Open Writing

When I joined the B.B. in the autumn of 1946, I gave my home address as Cranford Street where my sister lived. This was partly true because it was my summer abode when my mother was away working in the hotels. The main reason however, was that I didn't want my friends to know that I lived in a more dreary part of the town. I also wanted to keep my family circumstances private.

When the Company attempted to start a band several years later, it unconsciously exposed my long kept secret.

Most B.B. companies in the town possessed a bugle band and used it as an effective method of publicity and recruitment. As none of our officers were skilled in playing a drum or bugle, we did not have such a luxury. In an attempt to overcome this disadvantage, it was arranged for anyone interested in learning how to play a musical instrument, to attend another company.

Of the twenty-odd companies in Shields, the only Company that offered to help was Frederick Street Methodist. We were told to meet at the front of the church that was directly opposite our house. When I was seen discreetly coming out of our Two Rooms and a View flat in Reed Street, my long-kept secret was blown and I had a lot of explaining to do!

In all my years in the B B, I only missed one Good Friday Parade. That was in 1948 when my football interests won. I was given a free ticket by my Uncle Bob for a match that he promised, would never be repeated. He advised me not to miss it. The ticket read Harton C.W. v Geo Lilycrop's XI.

I later discovered that Geo Lilycrop was a former professional footballer from the Laygate area, who played in two cup finals for Barnsley. After his playing days were over, he was Steward of the Unionist Club in Frederick Street, before taking over the nearby Walpole Inn.

The challenge football match is said to have followed an argument about the respective abilities of past and present footballers. The Geo Lilycrop XI consisted of former local professional footballers including Warney Cresswell, then aged over fifty, and the slightly younger former Newcastle United star Hughie Gallagher.

The match was played at Harton C.W. Ground. 500 spectators were expected; 5,000 turned up! The 'one off game' became an annual event and had to be transferred to the South Shields A.F.C. Ground at Horsley Hill to accommodate the unexpected crowds. It continued until 1957 with all the gate money going to the Aged Miners' Fund. Throughout the years the veterans remained unbeaten
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Undoubtedly the main event of the B B calendar was the battalion summer camp. In 1947 this was held at Barnard Castle during the Race-Week holiday in June. Over two hundred officers and boys attended and I recall being very excited at about the nearest thing to a holiday I had ever experienced.

The cost of the week's camp was £1.7s.6d (£1.37p), which must have been the best value ever in the holiday industry. My mother sent the money from Scarborough where she was working.

Once this had been paid, the next job was finding a suitably large suitcase. As nobody in the family ever went on holiday, there was little need for such luggage. Finally one of my Aunt Kate's relatives offered to lend me his ex-army kit-bag.

This was gladly accepted, but I wouldn't have bothered if I had known the problems it would cause. When at camp everything required was always at the bottom of the kit-bag. The easiest way to find anything, was to turn it upside down and then re-pack everything. It was repacked with anger several times a day.

We travelled by train to Barnard Castle. It started raining as we left the station and hardly stopped during the following week.

Sleeping on a ground sheet with three blankets and eight to a tent, was to say the least, a new experience. One evening however, after a day of continuous rain, we didn't sleep. Water started to flow into our tent and we were told to evacuate! We spent the rest of the night trying to sleep on tables in the marquee. In between the rain, we did manage to visit High Force, complete a day's hike and experience some culture at the nearby Bowes Museum.

The extremely primitive toilet facilities at the camp nearly put me off the outdoor life for good. The toilet was like an open air, communal bench surrounded by a six foot high canvas that blew in the wind. A maximum of six youngsters would sit there 'performing', with their trousers around their ankles, while they chatted to their neighbours. Even at twelve years of age I was so embarrassed that I avoided them like the plague and nearly made myself ill by only using the public toilets in Barnard Castle

Over and above the heavy rain and inadequate toilet facilities, an exciting week was had by all concerned. For me and many others, it was a great learning experience. Campers came from many different social backgrounds, new experiences were shared and new friends made.

The camp developed a real 'esprit-de-corps', and I was very lonely and downhearted when I returned home. Memories however, were recorded because Barnard Castle in 1947 was the first time I used a camera. It was a borrowed, old Kodak Brownie box type.

After returning to Shields I took the used film to Darks the chemist for developing and printing. The effect of the war was still apparent as the assistant told me, "Come back in about six weeks to see if the photographs are ready."