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I remember the fire at Charnos pletely destroyed but Danny Corns with his article has corrected my recollection of the event. He says the fire was ‘around 1950’ when I I remember my mother waking me up during would be 14. I’ve always thought I would the night to see the Charnos factory on fire. be younger than that so maybe it was in the From our bedroom window, adjacent to the late forties. road, the blaze could clearly be seen above Then again, I would be in a sleep disturbed the roofs of the Middleton estate houses. haze then and I am in fading memory mode This was about half a mile away as the crow now! flies. Michael Draper, Ilkeston I’ve always thought the factory was com-
Dear Sir, Re Charnos in the March issue, I lived on Middleton Road as a child.
How far does Ilkeston Life travel?
This picture comes from Minnesota, USA Gracie Cooke sent us this photograph of her grandfather John Tudor reading the paper at his home in the States. John is a former Ilkeston lad and likes to keeps in touch with what’s happening back home. He made his name as a professional footballer with Newcastle United, Stoke City, Coventry City and Sheffield United. Before that he was a prolific goal scorer with local sides Stanley Common, Cotmanhay and Ilkeston Town. John is also an ex landlord of the Gallows Inn and The Mallard pubs.
My wife’s fifty years at Charnos
School outing to Liverpool Do any of your readers remember a school trip to Liverpool which took place in 1937 or 1938? It was to celebrate the opening of the Mersey Tunnel. I attended Kensington School at the time, Mr Percy Cox was the headmaster but all the schools in Ilkeston and district seemed to be on the trip, hundreds of excited kids. I believe the cost of the trip was eight shillings, paid in instalments to the teacher. I imagine being as lots of local men worked at Stanton in those days the trip was organised by Stanton and the Council. It was Stanton who made the cast iron rings which were made in segments and joined together for the tunnel. Anyway, moving on, buses arrived to take us to Long Eaton
Dennis J Collins, Kirk Hallam
I Wright, Ilkeston
asked him where he was from, Ron replied “Derbyshire” and David said “yes me too.” “Ilkeston,” added Ron. Two confused faces looked at each other for a moment, then the penny dropped they were both from ‘Ilson’. David then shared how his cousin Cynthia had sent clippings from Ilkeston Life newspaper with an Ilson “I’d sent David clippings from your paper dialect in it. Ron then said how he had gone to see if he could still understand the Ilson to a school near Cossall and how his cousin dialect. Imagine my utter astonishment might know some of his relatives. when he wrote back that he’d been touring This is where the astonishment starts… I in his caravan in Queensland, on the way (Cynthia) worked with Ron’s sister (June back he went inland as he loves opals. He stopped a week at ‘Lightning Ridge Adven- Kirk) and she often told me about her brothture’ – an old opal mine that’s been opened er Ron and his opal mine. What a coincidence, on the other side of the world and it as a tourist attraction, the owners name is was the Ilson accent that got them listening Ron Canlin. and because of the clippings from your fanOn the way out David heard someone speak tastic paper that I sent David – that got them (above the rest of the noise) – no words talking in an opal mine in Australia!” were heard but rather an accent. David Revd Christine French, Kirk Hallam looked around, it was Ron Canlin. David
4 Ilkeston Life, April 2017
we were invited to some lovely social evenings with the ‘Charnos 25 Club’ all over the Midlands. Rolf Noskwith presented my wife with a gold wristwatch watch for 25 years service, which is now proudly possessed by my daughter Sue. Yours sincerely,
to board the train for our journey. When we arrived at our destination we boarded buses and each school went to different places of interest. We went to the Sunlight Soap works, the docks and through the Mersey tunnel to New Brighton. Whilst there we had time to play on the beach and look in the gift shops to buy a present for mam. All too son the buses arrived to take us home—we were very happy but tired. As we travelled along the streets in Liverpool, which were all terraced houses and seemed very dismal and poor, ladies came out of the houses dressed in long black skirts, thick checked shawls and men’s type caps to see us passing by.
Ilson dialect overheard in Australia Hello. One of my parishioners – Cynthia — was too shy to write this herself, thinking you wouldn’t be interested … but I thought it was fascinating … it is a letter she got from her cousin David Osborne, he emigrated to Australia many years ago….I’ll now quote her letter to me…
Danny Corns’ recollection of Charnos was especially interesting for me as my wife Avis Collins (nee Hunt) worked there from leaving school in 1946 until her retirement fifty years later, her only job. She worked mostly as a linker on stockings and loved every minute. One of the people she worked with was Harry Harris, a very keen local cricketer. After Avis has completed 25 years service,
Trip to Blackpool
Dora or Olga, who were sisters of the founder of the company, Norman Frost. I note from previous issues that folk like to Dora and Olga were conductresses on the buses which ran an hourly service between reminisce, so I was wondering if anyone Ilkeston and Derby, going through Stanley remembered a Mrs Frost organising trips. where a change of driver or conductor often I think the one pictured may have been to took place at the Felix depot. Blackpool. Standing at the back on a small The company was also renowned for its trips front wall are G Goacher, N Webster, G Richardson, R Harrison and someone whose and holiday excursions. name escapes me. The picture below shows a newer Felix bus On the left hand side at the back are J Hill, T waiting at the old Derby bus station. Carr, B Wright, Mr Ufton, F Sloane. The rest I’m afraid I cannot bring to mind.
T Carr, Ilkeston Editor’s note: After posting the above photograph on our Facebook page, people commented that Mrs Frost was part of the Felix Bus Company family of Stanley village. A suggested date of the photo is ‘1950-ish’. The Mrs Frost referred to in Mr Carr’s letter could have been