Holiday Times Past

[William R]

Hi Karen, Did you know the Cooksons of my previous postings??? William R.

[Karen]

Sorry William R. I didn't know the Cooksons .. just my cousins.
I lived in Leyland and didn't get to 'play out' when we were visiting the family!!

My father worked at Leyland motors .. South Works ... then at
'The Tank Factory'.
He was a tinsmith ... Fred Elcock.
His buddies were Les Watkinson, Alf Bannister, Bill Holden and two younger ones .. Tommy Wolstenholme (can be seen in the Farington books by Joan Langford) and Jack Charnock ... Andrew (started the Montreal Leyland Motors) Charnock's younger brother.

Anyone remember any of those guys?

I think the pc name for tinsmith is .. Sheet Metal Worker ... but it's such a long title to write!!

Ciao Karen.

[Guest 01]

Or Metal' basher' as it was known in some quarters.
LG

[Alan Marsden]

William, sorry I cannot remember the Cooksons that you quote, but Arnold Cookson sort of semi rings a bell. I lived at the first house just north of Blackpool Rd, on Shelley, the back garden went down to the canal. During the war we had an Anderton air raid shelter, it was semi underground and dad had built a garden over it, access was thru a sand bagged restricted entrance. When the air raid sirens sounded we used to go to it, close the door ,play games and sleep, we had paraffin lamps and heating stove, it was quite cozy,and we had "barley sugars "too !
I had a relative who lived farther south on Shelley Rd. named Jack Wilson, also friends around there were Maurice Dean, Trevor Cocker,Jimmy Cook and the Jacksons in Balcarres Rd.
Alan M