Canny lass

@HIGH PIT WILMA There are loads of useful gadgets and equipment available through the RNIB  - Royal National Institute for the Blind (and partially sighted). Have a look at what's available on their Northumberland RNIB site: https://www.rnib.org.uk/sightline-directory/organisations/bid-services-northumberland-867d6c8c-25ac-4997-9fe1-7bdcb6f1edfb/

... or better still, get in touch with them at their Morpeth office:

@HIGH PIT WILMA Glaucoma is a serious illness, HPW, but it doesn’t necessarily have to lead to complete sight loss. You’ll probably need eye drops for the rest of your life and while they can’t cure the Glaucoma or restore what sight you’ve already lost they can prevent further loss of vision so keep using your drops and doing what the doctor tells you!

We also have glaucoma in the family and were recommended to avoid caffeine which can increase the pressure in the eye. Avoid, or at least decrease, your intake of: coffee, tea and chocolate. (Tea has only half the amount of caffeine compared to coffee).

Take real good care of yourself!

I just love these old photos!

Sorry, this is in bits and pieces ...

As Mr Boll Sr. was schoolmaster at the village school throughout his career then I think it's fair to assume that this is him (standing at the back) in the photo from 1902. He bears a bit of a resemblance to the man standing centre back (with moustache) in the group photo.

William Henry Jr was born in Netherton Village and like his father went into teaching. In 1916, living in School House with his parents, he goes to war. Luckily he survives and in 1921 he is engaged in full-time studies to become a teacher. He marries a Newcastle girl in 1929 and they move away from the area at some point within the following 10 years. Certainly in 1939 he is living in Penrith and employed as a schoolmaster but he and the family seem to move back to Newcastle as he dies there in 1963.

I have never been able to find any evidence that either of the two worked in the infant school in the colliery. I've scrutinised the group above and if it is correctly dated to 1912 Mr Boll Sr would be 50 years old. Mr Boll Jr. would be 14 years old. The latter could be one of the older boys but I don't know if there are any 50 year-olds there. It seems like a family group to me.

Sorry, half of my post disappeared because I took too long editing (I must learn how to add photos throughout the text!)

To continue where I left off...

He was born in 1862 and seems to have done very well for himself. By the age of 18 he was a "pupil teacher' in West Hartford where the family then lived due to his father's work. Ten years later the family is living in Nedderton Village where William Henry Junior is schoolmaster at the school and his father is again working in one of the Netherton mines. His home is then "School House, Netherton Village". The year is 1891 and that "School House" may well have been within the school itself. By 1901 William Henry is a "Certified Elementary Schoolmaster" and he remains at School House throughout his career. He was certainly still there in 1929 and still working. In 1911 the building in which he lived is described as a "Council School and private house" which is why I think the accommodation may have been in the school building.

It is not until 1920 that School House appears on any maps I've seen and that's the brick-built house immediately to the right of the old school building (marked red on the map below). I've also arrowed the previously mentioned Rowanbrae in blue. It's at this address William Henry Sr, lives until at least his retirement. Prior to it's appearance on this map the land to the east of the school was without buildings.

On 09/05/2024 at 15:47, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

do you remember a Mr & Mrs Boll from the village?

No, I don't remember Mr & Mrs Boll from the 1960s but if there was a Mr Boll living to the left of the school in the 60s then it wasn't Mr Boll the schoolmaster because he died in 1950. However, he did die at Rowanbrae which still stands today somewhat to the left of the school building and adjacent to the old hall. There were two 'Mr Boll' - father and son both named William Henry and both School teachers. Mr Boll Sr was actually born in Netherton in Old Colliery Row which was very close to what we know as Nedderton Village. His father  was a miner.

Is nr 1 Bill Percy? He looks nothing like the Bill Percy in the next photo dated 1951, but nr 2 does

31 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

am not into gaming, just clarting

Don't panic! Keep on clarting!

On 15/10/2023 at 20:13, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Unfortunately CL I have passed my 4 year old DeskTop PC + the wireless keyboard from my new PC to one of the grandsons who is going to set the PC up for his oldest son, aged 8, to play and learn from so I can't tell you how I managed to get a screen shot as I tried a few keys, with TLAs/shortened names/symbols on that I have never had before.

I now have my 4 year old wired keyboard plugged into my new PC so it's back to the simple method of using the 'Shift + Print Scrn' just to the right of the 12 Function keys.

On my 4 year old PC I had always 'cropped' my screen prints by 'Paste'ing them into a blank file within a free piece of Microsoft software - Paint 3D Microsoft.

When I wanted to add text etc. to a posted photo or screen shot I pass the image to my Windows Vista Desktop PC that has the even older software (not available on Windows 7,8,10 or 11) = Microsoft Digital Image pro 1

Well, you might as well have written that in Chinese!

Vista? I've only ever seen that followed by 'del Mar' on my wanderings around the Mediterranean.

Can't any of the digital gurus, 3g & Andy, give you any help?

On 11/10/2023 at 13:24, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

although I have found a way to get a screen shot I haven't found a way to get it into a picture file

How are you getting your screen shot ?

3 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

my logic, according to the wife, is often wrong

It's a man thing. Trust me, I'm a woman!

Thanks for that little gem, @James! I thought that I'd researched my old school (Nedderton village) well but I never knew that it was once a church school.

1 hour ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

must be me age

I didn't know you could have a 'senior moment' at the age of 21

On 01/10/2023 at 16:53, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

@Canny lass have you come across a Coach Row when you have been researching the area?

No, only Coach Road leading to Bells Place,

Hi Carly!

I don't think this is St Cuthberts (the village school). I agree that the brickwork is similar but windows are very different. St Cuthberts had windows with 16 panes of glass  - 2 rows of 4 in the upper half  and the same in the lower half. Your photo shows only what I think are windows with 4 large panes - 2 up, 2 down.

I think there are two other possible schools:

Whitley Memorial School in Vulcan Place. It was there from at least 1856 and only a couple of hundred yards from Coach Lane.

WM had some 4 pane windows as you can see in this photo of the football team taken in 1920 and the brickwork bears a striking resemblance:

This type of window was very common in East End of Bedlington in the earlier dwellings and you can see them above in the photo of Bell's Place.

The other possibility is the private (Presbyterian) School that Eggy mentions above. Unfortunately, we have no phototos of that school.

I can't remember it either, as we didn't have a TV then, but I do remember the street party and the coronation mugs we were given in school. The street party was great fun with everybody in their Sunday best. There were egg & spoon races and sack races for both children and adults. Esther and Bob Rochester, from the corner shop, rode around on an adult-sized three wheeled bike dishing out a 2oz sweets to every child. They were dressed for the occasion in red white and blue and so was the bike. There were tongue sandwiches - which I loved, until I found out what it was - strawberry jelly and blancmange and Tizer. What a day!

Hi Sheila, welcome to the forum!

I'm afraid Netherton Colliery is long gone, but I can point out the 'mission' where your father was baptised. It was still active during my early childhood but later became a garage/workshop for a small haulage business. It was located next door to the school and labelled 'Mission Room' on this 1921 map.

It can also be seen in this aerial view (though now in use as a haulage yard). It's the light coloured building at right angles to the houses with the school on its left.

16 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

There are a lot of officers for a small town. I wonder how many Private's - Lance Corporal's & Corporal's there were?

Good question!

There are a couple of names here that are very interesting to me in my research - Hedley and Heron. If anybody has any information about the 14th batt. Bedlington, I'd love to know more about them. What was their connection to BGS?

It's confusing! I've never visited St Peters, but it's on my list for when I'm in the area. I only recognised it from photos I'd seen when researching part of the family - and that was about 9-10 years ago. Obviously, the information I noted then is wrong, as the adress is given as Wansbeck Terrace. Even the the map I posted is wrong as it points out the Forester's Arms in the church location and the St Peters further along the road towards Stakeford.

sad to hear it's now a private house. However, it's not so much the church as its graveyard I'm interested in. I see from the aerial view what seems to be a newer graveyard to the south of the church (New, I believe, because ithe graves are laid out in straight rows to make grass cuttingby machine easier). It would most likely be the oldest part of the graveyard, possibly nearest the church, I'd want to look at because my relative died in 1881 and the church was consecrated in 1867. Does anyone know if the older graves still exist around the former church? I can see a half dozen possible gravestones in the aerial view but they could also be garden ornaments. I have to say that I find the idea of a house in a graveyard rather strange.

Could you have the wrong church, Eggy? I think I recognise the doorway's stone work. It's quite unusual. I believe the photo is taken at St Peters Church on Wansbeck Terrace which continues on from the turn at the end of Brock Lane. I have had relatives buried there but I don’y know if the graves are still there. St Peters stone-built where as the chapel was brick-built.

1 hour ago, Canny lass said:

1939 Alice's parents lived at number 49

Sorry! You were correct. That should be number 41.

1939 Register. Are you following the topic "Moore Family"? I think you may be able to help Karen who is looking for one of Alice's sons from her previous marriage.

1939 Alice's parents lived at number 49

Don't forget to look after yourself as well, HPW!