Annie Deeley was his Great Aunt.
Annie Deeley was born on 4th August 1891. She was the second daughter of George and Sarah of Godley; it is probable that when her father died in 1904 she had just started work as a weaver. Before her marriage it is known that she worked at a mill in Broadbottom, several miles journey from Godley, walking was a fact of life for a great many people in the 19th Century. Annie often recalled one memorable walk she made with some of her brothers, given the chance to travel through the long Woodhead tunnel they crouched on the coal in the tender of a steam train. Arriving at the other end no doubt looking a little dirtier than they did at the start, they had to make their own way back! But she insisted that the long trek was well worth it.
On another occasion during a very hot summer, the children decided to make their own paddling pool. They did this by damming up the stream which flowed past the cottages in the hollow (306) before it went through a culvert under Godley Hill Road to what was then the margarine works. Their efforts were very successful and they made a lovely deep pool to splash around in. Suddenly they were aware of several irate men approaching. The men had become aware that the water supply was no longer flowing into the works and had gone through the culvert in an effort to find the blockage.
I can just imagine the workers faces when they realised why the water had stopped running :)
Thanks for the memories, Derek.
3 comments:
Excellent Memories... great to see them being past down the generations... so many great stories like these must be out there waiting to be told. We would love to hear them and keep them going for generations to come.
I was reminded of the many 'dams' we made in the woods on Cheetham Folds... We would raid the barn on Apethorn Lane and block the culvert which went under the train tracks. We would then wait for the water to build up. Once it was considered deep enough we would all make for the tree swing and take goes swing out over the pool and dropping in. Every summer holiday we did this and it was guaranteed that Tony Collins would break either his wrist or arm in the first week. Happy Days
Lovely to read your story Derek. I think our families worked harder than we can imagine but it is important to remember their magic moments too.
Hi Rowan.
I agree.. it must have been so much harder indeed...
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