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Stanley, Harold, Frank and Norman Watkins, brothers of Ivy.

Dad also kept 60 sheep, 3 horses and 2 cows for milking. We also had 2 lovely big sheep dogs called Rover and Carlo. I used to go with Dad sometimes to round up the sheep all around the forest greens.
I remember when my sister Esme was 10 she came home from school one afternoon and asked Mother if she could take a baby lamb to school for a lessons, anyway the sheep were grazing a around the fields so we went off to try and catch one, but it took us so long that by the time Esme got back to school with her lamb everyone else was coming home, it as 4 o’clock.

My Dad used to haul coal from the pit called the Flour Mill, it was allowance coal for the neighbours houses for 1/0 and 1/6 for 6cwt. of coal.
When Dad died suddenly in Princess Royal Colliery Mother kept a boy to live in and carry on coal hauling and wooden blocks. But Frank, Norman, Stan and Harold always got up early in the morning to fetch a load of coal before they went o school and tipped it on a side road and picked it up on their way from school in the afternoon. They had to clean out the stables and cut up chaff and Swedes for the animals. I used to go with Mother at midnight with lanterns all around the orchards to see if there were any new lambs coming. We often found a ewe in trouble with her lamb, Mother would help her then give the ewe warm brandy and gruel and brandy and often would take the lamb back home to feed with a medicine or baby bottle. We had to do the same for the baby pigs and the sitting eggs ready to hatch out, we put in warm water to hatch out the chicks and then put them in a warm basket with an old flannel shirt on the side of the grate.
I remember Mother taking the horse and cart out to a general sale and I had to stay at home to cook dinner for us all and also look after the young chickens and ducks. Mother had a hatch of 12 ducks only a few day’s old, she said mind and feed them and watch them, they were running around the lawn alright when I last saw them. I had to dip up the water for washing from a reservoir which had a big heavy lid. Anyway mother lost her ducks and the next time we had to get some water there were the 12 little ducks floating in the well, I couldn’t have put the lid back on properly. Mother said ”Now I know where my little ducks have gone.” | Next Page |