From Scarborough to Brock

Edith was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, at 21, Sherwood Street, (probably by chance because her mother was on holiday there) on 28th August 1899, although the family home at the time was in York, at 2, Falconer Street. Her mother was Caroline Reynolds, from "The Cottages", Acomb, York, with relatives living in Green Lane, Acomb.

Her father was Herbert (Bert) Watson Atkinson, whose family home was at 2, Scarcroft Hill, York. He was a fully-trained and highly-skilled coach builder, and followed his trade across the country, working for a number of companies in rapid succession. Between 1899 and 1902, the family moved from York to Lincolnshire - Shropshire - Leicestershire (Nanpanton) - Lancashire (unspecified) - Manchester (2 addresses, in Newton Heath and Boggart Hole Clough) and eventually Penwortham (Preston). It has been suggested that this peripatetic life style was forced on him because he was regarded by employers as a trouble-maker - he was a keen and active socialist and trade unionist. He was also a singer of arias (with a good voice), a happy man and a lover of the great outdoors. He took the family walking and cycling in the countryside. He also ensured that his children went to Sunday school - not just any Sunday school - it had to be the Independent Labour Party Sunday School in Preston Town Centre.

In Preston, their first home was at 2, Lark Avenue, Penwortham and Bert worked at the Dick, Kerr and Co "United Electric Car Co" coachworks on Strand Road. In 1907, they moved to 6, Mornington Road, off New Hall Lane. The Penwortham house had been a modern property with all mod. cons, but the Mornington Road property was just a cottage (and cheaper to rent), with open fire for water heating in pans, outside wc (frozen in winter), gas lighting downstairs but candles up. In 1912, the first electric gadgets were installed - a lamp in the living room, and an electric boiler in the kitchen.

Bert had volunteered for service in the Boer War, and had done some training, but was not allowed to go to South Africa, because he was the father of a young family. When war was declared in August 1914, Bert volunteered immediately for the army, joining the 8th Battalion (Duke of Wellington's) West Riding Regiment, and was sent to France as part of the "rag, tag and bobtail" army . In 1915, he was gassed at Hill 60, and was evacuated to the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool to recuperate. Thereafter he was sent to the Dardanelles, and when that fiasco collapsed was sent to Egypt. Late in 1915 he was returned to France and by amazing coincidence bumped into his son Bill on his way in to the line! He was killed on 14th September 1916, at Festubert on the Somme (his remains have never been identified). He was posted on orders as "Absent without leave" and subsequently as a deserter, and consequently Caroline was refused a pension. As part of her fight against this injustice, she cycled from Preston to York on several occasions to progress her claim. Eventually, the War Office admitted that the situation resulted from its own mistake. Although still wearing his sergeant's stripes at the time of his death, he had already been granted a field commission and his papers had been dispatched to the War Office for him to be formally gazetted. It was this lack of paperwork at Regimental Headquarters that led to the misunderstanding. Caroline in fact got a pension as a Lieutentant's widow! His name (and rank as a sergeant) is on the Thiepval Memorial, and on the memorial in The Harris Library and Museum in Preston. He was 43 years old and should not have been in France.

Before the war Bert and Caroline often took the children on Sunday by bicycle to a Socialist workers clubhouse (the Clarion) near Ribchester. After the war, Caroline continued to do this, and eventually developed a friendship with a man from Burnley - Oscar Fowler. He moved to Preston and subsequently moved in to live with Caroline (without benefit of clergy!). Apparently they were very happy together, and although originally Caroline's family was unhappy about this irregular arrangement they eventually came to full acceptance. She died in Preston Royal Infirmary in 1936, from pneumonia, occasioned by her getting soaked in heavy rain while chopping up a telegraph pole abandoned by the GPO in her garden.

Edith started her schooling at Cop Lane Elementary School, walking from her home in Lower Penwortham, but, after the family moved to Mornington Road, she attended St Matthews School on New Hall Lane. She was a bright child and passed the 11-plus ("town") examination easily. At 11, she transferred to the Park School, Preston's public girls' grammar school. Here she was successful academically, and she also excelled at the physical side of school, playing tennis and hockey.

Edith began her teaching career as a trainee at St Thoma' School in Lancaster Road, serving one year before she moved to Whitelands College in Chelsea, a ladies' teacher training establishment and completed a 2-year course. This was almost a pioneering step for a girl in those days, being one result of the loss of so many men to the war. She was accompanied at Whitelands by Doris Caunce, a fellow-pupil from the Park School. Doris lived in Wildman St, but died in 1922.

At Whitelands, she met and became lifelong friends with Wyn Brooks, from Bedford. Wyn visited Preston occasionally and was known to Edith's family as Aunty Wyn. In addition to the educational side of college, Edith played tennis and hockey, using the courts and pitches in Battersea Park. There was a weekly swimming session at Chelsea pool. She was also appointed college bell-ringer - the rising bell, breakfast and morning and evening prayers. In her first year she started the college Girl Guide troop, as she did later back home.

After completing her teacher training course at Whitelands College, she was appointed a full-time (and fully-fledged) teacher at St Matthew's School in New Hall Lane. She taught there for five years - the minimum requirement of her contract of employment, during which time she was unable to marry - married women were forbidden to teach! She lived during this period in the family home in Mornington Road. In addition to formal classroom teaching, she also formed and led a Girl Guide troop, having been a guide herself, joining the movement when it was formed in 1911, along with her sister Doris. (Another member of that Guide troop was Florence Garth, who later married Edith's brother Bill).

On New Year's Day 1925, at St Mary Magdelene's Church on Ribbleton Avenue, she married Bertram (Bert) Swindlehurst, from 112, Lancaster Road, a ladies' dress shop trading as "Hélène" and run by Bert's sister Helen (Nell).Their first matrimonial home was next door at 114, Lancaster Rd, where Bert had set himself up in business as a bespoke tailor. No 114 was a shop with living quarters behind and above. It was provided with a single cold water tap. Bath night required the heating of water on a open fire.
(Editor's note: Bert's mother Margaret lived directly opposite these 2 properties and made a good living as owner of a successful wardrobe shop and dress agency - "wardrobe" meaning clothing not furniture. For a résumé of Bert's early years click here).

Her first child, Geoffrey Maurice, was born at the shop on 1st February 1926, attended by a Dr Hannington and a District Nurse. Her second child, Stanley Noel, was born in Preston Royal Infirmary on Christmas Day 1927. Going to visit her in hospital, Bert stoked up the open fire in the living room but failed to do so carefully and while he was out burning coals fell from the grate, setting fire to the floor, and the property was burned out. He had a large collection of bolts of cloth and other items for the business, but had no insurance, and as a result of the fire he was forced into bankruptcy. They moved temporarily to live with Caroline to allow the repair of 114, to which they eventually returned, but the shop was required for business purposes.

Thus they had to find other accommodation, and moved to live in privately-rented accommodation at 39, Lovat Road. This was a shop with living accommodation, similar to the house they had just left, the difference being that the shop (confectionery) was rented separately (with a connecting door) ,and the shop tenant had to use the same stair. The building was plagued with cockroaches and there were rats in the yard and the back alley.

Because of the bankruptcy, he was unable to continue trading in his own name as a tailor and had to find alternative employment. This was no easy matter for an unskilled 30-year-old in the depression following the general strike. His first job was with a company from Blackburn, selling clothing on a weekly-payment system, and involved travelling around the county by bus and train. The wage was poor and the family was having a rough time. Wanting a better job, he advertised his availability in the local paper, and a man turned up to interview him. Bert was out at the time, so the man interviewed Edith in his absence and gave Bert the job, which was clerk to a Mr Kay, the manager of the Preston branch of the Leigh and District Clothing and Supply Co Ltd. He remained with this company until his retirement at 65.

The poor quality of the accommodation led to them applying to Preston Borough Council for assistance, and they were awarded tenancy of a newly-built property. Edith's third child, Jean Margaret, was born on 29th May 1929, in Sharoe Green Maternity Hospital. On her discharge Edith went straight to her new home - 16, Manor House Lane, a Preston Corporation municipal housing development (a "council house"). This was a move up the social ladder, being a house with hot water on tap, a bathroom and gardens front and rear. Whilst living at no 16, Edith had her fourth child, David Michael, on 29th September 1936. This house had 2 rooms downstairs, a kitchen and a "through" living room ie not separate living room and parlour (as they were called). When Geoffrey passed his 11-plus and went to the boys' public grammar school in 1938, the family moved to 32, Manor House Lane, which had separate rooms downstairs. The philosophy behind this move was that Geoffrey would have a room with the peace, quiet and privacy he needed to succeed in his studies. In the event this room never contained anything other than motorcycle parts, bicycles and similar bits and pieces.

WW2 had the same effect on the teaching profession as had WW1 - the shortage of men necessitating the recruitment of women - even married women! Until this event, Edith had done a number of jobs to help with the family budget, particularly collecting weekly subscriptions for the District Nursing service. Coping with a low-earning husband with an expensive taste for beer, and 4 non-earning children, meant that life was a struggle. In 1944, on 17th July, Edith gave birth to her 5th and last child, Edith Jennifer. However Edith was soon able to resume her teaching career and worked permanently for the next 15 years until her retirement at 60. The salary she earned was well in excess of any wage that Bert had ever produced and this was the cause of some considerable friction over the years. The curious thing is that her years in teaching before her marriage, and her forced resignation, were counted as part of her service for superannuation purposes, with the result that her pension was more than the salary that she was being paid up to her retirement!

On 14th October 1969, her son Geoffrey was killed in an aircraft crash in Kenya, where he had lived since 1947. Obviously this caused Edith much grief, and she talked frequently of him thereafter. She was unable to attend his funeral and this also caused her a lot of sadness. Bert (see below) refused to visit Kenya at any time, for any reason, and Edith never got the chance to experience her son's chosen lifestyle. After his death Geoffrey's widow Dorothy emigrated to New Zealand.

Edith had always wanted to own her own home, and there were frequent arguments with Bert on this topic. This situation was aggravated when her sister Doris (who until then had lived in a poor-quality terraced house in Fishwick) and her husband were given (yes! given) a modern semi-detached property in an up-market area of Fulwood. Edith also felt that she was entitled to something better than life on a council estate, but Bert refused to follow up any possible purchases. His reasons were threefold:

1. Although he had, over time, paid off all the debts which caused his bankruptcy and was therefore entitled to apply to the court to be discharged, it had taken so long to do so that he felt that the affair had faded from the public mind and he didn't want his current "public" to be made aware of it. But - as an undischarged bankrupt - he would not be granted a mortgage and therefore any mortgage would have to be in Edith's name. That was not a situation he could deal with.
2. Even if he had a mortgage, Edith's salary/pension would be paying for it and he didn't like that either.
3. He preferred to spend the money on beer.

In the event, it became public policy to sell council houses to sitting tenants, under certain conditions, and Bert and Edith satisfied the criteria. So Bert arranged the purchase of 32, Manor House Lane, which (because of the "favourable" pricing policy) didn't necessitate a mortgage. Thereafter Bert presented himself to the world as a fervent member of a property-owning democracy, which in itself caused a certain amount of marital discord.

Edith and Bert celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on 1st January 1975, with a party lunch at the Dog Inn, Longridge, attended by a large selection of contemporaries, including Edith's brother Bill, with his wife Florrie, and her sister Doris, with husband Walter. The Atkinsons are clearly a long-living family.

Edith became a widow on 1st March 1977, when Bert died in Preston Royal Infirmary, of emphysema. He had been a cigarette smoker for many years, although not in the last few years of his life, but the damage had already been done. She continued living in the family home at 32, Manor House Lane until October 1977, when she flew to New Zealand for a six-month visit to her daughter-in-law Dorothy. This trip was a real adventure for her, because Bert had resolutely refused ever to leave the UK again after returning from France in 1918. Edith had always wanted to do some foreign travelling, but had been prevented from doing so. Additionally Bert refused to consider flying, so a visit to the Isle of Man had to be by boat.

Although she enjoyed her trip to NZ as an experience, the stay with Dorothy was not wholly successful - she felt that she was not really welcome and that her presence interfered with Dorothy's obsession with her son John. As a result she was very pleased to return to the UK. On her return from New Zealand, she was collected at Heathrow by David and delivered direct to Jennifer's home in Fulwood which, in the interim and by prior arrangement, had been modified to provide a "granny" room. Also in the interim her home at 32, Manor House Lane, had been cleared and sold, some of the proceeds being used to fund the extensions at Jennifer's home.

Notwithstanding her experience with Dorothy, the travelling itself re-ignited her wish to see a bit of the world. Co-incidentally, her friend from college days, Wyn (now divorced), had also developed a taste for foreign travel and the two of them set out together on a programme of adventures which saw them visit the Isle of Wight, Yugoslavia, Austria and Greece among others. She had also travelled to London on a number of occasions for the annual college reunion at Whitelands, although this was also a source of marital discord.

On the 28th August 1979, she celebrated her 80th birthday. Her children wanted to give her a decent celebration, but couldn't come up any agreed suggestion, so Edith was asked what she wanted. Her response? A disco! She'd never been to a disco (she said) and that was what she wanted. So a disco was arranged - at the Plough Hotel on Blackpool Road. It was a great success, being attended by several of her contemporaries (all female) who danced the afternoon away like 17-year-olds. Amazing. On the occasion of her 85th birthday she produced an identical response. This celebration took place at the Fulwood Park Hotel on Watling St Road (now a mosque), although there weren't as many contemporaries to enjoy the occasion.

She lived happily with Jennifer for the rest of her life, at least until her mental and physical state had deteriorated to the point which necessitated a nursing and care capability which was clearly beyond the means of an ordinary domestic household. She was cared for thereafter in a nursing home in Fulwood, and was ultimately transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital's geriatric ward, where she died, on 20th February 1990.

Editor's Note: Her remains were cremated at Preston and her ashes spread among the trees along the bank of the River Brock, where Bert's ashes had been spread. Edith's siblings:

1. George William (Bill) (born 20th May 1897) married Florence (Florrie) Garth - 1919 - they lived at 9 Rigby St South. He was either (1) apprenticed as a joiner at Cartmell's works in Park Road, or (2) apprenticed as a brass founder at Holland's Adelphi works (Edith has both), but this was interrupted by his volunteering for service in WW1 and he was refused re-employment in 1918, like most volunteers. He worked thereafter as an unskilled mechanic and stoker.
2. Elder sister Doris Mabel (born 18th July 1898) married Walter Hutchinson - 1924 - Brockholes View. She was apprenticed as a tailor's machinist, at the Cooperative Wholesale Society.
3. Younger sister Violet (Vi) (born 2nd April 1902) married Ernest Howard from Tottington, Bury - 1926. She followed in Edith's footsteps to the Park School, Whitelands College and into teaching.

Edith's mother's family:

Grandmother and Grandfather Reynolds lived at The Green, Acomb, York. They had 6 children:

• George. Married and lived in York.
• William. Married and lived in Middlesborough?
• James. Married and lived in South Shields?
• Minnie. Married Montague Banks from Blackpool, where they lived. 2 children
  • Cyril
  • Gertrude who married Harold Sunderland.
• Caroline - Edith's mother.
• Florence. Married Herbert Burton from Gale Lane, Acomb.

Edith's grandmother Reynolds had a sister, Anna Maria Sissons, known to Edith as Aunt Ria, a widow with a son George. Ria lived at Cherry Cottage, Sherburn-in-Elmet, which was subsequently developed as a RAF airfield.

Edith's father's family:

Grandmother and grandfather Atkinson lived at 2, Scarcroft Hill, York. They had 5 children:

• George. Married and emigrated to Durban, South Africa, around 1900?
• William. Married and emigrated to Durban, South Africa, around 1900?
• Herbert Watson - Edith's father.
• Ellen
• Ruth - both Ellen and Ruth became teachers in York, remained unmarried and retired to Bournemouth. Died there?

Other relatives lived in Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds. It is possible that the family came to York from the Robin Hood's Bay area.

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Edith made some notes from her researches into the origin of the Swindlehurst name - see here.