GORDON WILKIN: Some of his Life Story
I was born the first child of John Robert Wilkin and his wife Margaret Alger Humphrey (Peggy) at 52 Waggonway Street, Wardley Colliery, on July 27^th 1943 and baptised at St.Mary’s Church, Heworth, on August 27^th 1943. Mam and Dad were married in May 1943 at St.Mary’s and got a pit house through Dad’s job.  My Godparents were my Uncle Harry Cummings, Hedley McFarlane and Frances Humphry. Dad worked on the Bowes Railway as a loco fireman. Later, he went on to be a driver taking coal wagons to Jarrow Staiths and Monkton Coke Works. He worked on the line all his life until he retired in 1982. He was born at the cottages on High Lanes, Heworth on 16^th June 1919.
Mam was born in Quality Terrace, Wardley Colliery in  1923. Her Dad worked at the pit and was a deputy before he went to work at the paint works on Felling Shore (now the International Paint Works). Granddad Humphrey became a widower and, just was just before I was born, he left his home in Quality Terrace and went to live with Mam and Dad in Waggonway Street. Granddad was knocked down in a motor car accident on Sunderland Road, near the Railway Hotel, on Saturday night October 1^st 1949 and died in Newcastle R.V.I. He was 72 years old. I remember coming from school at dinnertime with Keith Whittle and Alyn Stridiron to see the hearse taking him away for the funeral at St. Mary’s Church.
My Uncle Jack Humphrey had two daughters, Elsie and Fran. When he was married for a second time things did not work out for them all and the two girls came to live with us. For a long time, I grew up thinking that Elsie and Fran were my sisters instead of my cousins.
Mam and Dad also had four daughters; Joyce, who was born in Waggonway Street, Anne, Elizabeth and Jane were all born at 24 Kirkwood. Jane has muscular dystrophy and Anne was diagnosed with it around 1999, although, thankfully, it is not as bad as with Jane and myself. Fortunately, all my sisters’ children are free from it.
Some of my earliest memories were of Alyn Stridiron at 58 Waggonway Street coming out of his kitchen door with his two wheeler bike and I wanted one just like his. My bike was a three wheeler. Also, I remember the carnival parade going around the streets on May Day. One of the men walked about on stilts and it gave me a fright and I ran back to my Uncle Jimmy Humphrey. Anyway, we followed the parade to the welfare ground where they had stalls and displays and we enjoyed ourselves. When I was about 4 years old they were taking down part of the old air raid shelter opposite our house and piling the bricks up. I was playing on them and the bricks fell down on my legs and I was hurt. They took me to the first aid man at 1 West Crescent to be looked at and cleaned up. He was Robert Wray Smith who ran the BP Scouts and used to write to Baden-Powell. Lots of local people went to him when they were hurt; he was clever that way.
When I was about two years old, and not developing properly, my parents took me to Heworth Clinic (it stood near the site of the present Heworth Metro). They sent me to Newcastle R.V.I. where a Dr.Rutter came to the conclusion that I was “a lazy child”.  How wrong he was. I still attend the same hospital today in the year 2000! When I was about 5 year old they decided to operate and stretch the leads in the back of my legs. It made no difference as I still walked on my toes. When I was about 9 year old they put a silver plate in my left leg to try and get the foot on the ground. They kept operating on me until I was about 25 years old. None of it was a success. I missed a lot of schooling because of the time that I spent in hospital.
Mam took me to Wardley Colliery School on my first day. The teacher was Miss Bearpark. Some of the other teachers were George Peter (Stotty) Lewis and Mrs. Hall, the head teacher was Teddy (Fattie) Foster, Mr. Phillips and Mr.Bill Parkin. The staff knew about my difficulties and Mr,Lewis used to look after me. We used to go to Bill Quay School for woodwork class and Joe Foggon was the teacher. He was a nice guy but his soft nature often lead to chaos in the classroom! When I was about 13 year old in 1956 we moved over to Bill Quay School as Wardley became an Infant and Junior School with the over 11’s moving to Bill Quay. Mrs.Thompson and then Eddie Smith taught me. The science teacher was Bill Chapman. When I was missed school and had to convalesce at home, Mam arranged for Mrs. Haywood, a teacher at St.Albans Roman Catholic School, to send me homework. Mam worked there as a cleaner and relief caretaker.
Fran was married to Jimmy McGuinney in 1948 and her sister, my other cousin, Elsie, stayed with us until after we moved house. She later married my Dad’s cousin George Wilkin.
I was 9 years old when we moved from 52 Waggonway Street to 24 Kirkwood Gardens on the Ellen Wilkinson Estate. It was the first time we had electricity, flush indoor toilet and a proper bath instead of a tin tub in front of the fire! My sister Anne was born here. I remember that day, Mam sent me, Joyce and Ann Cummings to the Grand cinema at Pelaw. When we arrived back Anne had been born. She was named after Ann Cummings. My sisters Elizabeth and Jane were named after Anns mother, Elizabeth Jane Cummings (nee Humphrey), my Mam’s sister.
Also, at this age, my sister Joyce started to take me to the Grand picture house at Pelaw. Jimmy Stridiron, a family friend who had also lived in Waggonway Street, used to take me to the Palley in Felling Square with his sons, Harry and Alyn. When I was about 7 year old, Jimmy also took me to my first football match at Sunderland's Roker Park with Wardley man Billy Gage. It made me a life long follower of football and supporter of the team.
In our last few weeks at Bill Quay School, a career advisor interviewed us all that were leaving at that time. I had decided to go to Hebburn Technical College to take a clerical course, which included typing, shorthand and speech therapy. At the time the college was beside Jarrow Grammar School. I attended for about three month before I had to have another operation on my legs. I then went back for about 18 months. When I had just turned 17 year old and on the college summer holidays I signed on the dole which, in those days, was downstairs at Felling Town Hall. I received £1.50p a week.  Then I had an interview with “Traill Brothers” who were turf accountants. They wanted me to start work the next day, but I started on Bank Holiday Monday at St.Mary’s Place in Newcastle, opposite the Civic Centre and I loved the work. I was there about one year and then when I was 18 years old I was sent, with workmate Cyril Hall, to the Sheriff Hill shop. It was at this time that betting shops were legalised. I was here about 6 months before I was sent to the Low Fell shop was converted from an old dance hall. I was then told to split my work between Sheriff Hill in the mornings and Low Fell in the afternoon. Shortly after this, I was sent for three days to Chester-le-Street shop, or so I thought, and I ended up staying three and a half years! At one time during my career with them, I was manager for ten shops and 35 clocks for one year. It was hard work and I had to ask for help. When I was 22 year old, I went to manage a shop near the White Swan at Sheriff Hill. From here I went every night to the Gateshead shop on Half Moon Lane, near the Tyne Bridge, to hand in the paperwork etc. Afterwards, I always went for a drink in the Half Moon pub across the road. From here, I went with the lads to dances and night clubs in Newcastle. After about one year, I went to manage the Deckham betting shop, which was a real busy place. When I was about 25 year old I had a disagreement with the management and left in August. C1968.
Because of my disability I was able to sign on the sick. It was at this time that Joyce came back home to have Gary who was born upstairs at 24 Kirkwood Gardens in November 1968. After six months, I had spent all the money I had saved. I’d spent a week at Butlins and had a lot of visits to the racecourses with my old work friends Paddy and Ronnie. Also, I had spent some time travelling with Joe Durham, my next door neighbour, and his pal Sandy Innis, when they were at work putting up billboards for Mills and Allen at race courses in the northern area.
After about 10 months I started visiting the dole looking for a job. One Thursday, they sent me for two interviews. One was at Pyroy (Jarrow) and the other at Dewhurst’s, the butcher at Saltmeadows Road. Dewhurst’s asked me to start as a ledger stock control Clark the following Monday which I did. That Monday I also received a letter from Pyroy asking me to start with them. I never regretted the decision I made. I really enjoyed the experience and made good friends, especially Elaine Dixon who later married a Belfast lad Conrad Clark. The job involved getting the stock to balance and that everything was invoiced correctly to the shop outlets. I was able to manage the stairs to the office and the van dock at the time.I got to work by bus, changing at Holly Hill to a Saltmeadows bus. In 1971 I got a little blue three wheeler invalid car which I then used for work. The doctor at the General Hospital had suggested getting one as I was finding it difficult to get up the stairs and onto buses.
Mam passed away when I was 32 years old in 1975. She was 52 years old. The service was at St.Mary’s Church, Heworth. She died of cancer and was cremated at Saltwell crematorium.
My oldest sister, Joyce, married Ian Glenn, a soldier who’s family lived at Windy Nook. I was best man for them at St. Mary’s Church. They had one son, Gary, who was born in November 1968 and she came home for the birth. Joyce had Pauline before they were married in c1964. She was born in the Queen Elizabeth. Pauline moved to Rugeley near Tamworth, Staffordshire, with her partner Gary Sinclair. They were married in September 2001 and her Dad, Jimmy Gardener attended with his sisters.
My first holiday abroad was with my sister Anne and her husband Jimmy Fitzpatrick, Gillian and J.P. We went to San Tropez in the South of  France. We went by coach and it took a tiring 26 hours. It was a 17-day holiday, 14 days on the campsite in a mobile home. Later, we had another vacation in France and three in Spain.
When I was 49 years old, and after working for Dewhurst’s for 24 years, the Vestry organisation who owned the business and, after several attempts at streamlining the firm, decided to close the depot and butchers shops. The staff, and myself, was made redundant in May 1991.
Dad passed away with leukaemia on 7^th February 1992. The service at Wardley Methodist Chapel was packed and his humour came over during the Minister’s talk and, like he wanted it to be, brought some smiles and laughter to his family and friends who attended. That day I not only lost my Dad but also my best friend.
In 1998 Social Services provided a ramp at the front door to make it more accessible for me. It was after I had broken my hip in a fall and, after that, my mobility was badly affected.
My Social Worker, Joe, also arranged for a downstairs toilet and shower to be fixed into the utility room, which Jane had built onto the house together with a garage. Shortly after that I nearly fell down the stairs so we decided to move my bedroom into the utility room. In about 1997 my room was moved into the more suitable dinning room, which had better access for the bed and my electric wheelchair.
In the summer of 2000 social services provided a hand controlled moving bed to make me more comfortable and an overhead hoist to help my carer’s with lifting me. In June, I began to have breathing problems and the hospital provided me with a machine, which helped me. It is worn throughout the night and is a big help.
At the end of January 2001 I was finding it difficult to get to the toilet and I started to use a urinary bag which was strapped to my left leg. It was much more convenient and cleaner for me.
Workmen spent two days in March installing a computer system into the house. It controlled the TV, telephone, bed, intercom and house lights and bedside lamp. The control panel can be fixed onto my electric wheelchair.
By early 2002 the use of my legs was almost gone but with a new electric wheelchair provided by Social Services the previous October is was much better for getting around and the 80 odd channels on my wide 32” screen keeps me entertained.
Sam, out family dog ( he is a cross between a springer and a setter), arrived as a stray about 14 years ago c1988. He came to the door looking lost one miserable night before Christmas.  We were unable to find out where he lived. I suggested  he went to the dog shelter and, when no one picked him up,  we when and collected him when he was in danger of being put to sleep. Sam has now been my constant companion for many years.

   
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