Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Another coach trip down memory lane - 1893-2008

 

1893 - Septimus Aberdeen [later DCM] was born. For a while he lived in Sleetburn Lane, Alum Waters. He attended New Brancepeth School where he acquitted himself well.

He was a man of which New Brancepeth can be proud.


He fought on the Western Front for over two years and that fact alone is testament to his admirable qualities. His Distinguished Conduct Medal was a tangible reward for coolness and courage. In 1918 Mr Aberdeen became a Second Lieutenant. Later that year he was wounded but he recovered and went on to give fine service. I believe that he married in 1921 but I cannot be absolutely certain about that.


1902 –J Potts the Ushaw Moor schoolmaster died on the 7th of May

 

1908 – George Gardiner had been cashier at Bearpark Colliery for a considerable number of years. He died on the fourth of May.

 

1920s - Both Ushaw Moor and New Brancepeth Cricket Clubs had teams playing in the Deerness and District League together with the likes of Brandon, Browney, Cornsay, Esh Winning and Oakenshaw. Ushaw Moor later put a team in the North East Durham League and regular opponents included Sherburn Colliery, Washington, Littletown and South Hylton.

 

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

The Chaytor Connection

Many of you will be aware of Henry Chaytor’s connection with Ushaw Moor Colliery. He resided at Witton Castle and was the owner of the colliery at the time of a very acrimonious dispute that began at the pit in 1881. There is a good summary on this site of the goings on during that dispute. Ushaw Moor historians now have the opportunity to extend, or at the very least review, their knowledge of the Chaytor family by means of a presentation given by a very knowledgeable member of the Witton Park History Group.  Express an interest by using the comment button at the end of this article. I have to say that the comment buttons are getting a bit rusty these days. I will go further and say they might fall off.

 

History is not bunk it’s fun. It exercises the reasoning powers. I am given to understand that generally in schools the pupils have a choice of taking geography or history at 16 – if that is correct  the situation is unfortunate because they are both very worthy subjects. 


Best regards


Wilf Bell

Posted by cloughy at 09:23:03 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Friday, March 07, 2008

An Opportunity to Meet Sir Bobby Robson? Plus Notes about Witton Park History Group

Whether such a meeting with Sir Bobby comes to fruition largely depends upon your motivation and Sir Bobby’s diary and availability. He has been invited to a DAFT event that takes place at Crook Library on Thursday 3rd of April at 7 pm - so cross fingers that he and you can make it. Hopefully by now you are aware that Daft is not a derogatory term rather it is a splendid organization that protects and celebrates the magnificent and extraordinary amateur football heritage of bygone years in County Durham. Ricky George is down to attend - Newcastle fans may well recall his spectacular goal against their beloved team in the FA Cup of yesteryear. John Motson, the football commentator and soccer statistician, was said to be a possible attendee last time I heard.

 

A typical Daft event includes memorabilia, football material, a talk, a few films of those glorious Durham football days and who knows what else!

 

Posted by cloughy at 09:52:03 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Notable Servants of Ushaw Moor Cricket Club

Dickie Hope and Peter Metcalfe – Notable Servants of Ushaw Moor Cricket Club

Although Mr Metcalfe has recently passed away his sterling service to cricket will linger on for a very long time and rightly so. I did not know Peter personally but am fairly well informed about his admirable work in cricket circles. Comparing and contrasting Dickie Hope and Peter Metcalfe are not particularly difficult tasks – first and foremost they were the gel that held the essential administration of the game together during their respective decades within cricket.

Of course they operated in very different periods. In the case of Dickie he was one or more of secretary, player and captain during the 1930s, 40s and early 50s He sits proudly within a photograph on the wall of the cricket club bar to this day. During Dickie’s pomp coalmining dominated the landscape in terms of noise, dirt and injuries. Peter came a little later but for a similar length of time. Unlike Dickie Peter ventured beyond club administration into league work that included the disciplining of players. I am given to understand that he was not always impressed with the style of play of Kimblesworth Cricket Club and that came out at his naturally sad but nevertheless celebratory funeral service. Peter had a sense of humour and that is worth a lot in this world! Humour tends to linger when the man has left.

 

Posted by cloughy at 09:50:17 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |