We did the three Rs – Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. But we had poetry lessons, singing lessons, history, geography.

Well I started work in 1923. So it I started in 1916. So it’s 76 years since I left.

We didn’t have school dinners – not even milk. I went home. There were one or two pupils from up Green Haworth and it was too far so they took something with them.

When you came in at the boys, entrance – the first class was standard 2 – that was Miss Grimshaw (another Miss Grimshaw!) They were all very good and patient. We had to do one thing until we could do it. You had to really know that subject before you moved on to something else. Looking back I can see that the teachers had a lot of patience. The children were all well behaved even then. Different teachers had different methods but Miss Grimshaw made you do the same work over and over till you could do it. That’s the way you learn isn’t it. We learnt by degrees. I could read and write before I went to school. My Grandfather taught me to read and write, and he was blind! He had a passion for books. He once walked from Accrington to Littleborough, which is near Rochdale to borrow a book. When he had read it he took it all the way back. He lived with us. My dad made me a little blackboard. He used to sit me on his knee, put his arm round me and held the blackboard on the table. Than I had to put chalk in his other hand and he’d say, "Put my chalk to the top left hand corner of the blackboard." I’d put his hand there and he’d make a mark and I’d follow as he made a letter A. He taught me the alphabet, then he taught me to read. He always said, "Use that library". That got me interested in books. When I went to infant school I can remember the teacher saying – "This child can read and write!". I was only just turned four.

I still enjoy reading. I didn’t like history – I couldn’t see the point of knowing which king reigned when. Another teacher specialised in geography – that was something I really did like. And not just about our own country.

We did knitting and sewing. The boys had woodwork. There were no organised games. We didn’t play football against other schools. There was nothing like that – you just kicked a ball around with your mates. The teachers watched that you didn’t kick the ball into windows or the garden at the top bit. Is there still a garden?

Some years they were quite successful with their gardening. They grew lettuces and things and sold them.

Oh and another thing – when you got into the top class, Miss Dove taught there - (She had been there since being a pupil) – yes – she was next to the Headteacher.

If the class had a whole month with nobody late and nobody missing they got a merit holiday – Friday afternoon. I don’t know whether it operated in all the classes but it did in Miss Dove’s class. If anyone was late in the last few days their name was mud!

The Headmaster was a great big tall man, white hair, Mr Watts. He was the first Headteacher – Isaac Watts. He lived in Willows Lane. He had a son out in China and sometimes he would bring his letters – it was very interesting. Mr Watts always took the first class on a Monday morning with the top class and that was religious instruction. I liked Mr Watts doing that – he illustrated Bible stories and made it very interesting.

Seven years. I left school at 14 and served my time as a baker. I was lucky to get an apprenticeship. Things weren’t easy then and getting jobs was very difficult but I had a cousin who worked for this firm and she said they were interested. They had never had an apprentice before. It was a big place. They had 2 shops of their own and two vans. I had to go on a month’s trial then if I liked it and they thought I was suitable they would take me on for a two-year apprenticeship but no wage. No wage at all – no money at all but if my mum and dad could pay a premium I could go on wages at 15 after one year. Well we hadn’t a lot of money at our house with four children and just dad’s wage. Anyway dad thought it would be worthwhile so they paid this premium. I think it was £10.

I had to start at 6 o’clock in the morning. I’d been there about a month and they asked me to go at 5 o’clock at Saturday. At 14 my dad said no – he said it was too early. He went to see the boss and said it was not on – not at 14.

When I was 15 I went on wages. I’d to go at 5 o’clock then and I got 12/6 week.

Well I went for cookery lessons at Woodnook. It did in a way but you just got used to handling materials – that’s about all. It was so different – it was a big place where everything was done in big quantities.

No.

Geography. I really did like that.

Later on in life. I’ve been to America four times. I’ve been to Norway, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Austria. What I learnt made me want to see them. When you visit a place its not what you imagine. You get a picture in your mind and it’s not always like that. There weren’t many pictures in the books we used like there are now. There were a lot of sketches.

We hadn’t even electric light then. There were gaslights. In wintertime when it was going dark about half past three the caretaker used to come round and light the gas jets.

There were no fires in the classrooms then. The fire grates were still there but there were pipes running round. Mind you if you were sat near the pipes you were alright. But if you were in the middle of the room, the pipes only went on one wall, - you were very cold. We used to sit rubbing our hands to keep warm.

No uniforms. We wore a lot of home made knitted things to keep warm. There was no restriction on what you wore. Long black stockings. When they were getting old they went green. And we didn’t wear shoes…. mostly clogs – the soles had irons on.

Not very often. The teachers did have a cane but it was kept in a cupboard. I can only remember one boy ever being punished all the time I was at school. He was a real tearaway – and funnily enough when we got married and came to live here he came to live higher up the street - and he was still a wrong one.

Answering back. There weren’t many punishments really. If you were late you got chastised, you didn’t get caned, just given extra lines. Not homework.

Yes we had playtimes – morning and afternoon – just in the schoolyard. You weren’t supposed to go out of the schoolyard but there was a sweet shop at the corner of Fife Street and we’d go up there. You would get punished if you were found out – especially if you were late back.

Yes I liked school - I enjoyed it. There was a lot to do and I had a lot of friends. I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them. I was curious when I was a child.

Yes they were all pretty good really. I didn’t have any problems.

No – this puzzles me now – they have a geography master, English master, but one teacher taught the lot.

Oh yes outside. They didn’t like you eating in school.

15 minutes

Not really – not like you do now. We did just a bit of exercising and marching. They called it PE but…

Not me – no. We were pretty well behaved.

Quite a few really. There was a family with 6 children who came to Spring Hill School and every one of them passed to go to the Grammar School, which is quite something. The young one Jess, when he passed, his father bought a chocolate bar for every pupil in the school. He was so pleased that all the family has passed. Do you remember Hydes the paper merchants? – it was that family. I think they are all dead now. They all went into the paper business. They lived across from the corner of Ormerod Street and Willows Lane – the top house 188. Mr Foden, the plumber, lived at the corner. Later he bought Higher Antley Hall and Hydes moved into the corner house. We moved into the Hydes’ house and opened the shop Wordsworth Road in 1929

No. I didn’t want to go to Grammar School. I had a cousin that went there. Oh she was full of it and she put me off really. She became a teacher. But she didn’t get a degree. She was taking her exams in a room with a glass roof and it was very hot and she fainted and they wouldn’t let her back in. She got her teaching diploma but not her degree.

Well I’m just a very ordinary person, brought up in a very ordinary family, but during my lifetime there have been some extraordinary happenings.

In my own home I can press a few buttons and speak to someone three thousand miles away, and they answer me as if they were sat next to me.

I can press another button and a beautiful coloured picture appears in the corner of my room and this talks to me.

I’ve actually seen the men who walked on the Moon and had the eerie experience of holding moon dust in my hand. That gave me quite a queer feeling. To think that it had come all those thousands of miles and you could hold it in your hands.

In my lifetime the first heart transplant took place. Now other organs are transplanted – even from dead people to living people – prolonging life and giving sight. Sadly a lot of these marvellous discoveries have been channelled to destroy rather than to build.

While recording this, my life story, it has given me some smiles, some laughs, yes and a few tears, - but it’s been my life.