Marital strife, park ghosts and railway tragedy

The history of the CAB is a social history of Britain. It was founded during the Second World War, and so its early caseload was war-related: everything from lost ration books and evacuation difficulties to the financial hardships caused when men were called up, and then, inevitably, to the problems caused by death on active service.

One case referred to Durham CAB in 1943 had many elements to it. A mother and her four children were plunged into difficulties when her husband deserted his regiment and then their home burned down leaving them squeezed into her sister’s house.

After the war, the main problems of the 1950s concerned housing shortages, and then in the 1960s, the new sorts of difficulties brought on by the consumer and sexual revolutions dominated.

For example, in 1965, the Durham CAB helped people who felt they had been ripped off during the consumer revolution. If they’d bought items such as clothing or furniture which they felt showed unreasonable wear, they had to take them to a testing centre where the offending item was analysed. This would then provide evidence for their claim for a refund.

However, the fee for a test was £3, and many householders were unwilling to spend so much when there was no guarantee they’d get their money back.

And it may have been the sexual revolution which accounted in 1969 for a peak of marital problems dealt with by Newton Aycliffe CAB.

The industrial strife of the 1970s and 1980s brought a new batch of problems. For example, the number of queries the Durham office handled in 1979 – 5, 411 – more than doubled within six years to 11,360 queries in 1985 – more than during the whole of the Second World War. Many of these cases were from the Seaham and Dawdon areas and were related to the miners’ strike and the increasing levels of debt.

Researcher Caroline Hardie is compiling the new history Durham CAB and she would love to talk to anyone who has been a client, volunteer or member of staff over the years – the conversations can be confidential. Her work will form a booklet and a travelling exhibition. If you can help, please email caroline@aenvironment.co.uk

SCENE OF TRAGEDY: Preston Lane level crossing on March 7, 1964, looking east. It is believed that George Forrester was on his way to work in the box when he was killed. Can anyone tell us anymore – what are the buildings on the left?

MEMORIES 239 contained a picture of a homemade poster that we’d found pinned to a tree at Preston-le-Skerne, near Newton Aycliffe, beside the overgrown trackbed of the Shildon to Newport railway line.

The poster was dedicated to railwayman George Forrester, who lost his life nearby on April 4, 1957.

“He was my grandfather and it was my elder brother, John, and I who placed the notice on the tree,” says Paul Forrester from Toronto, near Bishop Auckland. “I have no memories of him, being under two years old when he died.

”The only details that I can find are what is on his death certificate – that he died of injuries sustained by being hit by a train. I would be interested to hear from anyone who may have further information about George or his accident.”

FAMILY MAN: George Forrester, his wife Edie and their only son Joseph, of Ferryhill. The picture was taken in 1944 when Joseph was home on his first leave after being called up for national service

The Echo of the time devoted two paragraphs to the fatal accident, noting that Mr Forrester, 48, of Ferryhill, died near the Ricknall Crossing. “It was thought that he was knocked down by a train when on his way to work at the Preston East Signal Box,” it said.

Please get in touch if you have any more information about the incident or, indeed, the signal box.

WE learned an awful lot from the people who braved the guided historical walk of Darlington’s South Park last weekend.

HEALTH AND SAFETY: Skating on the frozen lake in Darlington's South Park on February 6, 1954

Firstly, the ghostly Grey Lady who, you may remember, drifts spookily across the Skerne from Polam Hall into the South Park showground, making use of a wooden footbridge that was demolished in the 1870s.

One former Polam pupil tells us that appearances by the Grey Lady were the talk of the school in the 1950s; one of our walkers said that he’d known the Grey Lady show up as recently as the 1970s.

However, not all of the stories tally. In some, the lady is grey; in others, she is white. In some, the lady is headless; in others, she is complete. In some, she is female; in others, she’s a man.

But, (s)he undoubtedly exists, which is the main thing.

Secondly, we received confirmation that the model steam plough that had once stood on the Fowler monument was indeed stolen by scrapmen in the 1970s – there was a vain hope that vandals had rolled it down into the lake and so it might be recoverable.

Thirdly, an extraordinary revelation about Peter the Park Penguin.

Peter, and a pal, came to the park after the Second World War and, although the pal died soon after, Peter lived rather forlornly in the aviary into the 1970s. Reports from the time said that he was a jackass penguin from South America, but jackass penguins (so named because they make a noise like a donkey) only live in South Africa. Perhaps he was a Humboldt, which comes from South America.

That’s a minor detail. The story told on the walk was that a young Darlington sailor was on his first trip to foreign waters and wanted to return with an extra special gift for his parents. So, whichever part of the world he sailed to – either South America or South Africa – he p-p-picked up a couple of penguins and popped them into his backpack.

When he arrived home in Darlington on the doorstep bearing penguins, his parents were understandably horrified and ordered that he take them down to the park.

Finally, we were very grateful to John Philpott who brought along a First World War trench spoon, as we mentioned such a device in Memories 173.

TRENCH SPOON: John Philpott's First World War item

A soldier adapted a tablespoon – John’s one was made by the Sheffield firm of John Round and Son – by cutting its bowl into a square, sharp edge so that it became a knife, a fork and a spoon which was able to scrape into the right-angled corners of a mess tin. The handle on John’s spoon has also been adapted so extra pressure can be put behind it, presumably for when it was being used as a knife.

John’s trench spoon was found at Beaucourt on the Somme, and he believes the soldiers put its square edge to another valuable use: scraping mud off their uniforms.

BLOOMING MARVELLOUS: Lady Starmer at the Darlington Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society's show in 1977, which was the last show to be held in the Baths Hall in Kendrew Street before its demolition. From left to right, mayoress Carol Lyonette, Joe Kidd, George Gray, Bill Florentine, Lady Starmer, Tom Snowball, Eve Gray, David Kilcran and Ted Shaw

MEMORIES 237 told of Lady Starmer, the colourful widow of the newspaper entrepreneur and Darlington mayor, Sir Charles Starmer.

Pat Brophy has since been in touch to tell us how the Darlington Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society still annually awards three prizes which bear Lady Starmer’s name.

“She left money to the society, and instead of getting money, the winner receives a big engraved glass tankard that they can keep,” says Pat.

The three Lady Starmer classes are each for three blooms of dahlias or chrysanthemums in a vase, and they will again be presented at the 76-year-old society’s late show, which will be held on November 14 in the Bondgate Methodist Church Hall (the society’s early show is in the hall on September 12). All are welcome.

TODAY’S front page picture – “the Bridge of Sighs” – shows Milburngate bridge in the centre of Durham City on April 1, 1967, a couple of months before it was completed.

Roadworks on the bridge – which carries 48,000 vehicles a day – started on July 12 and so far, delays have not been as bad as feared – so perhaps the only sigh on the Durham Bridge of Sighs is one of relief.

Our front page picture was printed as excitement grew about the completion of the £1.2m Wear crossing, which would divert 15,000 cars from the congested city centre. The headline read: “A city’s dream coming true.”

Said the Echo: “It is the first major step since 1870 to ease the traffic-bound centre of Durham.”

The roadworks are due to be completed by the end of August, when the traffic-bound roads around Durham will flow freely again.

MEMORIES 238 told of the curious aircrash in 1935 involving motorcycling ace Freddie Dixon. He and a friend hired a plane from Londonderry aerodrome – now RAF Leeming – and flew over their hometown of Linthorpe, waving at their friends down below, until they crashed into the golf course. The plane was destroyed, although both aviators survived.

“To me, Freddie was most famous for two things,” writes Bill Bartle from Barnard Castle. “Firstly, he is the only man to have won TTs on two, three and four wheels. The first two were obviously in the Isle of Man (1923 and 1927), and the latter was the Ulster TT, a car race which he won in 1935 and 1936.

“The second reason for his fame is his invention of the banking sidecar. This device had a lever, operated by the passenger, which could make the whole outfit lean into corners like a solo motorbike. He won the first sidecar TT in 1923 on this with a broken frame!

“However, since it was never used again, I suspect it wasn't as good as he thought it would be.”

PROFESSOR George Norton, last week’s magical man of mystery, is mysterious no more! But what a sensational life. Many thanks to everyone who has been in touch – more next week.