My parents were born and lived in, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, just like most of my ancestors before them. I have a great many relatives still living in Yorkshire, some known some not.
Yorkshire farming and coal mining were the trades of my ancestors
As I continue to trace my family history, I will discover more as to their lives and the times they lived in.
My mother talks of her days as a cotton mill worker and the long days spent behind spinning machines. While my father talks of farming rhubarb amongest other things.
They both talk of going for long walks by the becks and sledging in the winter.
Both my grandfathers were coal miners, as were their fathers, and I've heard tales of them returning home covered in black coal dust and having to have a wash-down outside before they could come in for their dinners.
In WWII, a bomb landed just across the way from my father's home and their windows were blown in.
I love a great many things about Yorkshire and England as a whole. I love the sense of spirit and the attitude of being able to laugh at themselves.
Maybe the sense of togetherness has disappeared with progress, but not so long ago, the people of this country were happy to stand on street corners and have a laugh and a natter. It was a time when doors could be left unlocked and a penny could buy just about anything.
I listen to tales told by my parents of the spirit of the working class in times of trouble. Where a helping hand was only across the dividing fence or hedge between neighbours.
For the working class, as my ancestors were, times were grim and hard, but the people still kept their sense of humour.
I listen with interest, of tales about the way they ate, worked, cleaned and lived during and after the war years of the 1940s.
Through these stories I learn about my grandparents I never met, and the way they lived.
I learn of the way my own parents lived and worked.
My time spent in England was full of learning.
I learnt about their way of life, past and present and I learnt a little about my own ancestery.
Most of all, I learnt about myself.
York
Whitby
Leeds
Hebden Bridge
Heptonstall
Skipton/Gargrave
