Cliff 1941-1947 - The "War Years".

I was born in Winsford, Cheshire on the 22^nd January 1941 at 161 High Street (the home of my Grandmother Astles, Miriam, and her husband William (Bill). “Bill” was now retired (I think), having worked for the old Salt Union down Meadow Bank for some 45 years,( I have his retirement clock to prove it). Miriam, his wife had also spent some time working for the salt Union (perhaps that is where they met) but had spent most of her married life giving birth to children, and being a “house wife”. This house is no longer standing as the old High Street was “removed” to make way for the “new” main road and this road now runs approximately over the back garden of number 161. The house stood directly opposite the shop on the corner of Syddon Street, which in those days was a very good general store and a particularly good sweet shop. (Sundays, when we visited later, when living in Middlewich was when Miriam would take both Kay (sister, later) and me to buy sweets).

Dad Clifford or “Cliff” was away at this time (well most !!!) ensuring that the Germans ( second World War) were to be denied the use of British soil and was serving in the Royal Engineers as part of the eighth army, later in North Africa. Dad spent some 6\7 year’s altogether in the army during this time, much in actual armed combat with the Germans and Italians through most of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and through Germany, at the conclusion of the war. He also must have had some leave from the army during this time as my sister Kay was born in May 1943.

Cliff below with his toy "spitfire" and "Churchill" tank. Cliff and Kay. Cliff again.

He must have led a charmed life as he was only wounded once. This was in North Africa when his Bren Gun Carrier (he was the gunner) was hit by a mortar bomb. This blew the carrier over, throwing him out onto his knees onto the desert rocky ground. He then spent some time in Hospital in Tunis recovering. The driving of the Bren Gun Carrier was, so he said, was his “fill in job” as he was mainly engaged in the rebuilding of bridges, bridging “wadis”, clearing of “mine fields” etc etc, some of which he did say were under enemy fire.

Cliff senior in Tunis just after leaving hospital during the war. Notice the bloody nose - he would never turn away from a fight! Out of hospital for five minutes and someone got a "good hiding".

His final “job”, he said, was trying the prevent “Tito” of Yugoslavia taking more of Italy than had been agreed.

He came home in, I think in 1946\47 and my youngest sister Lynn was born in 1948. By that time however, we had moved from 161 High Street to a small cottage in another road no longer there, 16 Hill Street. This was on top of the hill, behind the present day pub’s near to the roundabout over the River Weaver, This row of cottages was removed some time in the 1950’s  to improve the road up the hill to the present day “ Wharton Bypass”.

During the earlier part of the war my Mum Phyllis was taking care of me and my sister at 161 High Street and then she moved back to Middlewich with the children to be with her family at 48 Sutton Lane. It must have been at that time that Mum went to work at the local Cranage Airfield making the wings for the Lancaster Bombers. The work she was involved in was the placing “sticking with resin” the silk, yes SILK, over the wooden frame to make the outer skin of the wing.  

Needless to say, the population of mid-Cheshire did not run short of material for their underwear for the duration of WWII.

The airfield was also the base for some of the fighter plans that were there to defend Manchester and Liverpool from enemy aircraft. I also used this airfield runway, after the war, much later, to try and teach Mum to drive a car. When she found that she could not even keep the car on the main runway she decided to give up, and never did try again. The runway was demolished some short time later, although if you look carefully you can still see some of the aircraft taxi routes on the runway perimeter.

Dad came “home from the war” some time in 1946\7 and Kay and me were there, now having moved back to live at 16 Hill Street, Winsford Cheshire. We were both sitting on the “Hill Street” steps, near to the top when Dad came home past us and went home to Mum at the house. He did not know, as he had been away for such a long time, that the two children at the top of the steps were his children, patiently waiting for Dad to come home. I cannot quite remember this in such detail, however, Kay does.

We lived at this house for some time, but not long before moving back to live in Middlewich Cheshire. I think that we then all moved to live at 48 Sutton Lane Middlewich before finally moving to live at 68 Lewin Street Middlewich. Mum, working for her father initially, at her hairdressing shop at the bottom of St Annes Road, Middlewich. Dad, back to his old job as a plumber working for Bill Jones the house builder of Lewin Street. Putting in the plumbing of the post war houses being built at Leftwich, Middlewich etc etc mainly in the Mid Cheshire area.

Cliff school photograph.

Points of possible interest:- These can be expanded if requested, at a later date.

1)           Did spend some time at the Primary School in High Street, Winsford.

2)           Do remember the “Winsford Flood” in 19xx.

3)           Do remember the “chip shop” in Hill Street, Winsford.

4)           Do remember the “stacking” of uncles and dads rifles at 48 Sutton Lane.

5)           Do remember the “spitfire” toy aircraft made for me by Granddad Buckley.

6)           Do remember the garden \ shed \ rear wall at 161 High Street, and upstairs.

7)           Do remember going by bus during the war to Grandma Astles.

8)           Do remember Auntie Gwen as bus conductor during the war.

9)           Do remember both cousins Gene and Barbara visiting 16 Hill Street.

10)      Do remember half sides of pork over the bath at 48 Sutton Lane.

11)      Do remember Auntie Gwen pulling me under the table at 48 Sutton Lane as “German” planes were flying overhead.

12)      Do remember having photos taken on the front step at 48 Sutton Lane.

13)      Do remember the “Anderson “ air raid shelter at 48 Sutton Lane.

14)      Do remember climbing the back gate at 48 Sutton Lane and cutting my face on the upturned gate “latch”.

15)      Do remember Uncle Albert (Buckley) giving me a ride on my wooden sledge, backwards, and me hitting the ice with me chin and needing stitches at the Doctors. Now the café opposite the travel agent in Middlewich.

16)      Do remember the “old” doctors surgery as above, with it’s brown paint, bottom, cream paint top, and the chairs all placed neatly around the walls with the prospective patients waiting to be called.

17)      Both Bill Astles and Miriam Astles are buried at the main church in Over, Winsford.

18)      Both Albert and Martha Buckley (Mums parents) are buried in the main cemetery in Middlewich.

19)      Do remember going with “Uncle” John (Grandma Buckley’s brother) to the co-op stables on a Sunday morning, by bus, to clean out the co-op horses. These were used in those days to pull the co-op milk \ coal \ bread and sometimes hearse carts around the various towns in the area.

20)      Do remember that milk was delivered to Ma Astles’ house in High Street by a small horse drawn dray, not the co-op. The milk was in the large metal milk churns, tipped over so that the milk ran into a large can. The can was then brought to the door for you to decide how much milk you needed, or could afford. The dray held just two of the large metal milk churns.

21)      Ma and Bill Astles family was:- Clifford, Horace, William, Maggie and Minnie.

22)      Ma and Albert Buckley’s family was:-Albert, Phyllis,  Freda, Nancy and Gwen.

23)      John Buckley, Ma Buckley’s brother never married and lived with them, always or so it seemed. Also, worked with horses for Darbishers in Middlewich after the war until retirement. Also spent a lot on horses.

24)      Spent some short time at the old “Church of England” infant’s school in Middlewich, perhaps just for one year or term. Then went up to the junior school in King Edward Street.

25)      Then progressed to the senior school as above in 1952.

26)      Do remember the King and Queen visiting Middlewich after the war, date ?

There is probably much more to fill in the gaps.

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