Logistics

http://www.bigextracash.com/aft/1dd302c1.htmlAs it is known these days was a major problem.There were no shops, pubs, transport, water, sanitation. electricity, telephones or near neighbours. The nearest shop being in the small hamlet of Rakewood, and this only opened on Wednedays. Being just a small wooden shed., with a telephone box by the side alog with the only street light around. As a result my mother had to fetch all that she could carry from Littleborough.  a distance of six miles. In the  bad winter of 1948 we were snowed in for six weeks. Food did manage to get through to us.eventually on horse back. There not being the all terrain vehicles and helicopters that they wound use today. We were fortunate that my mother was a bit of a hoarder, we survived on mainly potatoes and eggs, thaat is until we had to eat our chickens. It is not quite true to say that there were no deliveries, they  did take place. We would see from time to time the Postman, Telegraph boy and the Doctor. When we needed coal it would be delivered and once a month we would see the accumaltor man. He would  deliver, Parafin for our lighting ( we used storm lanterns, later to be replaced by pressurised parafin lamps and eventully calor gas cylinders. But more importantly he brought the accumalators. There were important  because they would provide power to the radio, so that we were able to listen to music, light entetainment and the news thus, keeping us informed as to what  was happening in the world. Our only other entetainment being reading and playing board games. These accumalators consisted of low voltage lead ccid batteries thy were made of very thick glass which made them almost unbreakable. When they were no longer of use to him. He woiuld let my brother and I have them as fish tanks, The poor little goldfis h would look like Moby Dick swimming around.

Early Years

Early Years

We remained at Longden End from the ages of four until eleven virtually having our own little oasis, where nobody interfered and we were able to more or less, do what we liked.( quite frankly very few people new of our existence )  As previously mentioned, my mother had to work  in order to support us. This meant that apart from being left for long periods of time, whereby we could get up to all kinds of mischief,. we had to do our fair share of household chores. These included fetching water, we had a set of two milk churns mounted on wheels and once a day we would take these churns down to the brook and fill them with water.The toilet was a large bucket which was situated in  an outhouse underneath a wooden board, this board had a large hole in it. This acted as a seat for when we had to answer the call of nature. Well of course eventually the bucket became full and needed to be emptied. My brother Peter and I would then take the bucket to a point some way from the house. Dig a hole and tip the excreta  into it and bury it. Other duties were the lighting and maintenance of the house fires, and the weekly wash. The house had a large cast iron grate in which was situated to the right hand side of the  fire bars.an oven.and on the left hand side a water a water tank with a hot plate on top. This was our only source of heat, all cooking, boiling of water was undertaken here. I mentioned house fires the other fire was needed when doing the weekly wash. To the left of the fire grate was situated a large copper.this would be filled with water a fire would be lit underneath and the water boiled. The washing would be placed in to the copper  and a punch would be used to pummel the washing.. A Punch is likened to a three legged milking stool with a long handle attached . This would be used to agitate the water,like the action of a washing machine.    .

The Valley

Longden End was an ideal place for two boys to be brought up. Being completely isolated from the surrounding area, the valley is one and a half miles long steep sided and is entered via a steep single tracked, unmade road at either end. The track on the northwest,giving access to Rakewood and Littleborough. The south east exit giving access to Milnrow and Oldham. The house as I have mentioned belonging to Oldham Corporation Water Works. The pumping Station being positioned at the South East end . Alongside the house was the remains of the original pumping station, the two of them being connected by a single track railway line which followed the course of the brook. The brook (Stream/River) for the most part was fairly slow and not very deep wound its way down the valley over a waterfall which was situated at the foot of the houses long sloping garden . Eventually passing through Rakewood and into Hollingworth Lake which is situated above Litteborough. Water from the Lake being extracted by Rochdale Corporation Water Board. The scenario then is as follows. The valley lies in a west to east position. Entrance on the west being via Rakewood. the southeast via Milnrow. THe south side of the valley is bordered by fields enclosed by dry stone walling, the north side by the Lancashire/Yorkshire moors. The boundary between the two counties running just behind the house. the moors stretch into Yorkshire teaming up with the notorious Saddleworth Moor. and the Holme Moss TV transmitter. The valley was constantly changing it's appearance. In the Winter it looking rather bleak and miserable due to the fact that there is no trees, and the black stone walling. In the spring the carpet of bluebells and the fresh green bracken, the Lambs playing in the fields.. Summer time brings the purple of the heather on the moor, whilst the autumn brings the golden colours of the dieing bracken and heather, This season being followed by the snow which has a beauty of it's own. If it had been more accessible and had more services, it was an ideal place to live. It was certainly popular amongst such groups as Ramblers, Artists, Photographers, and Holiday makers.

My Roots

I have always threatened to write a book about my experiences which are many and varied, so those of you who find it interesting, perhaps you will become regular readers and just maybe take a look at my website. So here go's.

Born in Hope Hospital, Salford England, June 12th 1942, six week premature. Subsequently I spent the first three months of my life in an incubator. The day that I was taken home from the unit a bomb landed on It. you could say that I had a charmed life. This was to become a bit of a pattern. On this theme we had to be evacuated to the moors between Lancashire and Yorkshire because of yet another bomb.

The area we went to was out on the moors some eight miles from the small town of Littleborough, poulation at this time being approximately 2000. The nearest hamlet, which we had to pass through in order to reach "Longden End", the name of the house we had moved was called Rakewood, population 28.

Longden End was a large house built of local stone. Formerly the managers house for the local water works. It is set on the banks of a small brook in a steep valley. nearest neighbours were two farm houses one and a half miles in either direction. A lovely but isolated spot. It was going to prove an ideal place for my brother Peter and I to be brought up. The problems and they were many, my mother being a single parrent mainly had to deal with.

The house had no water, lighting, gas, telephone, electricity or sanitation. There was no transport,shop, street lights and no proper road surface..She had to work, as in those days there was no welfare. In fact she was a remarkable woman. On reflection I do not know how she managed.

About John Michael Backhouse

John is a retired Submariner, Coach operator and Counsellor/hypnotherapist residing in Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. Along with his wife Carol they are responsible for "Gemini associates Group" Trading under the name Micaba Marketing operate the following :-

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