The introduction to engineering draughting after a selection process started at Pickerings Lifts in 1971.

Two apprentices for the drawing office were taken on that year, where I participated with memorable moments in a professional career. The first year of my apprenticeship was an initiation to drawing office procedures of drawing and documentation. Manufacturing courses in the second year were at the Engineering Industry Training Board in Billingham. Unfortunately, I was instructed to try harder as the time went on. A project of manufacturing a set of gauge of guides for Pickerings Lifts did not meet the required standard, sadly I accepted the verdict from my apprentice partner from Pickerings. At least I managed to attain the EITB certification. We went on to Stockton & Billingham College for the engineering qualifications. There is abundance of admiration I hold dear to the staff at Pickerings Lifts. (In the photograph, that is me in the middle).

My reflection on life in my career and ancestry started in 2010 when I was diagnosed with cancer. Two surgical operations later (left & right dissections; partial tongue removal), 60 treatments of radiotherapy and 6 regimes of chemotherapy, hope the coronavirus does not get me. Still my wife who I met at Pickerings Lifts looks after me and me to her.

Images and details courtesy of Michael Hymer.

I started school (Billingham Intermediate School) in September 1942. There were three intake and leaving times in the school year. The new school term started in the Autumn, any child who reached their fifth birthday before the end of the term started school during that term. The Winter term started after the Christmas holidays and continued until the Easter Holidays, the last term ran from the end of the Easter Holidays until the start of the long Summer holidays. I don’t remember anything of my first day at school but I do know my teacher was a Miss Keep, she was still there as headmistress when my eldest son started at the school in September 1968.

The children came from a very large area, even as far as Trimdon, Greatham and Sedgefield, they came by normal service buses and when they got off at the Green they had to race to get to school on time, this worked fine in the warmer weather but in the Winter it was not unusual to have them arrive as late as 10:30, these children were allowed to leave an hour earlier than the local children so they could catch their buses and get home safely.

Another thing that comes to mind is the whole class walking to the Green area and having our lunch in the British Civic Restaurant, which was next to the Methodist Central Hall, why we did this I don’t know as there were school dinners available within the school, I do remember having my dinner in the school whilst sitting at my desk, once again I don’t know why. We spent time (girls only) in ‘The Flat’ in the school to learn cooking and ‘Washing’, we had to take a handkerchief and a sock and we were taught how to wash and iron them, to this day I can still remember how to iron a sock but have never done it since leaving school.We also cooked a main meal and invited our favourite teachers to share it with us. – Freda McCorkell, nee Leek

I too was at the South Modern from September 1957 until July 1958 before moving the new Stephenson Hall school on the Billingham Campus site.Mr Martindale (Head), Mr Laws, Miss Dent, Miss Wood, Miss Fletcher, Mr Cowperthwaite and Mr Wilkinson were still teaching while I was there, the latter three came to the Campus when we went there.I mentioned to my aunt that Miss Fletcher, the art mistress, had a wonderful way of sorting the wheat from the chaff, our first lesson with her we were asked to draw a person and a house, she took one look at my effort and that was it, she never spoke to me or any other of the no hopers for the rest of our time at school, our weekly art lesson was a double period of sitting in silence while leafing through back issues of
Country Life, my aunt suffered the same fate but without the benefit of the Country Life magazine, admittedly those with artistic talents were encouraged all the way.My late friend Brian Storey thought the un-named teacher was a Mr Milburn. – Bruce Coleman

I have posted this on behalf of my aunt, Freda McCorkell, nee Leek. Courtesy of Bruce Coleman.

A genealogist suggested to me that the chain my ancestor is wearing looks to be “of the Mayor of Stockton”. My father was born in Acklam, Middlesbrough and I know that some of our ancestors came from the Stockton area. My father left Yorkshire for New Zealand in 1925 so I’m assuming he brought the photo with him. It looks like an official portrait photo. Any help in identifying this person would be much appreciated.

Photograph and details courtesy of David Sickling.

A photograph of Thornaby Cricket Club first team circa 1970. The photo was taken at Darlington CC, team is as follows, back row left to right. George Bell, Ian Hunter, Harry McCewan, Benny Cross, Geoff Aston, Neil Pearson, front row left to right, Reggie Reece, Norman Toulson, Barry Smith (Capt), Billy Hornby (wicket keeper), David Mills.

Photograph and details courtesy of Neal Toulson.

The photograph is from around 1972, and it was taken while the group were at Lanehead Outdoor Pursuit Centre near Coniston in Cumbria, hence the matching anoraks. Starting bottom left, going clockwise the group is Paul (Billy) Gorthorpe, Anthony (Bomber) Boult, Shakir Rajput, Neal (Nelly) Toulson, Tony Lonsdale, Dave Elliot, Mike Reed, Alan Walton.

Photograph and details courtesy of Neal Toulson.