This is a photograph of Billingham North Junior football team 1949/50. Courtesy of Bill Charlton.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
This is a photograph of Billingham North Junior football team 1949/50. Courtesy of Bill Charlton.
It was a different Norman Mcleod that emigrated to Australia. My father Norman passed away in 1996. You may even remember George Tait, that lived around there until he joined the RAF.
I was a big friend of Billy Charlton he now lives in Peterborough and he occasionally comes up to see us. We have a meal and a couple of pints with his wife and my wife Rita who was a friend of Pauline’s when we met in the Garrick hotel, Yarm lane. Some of the people you might know who lived in Pentland Avenue, Peter and John Mcwilliams, Ray and Geoff Hanson, Brian Leonard, Jean and Ann Mcmurrary, Janet Mcclowd. Regards to everybody hope someone will reply.
As you would have went to Pentland school, Bill ,Mr Phillips was still there in 1967. When I left in 1967 he used to have one of those big Wolsey cars, like the police had in those days and the odd time he used an old black motor bike, I think that was a Norton. My aunty used to live next door to the Mclouds, they moved into Pentland after they were bombed out of Haverton Hill. They later emigrated to Australia, you may have gone to Pentland at the same time. Donald and Irene Newell,and my aunt Lillian are still alive now in Australia and I think she is 101 years old, we lived on the corner of Pentland and Cheviot. I know Jimmy Mcloud is still around as Ray Wilkie still sees him, and you said about Marty Durnion. He lived opposite Robb and Jimmy Stones, he was rilliant Accordion player. Here are a few more names from Pentland School for you, old Mr Blaire who was the Caretaker, his son Harry would have been about your age Bill then there was Doug and Melvin Gill and old Jack Little. In answer to your question I do have a brother and sister in their 60’s. My sister Jennifer used to run for Pentland and the District in the late 1950s and there was a load of photos of her with cups on Pentland School corridor walls. I wonder whatever happened to all the old photos that were there? Do Stockton Council have them or did they go to County Durham as we were back then (Can Stockton Pictures help me on that one?)
I know if you were off school at Pentland for two days in a row we used to get Long Tom (the School Bobby) at your door. His real name was Mr Darby and he came on a blue Lambretta scooter. I know when we were off he used to chase us but we knew how to give him the slip by running down Sandy Lane Bank and he was scared to come down on his scooter.
Hello Peter Newell, I used to have a friend called Marian that lived in Pentland Avenue, could this be your sister? If so I used to work with her and often came round to the house.
Peter yes I remember all those names you mention, you are a bit younger than me, I am 72 in January next year. Where in Pentland did you live Peter? I cannot recall your surname, did you have any other siblings older than you. Rob Stone was well known for his garden always kept immaculate. Some great characters in Pentland in those days, the Durnion brothers Marty and Terry, the Mcloud brothers Norman and Jimmy, the Irvines who lived next to us and Lily who, even as an adult, still called my parents Mr and Mrs Charlton out of respect, something sadly missing in todays life. Was Mr Phillips still at Billy North in 1967, must have been about about a hundred years old and seems to have been there forever.
Good Lord old Billy North, The last time I set foot in that school was the day I left in July 1967 -the place still give me the shivers. Last week when I went past the place I got a strange tingling in my fingers when I thought of old Mister Philips and his magic cane, especialy when he caught you standing in the coridor outside the classroom. I must say Pentland Avenue has gone downhill since the days I lived there. I remember your dad very well Bill, he ran Billingham silver band and used to see him sat on the front door step polishing it many a time. The names I remeber from your dads end of Pentland was old Mrs Eddie, Lilly Wilkie – her sons were Raymond, Kenneth, David and Brian, the Rennisons at 143 and Esther and Rob Stone on the Corner. I still see Ray Wilki regularly, he calls round and he is well into his 70’s now. Unfortunately Raymonds and Davids wives passed away late last year.
I remember all those names we lived at 133 our name was Bailey. I remember the Wilkies really well, I was friends with Susan Wilkie. I also remember the Beastons and the Munkleys. All good people… my name is Christine and have a sister Lynne
Mike, not sure because I have lived away from Teesside for many years and can remember my sister rang me about Charlie. He would have been in his early sixties when he died.
Ah ‘billy north’ – happy days, class school. Mr Robson always took us for football, (I left in 77 to go to Northfield). Always handy that I only lived a couple of hundred yards away in Grampian road! Best days ever…
Bill I’m sorry to hear that. He must have been only in his 50’s surely. It certainly makes one reflect on one’s own mortality! Nearly all of the plants that we worked on at Wilton are gone or are at the least in different ownership. Charlie, if memory serves, worked on the Heavy organics crackers whilst I worked on several of the plastics plants.
Just to add the school was Billingham North school or Pentland school was its nickname.
Yes it is Charlie Dobinson who sadly passed away some years ago, Mike. Charlie and myself were brought up in Pentland Avenue, but from late teen years did not mix for some reason, just saw him on rare occasions, smashing lad was Charlie.
Bill Charlton, just wondered if that is Charlie Dobinson? If so, in later years, we worked on the Wilton site and shared lifts to Redcar technical college. My most striking memory being the day that the fog was so bad that it took nearly an hour and a half to get onto the trunk road from Stockton. We climbed the ramped bridge, over the railway, just before Grangetown and came out of a standing wall of fog into brilliant sunshine. The onshore breeze had backed the fog up the valley, most amazing atmospheric thing I’ve ever seen. Course when we got to the college nobody believed us.
Back row from left; Jones, Murray, Dobinson, Thomas, Dunn, Walker. Middle from left; Small, Stevens, Williams, Slee, Swindon. Front from left Charlton, Mawston, Bell.
This was the first team ever to be managed by a lady teacher, name unknown. The two teams to beat were Port Clarence, and Billingham St Johns schools.