The Life of Henry Hiley Part 9 - life in Littleborough (Market Day, Easter, Bonfire time)

Henry continues his memories of life in Littleborough as a young boy - this time, events at different times of the year.

Market Day

We used to like Market Day. All the children liked the Market Day. When I go back to Littleborough now it’s such a tiny spot. I can’t imagine that there were so many stalls there. Every Friday evening I remember Charlie Bottle. He was the man who brought in the naphthalene flares, one for each market stall, to light the place up so that people could see what they were going to buy. There were grocery stalls, sweet stalls, patent medicines, all sorts.

I remember one of the patent medicine stalls where the man said that he had a specific that would cure anything in the world, any ailment except for cancer, consumption and sugar diabetes. He made no claim to be able to cure those three ailments. Another remedy he had for anybody with bronchitis. There was plenty of bronchitis in Lancashire, in Littleborough in those days, people with bad chests and bad coughs, and his remedy for that was for to go out into the field, locate and scoop up a convenient cowpat, bring it back, slap it on the child’s chest, and he claimed that that would cure bronchitis. I don’t know of anybody who tried it.

Easter

Everything happened in its season. At Easter time we might expect little troops of players to come and act out the pace egg play on the street, of St George slaying the dragon. I remember Saladin always used to get knocked down and call for a doctor. ‘A doctor, a doctor, £10 for a doctor’ and the doctor would stride up with a top hat and tell us that he could cure anything. He said he could cure ‘the itch, the pitch, the palsy and the gout. If you’ve got 19 devils in your skull, I’ll drive 20 of them out.’

In the pace egg play I don’t think it was Saladin because before the fight there strode into the arena – ‘Here come I the Turkish knight. Come from the Turkish lands to fight’. And then there was a set-to with Saint George. The Turkish knight of course was defeated, and then he had to call for the doctor. 

Bonfire time

Before bonfire time, we might ourselves go around the streets singing, just like carol singers go now, collecting money for a good cause but in our case it was ourselves. We would collect money in order to buy fireworks. The ones that the boys liked were little demons. They cost a ha’penny apiece and went off with a big bang. There was a thunderflash as well. That was a ha’penny firework. That made a big bang. We liked less noisy fireworks. Snowfire was a particular favourite. That made a splendid white light – beautiful. Chrysanthemum fountains, they were a bit more sparkly. The pinwheels were alright as long as you could get them to go round. The jumping jacks – they were favourites. We had sparklers as well – they were alright. We never went in for sky rockets. I don’t know why.

The Life of Henry Hiley Part 8 - life in Littleborough (Games, Ealees, Songs)

In the next few posts Henry talks about life in Littleborough as a youngster with his friends. In this post: street games, going up Ealees and singing songs.

Games

We played all sorts of games on the street. We used to play cricket wherever we could, a bit of spare ground however rough. We would chalk wickets on the gable end of a terrace. About 50 years later I went with Christopher to Victoria Street. There were no wickets chalked still on that gable end but when we went to the old school, the Central school, on the playground I was very pleased to see there were still one or two sets of wickets chalked on the school wall.

We used to chase around in the Wesleyan chapel grounds at the top of Victoria Street and Sam Mills who lived in the top house on the opposite side of the street, he would shout at us to clear off.

We played Tig, chased each other. We rolled bullies, those were iron hoops. The girls used to have wooden hoops. We played Relivo - I can’t remember what that game was. Hopscotch, that’s fairly obvious. We even did some skipping but skipping of course was more a game for the girls. We used to play games under the street lamps in winter. I used to like to see the lamplighter come round with his long stick. He had a naked light at the end of it. The pilot lights were left on in the street lamps and it was up to the lamplighter to turn on the gas and light the…… it couldn’t have been the pilot light because he lit it with his long stick.

 

Ealees

We used to like going up Ealees. That was country really. There was a stream up there and there were fields. We used to go to the Parish Church cricket ground. It was so tiny that when a game of cricket was played in the Sunday School league a hit to the boundary only counted 2 runs. There were no fours. And there was a river there. We used to play in it or close to it and one time we were playing up there, about 6 of us in our gang, and an aeroplane came down on a field on the opposite side of the river. And we climbed up, we went dashing up the slope to get to the field and the pilot leaned out. He was lost and he asked us where he was, so we told him that he was in Littleborough and he was able to find out exactly where he was on his map and he took off again. I don’t know where he went to.

We used to catch newts in a mill lodge up there. A lodge would be the water supply for the local mill at Ealees. That was where Grandpa Kershaw used to work. There were newts there. Once I fell into the river. I was frightened to go home so I went next door instead to Mrs Hoyle and I dried out as best I could in front of her fire.

Songs

We’d go round singing and these were the songs. ‘Here we come a copper coaling for the bonfire time. With a pickaxe and shovel we want to provide. For the day, for the day, for the diddle i do day’. ‘My mother sent me for some water, for some water for my tea. My foot slipped and down I stumbled. De diddle iddle iddle diddle iddle dee.’ ‘All around the house. Try to catch a mouse. When you’ve caught it by the tail. Hang it on a rusty nail. Give it to the cook. To make pea soup. Hurrah boys, hurrah boys. How do you like the soup?’

The photo below was taken in about 1922, most likely in Victoria Street in Littleborough.

On the front row, 3rd from the right is Henry Hiley. Next to the back row are Henry's sisters Edith (5th from the right) and Agnes (7th from the right). Henry's other sister Mary may be on the far right on the front row. Their older brother Sam is not in the photo.

Joseph Hiley

About a 15 minute drive from Thiepval is the town of Albert which played a major part in WW1 and was the main town behind the lines for the Allies on the 1916 Somme battlefields.

Joseph Hiley is buried at the Albert Communal Cemetery Extension in the town.

Joseph was from Yardley, Birmingham, historically in the county of Worcestershire. He had 4 brothers and 2 sisters and in 1911, aged 16, his occupation was a Wire Worker.

He joined the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, B Company, 10th Battalion. The Battalion was involved in the attacks on High Wood and the Battle of Pozieres Ridge. Joseph died of wounds received in battle on 31st July 1916, aged 21. His effects were sent to his father, also called Joseph.