Introduction
This book came about because my mum was looking for an art
teacher for her class. This led me to contact the many great people
at Knowsley Council who put me in touch with lots of people who
wanted to help my 72 year old mother and her friends of similar
ages. Then I began talking to someone about how they really
wanted to write down their stories and history about Huyton. Lucky
for us, we were introduced to Colette Thoms from Knowsleys Arts &
Heritage service. The Commission was to' Unlock Knowsleys
Hidden Gems’.
This journey of Huyton began at the Caldwell Centre, off Tarbock
Rd, who very kindly donated the meeting place for free for us to
have our sessions. As the group became established we had
research trips to the Knowsley Library Service. We also visited
Prescot Museum to look through their archives and chose old
photographs for the book, we had endless chats about Huyton, the
good and the bad, and lots of laughs...oh and lots of tea.
So, here is their book, Its a short, small book about Huyton from the
old to the new, its got some facts, a bit of history, a few pictures,
some stories and a ‘Bucket List’ (list of things they would like to do
before they get their wings) just like the film.
My Mum and her pals all live in Huyton but for most they weren’t
born here. They all come from places like, Everton, Scottie Road,
Parr Street, Vauxhall and even Jamaica, there is a bit of a mix to
say the least. I have to add that all the gang are in their 70s and 80s
and were a very chatty, lively and hilarious bunch of people whom I
have had the honour to have known.
We do hope you enjoy our book perhaps you even know the group
or this may inspire you to do the same, but one thing I do know.
“If we don’t capture our times, then the song’s will go to the
grave....unsung’.
Amanda Meaghan
4
Unlocking Knowsleys Hidden Gems
‘Unlocking
Knowsleys Hidden Gems’ is an exploration and celebration of
Knowsley’s heritage. Through this project, Knowsley Art and Heritage
Service have worked to unite people of all ages through their exploration,
appreciation and understanding of their neighbourhood’s rich heritage.
The project is designed to give the local community the opportunity to
sustain their community heritage and spirit.
Unlocking Knowsleys Hidden Gems is a three year Heritage Lottery
Fund Project. The Arts and Heritage service was awarded the grant in
May 2007 and throughout the life of the project it has captured the rich
heritage of the borough using a number of different formats from Art,
photography, story telling to name but a few.
This community group from Huyton have come together to compile this
book to share with others for many years to come. The book brings
together a number of their memories and life experiences alongside their
research information about Huyton and the changes they have seen.
Being involved in Unlocking Knowsleys Hidden Gems has given the
group the opportunity to develop new skills, build their confidence to
recognise the skills they already had and develop new relationships with
other groups who are interested to hear the many stories they have to
share with others.
‘Without these memories being captured for future generations. We will
all loose the opportunities of hearing about ‘The Good Old Days’ and a
whole piece of our social Heritage will be lost forever.’
Colette Thoms
Community Heritage Outreach Coordinator.
5
Betty Meaghan
I was brought up in Everton and I moved to Huyton 46 years
ago when I married a Huyton man called Colin. I went to
Newsham Secondary Modern where I was Head girl and I
swam for Liverpool. We had four great kids two boys and two
girls, I consider myself a Huyton girl. I have a great bunch of
friends that I have met through a variety of classes and am
always looking for a new challenge. I would honestly say the
best thing about Huyton is the people but saying that I would
love to travel a bit more...perhaps Japan- who knows. I would
love to walk the Great Wall of China ...one day
George Barton
I grew up in Low Hill in Kensington then moved to Huyton
I went to Sacred Heart School until 1956, then moved to
Huyton and went to St Margaret Mary’s School. I told my
Mam that I didn’t want to move to Huyton because it was
too posh. I am very happy living in Fieldway and have
made lots of good mates. I am married to a lovely
woman, Cathy, and have three kids and lovely grandkids.
Irene Falla
I live in Court Hey off Greystone Road and I do voluntary work. I
have many hobbies which include dabbling in the art class,
walking in Court Hey at the Wildflower Centre. I love to cook and
also enjoy cake making and of course attending the Caldwell
Writers Group,
.
Alma Brown
I moved to St Helens, England in 1964 from Jamaica and
moved to Twig Lane Huyton in1970. I have two sons and
lovely grandkids. My first job was in Mullards making TV
valves and now I am an actress. I love Huyton and wouldn’t
wish to live anywhere else. I keep busy with line dancing,
acting and I am soon to be awarded my brown belt from
Prescot Marshall Arts. I am often seen on the Empire and my
dream is to be in Corry or Emmerdale.
6
Mary Hayes
I was born in Manchester and moved to Mossgate off Pilch lane
nearly 70 years ago. I went right through Dovecot Secondary Modern
school. I was married in Page Moss Baptist Church and Christened in
Roby Parish Church and I have got 4 kids, seven grand kids and one
great grandchild. I think Huyton shops are fabulous but needs a good
DIY shop as I do all my own jobs. I am still looking for my soul mate
in life and I would really love to go on a cruise.
Joan McAllister
I was an original Ovaltiney and I went to Winstone Rd School
were I achieved the 11 plus to Ellergreen and I was indeed born
in Huyton. My parents moved from Tuebrook and were, lets say,
early settlers and had six kids. I have fond memories of Huyton. I
am a volunteer for Animal Rescue and I have two cats.
My
ambition is to one day own a Columbian square cut Emerald and
would love a swimming pool.
Dot Joans
I was born in Lemon Street, off the Dock Road but my tongue is
not as acid as that. I went to St Alphonsus School and the priest
was Father Window, but I could see right through him. The
Docks were bombed and I was evacuated to Bridge North but
fretted and came back home, then evacuated to Whiston. I have
two lovely kids, one of each. Huyton is best for the friends and
family and living next door to my brother. I would love to do a
parachute jump .
Ella Morelock
I was born in 1932 and moved to Huyton when I was 5
from Sefton Park for the good of my brothers health (all
the fresh air and open fields). I lived in America for 34
years and moved back ten years ago. I have five children
who live in America but I love living back in my home town
of Huyton. My reason for moving back is that my mother
always said never give up my citizenship and I wanted my
last laughs in Huyton. The best thing about Huyton is my
friends and family and my lovely memories.
7
ORIGINS OF HUYTON
Headstone dated
1604
For many who know of Huyton they may say it’s a newish town
outside of Liverpool, but to Huytonians, we know that we live in
a very old town. In fact it has ancient origins, Huyton Village
actually dates back to the 5th Century and in the Doomsday
Survey of 1086 the name of the settlement appeared as Hitune
-meaning literally ‘High Town’.
The spelling of the township varied from the Hitune (1086);
Houton(1258); Hyton then Huyton (1292)
8
The oldest church in the historic Parish of Huyton is St Michaels. This
medieval church dates back to the 12th century and still has loads of original
features despite restoration over the centuries. The oldest is a Norman Font
found buried under the tower early in 1872. A second font of octagonal design
dates back to the 15th Century. Historians have said that there may have been
a Saxon church on the St Michaels site but a church definitely existed in the
12th Century for it was granted to the Priory of Burscough, by Robert son of
Henry De Lathom (whose family will always be remembered in the present
day for Lathom Rd.)
The 14thCentury Lordship of the ‘De Lathom’ lands including Huyton, Roby
and Knowsley. This changed by marriage to the Stanley family and in 1485 the
title of ‘The First Earl of Derby’ was given to Thomas Stanley by Henry the Vll
to show his appreciation for the families support at the Battle of Bosworth. The
Harrington family (another important Huyton family) had acquired the tenancy
of the Manor of Huyton Hey also by marriage. These two families were very
influential in the future of Huyton.
Huyton Hey Manor Farm on Huyton Hey Road is said to be the oldest
surviving secular building, It houses a date stone showing 1670. The Manor
then passed on to the Molyneux family then becoming Molyneux–Seel
through the female line.
By the end of the 19th Century Huyton embraced the Industrial Revolution with
quarrying and mining becoming firmly established in the area. It was the
coming of the railways that was to further enhance Huyton’s reputation as an
important location and today Huyton station (one of the first passenger railway
station dating back to 1830) still remains an important link in the local transport
system following the success of Stevenson’s Rocket at nearby Rainhill Trials.
The ‘60s’ saw many changes in the area one being the building of the Huyton
Village shopping centre and the pulling down of many of the old terraces.
Huyton Quarry was one of the original passenger stations of George
Stephenson’s 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world’s first railway
to cater for passengers as one of its primary functions. It is argued that it was
the 1st Inter City Railway.
Today Huyton is a very busy place and boasts of an excellent shopping area
known still as the ‘Village’. As you will read there have been many famous and
influential people from our ‘Little Village’ and I am sure there is more to come.
My dad used to say “it’s not the town that makes the people, its the people
that makes the town”, and I think he’s right. Some of the original old buildings
have sadly gone, but this is indeed due to the needs of a busy thriving
modern town.
9
Famous Huytonians
Huyton does not have its own hospital, therefore most of its famous sons and
daughters will have been born elsewhere, usually in Liverpool or Whiston
Hospitals. As well as some of our famous footballers, the following people who
have had links with Huyton:
x Joey Barton, footballer born 2/9/1982 who plays for Newcastle United
x Thomas Beecham (1879-1961), the famous classical music conductor, was
brought up in the Blacklow Brow area of Huyton although was actually born in St
Helens. In 1947 he founded the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
x Alan Bleasdale, local playwright famous for 'Boys from the Blackstuff’,
attended St Aloysius RC Infant and Junior Schools, Huyton,1951-1957.
x Stan Boardman born 7/12/1940, he is a well known comedian who shot to
fame after appearing on Opportunity Knocks and the ‘Comedians’
x Henry Bruner, chemist born 22/1/1838, resident in Huyton until his death.
x Sir Rex Harrison, actor who starred in films such as My Fair Lady and
Cleopatra was born and brought up on Tarbock Road in Huyton, and attended
St Gabriel's School.
Harold Wilson, Former Prime Minister (1964-1970 &
1974-1976) was member of parliament for the Former
Huyton Constituency
10
x
John McCabe. CBE born 21/4/1939 is a Internationally acclaimed composer.
He had written thirteen symphonies by age eleven.
x
Sally Morgan, Baroness Morgan Of Huyton born 28/6/59 became a Labour
Party politician who in 1985 worked for Jon Smith and Tony Blair. Sally Morgan
was Minister of State for Women before rejoining 10 Downing Street as Director of
Government relations. She was made life peer as Baroness Morgan of Huyton in
2001.
x
Reginald Heber Moss, cricketer, born 24/2/1868. Moss Played most of his first
class cricket for Oxford University appearing 13 times between1887-1890 he won
blue in 1889.
x
Peter Noone, singer, born in 1947 and 60’s band member of Herman’s
Hermits. Although originally from Manchester he settled in Chestnut Avenue,
Huyton, before wealth and fame came knocking.
x
Wes Paul guitarist and singer. Although originally from Toxteth, lived in Huyton
for 35 years.
x
Phil Redmond born 1949, is a TV producer and a screenwriter. He is well
known for creating three hugely successful series, Grange Hill (1978-2008)
Brookside (1982-2003) and Hollyoaks (1995-present day) He was the Creative
Director of Liverpool 2008 and he was awarded the CBE in 2004 for his services
to drama.
x
x
x
x
x
Freddie Starr, comedian, went to Huyton Secondary Modern and left in 1958.
Stuart Ferguson Victor Sutcliffe (referred to as The Fifth Beatle), born
23/6/1940, died 10/4/1962 aged 21. Stuart was born in Edinburgh and moved to
Huyton where he attended Parkview Primary School and later attended Prescot
Grammar School in 1950. He was the original bassist for the Beatles for 15
months (May 1960-August 1961) . He was a poet, painter, bassist and singer and
died of a brain haemorrhage.
Actor Jimmy McArdle, born and raised in Huyton.
Ray Ennis from Swinging Blue Jeans.
Derek Temple football player.
Famous footballers
Steven Gerrard, Peter Reid, Joey Barton, Lee Trundle, Tony Hibbert, David Nugent,
Leon Osman.
11 11
12
Did you know...stuff about Huyton.
x
The late Queen Mother used to stop off at Huyton Station before going to see
Lord Derby at Knowsley Hall. It is said that the stationmaster would wear a top
hat to greet them and precede them out by walking backwards.
x
Huyton Hey Manor was originally a farmhouse dating from 1670 and is
Huyton’s oldest surviving secular building.
x
Huyton is mentioned in the Doomsday Book.
x
Whilst digging the foundations for the Grade II listed Bridge by Archway Road
the remains of a vessel were found and thought to be Viking of Origin.
x
What was known as Harold Wilson's Gravy? HP Sauce. Also Harold Wilson
was one of the founder members of the Open University.
x
In the16th Century Huyton had two watermills, a windmill and a fulling mill.
x
St Michaels Church is a Grade ll listed building and dates back to the 12th
Century. Inside the Church is an early Norman font, a chancel screen dating
from 1460 and a 14thCentury effigy of a priest, probably John De Winwick. The
gateways, both listed, are constructed of stone with wrought Iron piers and
dated 1765.
x
Court Hey Park has the oldest tree in Knowsley which is The Old Oak aged
400yrs.
x
Many of the farmers were allowed a supply of rationed wartime petrol for the
tractors valuable work but it was coloured ‘PINK’ so that anybody caught
siphoning it off would be easily caught and fined or sent to prison.
x
Huyton is Twinned- Towned with Stradt Moers in Germany.
x
The Huyton Cross was erected originally in 1819 by the Vicar to stop
cockfighting and bull baiting.
x
Kilroy Silk was an MP In Knowsley in the 70s and 80s
x
Huyton had three camps established during the 2nd World War– a P.O.W
Camp, an Internment Camp and an American G.I Camp
x
The remains of the Mayfair Cinema can still be found at The Boots Chemist in
the Village, and you can still see it today.
13 13
14
From A Village To A Town
Born in 1932, I was the youngest of six children and was five years of age
when my family decided to move to Huyton. I was raised in Fairclough Road
where I met many life long friends one of whom I still keep in contact with.
Huyton still holds wonderful memories of my childhood today. My earliest
memories are those of my school days. I attended St Michael’s Church
School which was based in the church hall. We only had three classrooms in
the school and we would attend church every Thursday. A bus would collect
the children from home and drop them off at school every day. Our Journeys
on the bus were filled with singing. The police station was a large house and
was directly opposite the school.
As I got older I attended Longview School which even now is a thriving
primary school. When I think back to those days the air raid shelter which
was built underground on the school grounds always comes to mind. When
not in school my days were filled with fun and laughter. I can remember quite
clearly the river alt which ran alongside Fairclough Road. The boys would
dam the alt up and then swim in it as the water was so clear. Our summers
were long and incredibly hot and Huyton was mainly farmland. Throughout
the Summer days we would go collecting Blackberries for our Mothers to
make pies, unfortunately most of them were eaten before we got home.
I can recall one incident when we went to a farm to pick some apples. The
farmer saw us and chased us, so we climbed over the wall to get away, but a
policeman was waiting for us on the other side. He asked us if we had any
apples and we all replied ‘NO.' He then asked us “Have you got any apples
in your drawers” it was really funny. We all had a good laugh when he let us
go home.
On the other days we would all set off to Lord Derby’s where we would all sit
on the railings and tell ghost stories to each other. We would all be scared
out of our wits walking home. Huyton was mainly farms but the village had
many shops such as the gas company, and Brown’s the Butchers. There
was a knitting shop with a line of other shops opposite with the Mayfair
standing proudly amongst them. I can still remember women carrying their
wicker baskets to go shopping in the village. It was a beautiful village full of
countryside.
I had the most wonderful childhood in Huyton and have special memories
placed within my heart which I often share with my children, grandchildren
and great grandchildren.
It is no longer the same place, gone is the countryside, the farms and the
fields, no longer is Huyton a Village. Maybe it’s time we renamed it Huyton
town.
Ella
15
16
Moving To Huyton on A Handcart
My parents were allocated a bungalow in Ashbourne Crescent, Huyton in
1943. They qualified because my Father worked in the R.O.F factory where
they made ammunition and such, for the war effort. He was medically unfit
for service in the armed forces having been left disabled after crushing his
hand before the war. They moved from White Rock Street Liverpool 6.
Having four children and very little money they had to hire a hand cart for
the move. With all their goods and their prized possession, a radio set, they
set off on their journey which was about six miles to Huyton. Pushing all the
way with four young children alternately walking and riding took a long time
and by the time they reached Huyton it was dark. No street lights could be lit
during the war so unbeknown to them the road to their new home was
unfinished and the handcart bounced off the finished part onto the
unfinished rubble strewn section. Sadly the prized radio fell off the handcart
and broke. After gathering their goods and broken radio they found their
house, number 142 later changed to 164, when more houses were built. The
hand cart was emptied and the beds made up in the dark. They did not
realise until the next day that their new home had electricity which was
already switched on with light bulbs fitted. A flick of a switch the next
morning lit up the bulbs and was a great cause of excitement for a family
coming from a house lit by gas.
Joan
When we moved here it was like we were going on our hols ...not that we
ever had a holiday. It was just that it felt so exciting coming to a brand new
place ....with fields, loads of fields and farms and loads of kids running
everywhere playing all day in the fields. Y’see we only played on the cobbled
streets and it was really bumpy and we would play in the alleys, I am not
saying that we hated where we are from, I am saying that Huyton was a
brand new adventure for us as kids.
George
I moved over from Ireland in 1947 to join the N.A.F.F.I and this is where I
met my husband who was from Liverpool. He was a Liverpool lad. In 1948
we were married and lived in West Derby until we moved to Pagemoss in
the 50’s .The trams were still running and Pagemoss was the Depot. My
eldest son Davy had never seen a tram and he thought it was a train on the
road . We had a small Police Station and its gone now.
Phyllis
17
18
Making Do And Mend
Many things were unavailable to people during and after the war. Rationing
did not finish completely until June 1954. As well as rationing, money was
also a problem. Wages were low and the average worker still had little or
nothing left the day before pay day. So to make things rather than buy them
was the norm. As children my father would make us hats out of old coats.
Playing in the snow in the winter, we would use old socks as gloves when the
one pair you had (if you were lucky enough to have a pair) were soaked from
playing snowballs. They would be hanging on the fireplace to dry., so the
socks were the next best thing. My father also repaired our shoes on a
cobblers last, carefully cutting the leather (no synthetics then) and nailing it to
the shoes.
When I was about 21-22 my Brother-in-law bought a lot of material from a
man in Marmaduke St who could get it cheap. I remember everybody having
a share to make something with and my Mother making curtains with hers.
But nothing was ever wasted. It wasn’t really curtain material. My friend made
a lovely dress with her share. One night we had been out and had been
brought home by two boys. Those days we still came home early enough for
our parents to be up and as we were staying in my house they were invited in
for a cup of tea it wasn’t until my friend took off her coat and sat on the sofa
we realised that the curtains behind her, the cushions on the sofa and her
dress were all made of the same material.
Joan
We never had paint or wall paper years ago and we used to make our own
emulsion, it was mixed up from a substance called distemper, we made it into
white wash and then coloured it with food dye. We used to make patterns
with Dolly Blue, which was a small piece of dark blue stuff that put a blue tint
on the walls or your white washing. When dampened we would make blue
spots on the walls which I think went pink. When I think about it now, it was
awful, but we loved it back then.
Joan
I lost my husband at the early age of 42 and I was left with five children to
look after. I soon had to learn very quickly how to make do and mend and in
them days, It was very hard but people were very kind. I would darn all socks
and stockings with wool and make patches for the bedding and patches for
the jackets and trousers. I also learnt how to toe and heel shoes for me and
all my kids with a last. Usually the fathers did this in the homes but I had to
do it, I had no choice. Yes, I got very good at make do and mend.
Phyllis
19
When I came here in 1964 I was 15 and the next year the Beatles started. Me
and my two sisters went to the club the Plaza in St Helens, Dad had his Morris
Minor and he would take us and pick us up. We used to like to dance to soul
music. As me and my sister were dancing a group of boys from Huyton were
staring over and in the end I married one of them in the Registry Office in
Pagemoss. I was poor and had to buy a bridesmaid dress and cut it short and I
borrowed a coat from my friend who didn’t turn up to stand for me. None of my
family or his family came, only his friend. We used a white taxi to take us for a
meal. It rained and rained, I should of known it was an omen, but I still had two
lovely boys to him. I lived with him for twenty years in Twig lane with his mum
and dad. I got divorced after many years of unhappiness.
Alma
My mum knitted all our socks on four needles and if they got a hole in them
then I had to darn them with a mushroom. I used to love darning and I became
quite an expert at it. It was a case of having to, having two brothers who were
always getting holes in them. What I used to hate was wearing wellies because
you always had a ring on your legs where the wellies had to be folded over to
make them stay on if they were too big for you. The mark on your leg would be
there for over a week. My dad was a dab-hand at making things last and fixing
things and making do. If my mum was given a pair of shoes that were to big for
me she would stuff the toes with newspaper and I had to wear them. Dad used
to save all the bits of soap derbac, carbolic and sunshine soap and boil them in
a tin then leave them to go hard. Then you would push out the soap when it
had gone hard and it would look like a multi-coloured mish mash swiss roll.
Then dad would slice it with a knife into rings. I hated it because it really stunk.
Betty
No such thing as toilet roll in our day, instead we had to cut very neat squares
of news paper and thread string through one corner with a darning needle. We
used to turn collars that had gone frayed and we would unpick them and turn
them round so they looked like new. My mam would say “ooh that collar needs
turning.” I used to put gravy browning on my Aunty Ev’s legs and then draw a
line down the back with and eyebrow pencil to make it look like she had
stockings on. I dare not make a mistake. Our bedroom was so cold it had
icicles inside the room and we had bed bugs. We would wait ’till it went dark
then pull the covers back quick, light the candle and then get a wet piece of
soap and press against the bugs to catch them because they suck your blood
you know.
Betty
20
Women repaired nylon stockings as they were expensive to buy, sewing toes and
ladders so they wouldn’t be noticeable. Men’s socks were made of wool so were
darned at the toe and heel so they would last longer. A mushroom was used with a
weaving stitch for the repair. Because shoes were expensive too they had to last for
years. Any repairs were done on a cobblers Last, mostly by the men of the
household. Leather soles were cut to size and stuck on, or Woolworths stick on
soles cut and shaped again to size with tacks on the toes and back of the heels.
We used to get all that stuff from Huyton Village; the Woolies, it’s gone now. When
a child outgrew any item it was unpicked washed and wound into balls and used to
knit something else such as a pullover, cardigan or scarf or even baby clothes.
Women did a lot of baking as they were at home all day looking after the home and
the children. Stews were made with what was left over and had more vegetables
added and warmed up for the next day. Lots of cakes were made and iced fairy
cakes and fruit pies. Bread was made from flour, yeast, salt water and sugar. Bread
was made in all different shapes and sizes. We never went hungry. Our Huyton
streets were very friendly and if someone wasn’t coping then a neighbour would
pop food round. Party hats were made of newspapers and Xmas decorations of
coloured strips of paper joined together to make chains then hung from one corner
of the ceiling to the other, sometimes twisting them for different effects. We would
collect holly and mistletoe from the bushes around. We never had much, but no
one did, so there was no ‘keeping up with the Jones’. People grew potatoes and
vegetables in their gardens, raspberry and gooseberry bushes to make homemade
fruit pies and jams. Everyone I knew in Huyton, especially after the war, grew stuff
because the rationing went on for quite a bit after the war you know.
Irene
My Mam would get a tin can and put holes in it and then put bits of old soap in it
and then swill it round the dish water to do the dishes.
Dot
In the late 70s when money was very scarce we had no money for paint so we
bought some emulsion paint and I coloured it with Camp Coffee and I think OXO.
The colour was great and the kids kept sniffing the walls...funny.
Betty
We used to wear our sock as gloves and our coats on in bed.
Dot
21
22
War time memories
During and after the war almost everything was rationed , which meant how ever
much money you had it didn’t matter at all because with out coupons you really
couldn’t buy things. After the war they still had to keep rationing until a period of
time and one of the last things to be free of rationing was sweets in about 1952.
This meant until I was about 8 years old me and my brothers and sisters only ever
had a sweet once a week and that was on a Saturday . We went to the sweet shop
on Dinas Lane and my Mother got as many as we could with the coupons ...which
wasn’t many . The kids today wouldn’t cope I know that.
Joan
I know that Huyton was hardly bombed during the war in fact a lot of the children
from Liverpool were evacuated to Huyton , they used to camp out in The Bluebell
Woods. I remember two houses were bombed one in Jeffrey's Crescent number
33 in1940 and in Coronation Drive during the May Blitz of 1941.
Betty
V.E day celebrations were huge in Huyton everyone was just so happy every where
you went in whatever street people were dragging you in for a drink even if they
didn’t even know you We were just so happy the war was over and no more of
our men were in the war. It was a sad time as well for those who already knew
their men, fathers, husbands, lovers and sons were never going to walk through
that door....really sad.
Pat
One night toward the end of the war, mum woke me and all the kids up shouting,
“there’s an air raid” and rushed us all to the air raid shelters in our garden. After
what seemed like hours she took us back into the house and it was only the next
morning that we found out it was a thunder storm.
Dot
I was still In Ireland during the 2nd World War so I don’t have too many memories.
But I do remember there was one night I was lying in bed and I heard a kind of
droning sound as if something was in the sky, it was the middle of the night and
when I woke up the next morning it was all over the papers that parts of Dublin had
been bombed. It seems the Germans had bombed the Jews that lived in that part of
Dublin.
Phyllis
23
During the war my dad was captured and was a Prisoner of War so it was a terrible
time for us all. I remember us all with a sad dark cloud just hanging over us. Then
when V.E. Day came we felt as though we couldn’t celebrate because our dad
wasn’t with us. Yes we were so happy that the war was ended, of course we were.
We just felt it wasn't right to be celebrating in the street, so we missed the V.E. Day.
Then when our dad came home, then it was ok to celebrate V.E. Day because it
was the best day of our lives. All the family and the neighbours in the street had a
street party just for him it was lovely. My dad brought me an ambulance with little
men in it, I thought it was the best present ever. I think he might have made it while
he was captured, but one night he came home and accidentally sat on it.
Margaret
We moved from the Dock Road. So for us, moving to Huyton was like moving to
the countryside or even like being in another country. My cousins used to tell their
friends they were on a trip to the country when they came to visit us because
there was a field and a farm by ours. During the war we got evacuated to Whiston
and I went to Lyola Hall School ...it was great just like being on our hols.
Dot
I remember vividly the camps. The P.O.W camp was on Georgies field and we
would go over to the camps and mock them. They used to march everywhere. We
would also see the Italians and the Germans who we would see walking about and
my mother used to have two of them from the Internment camp over for tea every
Sunday. The Italian was called Joseph and he was very handsome and I forget the
Germans name but the Italian was after my sister. The Italian, I remember, brought
a huge piece of cheese for my mother which was a feast for us because of the
rations. My mother used to say that if it was her son in a foreign country she would
hope that some mother would do the same for her lad. Joseph and the German
invited us all back to their camp where we watched them perform in a cabaret show
and we loved it.
Ella
I remember Ma Meaghan telling me about the camps at Longview and there was
an America G.I. Camp in Bluebell and Eddie Fisher was there. All the girls loved
a soldier, especially an American one. I was told there was lots of romance with
the G.Is and I suppose this made the Scouse lads jealous. There was a lot of
fighting between the Yanks and Huyton lads in the Eagle and Child and the U.S.
Military Police had to come in with pick axe handles to sort them out. I think that’s
where that poem comes from ’Two Dogs’ because of the Black and White Dog
soldiers fighting in the Eagle.
Betty
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Internment camps
During the 2ndWorld War Huyton suffered bombing from the Luftwaffe. Some
Huytonians were killed and injured but the scale of destruction was nowhere close
to that experienced by Liverpool, Bootle and Birkenhead.
Huyton was host to three wartime camps: an Internment camp, a P.O.W. Camp
(prisoner of war) and a base for American Service Men (G.I.s)
The Internment Camp, one of the biggest in the country, was created to
accommodate those ‘enemy aliens’ (Germans, Italians and Austrians) deemed as a
potential threat to National Security by being spies or saboteurs. Churchill’s
demand to' Collar the lot’ meant that 27,000 people ended up being interned in the
UK. Unfortunately many of the Internees were refugees from the Nazis including
many artists attacked for their ‘degeneracy’. The Camp became known as ‘The
Huyton University,’ on account that many of the Internees were academic or were
indeed artists including Martin Bloch, Hugo Dachinger and Walter Nessler .
The camp, first occupied in May 1940, was formed around several streets of new
empty council houses and flats and then made secure with a 8ft high barbed wire
fencing. There were twelve people per house but often there was overcrowding
which meant that the men had to sleep in tents.
Initially the camp was only meant to hold the internees until they could get shipped
to the Isle of Mann. However, largely in response to the torpedoing of the
‘Transport’ ship ‘The Andorra Star’ with the loss of 700 people, the deportations
ended.
Most of the Internees were released long before the camp closed in 1942.The
Camp was cited in and around what was known as ‘The Blue Bell Estate’ and many
of the streets were given names of the Great Battles of 1939-45 War.
The P.O.W. Camp was opened in 1943 situated in Huyton and was only closed in
1948. Many of its prisoners went ‘native' and stayed in Britain and married local
women. Amongst those in the camp was Bert Trautmann who later went on to be
goalkeeper for Manchester City FC.
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Camp Stories
I remember the entrance to the camp was Wavel Road ...it’s funny because I go on
walks and I was telling this woman about there being camps in Huyton and do you
know what ...she didn’t believe me.
Betty
When we first moved here in the 50s we thought it was great all the trees and the
street lighting. We were made up with our house in Longview with a front and a
back garden...it was lovely. But, then my son came home from school saying that
his new little mate Billy said that he swears he seen a German soldier in his
bedroom. I thought “Jesus what’s going on round here,” so I went round to their
house by Bakers Green to tell his mother and she said, and I'll never forget it “Oh
yer, we see him all the time”. She didn’t bat an eye lid!!!
Pat
My Aunties house used to back-up onto the fence of the P.O.W camp so we could
see them easily from the bedroom windows. They used to look scruffy and we used
to feel dead sorry for them. Our Uncle used to tell us to stay away from them in
case we caught something but we used to give them our Jam Butties...it was all we
had.
Joan
I know a woman who fell in love with one of them and she was always at the fence
I think he was Italian .They were all very handsome you know. The woman used to
stand for hours sometimes just waiting for him in all sorts of weather. When he’d
come to the fence she would stand there more hours. Then she’d pass notes
through ...must have been love letters , I don’t know if she married him...I
sometimes wonder.
Pat
I remember that the camp had a footy team and we were just kids then and they
played against the Eagle and Child Pub Team and I remember it was a good game
but forgot who won, and Bert Trautmann played ....he went on to play the 1956 FA
CUP ....he had broken his neck you know, I’d love to know who won that game.
George
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Famous Huyton Pubs:
The Allies (Social Club) The Boundary, The Bluebell, The Doms (Social
Club) Huyton Labour, The Dovey, The Quiet Man, The Seel Arms, Rose and
Crown, The Queens, The Tent, The Farmers Arms, The Oak Tree, The Bow
and Arrow, The Stanley, The Edenhurst and the Hillside. To name but a
few……………
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Famous Huyton Pubs
At one time, Huyton had a thriving ‘Bevvying’ scene. In fact, people from all
over Liverpool came to drink in our Huyton Watering Holes. Yes, some boozers
had ‘not so desirable’ reputations like the ‘Eagle and Child’ who’s landlord Eddie
Cavanagh was famous for running on the pitch in the 1966 F.A. Cup Final. But
of course, it was known to most Huytonians as the place to get your stuff back if
your house had been burgled. This place was famous of course for the fights of
drunken men and sometimes women, not usually the kids though because they
were safe sitting on the step drinking lemo and crisps.
One fight started in the Eagle, rolled outside and ended up on the top bit of the
Tram because all the trams would come into Pagemoss in them days.
But of course the traditional working class pub was much more than a bricks
and mortar, it was the ’soul’ of a community, the place where, like the American
Bar ‘Cheers’ everyone knew your name.
You could buy good quality goods on the black Market, in-fact more often than
not my dad would often stumble in with a leg of lamb and sometimes it was still
attached to the rest of the lamb. You could get anything you wanted from razor
blades, booze, cigarettes to whole sides of beef and at one time, monkeys and
parrots were very popular, brought by the lads home on leave or docker’s with
goodies that has accidentally fell out of the containers.
Then there was the music, singing until the early hours with a lock-in (after
hours drinking at the discretion of the landlord) that usually ended with wives
banging on the door to get their husbands to, “get home NOW!" In fact I
remember my mum taking my dad's Sunday roast down to the Huyton Labour
with a knife and fork to embarrass him into coming home.... but that was not the
case, my dad replied in front of the barmaid and all the punters, “Now that’s
what I call a real wife...where’s the salt and pepper?”
In Huyton we used to have a old ditty we used to say about our most
popular Pubs
The Farmers Arms
Fired a Bow and Arrow
At the Eagle and Child
But it missed and hit
The Oak Tree
George
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The Eagle and Child
I remember the Xmas Parties in the Eagle for the orphans and kids. It was always the first
week in January. Eddie Cavanagh organised it and had the Everton Players there because
he was a mad Evertonian. Eddy was famous for running onto the pitch in the 1966 FA Cup
Final and the coppers were chasing him round the pitch at Wembley. The Eagle had a bad
name but they did a lot for charity....it was a good pub!
George
My husband Colin would often frequent the Eagle and Child and he told me once that a fella
came riding on a motorbike in the front door through the pub and then out the back door. That
kind of thing was normal for the Eagle and Child.
Betty
I don’t know if this is true but someone told me that they used to have mice races in The
Eagle with a proper mouse track. Not that I have ever seen a mouse racing track. Everyone
was betting on the mice including women and apparently a fight broke out because some
mad fellas tried to eat the mice. Then there was a fight and that’s just how it was.
Betty
The Eagle was the hardest pub I have ever known, even the dogs were scared to go in there.
Mary
The Boundary
I remember when some fella selling bottles of whiskey came in one night and said they were
knock off. He had one bottle open for people to taste and the fellas were made up y’know.
Quite a few bought the bottles but imagine their faces when they got home and opened it up
to find that it was cold tea.....I wouldn’t mind but it was sealed and everything....genius!
George
I remember Paul McCartney’s 21st Birthday party at his Aunties house in Dinas Lane and the
word got out so a couple of hundred people turned up but the Beatles came in disguise.
George
St David's Hall
There was a hall in St David’s Road in Huyton where we used to go and see bands it was
very popular and it was full of teds and rockers. This was the place where I first saw the
Beatles. That was in 1961-1962. I saw them a few times. I remember one night this gang
came down from Old Swan while the Beatles were on stage and George Harrison shouted,
“We’ve got a Barnie.”
George
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Childhood days
When I was about eight or nine I had to have my tonsils and adenoids
removed and I had to go to Rathbone Rd Hospital which is very old and
had long wards and iron beds. Everyone was in there for the same thing
and that doesn’t happen anymore. I remember that my mother could only
visit on a Wednesday for half an hour and for an hour on the Sunday. I
remember all the children singing Doris Days ’The Black Hills of Dakota’
before the operation as it was the popular song of the day and after the
operation we were croaking like frogs. When my poor sister had to be in
Alder hey for three long periods all I could do was wave because
children were not allowed on the strictly run wards. I remember the
sheets were so tightly tucked in I she could hardly breath and we were
told not to cry for by mother. If my mother wanted to know anything about
my sisters condition. She had to make an appointment to speak to the
doctor she wasn’t allowed to just speak to the nurse.
Joan
We moved to Huyton really because we had no choice. We had been
living in Sefton Park, South Liverpool and my brother Walter had been in
a hospital in Moreton for ten years. The doctors had said that he come
home only if we were to live in the fresh air with lots of green open
spaces and Huyton was just that. My brother had been playing a game
and hurt himself when he was about seven and we think he had
diseased bones, well that was what the doctor had said and off he went
to hospital for all those years. I think now he probably had TB. Not to say
he didn’t have a good time in hospital because he did . He was part of
the Boy Scouts in the hospital and met many of the Scouts who came to
visit the children in hospital from all over the world. Walter would make
the most exceptional art pieces and send them to friends he had made.
When we picked him up from the hospital he had boxes of books and
cards that people had sent him from every country imaginable
wishing him well. My father had bought him a puppy and Walter was so
happy and we all used to be in fits of laughing as he got the puppy to run
up his iron leg. Sadly after living in Huyton’s Countryside for only six
months my lovely brother Walter died he was about 17. I will always
remember him and his fantastic artwork .
Ella
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