William was my grandfather, born on 27 February 1901, and was one of nine children born to Robert (1863-1908) and Sarah Herring (nee Birks) (1869-1940)
The others were;
James Harry (b.1891 - d.1951)
John George (b.1893 - d.1893) (aged 8 months)
Robert (b.1894 - d.1918, WWI)
Ethel Henrietta (Hetty) (b.1897 - d.1956)
George Christopher (b.1899 - d.1937)
Mary (Dolly) (b.1903 - 1980)
Violet (b.1905 - d.1977)
Kathleen (Kitty) (b.1907 - d.1995)
One of the children, Robert Jnr, died in WWI.
In 1924, he met and married my grandmother, Emma (nee Woodward) They were like chalk and cheese. My granny Emma was loud, feisty and could hold her own in an argument whereas my grandfather was a quiet unassuming man who worked hard and was very strong. He loved his food and worked on the Hartlepool Docks until sustaining an injury leading to retirement from there.
His life had a few nasty bumps along the way though. In March 1937, he was knocked down by a van close to Seaton Carew and suffered leg injuries, then came the accident on the Docks a few years later. But he never grumbled. He liked a quiet drink in his favourite pub. And boy, could he eat! He spent some time working at the Hartlepool slaughterhouse and used to bring home vast amounts of meat to cook. Nobody went hungry in his street during wartime! That's how much much he was a generous man, and would do anything to help anyone.
My Grandfather was also a very strong man. There are tales from my uncle of him pulling a nearly ton weight of seacoal in his barrow some miles to his home.
In my grandfathers time in the 1930's-1960's people moved about a lot. This was of course due to houses being very old, some damaged by bombs during the war, etc and my grandfather did well to live a long time in Pilgrim Street Hartlepool from his marriage in 1924 to the Mid 1950's.
In 1946, my grandparents separated. I never knew the reason but they obviously still loved each other.
in 1954 he was offered a house in the town's Duncan Road on the Owton Manor Estate just before the demolition of Pilgrim Street in 1958. My grandfather wasn't keen on the move to Owton Manor, as he was used to the area that he was brought up in, and missed his favourite clubs (especially the West Workman's Club)and shops down in the Pilgrim Street area.
He stayed for four years in Duncan Road before moving to Caithness Road, also on the Owton Manor Estate.
His last residence during his lifetime was back in the area he loved, in the town's Westmoreland Street. He was aged 63 at this time. He moved there, along with my Uncle John, in 1964. This was not far from the original Pilgrim Street.
Westmoreland Street was demolished in 1970, only a few months after my grandfather's death. So the poor old soul would have had to move again if he had survived.
I was only seven when my Grandfather passed away, but i can still remember walking up the bitterly cold snow and ice-filled street where he lived, just a few months before he died.
One half of the street was already demolished and what houses were left on the opposite side were very old. They had noisy old boiler systems in them which made gurgling noises. It was frightening to a young child.
I spent many a happy time listening to his stories of when he was a lad and the many characters he came across. His humour was legendary.
During the winter of 1969, Hartlepool (and the rest of the UK) was in the grip of one of the most deadliest flu epidemics for many years, Asian Flu. As reported in the 1969 December 24th edition of Hartlepool Mail, "at least six people had succumbed to the complications of the Flu in the town over a four week period".
My grandfather sadly was one of its victims. His weakened chest just could not cope, and after developing pneumonia of the lungs and chronic bronchitis, an infection set in. He passed away on Tuesday, January 6th in 1970, in Hartlepool General Hospital.
By then he had only three sisters left out of his nine siblings.Mary (Dolly), Violet and Kathleen (Kitty).
My grandmother arranged the funeral service, although they had been separated for a number of years, and it was plain she still loved him to be doing this. She was bedridden at this time, and opted for cremation, which also saddened a lot of us, as we wanted a grave to leave tributes, but we had to respect her wishes.
His funeral was arranged to be private and family only, which was a mystery, as he was so well loved by the community.
It was held on Saturday, the 10th of January 1970, at 10am at the Co-ops funeral home premises of Strathmore House in the town. This was followed by cremation at Stranton Grange crematorium.
There were beautiful floral tributes from steward and stewardess from the Hartlepool Workmans Club, from the Dockers and various other businesses.
To this day, I still miss him so much.
My grandmother, Emma, died four years later in September 1974. She is buried in Stranton cemetery.
God bless my grandparents x
The others were;
James Harry (b.1891 - d.1951)
John George (b.1893 - d.1893) (aged 8 months)
Robert (b.1894 - d.1918, WWI)
Ethel Henrietta (Hetty) (b.1897 - d.1956)
George Christopher (b.1899 - d.1937)
Mary (Dolly) (b.1903 - 1980)
Violet (b.1905 - d.1977)
Kathleen (Kitty) (b.1907 - d.1995)
One of the children, Robert Jnr, died in WWI.
In 1924, he met and married my grandmother, Emma (nee Woodward) They were like chalk and cheese. My granny Emma was loud, feisty and could hold her own in an argument whereas my grandfather was a quiet unassuming man who worked hard and was very strong. He loved his food and worked on the Hartlepool Docks until sustaining an injury leading to retirement from there.
His life had a few nasty bumps along the way though. In March 1937, he was knocked down by a van close to Seaton Carew and suffered leg injuries, then came the accident on the Docks a few years later. But he never grumbled. He liked a quiet drink in his favourite pub. And boy, could he eat! He spent some time working at the Hartlepool slaughterhouse and used to bring home vast amounts of meat to cook. Nobody went hungry in his street during wartime! That's how much much he was a generous man, and would do anything to help anyone.
My Grandfather was also a very strong man. There are tales from my uncle of him pulling a nearly ton weight of seacoal in his barrow some miles to his home.
In my grandfathers time in the 1930's-1960's people moved about a lot. This was of course due to houses being very old, some damaged by bombs during the war, etc and my grandfather did well to live a long time in Pilgrim Street Hartlepool from his marriage in 1924 to the Mid 1950's.
In 1946, my grandparents separated. I never knew the reason but they obviously still loved each other.
in 1954 he was offered a house in the town's Duncan Road on the Owton Manor Estate just before the demolition of Pilgrim Street in 1958. My grandfather wasn't keen on the move to Owton Manor, as he was used to the area that he was brought up in, and missed his favourite clubs (especially the West Workman's Club)and shops down in the Pilgrim Street area.
He stayed for four years in Duncan Road before moving to Caithness Road, also on the Owton Manor Estate.
His last residence during his lifetime was back in the area he loved, in the town's Westmoreland Street. He was aged 63 at this time. He moved there, along with my Uncle John, in 1964. This was not far from the original Pilgrim Street.
Westmoreland Street was demolished in 1970, only a few months after my grandfather's death. So the poor old soul would have had to move again if he had survived.
I was only seven when my Grandfather passed away, but i can still remember walking up the bitterly cold snow and ice-filled street where he lived, just a few months before he died.
One half of the street was already demolished and what houses were left on the opposite side were very old. They had noisy old boiler systems in them which made gurgling noises. It was frightening to a young child.
I spent many a happy time listening to his stories of when he was a lad and the many characters he came across. His humour was legendary.
During the winter of 1969, Hartlepool (and the rest of the UK) was in the grip of one of the most deadliest flu epidemics for many years, Asian Flu. As reported in the 1969 December 24th edition of Hartlepool Mail, "at least six people had succumbed to the complications of the Flu in the town over a four week period".
My grandfather sadly was one of its victims. His weakened chest just could not cope, and after developing pneumonia of the lungs and chronic bronchitis, an infection set in. He passed away on Tuesday, January 6th in 1970, in Hartlepool General Hospital.
By then he had only three sisters left out of his nine siblings.Mary (Dolly), Violet and Kathleen (Kitty).
My grandmother arranged the funeral service, although they had been separated for a number of years, and it was plain she still loved him to be doing this. She was bedridden at this time, and opted for cremation, which also saddened a lot of us, as we wanted a grave to leave tributes, but we had to respect her wishes.
His funeral was arranged to be private and family only, which was a mystery, as he was so well loved by the community.
It was held on Saturday, the 10th of January 1970, at 10am at the Co-ops funeral home premises of Strathmore House in the town. This was followed by cremation at Stranton Grange crematorium.
There were beautiful floral tributes from steward and stewardess from the Hartlepool Workmans Club, from the Dockers and various other businesses.
To this day, I still miss him so much.
My grandmother, Emma, died four years later in September 1974. She is buried in Stranton cemetery.
God bless my grandparents x
William was my grandfather, born on 27 February 1901, and was one of nine children born to Robert (1863-1908) and Sarah Herring (nee Birks) (1869-1940)
The others were;
James Harry (b.1891 - d.1951)
John George (b.1893 - d.1893) (aged 8 months)
Robert (b.1894 - d.1918, WWI)
Ethel Henrietta (Hetty) (b.1897 - d.1956)
George Christopher (b.1899 - d.1937)
Mary (Dolly) (b.1903 - 1980)
Violet (b.1905 - d.1977)
Kathleen (Kitty) (b.1907 - d.1995)
One of the children, Robert Jnr, died in WWI.
In 1924, he met and married my grandmother, Emma (nee Woodward) They were like chalk and cheese. My granny Emma was loud, feisty and could hold her own in an argument whereas my grandfather was a quiet unassuming man who worked hard and was very strong. He loved his food and worked on the Hartlepool Docks until sustaining an injury leading to retirement from there.
His life had a few nasty bumps along the way though. In March 1937, he was knocked down by a van close to Seaton Carew and suffered leg injuries, then came the accident on the Docks a few years later. But he never grumbled. He liked a quiet drink in his favourite pub. And boy, could he eat! He spent some time working at the Hartlepool slaughterhouse and used to bring home vast amounts of meat to cook. Nobody went hungry in his street during wartime! That's how much much he was a generous man, and would do anything to help anyone.
My Grandfather was also a very strong man. There are tales from my uncle of him pulling a nearly ton weight of seacoal in his barrow some miles to his home.
In my grandfathers time in the 1930's-1960's people moved about a lot. This was of course due to houses being very old, some damaged by bombs during the war, etc and my grandfather did well to live a long time in Pilgrim Street Hartlepool from his marriage in 1924 to the Mid 1950's.
In 1946, my grandparents separated. I never knew the reason but they obviously still loved each other.
in 1954 he was offered a house in the town's Duncan Road on the Owton Manor Estate just before the demolition of Pilgrim Street in 1958. My grandfather wasn't keen on the move to Owton Manor, as he was used to the area that he was brought up in, and missed his favourite clubs (especially the West Workman's Club)and shops down in the Pilgrim Street area.
He stayed for four years in Duncan Road before moving to Caithness Road, also on the Owton Manor Estate.
His last residence during his lifetime was back in the area he loved, in the town's Westmoreland Street. He was aged 63 at this time. He moved there, along with my Uncle John, in 1964. This was not far from the original Pilgrim Street.
Westmoreland Street was demolished in 1970, only a few months after my grandfather's death. So the poor old soul would have had to move again if he had survived.
I was only seven when my Grandfather passed away, but i can still remember walking up the bitterly cold snow and ice-filled street where he lived, just a few months before he died.
One half of the street was already demolished and what houses were left on the opposite side were very old. They had noisy old boiler systems in them which made gurgling noises. It was frightening to a young child.
I spent many a happy time listening to his stories of when he was a lad and the many characters he came across. His humour was legendary.
During the winter of 1969, Hartlepool (and the rest of the UK) was in the grip of one of the most deadliest flu epidemics for many years, Asian Flu. As reported in the 1969 December 24th edition of Hartlepool Mail, "at least six people had succumbed to the complications of the Flu in the town over a four week period".
My grandfather sadly was one of its victims. His weakened chest just could not cope, and after developing pneumonia of the lungs and chronic bronchitis, an infection set in. He passed away on Tuesday, January 6th in 1970, in Hartlepool General Hospital.
By then he had only three sisters left out of his nine siblings.Mary (Dolly), Violet and Kathleen (Kitty).
My grandmother arranged the funeral service, although they had been separated for a number of years, and it was plain she still loved him to be doing this. She was bedridden at this time, and opted for cremation, which also saddened a lot of us, as we wanted a grave to leave tributes, but we had to respect her wishes.
His funeral was arranged to be private and family only, which was a mystery, as he was so well loved by the community.
It was held on Saturday, the 10th of January 1970, at 10am at the Co-ops funeral home premises of Strathmore House in the town. This was followed by cremation at Stranton Grange crematorium.
There were beautiful floral tributes from steward and stewardess from the Hartlepool Workmans Club, from the Dockers and various other businesses.
To this day, I still miss him so much.
My grandmother, Emma, died four years later in September 1974. She is buried in Stranton cemetery.
God bless my grandparents x
The others were;
James Harry (b.1891 - d.1951)
John George (b.1893 - d.1893) (aged 8 months)
Robert (b.1894 - d.1918, WWI)
Ethel Henrietta (Hetty) (b.1897 - d.1956)
George Christopher (b.1899 - d.1937)
Mary (Dolly) (b.1903 - 1980)
Violet (b.1905 - d.1977)
Kathleen (Kitty) (b.1907 - d.1995)
One of the children, Robert Jnr, died in WWI.
In 1924, he met and married my grandmother, Emma (nee Woodward) They were like chalk and cheese. My granny Emma was loud, feisty and could hold her own in an argument whereas my grandfather was a quiet unassuming man who worked hard and was very strong. He loved his food and worked on the Hartlepool Docks until sustaining an injury leading to retirement from there.
His life had a few nasty bumps along the way though. In March 1937, he was knocked down by a van close to Seaton Carew and suffered leg injuries, then came the accident on the Docks a few years later. But he never grumbled. He liked a quiet drink in his favourite pub. And boy, could he eat! He spent some time working at the Hartlepool slaughterhouse and used to bring home vast amounts of meat to cook. Nobody went hungry in his street during wartime! That's how much much he was a generous man, and would do anything to help anyone.
My Grandfather was also a very strong man. There are tales from my uncle of him pulling a nearly ton weight of seacoal in his barrow some miles to his home.
In my grandfathers time in the 1930's-1960's people moved about a lot. This was of course due to houses being very old, some damaged by bombs during the war, etc and my grandfather did well to live a long time in Pilgrim Street Hartlepool from his marriage in 1924 to the Mid 1950's.
In 1946, my grandparents separated. I never knew the reason but they obviously still loved each other.
in 1954 he was offered a house in the town's Duncan Road on the Owton Manor Estate just before the demolition of Pilgrim Street in 1958. My grandfather wasn't keen on the move to Owton Manor, as he was used to the area that he was brought up in, and missed his favourite clubs (especially the West Workman's Club)and shops down in the Pilgrim Street area.
He stayed for four years in Duncan Road before moving to Caithness Road, also on the Owton Manor Estate.
His last residence during his lifetime was back in the area he loved, in the town's Westmoreland Street. He was aged 63 at this time. He moved there, along with my Uncle John, in 1964. This was not far from the original Pilgrim Street.
Westmoreland Street was demolished in 1970, only a few months after my grandfather's death. So the poor old soul would have had to move again if he had survived.
I was only seven when my Grandfather passed away, but i can still remember walking up the bitterly cold snow and ice-filled street where he lived, just a few months before he died.
One half of the street was already demolished and what houses were left on the opposite side were very old. They had noisy old boiler systems in them which made gurgling noises. It was frightening to a young child.
I spent many a happy time listening to his stories of when he was a lad and the many characters he came across. His humour was legendary.
During the winter of 1969, Hartlepool (and the rest of the UK) was in the grip of one of the most deadliest flu epidemics for many years, Asian Flu. As reported in the 1969 December 24th edition of Hartlepool Mail, "at least six people had succumbed to the complications of the Flu in the town over a four week period".
My grandfather sadly was one of its victims. His weakened chest just could not cope, and after developing pneumonia of the lungs and chronic bronchitis, an infection set in. He passed away on Tuesday, January 6th in 1970, in Hartlepool General Hospital.
By then he had only three sisters left out of his nine siblings.Mary (Dolly), Violet and Kathleen (Kitty).
My grandmother arranged the funeral service, although they had been separated for a number of years, and it was plain she still loved him to be doing this. She was bedridden at this time, and opted for cremation, which also saddened a lot of us, as we wanted a grave to leave tributes, but we had to respect her wishes.
His funeral was arranged to be private and family only, which was a mystery, as he was so well loved by the community.
It was held on Saturday, the 10th of January 1970, at 10am at the Co-ops funeral home premises of Strathmore House in the town. This was followed by cremation at Stranton Grange crematorium.
There were beautiful floral tributes from steward and stewardess from the Hartlepool Workmans Club, from the Dockers and various other businesses.
To this day, I still miss him so much.
My grandmother, Emma, died four years later in September 1974. She is buried in Stranton cemetery.
God bless my grandparents x
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