LOCAL LADS

This was my cousin David Baily, who died while playing football a few years later.

I lived next door to Billy Ince in Norman Road. He was a few years older than me, but I knew his brother George and also his mother Dolly in the early 1950's.

Used to know Billy well in the 40's/50's and this year met his brother at my brothers funeral. I also knew Bobby Stonehouse well, we went to school together.

I married Bills oldest daughter.

My father Ron (Wacker) Davies used to play football with these players and he told me that he scored 6 goals in one game. I believe it was against the Boys Club. Can anyone confirm this?

Wacker was always telling us about his footballing exploits. He was a great character. I had great times working with him at Bannisters Builders, where he was the lorry driver. I spent many hours in the cab with him delivering the joinery we made to sites all round the area. He used to clean and oil the machines in the workshop on Sunday mornings, you always knew he was there if you needed anything on a Sunday.

Great to find someone who knew my dad. I was his little boy always on the lorry in summertime, must have been shoveling sand out of Bannisters yard since I was ten. I was also called 'mini wack'. He also carried a flask of cocoa, and cheese in butter flaked bisquits, I also helped my dad on a sunday morning knotting the wooden frames and doors ready to go out on Monday morning. Thanks for reminding me

I used to help Wacker knott and prime the frames and fix the metal crittall windows into the wooden frames. They were bedded in with a yellow mastic the consistancy of putty which had to go on the two rebates in the wooden frame, Wacker showed me how to apply it in one action which halved the time it took to do, I used to get 6 pence a foot to do it so it doubled the money I could make. The down side of it was it must have had something nasty in it as it used to make my fingers swell up. Until recently I still had the glass lined knotting bottle that Wacker gave me - it just fell apart and I had knotting all over the van. Good to hear from you Drac, I loved working with your dad and I do remember the cocoa and cream crackers, he always had them.

Hi Terry, I now live in Spain and have an old house which has old beams inside.  About every 2 years I treat them with linseed oil and the smell of linseed oil always takes me back to Bannisters yard. Must have been the smell of putty in the window frames. Do you remember Nevitt (Les Beal)? He was a good mate of my dad and I was named Leslie after him.

Yes I remember Les he was a good friend of my dad. He was a big influence on me, I applied his common sense attitude throughout my working life. He was a very clever man. I have spoken about him before on this site as I have your dad. I resprayed his Morris 1000 traveller in my dads drive once. But what used to amaze me was how he could light up a very small roll up without burning himself. Yes the smells never leave you do they and they had some at Bannisters, knotting putty and pink priming come to mind but the smell of hoof and horn glue was the best, I had to boil it up for sticking staircases together. It took two or three days to get the stench out of your nostrills. Good days though.

I wonder if any of those men would remember my Dad Fraser Thomson from 257 Newhaven Road?

Hi great photo, would Bob Lower be an ancestor of mine? My great grand mother was Elizabeth Lower.