Mid-Cheshire Memories - Volume 1
The Horseman and his family;
The Apprentice Mechanic's Tale;
The Apprentice Fitter's Tale;
The Fireman's Tale of the End of Steam

The last century has seen more change than any other in history and we at the Mid-Cheshire-based Léonie Press believe that the memories of those who lived during this period should be collected for posterity before it is too late.

This book is the first of what we hope will be a series covering ways of life and occupations that have now changed out of all recognition or vanished for ever.

It starts with Elizabeth Ellen Osborne's memories of her father's time as a horseman on local farms, living in a tied cottage and working long hours in all weathers. One employer sacked him for pausing to drink tea while ploughing on a freezing winter's morning. He was devoted to his animals and described his horse as 'human'. When the family had to move to Northwich his country-loving wife thought her heart would break.

Geoffrey Mellor was brought up in the part of Lostock known as the Tip Bonk. He spent his spare time as a boy working on farms, but later took his mother's advice to 'get a trade' and learned to be a motor mechanic. He found he had a natural aptitude and loved the work in spite of the primitive workshop conditions and his bosses' hard discipline - he was once demoted to tea boy for breaking a brush.

Peter Buckley was in the 'rural' stream at school but decided to be a fitter/turner. He obtained an apprenticeship at Yarwood's shipbuilding yard on the banks of the River Weaver in Northwich, where the initiation rites involved a painful daubing with Sloane's liniment. A bank of river mist often covered the machinery when the men arrived at work and in the winter everything was frozen.

Bruce Fisher got a job on the railways when he left school, following in the footsteps of his father, who was an engine driver and his brother, a fireman. He tells the story of the last days of steam at Northwich locomotive depot where he worked his way up from cleaner to fireman. He describes in detail a skilled occupation - and a local railway freight transport system - that are now consigned to history.

Elizabeth Ellen Osborne was born at Shipbrook, near Northwich, Cheshire, in 1914. Her father was an agricultural worker and the family lived in a tied cottage. When she left school at 14 she went to work as a 'between maid' at the local Rectory. Two years later she became a kitchen maid and after various other posts was employed as a lady's companion.
Following her marriage she was a nurse, a 'dinner lady' and a much-loved foster mother. As a Royal British Legion welfare officer she rode round Mid-Cheshire on a 90cc motorcycle until she was 80 years old.
She has a phenomenal photographic memory and her vivid recollections paint a fascinating picture of her early family life. Her book "Nellie's Story", published by Léonie Press in 1999, has been a great success.

Geoffrey Mellor was born in 1934 and moved to 'Bottom Lostock', Northwich with his family when he was four. He went to Rudheath Secondary School for Boys and after a short spell at ICI, worked in the motor trade locally for Mr Harry Breeze and J W Foster and Sons before signing up as a 'regular' to join The Royal Engineers in August 1952.
He and his wife Evelyn married in 1963 and live in Winsford. They have four daughters, Tracey, Audrey, Stella and Rachel and four grand-daughters, four grandsons and three great-grandsons.
Geoff is now retired. His interests include golf and Shire horses. Friends know him as an avid teller of anecdotes and jokes.

After this book was published he said that he would write about his time in the Army and his later life. This task was completed in 2018 and published in 2019 as The Road to Severn Walk - From teenage soldier to skilled mechanic

Peter Buckley was born in Northwich in April 1938. He says: "I was educated (almost) at Timber Lane School, Victoria Road School and Rudheath Secondary School for Boys."
"I trained as fitter/turner at W.J. Yarwood's shipyard, returning there for a short while after National Service in The Royal Corps of Signals in Singapore."
"I drifted into the plastics industry where I worked until taking early retirement."
"I'm married to Freda, and we have two sons and one granddaughter."
"Among my interests are reading, music, watercolour painting and struggling to learn to use computers."

Bruce Fisher and his family moved to Cheshire from East London in the 1960s. After starting as an engine cleaner he later became a fireman working on heavy freight as well as passenger and express parcel trains.
When Northwich loco depot was 'dieselised' he left the railway and joined the RAF where he trained as a transport driver, serving in Uxbridge, driving coaches and ambulances carrying emergency aero-medical evacuees. He was posted to Libya for the British withdrawal following the country's revolution.
After the RAF he entered the demolition industry and for 18 years ran his own demolition and haulage company, specialising in reclaiming bricks for resale in London. Then he moved back to Northwich and became a site manager for a large demolition company. Deciding to take a break from demolition work he is now with a local bus company.