Martyn

[Martyn Bayley]

Hi All,

         My mother, grandmother and grandfather lived at 26 Plessey Street, Netherton Colliery, until my grandfather died in 1922 when the steam submarine he was serving on, K5, dived and never resurfaced. There was some discussion as to why Plessey Street wasn't named until 1961, but on the telegram informing my grandmother of his loss the address is clearly shown!

        Anyone have any old photos of Plessey Street, or news reports of the loss of the K5 ? If so I would be grateful of anything related. My grandmother later lived in Bedlington at 19 Hartford Crescent, and later at Hogarth Cottages. Her name was Hannah Livingston, but in 1922 was known as Hannah Charman. Thanks.

[Canny lass]

Hello Martyn and welcome to the forum!

I was born 1947 in Howard Row but the family was moved shortly after - also to Hartford Road - when those houses were to be demolished. We returned to the colliery houses prior to my starting school in 1951when a house in Third Street, across the road from Plessey Street,  became vacant.

 

About the name Plessey Street, there’s not much more that I can say than that which I said earlier -Nov 19 2016 in the topic ‘Plessey Row, Netherton’.  The houses were built around 1905 and comprised 4 rows of houses built around 3 ‘thoroughfares’ - or ‘streets’.  The rows were then named First-, Second-, and Third Street BUT Second Street comprised two rows of houses which shared one ‘thoroughfare’.  It was these thoroughfares that gave the address of the various dwellings, rather than the dwellings themselves.

 

For identification purposes, the rows of houses appear to have been given, at least officially, the names: 1^st Second Street and 2^nd Second Street. However,  there appears to have been a great deal of confusion even among the residents. I’ll post some evidence of this shortly.

 

During my lifetime in Netherton that shared thoroughfare was never surfaced with concrete as were the other two to the east and west – First- and Third Street. It remained an area of rough ground with quite a lot of weeds. As it was flanked by the front doors (the 'posh' entrance you could say) of Second Street’s two parts, it was hardly ever used for other than funerals when coffins were taken out through the windows of the front room because a coffin leaving by either the front- or the back door was physically impossible. All services to Second Street dwellings: coal delivery, bakers-, butchers- fishmonger’s vans etc.  went via the back yards of the properties facing First- and Third Street which were used for access.

 

I sometimes wondered if that rough area had at some time been a small garden area. First and Third Street had large gardens outside their front doors - much larger than would have been possible for the two parts of Second Street. From at least 1951 (my earliest recollection of Netherton) Second Street residents had no garden but had access to an allotment on the site of what used to be the gardens of the former South Row to the east of First Street. This row must have been demolished prior to the building of the 1905 housing.

 

There are plenty of photos of the four rows of housing in the gallery – Historic Bedlington/Netherton-Nedderton Old Photos OR Netherton-Nedderton Old Photos 2.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Canny lass

[Canny lass]

OK Martyn, here's the info I mentioned about Second Street vs. Plessey Street. It's a long document but I think it's worth posting for future reference:

1911 census, the enumerators round followed this route around the colliery: First Street 1-32 (3 rooms), 1^st Second Street 1-27 (4 rooms), 2^nd Second Street 1-30 (3 rooms), Third Street 1-25 (4 rooms)

 

Addresses given by a) Residents and b) Enumerator for dwellings in Second Street Netherton1911 census.

Details in brackets are amendments to the residents entry made by the enumerator.  Deletions made in the form of crossing out also made by the enumerator and the address amended to match his own records. I can add here that even one resident of First Street gives his address as Plessey Street. So great was the confusion.

Note that two residents refer to their address as Plessey Street “West”. I find this odd as it would have been the eastern part of Second Street adjacent to First Street.

 

a)Resident                                   b)Enumerator

(1^st) Second Street                    1^st Second Street

2 Plessey Street                         2 Second Street

 2 Plessey Street                         2 1^st Second Street

2 Plessey Street West                2 1^st Second Street

3 Plessey Street                          3 1^st Second Street

4 Plessey Street West                4 1^st Second Street

5 Plessey Street                          5 1^st Second Street

6 1^st Second Street                    6 1^st Second Street

7 Plessey Street                          7 1^st Second Street

9 (1^st) Second Street                  9 1^st Second Street

10 Plessey Street                       10 1^st Second Street

12 Second Street                        12 Second Street

13 (1^st) Second Street               13 1^st Second Street

14 (1^st) Second Street               14 1^st Second Street

15 Plessey Street                       15 1^st Second Street

17 (1^st) Second Street               17 1^st Second Street

19 (1^st) Second Street               19 1^st Second Street

20 (1^st) Second Street               20 1^st Second Street

21 (1^st) Second Street               21 1^st Second Street

22 (1^st) Second Street               22 1^st Second Street

23 (1^st) Second Street               23 1^st Second Street

24 (1^st) Second Street               24 1^st Second Street

25 (1^st) Second Street               25 1^st Second Street

26 Plessey                                   26 1^st 2^nd Street

 27 1^st (Second) Netherton       27 1^st 2^nd Street

1 (2^nd) Second Street                1 2^nd Second Street

2 (2^nd) Second Street                2 2^nd Second Street

3 2^nd Second Street                   3 2^nd Second Street

4 Plessey (2^nd Second) Street       4 2^nd Second Street

5 2^nd Second Street                   5 2^nd Second Street

6Plessey (2^nd Second) St.          6 2^nd Second Street

7 Second Single(Second)  Street 7 2^nd Second Street

8 Second Street                          8 2^nd /2^nd Street

9 2^nd Street                                              9 2^nd Second Street

10 Second Street                        10 2^nd Second Street

11 2^nd Second Street                       11 2^nd Second Street

12 Second Street                        12 2^nd Second Street

13 second Street                        13 2^nd Second Street

14 Second Street                        14 2^nd Second Street

15 Second Street                        15 2^nd Second Street

16 Second Street                        16 2^nd Second Street

17 2^nd Street                                 17 2^nd Second Street

18 Second Street                        18 2^nd Second Street

19 Second Street                        19 2^nd Second Street

20 Second Street                        20 2^nd Second Street

21 Second Street                        21 2^nd Second Street

22 Second Street                        22 2^nd Second Street

23 2^nd Second Street                 23 2^nd Second Street

24 2^nd Second Street                 24 2^nd Second Street

25 Second Street                        25 2^nd Second Street

26 Plessey Row                           26 2^nd Second Street

27 Second Street                        27 2^nd Second Street

28 Second Street                        28 2^nd Second Street

29 2^nd Single Row                       29 2^nd Second Street

30 Second Street                        30 2^nd Second Street

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Canny lass

[Canny lass]

And here are a couple of photos of Second Street/Plessey Street:

 

This is the whole colliery area showing the four rows in question: Nearest thecamera is Third street followed by Plessey Street (2nd Second Street), Second Street (1st Second Street) and last is First Street.

 

 

Here you see the gable ends of L - R Second Street (1st Second Street, Plessey Street (2nd Second Street) and Third Street viewed from the northern end (next to the railway line).

 

Finally, this is Third Street viewed from the northern end. Plessey Street (2nd Second Street) is opposite so it's a mirror image of your grandparents home.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Canny lass

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

22 hours ago, Martyn Bayley said:

 

        Anyone have any old photos of Plessey Street, or news reports of the loss of the K5 ? If so I would be grateful of anything related. My grandmother later lived in Bedlington at 19 Hartford Crescent, and later at Hogarth Cottages. Her name was Hannah Livingston, but in 1922 was known as Hannah Charman. Thanks.

 

There are a number of reports, online, on the loss of the K class submarines and they include some info on the K5. Unfortunately when you see this statement you can see not a lot was known about what happened to the K5 :- 

  

K5 left Torbay on 19 January 1921 with the K8, K10, K15 and K22 as part of the Atlantic Fleet for a mock battle in the Bay of Biscay.

The submarine was commanded by an experienced officer, Lieutenant Commander John A Gaimes, DSO, RN, but had a new crew. The other officers on board were Lieutenant F Cuddeford, Engineer-Lieutenant E Bowles, Acting Engineer-Lieutenant G Baker, Lieutenant B Clarke and Acting Lieutenant R Middlemist. The full complement included 51 ratings on board.

All 57 hands were lost on 20 January about 120 mi (190 km) south-west of the Isles of Scilly. She had signalled that she was diving but she did not surface at the end of the exercise.^[1] An oil slick was discovered and after planks from the battery covers and a sailor's "ditty box" were recovered, it was presumed that she had somehow gone past her maximum depth and been crushed.

Links to the online reports on the K series subs :-

https://www.submerged.co.uk/the-k5-submarine-disaster/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_K5

https://portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/timeline/details/1921-loss-of-submarine-k5

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/submarine-disaster

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/45550413

 

This one lists some of the men on the K5 and shows a group photo of the K5 sailors :-

https://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1921.htm

Edited January 23, 2021 by Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)