Later years

All the years that followed wore difficult but we managed, sadly after a long painful battle against cancer, my first wife Pat, passed away in November1985, at the age of forty nine, after twenty nine years of married life, I re-married two years later to my present wife Diana, who was widowed at the age of thirty four, she has two sons by her first husband.

As one gets older, we tend to dwell on the past, it seems that memories are the only thing left of any substance, in today's world. Although things were difficult during the war years, I would not swap any of my memories as a child, for the lifestyle that the youngsters lead today.

meeting old friends

I still meet some of the people that I used to know, or their children. One such person is David Wallett, who works for the Staffordshire Ambulance Service, I remember him being born, he had an older brother, and sister, his sister Joan is the same age as myself, we went to School together. Although David, is several years younger, we both have the same interest in our younger days when we lived in Cobridge.

David’s Grandfather was a very well known butcher, his mother had the shop next door to her fathers butchers, and as mentioned earlier sold tripe, hodge and udder in her shop. David’s father worked for the railway, if I remember it was L.M.S. he drove one of the flat carts about the City carrying pottery in crates, also mentioned earlier.

Gospel Mission

Cobridge Gospel Mission was located in Derwent Street (off Windermere Street). As a young man I was involved in all the activities that took place there; Sunday school, photography and a temperance order which explained about the evils of smoking and drinking. This did also include social evenings.

This picture is of local girls standing outside the
Cobridge Gospel Mission in Derwent Street, Cobridge
 

Thinking back makes one realise that these times are the best times of your life, and, although the pleasures were simple, they were enjoyed to the full by everyone. No violence or vandalism ever crossed the mind of young people who met there.

Like all communities, Cobridge was a close knit one, so 95% of the people who attended were of local origin.

Fred and Daisy Gough

Two people who devoted all their spare time to the running of the Mission were brother and sister, Fred and Daisy Gough. Both were without fault end were very able persons. Fred worked at Shelton Bar dealing with foreign orders as he was able to speak more than one language other than English. Daisy did not work during the to many years I knew her. She did suffer from a heart condition.

I was taught photography by Mr Gough when I was 14 years old and, as the years have gone by, I have been very grateful for the knowledge he imparted to me, allowing me to make a photographic record of some of the changing faces of Cobridge. Sadly both Fred and Daisy Gough are dead. Also, the Mission itself has fallen victim to the ravages of time and was demolished in 1988 to make way far the building of what is described as four town houses.

Although all traces of the Mission have now gone, thoughts of Sunday school Harvest Festival, Easter Parade, and of course ,the annual trip to the seaside will always be remembered with affection.

Twilight years

As a child being born with an hereditary respiratory condition in 1933,with no antibiotics or modern day Bronchial-dilators available was very difficult for my mother, who also had to run the newsagents shop where we lived in Waterloo Road, Cobridge, also my father died at the age of 44 years, leaving my mother to run the shop, and look after a family of six children, of which at that time I was the youngest aged 11 years.

As I now enter the twilight years of my life, at the start of the 21st Century, I will be 69 years old in October 2003, and although times were difficult during those early years I would not swap them for any of the so called today’s modern times.

My only regrets that I have, are the fact that my first Wife Pat, has never seen her sons married, and most of all the pleasure of her grandchildren. Unfortunately the respiratory condition has passed on to my sons and their children, which makes me very sad.

Although its taken me several years to complete this story, I have enjoyed doing it but for the other medical conditions it would have been finished a long time ago. I hope that it will be of interest to others in the future who want to know about their parents and grandparents, in what is now described as the olden days, and the environment in which they lived.

Alan Chell
Dedicated to my friend David Wallett