Cobridge characters

Mr. Hastelow -

There were several local characters in Cobridge, one I remember was named Mr. Hastelow who was the local carter. He moved small objects from place to place on a two wheeled flat cart that had rubber tyres, and was pulled by a black pony with a white blaze. She was called Dolly and periodically she suffered from a quick kick from Mr. Hastelow's long rubber boots.

Mr. & Mrs. Hastelow owned an object of my desire - a jade green plaster archer, Amazonian in physique with long flowing hair, it stood in the middle of their dining table. The bow was made from a small piece of cane, the figure eventually came into my possession. What finally happened to it I do not know, but if dropped, obviously it would not bounce. I went with Mr. Hastelow on the cart several times, my little legs dangling over the back. We went to Hanley park to collect grass cuttings which were used to feed the ponies. The grass covered with a tarpaulin and I sat on top like the king of the mountains.

Typical pony and cart

Mr. Green -

Next to Hastelow's stables, there was a scrap yard, where we used to play amongst the old cars and liked to act  out our fantasies. It was surprising how many pieces of scrap were turned into battleships, tanks and aeroplanes in the vivid imagination of a child. Of course, the ultimate in secret hideaways was being hidden under piles of old vehicles, accessible only by crawling and scrambling over unsafe heaps of junk. In retrospect, one of the most dangerous activities in which we could have participated. Located in the same area as the stables and the scrap yard were numerous other yards, sheds and private garages.

One such yard and shed belonged to Mr. Green, He used to buy second hand timber from various sources, mostly ex-wd packing cases, and on some occasions parts of aircraft which were made of wood. All this wood was sawn up and made into bundles of sticks (firewood) and sold to the local shops for eventual sale to the general public. As all fires were fuelled by coal, wood was used a great deal to help the fire to kindle.
At one stage I purchased part of an aircraft wing from him. This was made of a lattice work of wooden strips about half an inch square, the panels that covered the wing were used for all manner of things. As I remember the wing in question was from a Spitfire. It would be nice to own a complete one today as I understand they are worth a great deal of money.

Vincent Riley -

By far the most colourful character was named Vincent Riley, who was known throughout the whole of the area, unfortunately mostly by the police as a drinker of methylated spirits. His arrests totalled two hundred and forty one. He was a harmless rogue but he only lived for his drink which he called "Mojo" I never saw him totally sober. The only fault I can bring to mind, that can be levelled at him, was that he asked young children to go into the chemists shop to obtain the methylated spirits for him, as they would not serve Vincent himself. It would be different today, where it is readily available in most stores without question. But he did provide me with one of the best laughs I have ever had.

At one stage Vincent broke his leg and was on crutches for a while. So imagine the picture of Vincent, on crutches, ragged and tattered, leaving the Granville Inn, drunk. At that time, there was ice on the ground. The combination of all these was a sight to behold as he attempted to cross the road : crutches in the air on way, arms and legs every other way, it took six of us young lads to pick him up and help him to cross the road to reasonable safety. For all his faults, his life was full of interesting moments, of which was not the least the award of the Military Medal. There is a book titled "Vincent Riley" and for anyone who knew him, this book would hold lots of local memories.

Fond memories

It is surprising how what, at the time, seemed insignificant is now the subject of fond memories that come flooding back just as if it was yesterday. One such trivial recollection is of the waste food bins that were located on the corner of every street, and were called pig bins. All the waste food was used to feed pigs and it would be safe to say on some of the warmer days the aroma left a lot to be desired. The bins were collected every day to keep the smell at a minimum, I have often thought how today's youth would approach this sort of arrangement. I could only hope that such a situation will never arise again.

This particular area escaped any severe bombing and the few occasions when it happened have been well documented in other local books. We all became very complacent when the air raid sirens sounded. The first few times we jumped out of bed and rushed down to the cellar, but after that we stayed in bed watching the finger beams of the searchlights probing the night sky. The Barracks from which the searchlight battery was deployed was and still in in Waterloo Road, at the junction of Stoner Street, close to the Arnold Bennett Museum, it changed from a searchlight battery , to a Military Field Ambulance unit, I believe now is in the process of closing down altogether as a military base.