Historical Memories

Reminisces of life in the early 1930s and 1940s as I remember it in Earl Shilton.

The fairs in those days were terrific occasions… the Wake Festival,
always the traditional time to have it…
the Wake Ham… hang from the ceiling at my grandma’s.
 

Frank born in 1925, Norman in 1927 and Don in 1928 and their sister, Maureen, born in 1932. All the children played together and the house was the ‘centre of many of the activities’, indeed the back lawn was used as a cricket and football pitch - windows when smashed were repaired by Mr ‘Putty’ Taylor and snowfall in the winter provided a slide for sledging - The milkman was known to join in the fun! While riding a ‘fairy cycle’ at the age of six Don hurt his ankle very badly and had to learn to walk again. There was very little traffic on the road and the boys with their friends were able to play whip and top along the pavement, marbles were also played along with paper chases.

At this time tradesmen did their deliveries by horse and cart and Don remembers Ron Best from Best’s Bakery whose horse had a very rude name, there was also Walls ‘Stop me and buy’ tricycle – a Snowfruit or Snowcream for a 1d, a choc ice for 3d. There was also Musson’s ice cream and in the winter his cart carried pikelets; fresh fish was delivered by Mr ‘Fishy’ Perkins or Lance Collyer who had a wax moustache; there was Mr ‘Gaudy’ Taylor, general goods and Sansome who came out from Hinckley ‘the three-weekly man who came every fortnight’. Mr Walter Hampson delivered the groceries and nicknamed ‘Pudding’ and everything he sold was ‘very good quality’. George Highton delivered the milk from Bowley’s farm and Don was allowed to ride on the milk float.

The boys helped out at Bowley’s farm (grandfather of the present generation) in Kirby Mallory, they also helped Mr Grainger whose farmhouse was situated where Heath Court now stands - one of the fields in which they worked is now Stoneycroft Road. Farmers in those days had to wait their turn for the steam powered thrashing machine. Don remarked on the steam powered vehicle which delivered flour from the mills to the local bakeries ‘always a delight to see that come along’…‘you could see the fire underneath at the front of the vehicle, steam came out of the top and the chain underneath driving the wheels - intriguing’! There was also the steam powered vehicles that pulled the fairground equipment and caravans which also powered the various rides and the steam roller that rolled in the stones after the tar had been sprayed across the road - the people doing this job were absolutely tarred-up.

The fairs in those days ‘were terrific occasions’ and were held in a field where the Catholic Church is now situated. The fair arrived during Wake Week (the end of October) and Don remembers the ‘Wake Ham’ hanging from the ceiling at his Grandma’s house - the ham was a traditional meal. He also remembers the rice pudding and a ‘very nice bread and butter pudding he had at his grandparent’s house every Thursday lunchtime. Other traditions which Don remembers were the Treats, the carnivals and the May Queen. The hill into Earl Shilton was a lot steeper in those days with ‘rather a big ‘S’ bend at the bottom and steep incline and the buses would struggle’. Don mentions the Midland Red and the Green bus which people used and eventually the Brown’s Blues came from Coalville area. Earl Shilton was a very busy place morning and evening with all the buses and cyclists coming into the village for work in the numerous hosiery and boot and shoe factories – ‘work people were brought in from so many places’.

Don’s father was a commercial traveller and away quite a lot and the family did have a maid, Betty came from one of the mining villages in Warwickshire, grandparents also helped out. Smith’s in the High Street supplied school outfits and a very ‘efficient large lady would comment ‘just right’. The shop used a wonderful contraption ‘the money went on a circular area route…’ Don went to the Bottom school and the Top school and remembers the classrooms being heated by free standing coke stoves and during the winter the milk was kept warm by the stove. Special occasions at Wood Street were the May Queen celebrations and dancing round the Maypole. At the Top School various teachers doled out punishment and Mrs Davies was one teacher to avoid - Ken Page would rub onion on his hand if he knew he was going to have the cane – it was supposed to stop the pain!; Winnie Reynolds had a ruler which was a bit sharp when it cut across your knuckles! At this time Top School had a very good football team and the sports teacher was Sid Smith. The school dentist was situated on Almeys Lane where he had his foot operated treadle drill, ‘not a pleasant experience’. Children were, however, given a small bag of Dolly Mixtures after their treatment.

Sport in the village was a big thing with excellent cricket, football and tennis – all the churches, chapels and factories had their own teams. The Methodists played cricket on a field which is now Prospect Way; St Simon and St Jude had a thriving Youth Fellowship football team in the early 1940s, they also had a mixed hockey team. Children who passed the 11+ went to Hinckley Grammar school if they could afford the fee. Don went to the Grammar school in the April, it was cheaper than going in the September and all the boys cycled to school in all weathers and according to the Headmaster the best athletes came from the surrounding villages as a result of all the cycling. Good behaviour was expected at all times even on the way to school and the way home. The brothers ran a Quaker Oats Society in an upstairs bedroom in the family home - they also had a game called ‘watching the world go by’. The boys often set up a cricket pitch in any suitable field - Bell Vue was one field used at the time. The cinema run by the Coopers was looked forward to - films being exchanged between Earl Shilton and Barwell - too much noise and a whistle and a blown-up brown paper bag would be exploded during an appropriate moment in the film! There were three programmes each week and the films to be shown were displayed outside the Coopers house in the Hollow. Going out for walks was also a popular activity – across the fields, down to the mill and Watery Gate. Walks through the woods surrounding Kirkby Mallory Hall, now demolished and site of race track, were also enjoyed.

There were numerous shops in the village – three Co-Ops – top, middle and bottom. Top and bottom Co-Ops had butcheries; middle Co-Op had a clothing department. Shorlands had three shops, one of them sold haberdashery sold by a very tall lady and a very short lady; another sold men’s suits and clothes and the third sold stiff collars and shirts. There was also a Miss Shorland who ran a small sweet /grocery shop on the corner of New Street. The Truslove sisters had a cake and confectionery shop where the Spa shop is now and they also had a café accessed behind a curtain used by commercial travellers when visiting the many hosiery and boot and shoe factories. The boys bought gob-stoppers at Grace Well’s shop and the Misses Smith ran a sweet shop on the corner of Carrs Road, the bigger sister smoked a clay pipe. The village was well off for fish and chip shops, also wet fish, Swinfield’s, Foster’s, Perkin’s, Colver’s, and Lumley’s to name a few. There were also a number of butchers apart from the two Co-Op butchers - Reynold’s at Hill Top, Reynold’s in the Hollow now Bevan’s, two run by the Ball family and two run by the Herbert family - all thriving shops before supermarkets and cars. There were two chemists one run by a Mr Bell and the other by Mr Toone – he was often seen being taken for a walk by his bull terrier. Mr Toone’s shop had an intriguing number of small drawers all labelled and was heated by a small coke stove in the middle of the shop. The shop was situated where Moments card shop now runs. ‘We could buy caps for our toy guns or bombs from a rather scruffy shop run by Mr Wormleighton who was one of the village hairdressers’. This shop was situated next to the Truslove’s shop and café. Don and his brothers had their hair cut by Reg Kelly who came to the house and later by him at George Troop’s shop which was situated where part of Bevan’s butcher’s is. They would wait for hours if an important customer came in! There were several paper shops and the Leicester Mercury at this was an evening paper giving news up to 12 o’clock midday and delivered about 6 o’clock – its rival was the Leicester Evening Mail. The Leicester Mercury also did a paper with the football results on a Saturday evening. Don and his brothers had the Hotspur, Dandy and Beano.

Don remembers listening to the wireless on September 3rd 1939 when Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany. They had air raid shelters at school and at home – the one at home had electric light and an electric fire. He remembers the gasmasks and ration books; the air raid siren was located on Toon’s factory and would whale up and down for several seconds – sign of an imminent raid and the all clear was given by a long note. There was a British Restaurant at the Methodist Church. A land mine fell at Brockey Farm, another fell in a farm yard in Church Street; one morning they were woken by machine gun fire, which came from the top of the village. He does remember the drone of the German bombers overhead and the sky lit up in the Coventry direction. During the first months of the war they did have young teenage evacuees come to the village.

Don remarked on how thankful he was to his parents for the way ‘we’d been brought up in a happy environment where we were taught respect and also right from wrong in a very Christian way’. Their sister, Maureen, died very suddenly at the age of seven when undergoing a routine operation.

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