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One Picture I Wish I Could See Again


Guest nosy nellie

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Guest nosy nellie

The one picture I wish I could see again was printed with this article in the early fifties.

I wonder if any of the families mentioned has it, my grandmother was one of them mentioned we have the article but no picture.A small piece of social history.

We need to take a firmer grasp of this paradox----that our very differences show our unity.

It will restore our faith in ourselves;

It will enable us to see (IN THE KINGS WORDS);

We have not proved unworthy of our past,

And we can do better in the years ahead.

In skill, genius, enterprise, imaginativeness, virility, and courage we lack

nothing that is needed to give us the industrial prosperity our fathers built.

Every workshop in the land can give evidence of that.

And who can say that court 13 watery lane, off St Philips Road,

does not give the best evidence of all the continuance of the spirit which made us great.

There the families have painted their humble dwellings----so humble that they are marked down for demolition.

That is their proud salute to the Festival Of Britain.

It is a fitting footnote, for only by the happiness in British homes can British greatness be measured.

Five families paint for the festival.

Court 13 Watery lane off St Philips Road Sheffield shines with new paint, the festival of Britain gesture of five families who have repainted their cottages.

Inside the two roomed homes of Mrs Nellie Dixon at number two and Mr and Mrs Simmonite at number three, there are new decorations,a tiled fireplace, and a white scullery.

The houses are listed for eventual demolition.

After their landlord had supplied a new asbestos roof, the families got busy outside with paint and borrowed ladders.

"Because we have been asked to make our homes as bright as possible for the festival"

They were joined by Mrs Hilda Ford at number ten.

Mr and Mrs T Hayes at number nine and Mr and Mrs J Hobson of number 91 Watery lane which is in the court.

They have done the job in a fortnight.

Mrs Ford a table knife cutler painting on returning from work at teatime.

Mrs Dixons daughter Mrs Cooper of Martin street is another member of the team

"We all get on very well together" Mrs Simmonite said last night.

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Guest nosy nellie

Thank You,how relevant is this after the disgraceful disgusting behaviour of the society of today.

They had nothing not even a proper roof on their houses,and had just come through the Second World War but were positive to make the most of what they had got and all pulled together.

That is what Great Britain used to be like sadly is no more.

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On 09/04/2007 at 20:35, nosy nellie said:

my grandmother was one of them mentioned

Hello  nosy nellie , a bit off topic but here goes anyway. your gran would probably have known some of my family, the Broadheads, who lived and worked in the area, it was a lovely friendly place at the time. I think one of my uncles worked at the Port Mahon works at the side of court 13.

I couldn't resist having a look to see what was there now and was surprised to see on an aerial view that you can see the outline of the streets etc. at times of dry weather. There also appears to be a path that now follows the line of Burlington and Hammond Streets just above Court 13.

https://zoom.earth/#view=53.387527,-1.484314,18z/layers=archive1,labels

https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/uploads/monthly_09_2008/post-188-1220941618.jpg

watey_lane.png

port_mahon_54.png

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The Sheffield Newspapers available on line stop at 1950, so there's  plenty of information on the preparations, but nothing when the Festival was underway. Here's the 1939 Census with many of the people still in the area. 

1998715566_WateryLane1939.jpg.36187fb8a4f7a3957fad75f322f68fc0.jpg

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Court 13 Watery Lane from an aerial photo taken in 1938. My forebears originated just out of shot of here. Amazing area; gone but not forgotten.

festival.JPG

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