From the records, John Wrathall ( i.e. Edward's father ) was born on 18th September 1863.
He would have been 24 or 25 when the first son, Frank, was born in 1887/8.
“John’s elder brother Jim ( b. 1861) had been the first son to seek his fortune away from the 'homestead'.”
“He came into Lancashire and took service with a family named Brook, at Orwell Fold Farm, Bromley Cross near Bolton. The farmer was Bernard Brook, about the same age as Jim, who supposedly lived a fast life, mainly drunk, and as a result died a young man leaving a wife & two sons - Bernard and John. Jim took charge of bringing up the two boys and running the farm, which was a large milk producing concern delivering in and around Bolton.”
Jim's migration encouraged John to follow him down into Lancs., and at the next village of Turton & Edgeworth he met his first wife, named Howarth.
“The Howarth family presumably had money, which helped John set up in the dairy business in Bootle. John was always a farmer at heart, but his specialty was horses. When he went to Bootle he was still with livestock, as in those days - dairies in cities like Liverpool had their own cows in underground shippons and the milk was sold, and delivered, direct from the premises.”
At this time John had four sons – Frank, James b.1889, John b.1892 & George b.1894 ( the first born in Bootle to his second wife).
His first wife apparently died quite suddenly, from pneumonia. The second wife - Frances Violet Humphreys - had been the maid to the establishment before their marriage.
“Due to problems getting money in, the business in Bootle failed and sometime between 1894-6 the family moved to Hyde. On arrival there, residence was at Sundial, and then Woodside.”
Neither stay was for long as Edward was born in a cottage on Godley Hill in Sept. 1899.
“John probably survived on labouring jobs at this time, finally finding work with the Corporation - causing a move to Albion St., in the centre of Hyde.”
Jane was born in March 1904, possibly at the new address of 65 Corporation Street.
When the family moved to Hyde, Frank seems to have moved to be with his grandfather at Westhouse.
Edward:-
“It is difficult to know how far back one can recollect facts from childhood. The first big event would be my mothers death in 1905, I would be between 5 & 6 at the time. The house was full of people for the funeral & somebody gave me a sixpence, something I had never seen before & it seemed like a fantastic fortune, I can't remember what happened to it.”
“My mother died of a fever at Harry's birth, some mismanagement which would not happen today!”
In 1905 – James was 16, John 13, George 11, Stephen 9, Edward 6, Jane 1. The baby, Harry, was taken back to Bootle by his dead mother's sister.
“As I have already said, it is difficult to recall childhood memories but nevertheless certain things stand out which must have occurred prior to mothers death.”
“It is difficult in these times of plenty to realise what things were like with us at that time. Whilst there was no question of malnutrition I have definite recollections of being allocated one slice of bread, Stephen two and so forth at certain meals, eggs were always chopped into two.”
“I can scarcely remember my own mother but I fancy she was auburn & a slimly built person with a fairly quick temper & I have the feeling that things between my parents could have been difficult. Men did quite a lot of beer drinking in those days, certainly more then they could afford, and I have faint recollections of tagging along with Stephen & George to a pub called the Unity on Saturdays. I can only suppose we were either finding out if the old man was in the pub & if possible getting his pay packet – I think men were paid on Saturdays in those days.”
“Another thing about Saturdays was that we never had dinner at home that day, we got a penny each and went to the chip shop in the next street for our dinner.”
“The first Mrs. Wrathall was presumably fairly tall and as my father was 6’2” it is not surprising that Frank, Jim & John were all big, the second family from my mother were only medium height other than myself. “
“Jim, the eldest at home, and John took after father and always appeared to be big. The job Jim had before leaving home to go farming was as a blacksmiths striker, so he must have been pretty hefty to manage that work. He was always a good looking lad with a pleasant disposition & easy to get on with.”
“John was also a big raw boned lad, given to bragging & flexing his muscles and generally throwing his weight about. In those days all transport was by horse and his first job was to work with two chain horses assisting heavy loads up the incline to Newton Station. Afterwards he got a job as a lather boy at a barbers where he learned to cut hair, and he got plenty of practice on me & Stephen.”
“George was short in inches and weight and John used to try and lord it over him so they fought like hell as lads. George had a vile temper and made up with ferocity what he lacked in weight. John didn’t have it all his own way by any means.”
“It is strange to think how limited things were in those days and yet how much we got out of simple things. The only toy we had was a ‘Magic Lantern’ with slides on to the wall on some sort of white background. I don’t know where it came from but it certainly was magic in as much that it survived for years & was cheered on every occasion it was displayed.”
“65 Corporation St. was a 4 room cottage, the front door opened into the living room & the backdoor into the backyard. All our childish pursuits were in the back room, or kitchen as it was called. Very little time was spent in the living room & practically none at all when father was home.”
“He had been reared hard and we were to some extent brought up the same way. To us kids he was a demi-god , we never addressed him direct or asked him questions. When he spoke to us 9 times out of 10 it would be an order to do something and a back answer would be unthinkable. In early childhood we only had the absolute essentials in everything. I don’t remember any of us wearing coats, even in winter. I only remember one coat which was of the Inverness cape type, which was repeatedly handed down and used on rare occasions. Yet winter or summer we were never indoors, apart from the magic lantern concerts we had in the kitchen which would include a full house & other kids, until a scrap started and then we were all cleared out in quick style by the old man.”
“Fortunately for us the Corporation stables were behind the cottage and as father was now in charge of them we had the run of the stables and on bitterly cold nights we would go out and fill our bellies with the carrots bought as a treat for the horses”
“We had two bedrooms, both would be about 12’ square. We lads had two double beds in the back room, presumably John & Jim in one with me, Stephen & George in the other. We had excellent eiderdowns - they were new horse cloths with ‘Hyde Corporation’ stamped on in black letters. As a small child I can remember playing with the straps & buckles on the outside of the bed. We had some wonderful fun in that bedroom, the old man used to leave the house about 6 am after which time we became active leaping across from bed to bed, pillow fights etc.”
“The stables were a blessing to us in many ways. The old man loved horses and his liking rubbed off on us. We were amongst them daily and knew all the carters by their first name, similarly the horses. The old man was always dressed in horsey fashion – knee britches & leather leggings.”
“The stables & horses were kept beautifully clean, each man had his own horse and took great pride in looking after them. We had one or two good friends amongst the carters, one particularly called John Marlow (?). He used to keep little tidbits for Stephen & me and he could do something which I have never seen anyone else do. We would go to see him when he came in at night and if he had an apple for us he would take it in his two hands and with a twist would split the apple in half and give it to us. He used to invite us to his house, particularly around Christmas and give us a good feed. We naturally looked forward to Christmas, as all children do, and we always hung our stockings up and were delighted to find an apple, orange , nuts & sugar pig – I can’t recall anything much else.”
“You may think I am painting a very poor picture of things which is the last thing I wish to do. We actually lived a quite happy childhood which by its restrictures only increased the depth of pleasure which one enjoyed when the occasion arose. There seemed to be always things to look forward to and enjoy such as May Day Parade with weeks of preparation of the horses, their harnesses and carts scrubbed etc. Miles of coloured ribbons were used. All the chains were put in bags of sand and the bag was fastened to the wall and you spent hours moving it back & forth which turned the chains to immaculately polished. All this was repeated in Midsummer's annual parade and many other festivities.”
“Where we lived we seemed to be in the centre of things - the Fire station, theatre, Town Hall, marketplace & shops were all within two minutes. Fathers duties now included driving the Fire engine, Fever ambulance & Accident ambulance and alternate weeks was on call both day and night. All these vehicles were horse drawn with the driver fully exposed to all weather and with respect to the ambulances most journeys would be to Manchester ( 7 miles ) or Ashton, Stockport ( both 5 miles ) – bitterly cold journeys in midwinter.”
“When my mother died, things must have been chaotic for a time but in those days people lived so close together that some sort of help always materialised when needed.”
“In those days there were no full time firemen as we know them now - all policeman were fire trained and as far as possible lived within a few minutes running time of the fire station. Just off Corporation St., where we lived, was The Avenue where all the horses were allocated to policemen. Every house, including ours, was equipped with a very loud sounding bell, all activated from the fire station. When a fire occurred and we kids were not at school then as soon as the bell rang we would run to the bottom of The Avenue and have great fun watching all the policeman on night duty roused from their beds by the bell running like the devil with practically nothing on but their trousers - as all their fire fighting coats, helmets etc. were at the fire station.”
“During the day the old man would be at the station and by the time the men arrived he would be waiting on the box ready to leave. It was a real thrill to watch the performance, the fire horses were immediately positioned behind the engine and were more or less trained. When the general alarm went the doors in front of the horses opened, they slipped their fastenings and moved forwards to the engine where their harnesses, suspended overhead, dropped on to their backs and were quickly secured and in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes from the alarm the engine would turn out fully manned with a glorious jingle of bells, dashing horses etc.”
“Father was rubbing shoulders and quite friendly with all the policeman, and there was a lot of jealousy amongst them fighting for promotion & so on. However, whilst he was with them he was not one of them – they were under the jurisdiction of the Chief Constable and they had to tread very very carefully indeed in those days. The slightest step off a very rigidly enforced law of conduct and they were in serious trouble. Father was responsible direct to the Watch committee so he was more or less independent which seemed to make him a kind of father confessor for most of the policemen. Anyway, one of the policeman, a chap named Butler who like him had a houseful of kids, looked around for some means of assisting us. Mrs. Butler persuaded a young lady who lived near them, and was not working, to assist us temporarily. She would be 26 at the time, ten years older than Jim (year 1905) – fortunately us kids were well house trained and we were able to give our new strange lady plenty of assistance.”
“In due course she became Mrs. Wrathall but only after severe opposition from her mother who would have nothing to do with us for some time – she eventually came round and Stephen became quite a favourite of hers, running errands and so on.”
“Almost immediately Jim left home to start farming with Uncle Stephen at Nappa. Father would go there at every opportunity, and we lads always went there for all school summer holidays. When Jim finished his time at Nappa, John then followed.”
“In the meantime, George had gone part time, at the age of 12, into one of the cotton factories and it didn’t suit him very much. George, Stephen & myself went to Nappa for usual holiday and of course John with his farming experience was bigger & stronger than ever & he plagued poor George which culminated in a scrap where John fastened George in the dog kennel. I don’t think that George ever went to Nappa after that occasion.”
“George eventually went farming, but not to Nappa. Instead to Uncle Jim at Orrell Fold. ( The two Brook lads had grown up Bernard->Canada,John m. ).”
“As kid we adopted any means of earning anything, such as selling the football edition papers on Saturday evening, running errands, or taking breakfasts & dinners to the overlookers in the factories.”
“Stephen went halftime with the family butcher earning about 5/ a week and in addition I used to get about _ a crown for going out Monday evening for orders & delivering some orders on Tuesday morning before school. In addition I went out Friday evening again for orders. Saturday was a full day, 8 am to about 10 pm, - we spent all day delivering orders and then finished up taking meat & provisions to the butchers country cottage to cover their weekend.”
“Stephen left school at 13 and continued full time with the butcher. Each butcher did his own buying and killing in those days, and long before I left school I had considerable experience of slaughtering which I regret to say had little effect on me at the time. There were no humane killing implements in those days and the methods were pretty crude.”
Stephen soon left butchering for farming, again at Nappa.
In 1908 Edward's grandmother (name unknown) died and his grandfather Isaac left Westhouse to retire at Nappa.
Of his uncles & aunts he says :-
Frank b.1865 – emigrated to US,
Ted b.1868 – took over Westhouse,
Isaac b.1869 – was farming nr Bradford,
May Jane “Polly” b.1871 - died a spinster,
Stephen b.1872 – farmed at Nappa,
Lizzie b.1874 – m. a Mr. Johnson , moved to Hulton Roof Westmoreland.
In 1909 the family left Corporation St. for a slightly larger house in Edna St. – three bedrooms but no bathroom. This house turned out to be too far from the fire station so another move was made to Jackson St. – this house had two living rooms & three bedrooms.
The thirds wife father also lived with them as he was by now a widower.
Edward left school in September 1912 and had two jobs both in the printing trade, bookbinding etc.
“The wages on both jobs was 5/ a week. The second job was with a very progressive firm and one of my duties was sweeping etc. and I had to work half an hour extra on Saturday morning. I used to get a wonderful transparent pay packet full of details & cash columns.”
In February 1914 Edward left the printing trade and started as a junior clerk on the railways.
“The starting salary was £20 a year, 5d deducted weekly for superannuation. I had unlimited _ fare facilities for travel and when I started shift working I got a long weekend every three weeks ( 2 pm Sat to 10 pm Mon. ) so I used to move round the family in turn.”
“1914 was a very eventful year – it started with a big fire on 1st Jan. and father was involved for 10 hours or more. He was taken ill almost immediately and never worked again. It was several months before we found out what the trouble was – tumour on the brain - and he deteriorated slowly, being so strong physically. Stephen came home for some time to help us nurse him and he died in the November.”
“The 1st world war started on Aug. 3rd 1914. Father left nothing, his wife could get the widows pension ~10/. Her father was still working but just how we managed I don’t know.”
“Jim had married, and lived at Turton. He had left farming and had a contract job with a small cotton mill doing all their transport work with his own horses and wagons. As the war progressed, Jim had to sell up and go in the army and spent nearly all his service in and around Egypt – he was put to his old skill as a blacksmith.”
“Stephen could have avoided service as a farmhand but he chose to volunteer for the artillery – horses again.”
“Grandfather had died at Nappa. His will cut out father & Uncle Frank but included the son Frank as a brother – the will was supposedly quite odd.”
The war ended in November 1918. Edward was due to enlist on Armistice Day so didn’t bother to report.
Jim was demobbed and returned to work at Turton.
Stephen signed on for three more years , tempted by an offer of three months
immediate home leave. His extra years were spent in India.
“Up to the outbreak of war, there was a constant stream of emigrants flowing across England from most East European countries through Hull and by train across to Liverpool and then the US. All through the summer of 1914 special trains carrying thousands called at Godley for water and convenience – there was no corridor. They were packed like sardines in six wheeled carriages and we used to have buckets of water lining the platform for people to fill their cans etc. They didn’t possess any luggage as such, just bundles of clothes & bedding and what they stood up in.”
“At Godley, at that time, was what was known as the Signal Works where the old semaphore signals for the Great Central were made. Attached to the works was also an office known as the Chief Ironworks Inspector – the chief was a Scotsman named Gladstone, a very big man about 6 ft 3 in. He had under him several inspectors for various sections such as bridges, rails, fire appliances etc. One of the clerks for the department, Percy Carson was only ‘supernumerary’ i.e. not permanent and when, in 1915, he had to enlist his place was filled by my future wife.”
“I had always done fairly well at elementary school, education in those days was much simpler. I can never recollect being outside the first six in exam results and as I was never a good penman I must have excelled in other subjects – I know I was always top in arithmetic. We must have been gluttons for punishment in those days – I enrolled for what was termed evening classes taking Commercial Arithmetic, Bookkeeping, Shorthand and Theory & Practice of Commerce two or three nights a week and had certainly reached advanced bookkeeping which would have led to Accountancy had I continued. “
“I reached the point where I had to choose between commercial and railway subjects and chose the latter. I had several winters taking Railway Law, Economics, Geography and Operating at Whitworth St., Manchester.”
“My starting salary was £20 – the other clerks were earning various figures up to £70, the Chief Clerk capped everybody on £90. The clerical union was very weak in those days and only the brave dared to go to union meetings. However things came to boiling point in 1919 and we got a new salary agreement – we had during the war received increments as war bonuses and the agreement put these on a permanent basis.”
“We were now graded in classes 5 to 1, ordinary clerks were in the bottom grade 5 whose upper limit was £200 – reached at 31 years of age. Class 2 , the stationmaster was up to £300. With the end of the war Percy Carson returned with a stick and a badly injured leg to find a woman in his job and he was offered a position in Sheffield involving him in 3 hrs travelling from Mottram – poor Percy was still graded as a wages clerk and had to fight several more years to gain permanency.”
“About this time the railway grouping commenced and Great Central became part of L.N.E. and considerable changes took place. Godley was C.L.C., the bulk of the work was Great Central and everything was duplicated. One advantage was that we received copies of everything connected with L.N.E. and were in direct contact with them. About this time the L.N.E. started a new education programme with lectures at Manchester University (Economics, Law, Geography and Operating – one subject each winter for 4 yrs. ) . I applied for and obtained permission to attend. In addition we had courses in Railway Accountancy and Rules & Regulations. I had to travel to Sheffield for the Accountancy and it made a long day – up at 5 am, work 6 till 2, dinner and leave Hyde after 4 to get the 5 pm express to Sheffield, getting home again at 11.30 pm. Percy Carson and myself did the full course over four years and won ourselves what was termed the Higher Education Certificate.”
“Poor Percy after working so hard never lived to enjoy it – he died rather suddenly and unexpectedly from something obscure which he was presumed to have picked up during his army service.”
“Promotion on the C.L.C. was a chancy affair unless you had a friend at Head office. The L.N.E. did advertise vacancies – a list came out every week and covered the whole area of the system. I applied for vacancies all over the country with no success.”
“In 1928 the C.L.C opened a train control office at Liverpool and six men were trained to work there. In 1930 one of the men died suddenly from pneumonia. My clerical dossiers were full of applications for similar positions on the L.N.E. – I was invited to Liverpool and asked if I thought I could do the job, I said yes! I was offered Class 4 status with a promise to raise me to 3 in a years time. I started in May.”
“I had to travel from Hyde 2 weeks out of 3 and on the 3rd week night tour had to lodge without receiving any expenses. Our rent at Hyde was 9/- weekly and moving to Liverpool meant getting a home there. I bought a house at 30(?) Leopold Rd, Hamers nr Liverpool for £550. I had to borrow £75 from father?? which I managed to repay very quickly. I had a mortgage with the Halifax and repaid it at £3-17 a month in just under 13 years.”
Uncle Jim: The eldest Brook lad had prospered in Canada and the other son, John, wanted to go over as well but had a wife and two children. Eventually he went leaving the farm in Jim’s care.
The sons later returned from Canada and Bernard insisted on selling the farm before going back. So they moved from Orrell Fold to Horrocksford Old Hall at Clitheroe - Uncle Jim and George went with them
Uncle Jim was quite religious - yet never went to church. He was teetotal, a bachelor, didn’t smoke and never swore. His only vice was cards - the only reason he stayed up after 9 pm.
Uncle Stephen: “He had quite a family Isaac, Billy, Jim, Lucy, John & Frank – it was a very open house with lots of cooking.”
Eventually a relative of Aunt Sarah died leaving some money and they moved to Brook Cottage, Garstang. At Nappa they had reared stock and made butter – at Garstang they made cheese instead.
The three eldest sons all married while at Brook Cottage.
Later the family moved again to Horrocksford Farm, Clitheroe – farming next door to Uncle Jim. Uncle Stephen died aged 84.
Of his children:-
Isaac farmed at Paythorne – had 1 son 1 dau., the son became a publican
Billy farmed in Longridge and had 2 daughters.
Jim started farming at Garstang – had 5 sons with his first wife and another with a second. He became a specialist breeder of Frisians and much in demand as a judge. Between him and the boys they farmed 4 farms around Garstang.
Lucy married a successful poultry farmer near Goosnargh.
John later farmed at West Bradford
Frank took over Horrocksford but died in his 50’s after a period of ill health.
John: He lived at Nappa, where he met a girl named Robinson whose family farmed about a mile from Stansfield, nearby. ( Edward’s Uncle Stephen had met his wife Sarah while working at Robinsons and after the wedding took over Stansfields ).
Unfortunately a previous boyfriend returned and John was left alone so he moved to work in Dentdale, later meeting a girl Ruth in Settle – they married and later took over Stansfield.
“She was 20 years older, she was a good wife and very hard working.
Frank: Still single, he decided to settle next door to John after a neighbouring farm came vacant.
“He was 6 ft+, well made and good looking and very popular locally – taking an active part in local activities in and around Hellefield. However he called on John one evening and announced he was getting married the next day – in the end the hurry was ‘unjustified’ however he got a good wife, Lily.”
They had three children Robert, Anne & Frank and did very well until tragedy struck. Frank calved a cow with an unbandaged arm, caught pneumonia?? which turned septic and died aged just 38 (~1925). Farm and contents were sold and his family moved into a cottage at Hellefield.
George: He settled in as Uncle Jim had – “life was all bed and work with cards the only relaxation.”
Moving to Clitheroe brought them into contact with more people and at a Whist Dance, supposedly, George met Emmie who lived at Millstones Inn & Farm at West Bradford and they eventually married. “George was quite shy so she must have made most of the running.”
“When they married they started out at Moor Laithe Farm, Gisburn ( so George and John were only 4 miles apart – but never mixed ).”
“After some years the estate around including Millstones came on the market and the sitting tenants had refused. As none of Emmy's family made a move, George bought it – but he was teetotal so had no interest in the inn. It was a free house and brewery reps pestered George and were shocked when he said he wasn’t interested in selling beer – only farming. They offered to buy the inn, again – not interested! Eventually he got all the land and a beautiful new Yorkshire stone house, named Barnstead, twice as big as Millstones.”
When George left Moor Laithe, John & Ruth moved in – they had two more children, Lily & Dorothy, who both grew up to be teachers.
George had three children Winifred, Frances & George, none of whom went beyond elementary level – “another bone of contention between the brothers!”
Uncle Isaac: After Franks death, Uncle Isaac transferred from near Bradford. “John & Isaac, his two grown up sons, settled in at Haber in typical Wrathall fashion – all bed and work.”
“The township of Nappa consisted of 4 dwellings – 3 farms and a cottage. The cottage tenant worked on the estate and the 3rd farm was worked with the Barge family and was midway between the other two ( Stansfield & Haber ) so they all cooperated.”
“The younger Barge daughter married John and Isaac,John & Joney stuck together. They eventually left Haber to semi-retire to a small farm part way up the fell at Grindleton.”
Uncle George: Had 3 children Winifred, Frances and George.
Winifred married and lived at West Bradford.
Frances married a carpenter – they took over Barmstead.
George was married with several children and followed his father at Barmstead
but his wife disliked farming so they moved to Clitheroe, “he had various
jobs but seemed to do well”.
Uncle George moved to Clitheroe. “He was always in trouble with the income tax inspector and must have got away with 1000’s over the years. When he retired he offered them £2000 – they settled after 8 years wrangling.”
Stephen: During his army training he met his future wife Lilian Manning in Ipswich where she was a waitress in a cafe.
“He was a good eater and it seems Lilian slipped him extra food.”
After three years in India, John had no money except his £60 gratuity. He linked up with Jim whose cotton factory contract had ended, but after a lean spell had got fixed up as a stockman for one of the wartime cotton barons – breeding and showing pedigree stock at country shows.
By referral Stephen got a similar position at Silverdale and a son Peter was born there in 1924. Unfortunately the job was short lived as economic conditions were difficult for the ‘barons’ after the war and they gave up showing.
Jim then returned to farming at Calderhead.
Lilian was an only child so her parents didn’t like her living away and persuaded them to move to East Anglia. An uncle had bought a small farm, Ashgrove at Saxmundham, for £700 which Stephen then rented for £35 a year. ( Many Wrathalls came there for holidays in later years. )
A second son John was born there in 1927.
“Mr. Manning was a skillful bookbinder specialising in ledgers and when Lilian moved to Ashgrove the Mannings sold their house in Ipswich and built a bungalow on the farm. Unfortunately farming was at its lowest ebb in the 1930’s and Stephen had no capital. He got a loan from Uncle Jim – which he never repaid.”
“Uncle Jim was a kind of father figure and financed in a small way nearly all his nephews – most repaid him.”
“Stephen's position worsened each year – even though he knew a lot about farming, he couldn’t make Ashgrove pay. He got behind with the rent and had a lot of arguments with the uncle.”
“It must have been bad for the Mannings, Mr. M was a quiet man who never even raised his voice. In the beginning it was wonderful - he grew his own fruit and vegetables plus had their own eggs and milk. Mrs. M helped Lilian in the kitchen and made her own wine. They put a lot of money into the farm.”
“In 1937, Stephen was 3 years in arrears, things were desperate and the uncle was going to evict them. Stephen was desperately looking for another farm with better prospects. At last a farm in Ipswich came vacant belonging to the Rank family – they went for an interview and were offered it. Stephen had one good friend – his bank manager, also from the north - he gave Stephen some credit and I gave him £100 and they moved to Crane Hill, SW Ipswich in 1938.”
“The Mannings lost their bungalow, Ashgrove was sold, and they had to move in with S & L. Mr. Manning went into to hospital shortly after for a routine prostrate operation but never came out – he seemed to lose the will to live after leaving the farm. His widow continued to be active for many years.”
The move to Crane Hill was a success as it was right in the town, almost up to the station, - the land was later built on after W.W.II to become the Chantry Estate.
Later when he lost Crane Hill he was compensated and luckily found Damerons Farm at Henley, 4 miles north of Ipswich. He paid £10,500 of which £1000 was borrowed from Edward – who was paid back later with interest.
Edward: In 1948 moved to Northwich
Uncle Ted: Farmed at Westhouse and had several children – but after Ted died his son didn’t take the farm on.
Wrathalls had farmed the place for so long every effort was made to find someone to take it on but everyone was too well settled.
John: Followed Uncle George at Moor Laithe, Gisburn. He looked after Franks children ( Robert, Anne & Frank ) alongside his own daughters Lily & Dorothy,
“Young Frank for some years was a real problem – bed wetting etc. and was even sent away for treatment. The relationship with his new dad may have been hard for him to handle.”
John had various posts in Gisburn incl. Secretary of the U.L.U., Yorks Penny Bank, Vicar’s warden, Parish Councilor, Grader at the auction market. Eventually he allowed Robert to take over Moor Laithe and moved to live in Gisburn.
( As with Uncle George though, Robert’s wife objected to the 7 day farm week so they left to live in Barnoldswick – he found a job with Rolls Royce. )
“Frank took after his Uncle and joined many clubs – Gisburn F.C. play on Wrathall Park which was owned by Frank – and he supplied Gisburn with milk. He worked about 14 hours a day, seven days a week and was very happy. Like his father he was a ‘merry bachelor’ but unlike his father there was an issue. One morning he donned a morning suit and informed his mother that he was marrying after breakfast and would be back with his wife before evening milking.”
“Frank took over Moor Laithe when Bob left and instead of renting it he bought it from his parents and seemed to make a good living. His motto was that there was more fun making money than spending it.”