My Family - continued - page 4

I look back now, possibly with rose tinted glasses, but I think of those early years in Barnes Road as pleasant and exciting times. We did not have much money but then we didn’t know we were poor so we made the best of it. School was a bit of a journey at age 11 from Halton View to Fisher More and I also took to work at age 11.

A paper round with Charlie Rowles first then with Jeffries shop in Moorfield Road gave me some pocket money. I think I had the hardest paper round in Widnes with Jeffries as I did Moorfield Road, Derby Road, South Lane to Penketh and all the outlying farms around the area. It was a very early start every morning (Dad would get me up at 6 am to get the round in before school) and I think I earned my 12s 6p a week (62.5 pence in “new” money to you post-decimalised readers).

The one bonus I recollect was that when I collected the paper money each week (a Sunday job along with delivering the papers) I would get some tips that supplemented my paper money. AND at Christmas I got a “Christmas Box” from my very generous customers which I think was in the region of about £5.00!!

A VAST amount of money to a young schoolboy at the time.

My second job was to work at Mrs Clare’s corner shop in Halton View Road/Ireland Street. I was the “order boy” and helped out in the shop at weekends, so I worked every day before school in the morning: at dinner time where I travelled to and from school on my butcher bike; and after school delivering orders around Halton View and further afield. Along with my weekend work I earned around £3:00 a week until the shop closed down due to going bust because of Mrs Clare’s generosity in giving credit to customer (buying goods “in the book”) and running out of funds - my last job was to help to add up to debts of the credit book customers to try to recruit some monies.

It gave me some skills which helped in the “proper job” of Office Boy when I started at Bowmans in January 1961

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And so we settled into the new neighbourhood and were not long after joined by other members of the Evans family in Bancroft Road over a period. Granny Evans had a flat with Aunty Emma Dutton, Dolly and Frank Smart had a flat and Aunty Betty and Uncle John McPartland had a house - all within a very short walk of each other and of course the matriarch of the Evans Clan - little Granny Evans (see photo below)

Aunty Emma, Mum, Granny Evans and Dad at a wedding.

(May be brother Tommy’s - 1958)

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