Open Writing

I remember the post-war years being a harsh period when everything seemed in short supply. Mam and dad used to argue about the amount of coal we should put on the fire, and talk about nationalisation and the new National Health Service. When I asked what it all meant I was told, "we don't have to pay to go to the doctors now".

After the war my dad did not return to his former job but, with some help from the extended family, obtained employment in the growing building industry. We also renewed the practice of playing football and cricket together whenever possible, with dad explaining the laws and techniques of each game. I was a keen student.

He used to take me to Roker Park every other Saturday when Sunderland were playing at home. I remember travelling on the Economic Bus that used to go along the Coast Road, the huge crowds and the rush to get the best viewing position. Other weeks we used to go to the compact Horsley Hill Greyhound Stadium where South Shields football team - known as "The Babes" - played in the old North Eastern league. I recall Chris Marron was the popular, goal-scoring centre-forward.

No sooner had we moved into our new abode, I was taken to Mortimer Road Junior School to restart my education. Mortimer Road School was opened in 1901 by the then M.P. for South Shields, Mr W. S Robson. It comprised a three-storey building with the juniors occupying the ground floor. Its most well known pupil was perhaps John Simpson Kirkpatrick - the Australian war hero whose statue is sited in Ocean Road, South Shields. Perhaps a lesser known pupil was G W. Wilson who was selected for England Schoolboys in a football international against Wales in 1912. In 1946 when I started, the school was full of children who had returned from evacuation.

After a few weeks at school I realised I was struggling to keep up with my contemporaries. Academically, I was of less-than-average standard for my age. Most of my peers were talking about the' eleven plus exam' about which I knew nothing. This had an effect on my confidence and self-esteem and I used to help out with the milk round to miss disliked English and Maths lessons.

My dad had been a very good scholar at Baring Street School and passed the eleven plus exam. However, in his time, parents had to pay for their children to attend a grammar school, which to his working class parents was out of the question. This made him more inquisitive when he found out about my relative poor standard at school. "What have you been doing at school during the last few years?" he asked, "I can't remember, but I'm good at games and was best in the class at milking goats during evacuation" I replied.

With lots of help from my dad and teachers Mr Gedling (Head), Mr Cousins, Mr Hub and 'Jock' Donagher I learnt a lot quickly, but not enough to pass the eleven plus exam in 1947. "There were no questions on the exam paper about milking goats" I complained to my dad.

What I lacked academically I made up for in sport and when I transferred to Mortimer Road Secondary School I came into my own. Soon I learnt that the town's school system for the organisation of football had to be admired. Each secondary school had two teams, (under 13 and under 15) and played each other twice. Boldon, Cleadon, and Stanhope usually fought it out at the top of the league; Westoe, Dean Road, Ocean Road and Mortimer Road were usually in the middle with St Bede's and St Peter and St Paul's at the bottom.

Apart from Boldon and Cleadon none of the schools had their own playing fields, with the result that most games were played on five pitches at Cleadon Recreation Ground. With kick-off at 9:00,10:00 and 11:00am; fifteen games involving 330 youngsters took place every Saturday morning. The buses to Cleadon were packed.

All this was organised by football secretary Charlie Coulson (no relation) and at least one teacher from each school who gave up their Saturday mornings for the school football team. The same thing happened in the summer when schools played each other at cricket in the evenings. With twice a week physical training lessons at school during the week and food rationing continuing into the 1950's, there were not many obese youngsters around Shields in those days.

We didn't have much of a football team in my years at Mortimer Road School. The team were keen but dwarfed when we played at some of the other schools. I played centre-half on most occasions but once was asked to play in goal to keep the score down. It didn't work!

When in the last year at school, much to my surprise, I was chosen to play in a trial for the town schoolboy team. Perhaps this was the first indication of any above average ability I might have had. After a number of trial games I was selected at left-back to represent South Shields against Newcastle Boys in the English Shield competition. To the astonishment of many, we won one goal to nil, only to get beaten in the next round. The Green Sports Final reported that "Three South Shields players were outstanding, Pratt (goalkeeper) of Ocean Road, Hobson (centre half) of the High School and Scott (left-back) of Mortimer Road." This was my first mention in the sporting press. In addition to myself, two of the team went on to play professional football; Albert Franks at Newcastle and Glasgow Rangers and Tom Watson at West Bromwich Albion.