beginning in Ryecroft, Rawmarsh in South Yorkshire
Part of the Jackson Family History
Dear Hilary
You MAY remember my name but I'm sure you were either in the same class or year level as my sister Frances Bower. My name is Janet and we lived at the bottom of Green Lane, Rawmarsh. I would have been 2 years ahead of you at all the Rawmarsh schools you mentioned in your School Days report.
First things first. How did I get to be reading your web page? Through Friends Reunited I got in touch with Christine Ellis (Kirk) back in 2004. In an email received just this week she mentioned your web page so, having nothing better to do (ha ha) out here in South Australia on quite a hot day, I decided to have a look at it.
Read your School Days page first and it certainly brought back memories of all three Rawmarsh schools. I did my nursery school days down Barbers Ave and once at Ryecroft went straight into Miss Pepper's class, but I do remember the younger students having to take a nap on the camp beds. I have good and bad memories of Miss I'anson. At age 5 she told me I was a better reader than children aged 7 but once I was in year/class 4 I let myself/the school down after a trip to the dentist in Barbers Avenue (Did we really walk all that way?) She (Miss I'Anson) called me out to the front of the class when we got back and smacked me for not being a good girl at the dentist - I remember crying and objecting to having treatment but all that did was get me left to last plus I didn't get the pink 'sweets' either which were given to you to help with healing etc. Still have problems when I pluck up courage to visit a dentist and I'm sure it stems back to then. I remember queuing up for our regular dose of codliver oil and malt (Yum) and marching round the playground chanting some American song, but the school milk which was either warm or had thick cream on top did not go down well and again milk is something I do not drink on its own - it has to be flavoured or in tea/coffee. Think we used the air-raid shelter once while I was at Ryecroft but whether that was a drill or necessity I can't recall. School dinners well - frog spawn (sago) and semolina are definitely not on my list of must haves!
At Rosehill I remember making a dirndl skirt all by hand in Miss Holroyd's class and when we had to learn how to do fairisle by knitting a pair of mittens, I, with her permission, knitted a short sleeved jumper using the same pattern. When I was in Mr Colclough's year 5 class I remember him coming into class one day with his shirt tail hanging out- a few titters went round the class that time!. Mr Skeldon I knew because we attended the Rawmarsh Congregational Chapel so when I was in his class I was always a bit wary of him. It was at Rosehill and Haugh Road that Christine (Kirk) and I were in the same classes. Occasionally while still at Rosehill, instead of catching the bus home I used to buy an Oxo cube with my bus fare from a shop near The Queens hotel. Fancy sucking on an Oxo cube now - ugh! We had our wedding reception at The Queens Hotel in 1960 and Frank Cuckson took our wedding photos.
By second year at Haugh Road I was in Miss Davies' year 2 class. If she forgot anything from home, as with you being sent to buy cigarettes for Mr Skeldon, I was sent to her home to collect it as she lived in Green Lane, quite near us but in a 'big house'. My rememberances of Miss Bletcher, the music teacher, was that if you were caught talking in her class she was very fond of giving you X number of verses from the Bible to write out. She was also in charge of the school choir and to get into it you had to sing the first 4 lines of "Onward Christian Sodiers'. In Mrs Fletcher's cooking class I was put in charge of boiling some potatoes, then went to do something else (probably talking) and they ended up boiling dry! That pan took ages to clean. That year I sat both for the Mexborough Tech and Grammar Schools and Rotherham Tech. I remember Miss Bryson telling me that if I had sat for Wath Grammar I would likely have got in - turns out she was one of the Governors! Instead I passed for Rotherham and went on to do a 2 year Commercial Course. I always loved school and was sad to leave both Rosehill and the Haugh.
I remember your mother's shop but don't recall going into it very often though probably 'window shopped' regularly as I remember there was always a variety of goods on display in the windows.
I am still in touch with friends living in Rawmarsh & Rotherham who I first met through Rawmarsh Congs, Haugh Road and Rotherham Tech and have enjoyed reading the book on Around Parkgate & Rawmarsh which I have.
By the way was Joan Hickling a relative of yours? I became friends with her in my teens and also knew her cousin? Maureen Jackson? I can't remember if we were still living in England, though not in Yorkshire, or had emigrated out here when Joan passed away.
Moving on, I have looked at some of your other 'pages' especially your Mickelthwaite one. I did this because I have recently found out through someone I am in contact with via Genes Reunited, that I/we have a Mary Mickelthwaite in our tree. She married a John Smith (he was born 1755) so she was likely born similar period. Mary & John are my 3 x great grandparents. The other thing from looking at this page was that several of your ancestors attended/are buried at Netherfield Chapel in Thurlstone. Thurlstone/Penistone is where my Bower/Smith descendants are from and some are buried at Netherfield too so who knows......!?
Hopefully I've not bored you too much with all the above. Your page just brought back good memories from my school days - it felt right to contact you. I will print off some of your thoughts and send them to Frances as she is not on the Net. She went onto Wath Grammar after one year at Haugh Road, then into teaching, mostly in the Midlands and finally became Head of a school in Crick, retiring about 1995. She's married and they live near Rugby.
Regards
Janet Hilliard (Bower)