Memories of Annie McCracken 1994
Annie was born at No.4 White Mare Pool Cottages in 1904.She was baptised at Boldon Church as the Pool  area came under Boldon District. Over the road at the Railway Hotel they were in Felling UDC. The road was always a mess as neither authority would accept responsibility for it. Her Grandfather, Ralph Grey, came from the Sherriff Hill area of Gateshead when he was a lad. Her headmistress at Wardley School was Miss Swinburn. She never married and lived at "Oakwood", a new house at Heworth with her parents. When Miss Gunn retired from Heworth School, Miss Swinburn went there to be head. After her, another Wardley teacher Miss Henderson took over.
The Wardley bandleader was Tom Pickering and he lived at the end of Follonsby Terrace.
The Wallace's had a barbershop at the Pool and they sold sweets. The Harker's daughter who lived at No.1 (Sally) married Mr. Young and took over the shop.
Mr. Stark was Pelaw station manager and lived in the NE railway houses over the Leamside line.
She remembered her Grandfather saying Mr. Errington was the union representative. He was Lucy Staffords father and lived at Pelaw. She had a shop there
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More memories from Annie
I remember when the Ellisons moved from Bill Quay and had a shop built on the corner of Wardley Lane and Sunderland Road (1912).  My Grandfather was from Sheriff Hill and called Ralph Gray who was born in 1858.  He was probably the first person to run a regular service (in the 1880's) from the pit village every Friday and Saturday to the Royal Turf Hotel at Felling with Darkie his horse and brake, even bringing the drunks back at night.  My husband was a Hebburn man and when he was 14 went on the screens at Follonsby pit.  I often remember seeing the Palmers in their carriage and pair and the gatekeeper opening and shutting the gate for them.  Mr. Wallace had the house at the end of the street and then Uncle Frank had it as a blacksmiths.  There were three big stones outside it which were used to help mount the horses.  He was also a keen cyclist and held a local record for over 30 years.  I left school at 14 to work at the CWS underclothing.  It closed after about 5 years and I went to work for Jews near Marlborough.  Mrs. Barkas was the midwife at Pelaw and she brought my brother Logan into the world.  My Grandfather died at 72 and Susie Luke, the undertaker at Felling, brought in two completely black horses for the funeral which Granddad had wanted.  When I was about 4 or 5, one night I was having a bath and a loud bang went off.  It was an explosion at Follonsby and everybody was standing on the bridge.  Mr. Wilson was killed in a shaft explosion (he may have been one of the sinkers opening up the pit) and he was a friend of my Aunts.  The wooden building, brought over from Bill Quay, was used as a Chapel hall (it was formerly St. Oswalds mission, an outreach of St. Mary's at Heworth).  Alfie Turner used to keep it clean.  Miss Swinburn, Wardley school headmistress, had a complaint with her nose and would never face the camera when school photos were taken.  There was many a time when she would send me to the battery (railway) side to pick purple clover, she would make an ointment with it.  She lived with her parents at Heworth (Oakwood) and when she used to fill baskets full of soap for the soldiers during the 1st World War she would ask me to take them to her house.  I can remember Mr. Teasdale of the Railway Hotel having the temperance bar built onto the side of the building as when the brakes (horse driven carts used as transport) arrived lots of people never went into the bar.  George Amos (the farmer) married Eleanor Teasdale from the pub.  There was pump and trough in front of it.  It never worked but we played with it.