Dear Have Your Say,
I have noticed very few letters from people who lived in Collyhurst. I myself was born in 1936 in Cheetham Hill, but on returning from evacuation in Blackpool when I was six years old, we had moved to be near my mother’s family in Collyhurst Road by Weber Street.

In the corner shop lived Mrs Lever who I believe was the mother of Harold Lever M.P. I attended St. Oswald’s school on Rochdale Road until I left at Easter, March 1951. At nineteen I married and for a couple of years lived in Beswick ‘Lilian Street’.

The last 42 years I have lived in Ancoats and Miles Platting. When I was younger a crowd of six-eight boys and girls would walk up and down Collyhurst Rd. singing a song, I don’t know where it came from, but here are the words I remember;

We are some of the Collyhurst Gang
We are some of the best
We know our manners
How to spend your tanners
We are respected wherever we go
See us walking up Collyhurst Road

This was sung in a lilting way, sadly I can’t remember any more.

In our crowd were my cousins Pat and Beryl, friend Monica, the boys I remember were Gordon, his brother (I can’t remember his name) and George. If there is anyone who remembers me from school I’d love to hear from them through Have Your Say.
Gladys Russon nee Brown
P.S. I enjoy reading your magazine, keep up the good work.

Hi Maggie,
Do any of your readers have memories or stories about the coal yard that used to be on Jersey Street? My grandmother (Emily Williams nee Butterworth) used to run it with the help of her young son (Joe), my dad. My dad used to say he helped as a young boy. One memory he had was of delivering coal on a barrow, for which he would receive sixpence.
Joe Williams
joewilliams1951@hotmail.co.uk

Dear Have Your Say,
Many thanks for sending me the magazine. I love reading of days gone by. They remind me of my childhood in Collyhurst and schooldays at St. Edmunds.

Although I’ve been left Manchester for over thirty years, my heart is still there, but I don’t suppose I’d recognise it now, would I?

In the autumn/winter edition there was a letter from JW asking about St. Edmunds School in Miles Platting. Well I went there for five years, from the age of 5 until 10. When those of us who lived in Collyhurst transferred to our brand new school St. Malachy’s, I think that would be about 1929. What I can remember about St. Edmund’s was that we got a good basic education. We were taught the three ‘Rs’ which helped me for the remainder of my school days at St. Malachy’s and then Mount Carmel School. I would love to see a photo of the old St. Edmund’s School and Church if at all possible.

Here is a little snippet about my dad. He joined up in 1914 in the Border Regiment. He was very badly wounded in 1916; he recovered and was then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he worked on maintenance.

While he was there, he made a model of a fighter plane and when Armistice was declared, the plane was displayed in St. Oswald’s Grove, Collyhurst where we lived. It was slung across from our house to the house opposite.

Afterwards the plane was taken to St. Edmund’s School by my brother Ernest, it was displayed there for a while. I don’t know what became of it after that.
Marjorie Jones.

Dear All at Have Your Say
Thanks very much for the magazines, what a lot of hard work you all do and what lovely memories people write about.

Re Issue 21, I wonder if David Hutton would remember a chap called Bert Brumble from Philips Park Road. My brother Allen King and a few more lads used to be great friend in their teens and early twenties, John Dale was another and Haley Liddy whose father had a Green-grocers shop at the bottom of Ashton New Road near the Don Cinema. They were a lively bunch of lads. Who knows where they are all now?

My brother now lives in Bramhall his email address is desdan21@hotmail.com
Thank you for sending the magazine, I so look forward to reading it and hopefully one day I will see a name I recognise.
Eunice O’Dwyer

Dear All,
Thank you so much for the Have Your Say Magazines!
They are brilliant. I was staying in Chester when my husband brought them up. Whilst I was there, I was doing some family research, courtesy of the local library. The computer produced no end of information, including the whereabouts of the Broady family in 1857, along with the Grandparents names and occupations came their children’s too!

I’m still on the trail of the Bird in Hand and Tom and Lizzie Milner from 13 Ridgway Street. There appears to be two pubs of the same name. I’m sure Lizzie was at the pub in 1955.

I would be interested to hear any other memories regarding the Pub and Tom and Lizzie.
Sue Broady

Dear all
My mother and I both enjoy reading Have Your Say magazine we used to live at 228 Ridgeway St, Miles Platting before moving to Lightbowne Road Moston in 1960. I attended Corpus Christi school from 1955-1966.

Does any ex Corpus Christi pupils in the late 50s remember being taken out of the infant department to see a film shown in a stock room behind Mr Corbett’s office in the junior school.

The film showed the infants at play in the playground. I was on that film, I’ve often wondered what happened to the film. Maybe Mr. Corbett was trying out a new cine camera before going on holiday. It’s a piece of local history from nearly half a century ago. Lets hope it can be found.
Phil Dewar

Dear All,
I was very interested to read the article ‘No room in the wardrobe’ a few issues ago, about some of the shops in Miles Platting, especially Gillibrand’s Barbers. Can any of your readers tell me more, as my husband’s family were all from that area and there couldn’t be many Gillibrand’s who were not related to each other in some way! I am hoping to do some research into our family tree, but there are no older members of the family left, I need somewhere to start from! Hope someone out there can give me some information.
Yours Lorna Gillibrand. (Mrs)

Dear Have Your Say,
Referring to Mary’s letter about Nurse Harper. Nurse Harper taught me piano-forte and theory for 3 yrs commencing 1941. I was doing ever so well (I played Barcarolle for the Bishop) and practised on my Uncle Tommy’s piano at my Grandmother’s house in Dyson St Miles Platting. But Uncle Tommy got married and moved into his own house and took the piano with him. So that was the end of my musical career.

However Nurse Harper must have taught me well as I still read music and spend many a happy hour playing my keyboard like a piano.
Rita Armin (nee Armstrong) (ex Dyson St. Miles Platting)

Dear Have Your Say
I enclose a copy of a poem * written by my late husband Tony. I would be proud if you could include it in one of your issue’s as I know Tony would have been.

Tony was born in Ancoats in 1938 and went to St. Anne’s School Ancoats. He was a member of the Kerry Pipers at St. Anne’s from the age of 8 to 16years. I would love to hear from anybody who has any information on the pipe band.
Mrs. Pat Hankinson

Hello HYS Staff
Regarding the poem that was written by Mr A. Hankinson all about the places in the Ancoats area 1945 to 1953. He was an Ancoats lad and when I was back in Manchester last year most of my mates had heard about it and they are
eagerly awaiting its publication in Have Your Say.
Stan Howard.

Jean Park would like to know; If anybody knows where children from St. Mark’s School were evacuated to in 1938/39. Can anybody help answer this please?

Does anybody have any photo- graphs of St. Mark’s football team 1939/1940?
George Rowland would be very grateful for a copy.

Does anyone remember Jimmy Lomas, who was born in Duke Street and used to have the scrap yard in Holland Street?
Jimmy a talented organist now lives in Blackpool. Here is a recent photo of Jimmy tinkling the ivories.