Recorded Memories

Growing up in Earl Shilton during the early years of the twentieth century:
'Mr Metcalf diligenty taught the boys the art of cricket'

Vera helped her granny, 'and scrubbed her out on a Sunday'

Visiting the library Bill saw someone he hadn’t seen for 70-odd years - Ted Felce,
Ted’s father had set up a small hosiery factory at the side of the Top School, Keen and Felce.
Bill remembers the tennis clubs which had been established in the village - tennis courts at Kingscroff, the Baptist Church had a tennis court at the cricket ground, and the Congregational church also had their own tennis courts (they had been situated just off Alexander Avenue to the side of Weavers Close Primary School).
He remembers an iron seat near Wood Street School where they had the Maypole (it was the coronation seat which was built around the tree planted to celebrate the coronation of George V).
No old cottages left in the village.
Bill didn’t go to the grammar school. His uncle Harry had put a spade in his hand at an early age and he loved gardening and Mr Metcalf appreciated his help at the football pitch and cricket pitch and also in his own garden.
Mr Metcalf was well respected and a keen cricketer and ‘diligently’ taught the boys the ‘art of cricket’.
They were a good team and competed against teams in the Nuneaton area and in Leicestershire. If players scored a ‘duck’, the following morning they would have to go round the school chanting, ‘quack, quack, quack, quack…’great fun’!
The school day started with exercises out in the yarn, assembly with Mr Humble playing the piano and then to class work.
Vera arrived seven minutes into the interview session. She was 92 - 93 in September; she started work at the age of 13 at Bradbury’s and worked as a mender.
When she first started work she earned £1, ‘I were a bit swift’.
Bill’s wife, Doris, had worked as a mender and good money could be earned depending on the type of factory worked at. Some people according to Bill were ‘gifted’ and were able to earn high wages.
Bill went to Mrs Herbert’s to read Pipsqueak and Wilfred in the Daily Mirror and when his aunt was killed she cooked dinner for him and his uncle Harry.
Both Bill and Vera ran home from school in order to put the dinner on. At this time everyone had their dinner at dinner time.
Both attended the top school. Bill delivered papers in the morning, put the dinner on, delivered papers after school, cleaned windows and ran errands.
Vera helped her granny, ‘and scrubbed her out on a Sunday morning’, before going to chapel.
Bill had a lovely childhood and Vera talked about the time she worked at the Argee which she did enjoy but didn’t feel she had a proper job. Her husband, Perc, worried that she had worked there for nothing. She gave up work because he hadn’t been well – he had already had one heart attack.
Bill as a youngster was always trying to earn extra money and when some of the men at Bradbury’s were doing overtime he would get them all fish and chips - ‘nip down Ferrett’s for 20 fish and chips’. He would be given a bag of chips and also given 1d from workers but he was told by Mr Faulkes that he wasn’t allowed to do this because of factory legislation.
Vera’s father-in-law had owned a fish and chip shop in the Hollow and Mr Charlesworth also had a chip shop and a bakery in the village.
Jacky Marriott was brilliant on the mouth organ and could play anything. Bill remembers on one occasion when they had gone to see a film and it had not arrived. At this time Perc (no surname) cycled between Earl Shilton and Barwell with the films and Jacky played his mouth organ to entertain the filmgoers.
Georgie lived at Jackson’s farm, and he would be seen pushing a wheelbarrow collecting rubbish to make up the road to the farm. The area had lots of rabbit warrens and sandpits.
‘Ugger’ was another person mentioned who lived in Tubb Row, his father was a Boer War veteran as was Vera’s father.
‘Gas tar Joe’ worked at the gasworks along with someone called ‘Pegleg’. Bill also mentioned a man and woman who lived in a tent at the bottom of Leicester Road and went round ‘gas-tarring’.
Billy Holloway’s Travelling Circus/Theatre visited the village. They also remember various shows - Maria Marten in the Red Barn being just one of the plays they watched. Various films were also quite frightening, always ending with a cliffhanger.
Old medical remedies were talked about - Bill was once stung in the mouth by a wasp and his neighbour put a vinegar-soaked cloth into his mouth…

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