Treasured memories

MOST old people call the past "The Good Old Days" But were they really so good? CAROLYNE CUMBLEY,13, a pupil at Rhyddings High School, Oswaldtwistle, interviewed her grandmother JOYCE RICHARDSON of Knuzden, about her memories. Joyce is 65 and lives at home with her youngest son, Jeffrey. She has two other sons, a daughter and four grandchildren. HAPPINESS: Joyce said her happiest memory was when she married her husband Leslie (Les) on October 1, 1949.

It was a quiet wedding at St Johns's, Accrington.

Joyce had to get married in a suit because of the shortage of material. She later spent her honeymoon in Cleveleys.

Her worst memory was when her husband died last year. It was a shock to all the family, not just herself.

THE WAR: When Joyce was eight her father and some of her uncles went off to war. Because she lived in Accrington, which was known as The Holy City because it was never bombed, her house and school survived the war. Rationing meant poor food and drink and "make-do-and-mend" clothes. Everywhere you went you had your gas mask. Joyce remembers air raid shelters, blackout curtains and having no bananas, oranges or peaches. You had to walk or catch the tram, bus or train as there were few cars about. On VE Day, aged 14, she went with the Guides in a torchlight procession to the Coppice in Accrington SCHOOL AND WORK: JOYCE started school at the age of three and left when she was 14.

The schools were very strict and the punishments were either the cane or being made to stand in the corner.

She only remembers one friend from school, whose name was Mary Evans.

They still keep in touch and are firm friends.

At the age of 14 she went to work in an office doing filing, answering the telephone and some typing. Her wage was 16s 6d.

HOME LIFE: She lived at home with her dad, who was a crane driver, and her mum, in a two-up-two-down terrace house with only a tin bath.

Being an only child meant she was never short of toys. She had some dolls, a pram and even a doll's house. Her pets were a cat called Dinky and a rabbit called Bunty.

For holidays she went to Blackpool and at Christmas she went to family parties. For her birthday, because she was an only child and unlike other children, she had parties and most of her presents were books because she liked reading a lot. On walking days she would join the parade around her parish. THE ROYAL FAMILY: Joyce only vaguely remembers the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936 because she was too young. But when King George was crowned she received a box at school containing a mug and some "goodies".

Later on, when Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, she watched the ceremony on next door's TV. When Charles and Diana got married she was given a day off work.

My conclusion is that some of the old days were good but the present is better than the past. Today technology is more advanced and we have a better education. There isn't a world war going on and the world is a more peaceful place. LUKE BUTLER of Sacred Heart interviewed his gran about toys in the 1930s

THERE were dolls that said "mama" when you bent them over. The doll would be about 30cm high and 15cm wide. There were building bricks made out of wood and all different colours.

Peg rugs were also popular in the 1930s. You would cut small pieces of material out of clothing and peg it into patterns.

People used to listen to the wireless. You could either buy one or rent one for a sixpence and you would get two radio stations, the Home Service and the Light Programme.

The Home Service started at 8.45am and finished at 10.30pm. So did the Light Programme.

The first crystal set in Colne was made by great grandfather in 1929 and you had to listen to it on earphones.

You would get a lot of free things with soup, like flicker books or jigsaws. The boys read, went swimming, played football or had a top and whip.

They would use coloured chalk to draw on the top, then put a pin in the middle and then whip it and look at the colours. Some people were very artistic.

In the winter you would go sledging using an old wooden door or a wooden sledge with iron bars for speed. PUPILS ANDREW McKIE and DANIEL TAYLOR, also from Rhyddings, found out what life was like during World War Two. A lady called Mrs Pond remembered the bombs.

"It used to be very frightening when the bombs were dropped on Union Road," she said. "I can remember a bomb being dropped on Walsh's woodyard in Oswaldtwistle."

People had to carry gas masks all the time and at night all the windows had to be blacked out.

Andrew and Daniel asked about schooldays. A Mrs Brown said: "At school we used to be frightened of the teachers. They were very strict."

Children had three lessons a day. Mrs Pond said: "School used to start at 9am and finished at 4pm. We left school at 14 to get a job." Mr Brown told the boys about Christmas. He said: "We used to keep a stocking at the bottom of our bed. When you woke up on Christmas morning, you might have found an apple, an orange, or a small toy in your stocking."

He added: "As a special treat, you might have got a glass of lemonade or a mince pie."

Mrs Pond said: "Your birthday was like any other day."

Mr Brown was a soldier on duty at the Queen's Coronation. He said: "On Coronation Day I marched in the parade with Princess Elizabeth up to Westminster Abbey."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.