My mother, Amy Stockdale (sitting in the middle) was the Brigade Leader. The girls went out on many camps and every year had a holiday generally in Norfolk.
Photograph and details courtesy of Neil Stockdale.
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Picture Stockton Archive 
Lovely photos .. how to contact Neil Stockdale? Rosemary Smith would be pleased to get in touch again – any info please reply.
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Hello Neil.
We also lived in the same street as your good selves, I think your house was number 30, we lived in 15 and Uncle Bob and Tilly lived in 28, remember your Mum taking the Sunday school in the ‘Tin Box’.
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Hiya, Josie
yes, we lived at No. 30 next door to Bob and Tilly Leng. In fact, Mam told me once that they lived at No.15 Craister Street, I think, before the war. I was made to go to Sunday School and the ‘Tin Box’ used to smell of gas! Happy Times!
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Hi Neil,
Great photograph
I posted the same picture a few years ago.
I think the date is more likely to be around 1954, as my Mother, Edith Mary Hughes, married my Dad in 1957.
See Links below.
Cheers,
Ian Cartwright
https://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/girls-life-brigade-c1954/
https://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/girls-life-brigade-holiday/
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Hello Ian. Are you related to the ‘Cartwrights’ who ran the Post Office in Tilery Road?.
J.
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Hi Josie,
Harry Jnr. was my Dad.
I put a post on here about the day it closed.
Cheers,
Ian Cartwright
https://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/closure-of-tilery-road-sub-post-office-1968/
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Age on my side, I remembered responding to that post after posing the question. Other youngsters around at the time in Craister Street were Colin and Carol Eales, they lived a few doors further down from Neil Stockdale. Back to the Post Office, they sold bread and cakes supplied by Sparks bakery.
J..
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Hi Josie,
I can remember the big wooden trays when the bread and cakes were delivered.
I now live on the site of Sparks Bakery, and always thought Sparks Main office was a really nice building.
Cheers,
Ian
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My dear lady was a manageress in several of their shops up until we got married.
J.
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Hello IAN.
We still visit Stockton quite often and the latest visit was for a Family bereavement and an opportunity to show the Grandkids the area where we started out in life and used to live, we passed Sparks old HQ, is it just the protected frontage that’s given over to accommodation or is there an area to the rear ?.
I’m still not convinced that Stockton as it is now is a patch on the original before they demolished Winpenny-Wilsons-Vane Arms-Empire area, to name but a few.
All the character has gone, which given the wonderful benefit of ‘Hindsight’ would have been a magnet in today’s seen one, seen E’m all towns across the country.
J.
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Hi Josie,
Houses were built at the back of Sparks Head Office as well, aptly named Bakery Drive, Ralph Square, and Spark Square.
I agree with your comments regarding the Town centre development in the 70’s.
My Gran (Edie Hughes,) worked in the Black Lion as a cook while Fred Beaumont owned it.
My mother, Mary, had an autograph album, with some famous people of the time who either stayed or had a meal in “The Black” as she called it.
Some of the names I can remember are:-
Morecome and Wise,
Michael Bentine,
George Chetwynd MP,
Wilson Kepple and Betty,
Stan Hollis VC,
Along with quite a few others that I could never make out.
Happy days.
Ian
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Looking at the photo again I’m sure the first girl to the right of the leaders looks like Pat Ruddock, her parents had the grocery shop at the top of Headlam Street opposite Barkes off-licence, on the other corner was Taylors and the other was Tilery School.
J.
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Keep looking at this photo and I’m sure the first girl to the left of the leaders is Ann Ball, they lived next door to us in Craister Street, she had two older brothers, her Dad was a train driver (Steam trains).
Ann married and last I heard was living at Redcar but had very sadly died at a young age.
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