Living On Leeds Road In The 1930s, by Doris Williams, Laisterdyke Local History Group

Doris Williams loved to reminisce about her life in the Leeds Road area of Bradford.

She jotted down her recollections, then transferred those jottings to a tape recorder. Extracts of her memories from the 1930s were used in a local history book published in 1992 by Laisterdyke Local History Group. They were then reproduced in full in 2003, contained in a modest photocopied publication.

Now Doris’s memories have been published in a new book, incorporating photographs from her family album – loaned to the group by Doris’s great niece Sheila Brennan – and reminiscences of people who knew her well.

Born in 1927 into a poor family, Doris’s book offers a glimpse into the social history of the day. ‘The houses in William Court were on landings and consisted of one living room with a stone sink built in a cupboard; two bedrooms, which were always distempered green and had something mixed with the distemper to keep any vermin at bay,’ she writes, ‘and one cellar kitchen with a window below the landings, which most people sub-let for half a crown a week to help them pay their rent of seven shillings (which was, in fact, a high rent even then). There was no hot water, just the one sink with one brass tap.’ She goes on: ‘We had a gas mantle in the house and a gas jet in the bedrooms, which I never remember being lit because, as my mother said, ‘We went to bed to sleep and we could not afford pennies for the gas to read in the bedrooms’.’ The bedroom floors were scrubbed with naptha flakes, while the stone-flagged living room was scrubbed with washing liquor. ‘The only floor covering we had was a tabbed rug which we made from old coats, rags, etc...’ William Court, near Hubert Street, was an old cobbled yard with joint middens – dumps for domestic waste – and joint lavatories all down one side.

After leaving Lapage Street Modern School, Doris worked as a doffer in the spinning (clearing full bobbins from spinning frame and replacing then with empty ones) department at W&J Whitehead’s.

‘Our happiest working days were the early 40s when we worked in the mill for long hours and very small wages,’ she writes. ‘We had to work hard as we were on war work, machine spinning khaki, navy and air force blue for uniforms... Now and then we would spin white yarn, which was to be used for bandages for the wounded.’ The book is packed with witty observations. ‘Mother had dentures fitted when she was quite young, and they were horrible, large, pot-looking teeth, which had a rubber washer fitted to the top set. This was supposedly to fix the teeth by suction to the roof of your mouth.

‘They must have been a very poor fit, because the bottom teeth were always in a jar in the cupboard. They only went on to keep the top set in place, as they did if she sucked Mint Imperials.’ Doris – who also lived in Marsland Place, Charles Avenue, Derby Place and Mill Lodge care home – and her husband Jimmy had no children of their own, devoting their lives to their nieces and nephews. In 1999, they won the Yorkshire heat of the grandparent of the year award, after being nominated by Sheila, and took part in the final in London.

Sadly, Doris died in 2011 so will not see the book. Says Sheila: “She would not be able to believe that people would be interested in her memories of her upbringing. We are all so proud of her for sharing them with us, to enable us to pass them on to our children and grandchildren.”

For more about the book, call Gina Bridgeland on (01484) 721845. or e-mail g.bridgeland@talk21.com.