Mick Mcmillan’s Memories of Eastwell Lodge

In 1959 I was living in Edlington when a knock came on the front door; it was a lady who had come to take me and my brother to Eastwell Lodge.

I was about 6 and Derek 5 I don’t remember much about the journey only that the lady got us some sweets. We were put into home 2. I cannot remember how I felt at time and at that age.

I do remember we had not been there long and me Derek and some other boys was playing on the air raid shelter which we was not allowed to do when Derek was told to go inside I thought we was in trouble and started to cry and I tried to tell the auntie we was not the only ones on the air raid shelter but she just gave us a bath and told us to put clean clothes on. We were told my mother was coming to see us. My mother took us both into Pontefract and got us both a cap gun. My mother never came to the homes again.

After a number of years we were put into home 5 and that’s where most of my memories come from. I remember most of the other boys were like brothers going to school together sleeping in the same dorm, eating at the same table and playing out together. I went to cubs then scouts and doing

bob a job I was also a server at church mainly to stop me getting bored.

I have fond memories of George Wrigglesworth and his antics and sitting next to Ken Griffin in the day room watching a film on a Friday night hoping to get his left over peanuts.

I once swapped a pair of fold up binoculars for a 10 bob note with someone from school. I got some sweets on the way home from school every day for a week. I also got upset when someone was leaving partly because it was not me and partly because I was losing a friend who I had known maybe months or years.

I can remember Derek and I went to Switzerland with Ponte boy’s school and to earn some pocket money Derek and I had to post leaflets in peoples letter boxes and when we got bored doing it we tried to set fire to them at the back of the tennis courts.

At school when I was about 14 I really disliked being in the homes one reason was because where ever we went we were known as THE KIDS FROM THE HOMES and another was the chores we had to do like cleaning shoes in the boot room cleaning the dorm and peeling spuds seemed to take forever.

Can you remember having to take food in barrows to different homes? Also having to make our beds bottom sheet taken off, top sheet put to bottom and a clean sheet for top. I think that was on a Saturday. I did not mind doing the gardening so much but I hated having to go down the cellar

in superintendants office to sort out soap for the different homes. I detested that smell. That does not take away the fact that the homes was good to me and most the aunties and uncles was very good and kind, still I do remember some nights I cried myself to sleep. The homes did play with my emotions.

We had clean clothes good meals and holidays. I have good memories of going to Bridlington every year for two weeks. I used to pretend I was not one of the kids from the homes by lagging behind everyone else but I think the Hawaiian shirts we all wore gave me away.

I went to Bridlington with my wife linda for the first time since leaving the homes on 16 June 09 it was strange going back to the places I

went as a child as we was walking along the beach we saw about 12 kids and 4 adults playing on the beach and it took me back over 40years and reminded me of when we were on the beach, the donkey rides, singing with the Sally army one became friends with me and she wrote me letters. I called her Auntie Chris. She gave me a bible which I still have to this day. I stood in the spot near the steps where we always sat and played on the beach, with the huts behind me to see the motor boats. We went and saw the spa we used to go in. Walking away from the beach and spa my instincts took over and like a homing pigeon. I found my way to

Burlington road where we used to stay. We tried to find the house and even knocked on a few doors but to no avail.

We then went to the harbour what wonderful memories that brought back, as a child fishing off the side of the wall trying to catch crabs and seeing the fishing boats we used to watch them take the fish off the boats,then there was the boat trip to Flamborough Head and the man playing the accordion and giving badges away. I’m sure we had little yachts to play with but I cannot remember where we sailed them.

We also used to go to Wharfedale which I really loved going to. Can you remember the big house and gardens? We had the time of our lives we went walking on the moors skimming stones across the water the open air pool. Can you remember sunshine corner? Holly jolly fine it’s for children under 99 all are welcome no one as to pay so come to sunshine corner on the moors today. The staff would come out with trays of sweets and we was allowed to pick some of the sweets and at meal times they would bang on a big gong to let us know the meal was ready.

I did go camping for a week then I had a choice of another week of camping or going to Wharfedale. I chose Wharfedale, on the last day of the holiday the staff and the children used to cry because we were leaving.

At the homes we also had plenty to do we played rugby with Uncle Jack, cricket with Uncle Ken we also played football, tin can alley, marbles, finger thumb rusty dum, bull dog, spinning tops, tig, Cowboys and Indians. There was also table tennis, snooker, we played in the playground and on the air raid shelter, and we watched films in the hut in the winter time. I climbed on the beam in the big shed and carved my name in the wood.

We went for walks to bluebell woods on some Sunday afternoons with Uncle Alf, We had sports day and I once won half crown for completing the obstacle course. I used to enjoy playing football on the blakie with the other boys and girls. We also had bonfires and a firework display.

There was a spring at the bottom of the field. We used to take buds off trees and cut them in half and put them kids back, we used to call them itchy backs. We had to go in pairs to the outside toilets after supper. There was once a pillow fight and someone caught the intercom and the superintendant could hear us after he shouted get into bed you could hear a pin drop.

We was playing pitch and putt on the grass at the side of home 5 and some one hit me on my head with a club I needed 4 stitches on my forehead (I wonder who that was).

When it was your birthday you got chocolate (yum) and in winter we got cod liver oil with your meals (yuk). At Easter we got an Easter egg some of you will have had a piece taken out because I used to take a small piece (SORRY).

I think Christmas was one of the best times, we used to come down in the morning for breakfast and all the sacks with our names on would be lined up under the windows we was allowed to open them when all the pots was done and we had said our prayers, there would be toys, books games and a tin of blue bird toffee.

We all went to the local schools, the one near the church, the rookeries, and the one across the green.

After leaving school I started work at Pollard Bearing and I used to bring bollies home for George Wrigglesworth and other boys. I can recall one day I not want to go to work so I decided to run away and Skogga and another boy went with me. We went to Darrington after buying some beans and bread we spent the day near an old pump station it was a cold day so we went back to the homes at our usual times as if nothing had happened but the superintendant knew what we had done and we was all told off.

At 16 I met Carol Greenall at the homes and we got married and I have 4 grown up children, Sadly Carol passed away in 2004. I am now married to Linda who I met in 2007.

Since leaving the homes I always thought it would be nice to see those people I shared my youth with so I will take this opportunity to thank Ken Griffin for giving us all a chance to meet up and share our memories with each other after all these years.

THANK YOU KEN and also George Wrigglesworth who both Linda and I have become firm friends with, and Nigel Wrightson for all you both have done to get the Eastwell lodge website keep it up.

Yours sincerely Michael Mcmillan (mick)