蜜芽传媒

Family and Friends

Harry鈥檚 father was the workshop manager of a garage called 鈥楾he Bleeding Wolf鈥� next door to a hotel of the same name in Hale. We always thought it was naughty to say the name because it sounded like swearing; so we said it whenever we thought we would get away with it. Yes we slipped up sometimes and got a clout.
Early during the war we were told Harry鈥檚 father had been arrested by the police for the serious offence of impersonating an officer of the Royal Air Force. The garage where he worked at Hale was very close to Ringway Airport, where a lot of RAF air crew were stationed; it was suggested that this is how he acquired the uniform of a Squadron Leader Pilot. The hotel, 鈥楾he Bleeding Wolf鈥� next door would have been a good place to eves drop in to the various accounts of the exploits of the true heroes. We, meaning Harry and I, heard that he鈥檇 also go into Manchester and other surrounding towns and live a Walter Mitty existence, that of a super hero; of course he would be treated to many drinks. We heard some people say that the reason may have been due to frustration of not being able to join-up in the first place?
He was sentenced to a few years in prison, and some days later as we played in Harry鈥檚 garden a Spitfire flew very low over his house, and frightened us to death and almost knocking the chimney pots off. The pilot waggled his wings and soared up into the sky and flew away. Was the pilot saying hard luck, or serves you right? We will never know.
Whilst Mr Long was serving King and Country in far off lands, every month or so he sent a parcel to his wife and son that contained a variety of nuts. On most occasions the postman had to leave it at our house because Mrs Long was out at work. Many a time the parcel would arrive in a damaged state and some nuts spilt out onto our kitchen table; if they didn鈥檛, well they received a little help, especially from Auntie Babs, 鈥淥h dear look what鈥檚 happened, never mind we鈥檒l enjoy them.鈥� she鈥檇 say.
Newfield Lane Dore Sheffield
A little way down the back garden at Newfield was a rather large hut; right in the middle of the garden, a little way in front of the hut was a high wooden pylon, with a few aerials of different shapes and sizes at the top of it. I believe this served as a landmark for miles around. Anything to do with wireless and communications was Uncle George鈥檚 hobby, and his lively-hood. Which came first I鈥檓 not quite sure.
Sometimes historic moments happen and you don鈥檛 recognise what it was until much later. This happened to us during our stay in 1938. We were playing in the garden and uncle was working in his hut. Suddenly the door opened and he called over to us 鈥淢uriel, Peter, can you come in here for a minute?鈥� We looked at each other and Muriel said to me, 鈥渨hat鈥檚 the matter; we haven鈥檛 done anything wrong have we?鈥� As we neared the hut he came out with a big smile and said excitedly, 鈥淚鈥檝e got something to show you - come on in.鈥�
We had never been allowed in his shed before and it felt as if we were entering the Forbidden City. He was very jolly as he took us over to the wall that was full of black boxes with knobs and dials on. He pointed to one of the black boxes with a very small flickering screen on it. There was a black and white picture, not crystal clear, but still good enough to see that it was, a cricket match, and all the players were moving! We were actually watching a cricket match being played. "There now, this will be something for you to remember for the rest of your lives, that picture is coming all the way from London. That鈥檚 called, Television,鈥� said Uncle George proudly. We stood gawping, spell bound watching this small screen for a few minutes until he told us to go and carry on playing as he had a lot of work to do. At this moment in time we did not, nor could we have envisaged the impact that this would have on society and us in general in the years to come.
The next day he showed us a copy of a local Sheffield newspaper that had the headlines reading, "GEORGE BAGSHAW GETS TELEVISION OVER THE PENNINES." Thursday 1 September 1938.
In the early forties uncle had started his own company called 鈥楽heffield Wireless and Telegraph鈥�. This took a lot of his time but he still found time for his hobby as a radio ham. Much of the equipment in the hut he used for research into wireless waves, television and radar.
During the war, as well as being an officer of the Police Special Constabulary, he was also an officer in the Voluntary Reserve of the R.A.F. His main contribution during the war was of course working on radio and radar equipment. A large part of the crucial work he was involved with was the servicing and mending of some of the complicated radar equipment.
This involved the whole radar cabinet housing having to be dismantled in order to gain access to the component parts that needed mending or adjustment. After a few months of all this hectic work and the pressure from the Air Ministry, he came up with a bizarre idea. One of the ladies who worked in the factory was of a petite build and he approached her with his plan and she agreed to try it out. I can only assume she had a sense of humour. A pulley contraption was assembled and fitted to a girder and a parachute harness obtained. The idea was to put her into the harness, hoist her into the air and then lower her into the cabinet (which was large) to mend the part. It worked. This simple labour saving device saved many man-hours and enabled the equipment to be returned into service far more quickly.
Many years later, around 1973, I met up with him again. During our long chat Uncle George told me many things but one that I was particularly interested in was his involvement in the First World War when he was 鈥榥ow鈥檛 but a lad鈥�. As he had more than a keen interest in Wireless, he was assigned to the Signals Corps. One of the many problems the army had back then was that the enemy often knew what their next move was to be. He was set to work on the problem as it was thought that lack of secure communications could well be the reason.
He discovered that the enemy could 鈥榯ap鈥� into the single wire system connecting the wireless telephones relaying messages, and listen in. After many experiments he found that by using two wires, one to send and one to receive, each on a different frequency, he had solved the problem. By doing he undoubtedly saved many thousands of Allied lives. He was an unsung hero in many ways. I鈥檓 delighted to give him the place in history he rightly deserves.

Auntie Babs. Green Gables 20 Alton Rd Wilmslow
Just after the war started, Uncle Geoffrey came home with half a dozen one-inch whitish discs with a safety pin fixed on the back. 鈥淲hat are they we asked?鈥� 鈥淲ait till it goes dark then you鈥檒l see. You can hold one though鈥�. The whitish side felt like sandpaper and smelt awful, just like bad eggs. Later, when he put the lounge lights out, he told us they were Luminous Discs that glow in the dark enabling you to be seen. If two people stood close together it looked like two big ghostly eyes coming towards you. Very scary! On the way to the railway station to drop uncle off to catch the train into Manchester, we noticed some men painting wide white rings round the trees and lampposts. Uncle Geoffrey told us that it would help us to see them in the blackout, as Mr Churchill had ordered that the street lighting had to be turned off during the war.
The war put a stop to firework displays, so indoor ones took their place at home; these were quite good really. Some were black dots on heavy paper and when, lit by touching the start spot with a lighted cigarette, a line appeared as it burned to produce a drawing, like dot to dot. Then, 鈥楾he Serpent鈥�, a disc the size of an old penny, after lighting it a big worm like mass grew out from the centre to be a foot or more in length. Another slimy one was called Mount Vesuvius, this was a pyramid shape about three inches high, when lit sparks flew out of the top and then molten lava cascaded down its sides. Somehow one or two were made to give a low explosion (a little pop more like) at the end of there performance. But the ones my Mum liked best were crystals that you put in a glass of water. After a few seconds you could watch the crystals transformed into beautiful flowers of different shapes and colours. During 1939-40 Auntie Babs followed Mums example and took in three evacuees from London.
Uncle Geoffrey had been in the RAF for some months, leaving Auntie Babs living alone in the house. The house was what they called 鈥榗ommandeered鈥� by the war office. A few miles away was the factory of AV Roes at Woodford who built aeroplanes, in fact the famous Lancaster bomber. The war office wanted a family house for a test pilot who was coming up from the south to work there. Auntie Babs鈥檚 house fitted their requirements to the letter. This meant that she had to come and live with us, but that鈥檚 another story.
Grandparents Scott
Granddad鈥檚 main hobby was that of making a garden out of his small back yard. This task was completed by July 1936. Various containers had been purchased from the numerous second hand shops that were scattered around the area. Soon they had been filled with soil and various plants and positioned. Then he had a brilliant idea of adding large mirrors to reflect the colourful pots, plants and flowers; it would also make the yard appear larger. Granddad Scott featured in the Manchester Evening News in 1936. Winning one of their awards for gardening must have been a very proud moment for him.
When the war came he was told to remove all the mirrors as they may be a hazard, the authorities were frightened they鈥檇 reflect light, especially moonlight that would be seen by the enemy bombers. He refused saying they were talking nonsense. The whole family tried to persuade him to cover the mirrors up, but to no avail. Mum that she got very cross about this, it made her swear, saying he was an obstinate old bugger, and she couldn鈥檛 understand why they didn鈥檛 prosecute him.
One Sunday when we all arrived, Granddad was busy in the kitchen, no, not baking a cake; he was mending a hole in an enamelled saucepan. Oh yes, you had to do things like that in those days especially during the war. This wasn鈥檛 a case of meanness; it was a case of necessity. I didn鈥檛 know at the time but the Government had confiscated all aluminium-cooking utensil, they sent lorries round every district to collect the piles of pans and kettles that youths had collected from around their neighbourhood. The slogan was 鈥�2000 pans make a Spitfire鈥�. So that鈥檚 why Granddad and thousands like him had to 鈥楳ake Do and Mend鈥� as the slogan said it was either that or do without, because he just couldn鈥檛 go out and buy grandma any new ones.

From 鈥楾IMPERLEY BOY鈥� by Peter Scott - Published by Churnet Valley Books Leek Staffordshire

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