Comments for East Leeds Memories

Comment on Maud’s Tales by Raymond Jones

Raymond Jones — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 +0000

When Leeds Parish Church School was bombed we had to go to Ellerby LaneSchool for a few months and and i am shore after the Black Dog Pub it was called Ellerby Lane not East Street.
Raymond Jones

Comment on Maud’s Tales by Jacki Hartnett

Jacki Hartnett — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:42:34 +0000

Enjoyed this Story my Great Grandparents lived in Richmond Hill, I was brought up in Hunslet then moved to Australia, love anything to do with old Leeds.

Comment on Knostrop Army Camp by Wayne Bickerdike

Wayne Bickerdike — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 07:00:38 +0000

I remember the army camp at Knostrop. We used to go fishing for tadpoles in a pond where an army tank was bogged for a long time.

The farm later became Austin’s farm but originally it was run by my Father’s Uncle, A Mr H.E. Bickerdike.

I have a tray which was left by my late Auntie which was a gift from the armed forces who occupied his farm just before the start of WW2.

The tray is inscribed:

“Presented to Mr H.E. Bickerdike by all ranks of 197 Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery in appreciation of his many kindnesses and help during their occupation of his farmstead at the time of the temporary mobilisation in September and October 1938″

The farm went out of our family to an adopted son of my Great Uncle, who had none of his own children.

Comment on About by Dan

Dan — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:57:00 +0000

I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who has memories of growing up in the Hyde Park area of Leeds in the 1930s.

Comment on Richmond Hill School, Ellerby Lane School & Evacuation by keith gardner

keith gardner — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:54:42 +0000

I remember Mr Banwell at Ellerby Lane, he was given a great deal of respect by his pupils and was well loved although we perhaps did not realise it at the time.
He was a fine characture and can still remember some of his corny jokes. His favourite subject was technical drawing, he had a very sharp penknife that he reconed he could shave with, he was quite tall, single and had been a soldier in the trenches in WW1.
I do have a photograph of Mr Banwell and his class, I also have one that includes Mr Lilliot [the headmaster] and Mr Taylor.

Comment on Above Green Fields by Bill Boardman by john cole

john cole — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:26:54 +0000

Great Poem. Magic memories. Ex 10 Dial Terrace.

The poem is correct, there is now no way to tell where our old terrace house was, where kick-out ball was played every night, winter or summer. Cold nights layed flat on the lavatory roof! As long as you weren’t caught, twas a great night.

john cole

Comment on Knostrop Army Camp by Ian Chadwick

Ian Chadwick — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:47:57 +0000

I was born in 1951 in East Leeds and we used to go to the army area in Knowstrop (around 1959-60). I remember quite clearly climbing into an old rusting tank and then regretting it as I became frightened by all the metal around me. We always thought that the old tank was on a firing range of some sort.
Near here were some deep trough like lakes that were known as the ‘Blue Lagoons’ as they had a blue hue to them.
I also remember going to a farm near Swillington that was owned by Joe Steel. He was a little eccentric and drove a 1928 Rolls Royce complete with Chicken muck inside, he also played the violin. I went with my father to get Free range eggs. There were two pillars on the drive to his farm that he said he took from Knowstrop Hall before it was demolished as no one wanted them. If they are still there today I do not know as I moved to Tyneside in 1971!

Comment on Knostrop Army Camp by Sonia Noble

Sonia Noble — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:20:32 +0000

I haven’t written the following, but I just found it on secretleeds.com.forum as I had been looking for things related to Knostrop as I believe a relative came from there years ago, Mum is on holiday at the moment so I can’t remind myself as to whether it is the Priestley or Cawthra side of the family. As for your Army Camp info. the following bit mentions rifle range so I am guessing that may well be part of it. Best wishes, Sonia

saw a map in Leeds central library today,19th century.

It shows Knostrop old hall and Knostrop new hall.

Unfortunately there are no nearby landmarks to give you an accurate position of the two,which were virtually next to each other.

The best indication i can give is midway between Skelton Grange cottages,on Sewage works road and Knostrop rifle range.

This is where Knostrop Lane meets sewage works road.

A couple of years back I traced the site of the old hall to the dead end of Long causeway.

Just before that is a right turn down to the sewage works, but the few yards to the dead end a nd a large heap of rubble seemed to be the site of the old hall – done by matching my 1935 map of Leeds up which shows the hall with modern A-z’s.

I have a reprint of the book “The old kingdom of elemete” by Edmund Bogg. A must have for secret Leeders and peobably available to look at at your library.

This was reprinted at the same time “The romance of old leeds” was re-printed which has some good old stuff in it – Red Hall in Leeds and Hunslet lane Theatre!!!

Comment on Richmond Hill School, Ellerby Lane School & Evacuation by Doug Farnill

Doug Farnill — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:32:04 +0000

Thank you Betty. I too went to Ellerby Lane from Richmond Hill: though I was a couple of years younger than you I think. I remember delivering the milk crates to the classrooms each morning, and me and my mate always felt a bit scared going into Miss Kelly’s classroom because she made it clear that we were interrupting the lesson. Did Miss Kelly have a port-wine stain or burn mark on her neck? It was very nice to read the extract of her letter that you included. I think it was Mr Banwell, not quite the way you spelled his name, who was highly respected. If we had been good boys during the week he would read to us from an adventure story for the last half hour on a Friday afternoon.

Comment on A Victorian School on Every Corner by Doug Farnill

Doug Farnill — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:18:54 +0000

Thank you Peter for rekindling those memories. I too share your regret that it is too late to express gratitude to some of those teachers, stern though they were, who nurtured our education. I think particularly of Mr Banwell at Ellerby Lane. How I wish I could thank him.