Quote Originally Posted by WBA1955 View Post
What a great thread Mick, some wonderful stories here. I will start with my Mom's side and my great nan who lived with us until i was 15 and virtually brought me up. She was born in Yorkshire in 1890, but she was orphaned at a young age and came to live with her uncle in Coseley. The family was very strict and religious, and at 13 she ran away to Canada and lived in British Colombia. She married there and my nan and Aunt were born there, my grandad was born in Temple St Bilston, one of of a family of 12, it was one of the roughest streets in the Black Country, one of his brothers died on the first day of the Somme aged 19, and was awarded a posthumous MM. He worked most of his life in a Foundry while nan was an housewife. My Paternal grandfather was a West Brom miner who worked at Sandwell colliery and was a big Albion fan. My paternal nan worked in a brickyard. Strange that all the occupations mentioned are virtually extinct today.
I knew you couldn’t be all bad Des......some Yorkshire blood in those veins then 😆😎

My dad’s mum’s family were all miners from Coxhoe,County Durham and as tough as they come.

Working miles underground from the late 20’s until mid 70’s in seams three feet wide,lying on your back chipping coal away by hand.

Emphysema was the reward for most of them and how they lived with the claustrophobia I will never know.

Nan’s brother was mayor of Durham in 1978-79 ( Joseph Edward Wright BEM J.P. ) and he was also head of the local National Union of Miners so as you can imagine my background is very working class and extremely Left Wing.....I suspect I’d be a disappointment to a few of them if they were still around 🤭😆

He was a Justice Of The Peace but got caught three times the legal limit whilst p I s s e d on whisky which somewhat ended his public service!

My mum’s dad had an interesting life which started with him falling in a river as a six year old whilst living in Matlock Bath and he was saved by a one legged man who had to whisk off his peg leg before bravely diving in.

If not for that act of supreme bravery I wouldn’t exist.

Funny how our very existence relies on such random acts back in history.

Think about it logically,if your old man had had a w a n k the day before you were conceived you’d have ended up in a tissue down a toilet at best.