Heywood lies between Bury and Rochdale, a few miles to the north west of Manchester in the north of England. It's important to me because I was born there and lived there for the first 19 years of my life. None of the houses I lived in ( four in total ) survives, but the photo tour of Heywood has got some great pictures of the spaces where they used to be ! Back then, it was a borough in its own right. Now its part of the metropolitan borough of Rochdale. Some parts of it now look very much the worse for wear and in need of some serious TLC. Perhaps the saddest thing thats happening is the demolition of fine buildings which once gave the town its identity. The Grammar School went this year (2006) and the police station and magistrates court look as if they will soon be gone. So take the tour and visit the links. Below are some "then and now" pictures. I took the "then" pictures around 1952 with an old box brownie that belonged to my grandfather. Eight exposures on a roll of 620 film from which contact prints were made, and goodness knows how much for developing and printing. I think I must have got a subsidy from my parents. I can't remember why only these few have survived. I took the "now pictures" in October 2006 with a Canon EOS300D digital SLR - 2000 exposures on a 4Gb memory card. If any of this resonates with you, do get in touch. If you have any photographs of Heywood Old Prize Silver Band I really would like to see them, and if possible, put them up on the site.

				I think this is the very first photograph I ever took. On the bike is Billy White. We both went to Bamford Road Primary School and you can also see him in the class photographs below. He's 2nd from left, bottom row in the second picture. The street is Margaret Street and Pilsworth Road runs across the bottom. On the left is Samuel Barker's warehouse/factory. They were joiners, builders, contractors and timber merchants. They had a large yard with piles of sand and gravel - we kids spent hours and hours playing in there. The wall with the white stripe on has Mellor Brook on it's far side. Mellor Brow can be seen winding up from right to left on the right hand side. The building in the left background is Pearson Morten's Brook Mill. They were (I think) cotton spinners.
				This photograph was taken about 100 yards further left than the one above, in the alley behind the houses that comprised 83 to 91 Bridge Street. Thats my younger brother Ken (now living in New Zealand) and my sister Joyce (Southampton). Pilsworth Road is behind. We lived in Number 83, which has gone now, but 85, 87 and 91 are still there. 91 was then a little shop selling paint and wallpaper, run by Harry "bloody" Smith, so called by my parents because he used that word more often than any other. The wall on the left enclosed the yard of a little co-op shop (also now gone) that stood on the corner of Pilsworth Road and Bridge Street. Our "divi" number was 7911. In the background is Pearson Morten's mill. The mill yard was a great playground with an easily climbed gate.

This is Bridge Street, taken from the front steps of Number 83 and looking east, towards the town center. I remember taking one looking the other way too, but it hasn't survived. The bus is a Number 21 on its way to Bury. Heywood didn't have its' own bus company - it was served by green and cream ones from Bury, blue and cream ones from Rochdale and red and cream ones from Manchester. This one's from Rochdale. The shop at the extreme left was Jimmie Johnson's hairdressers. I remember going there many times for a pudding basin on the head and a "short back and sides". Next to it was a UCP tripe shop. The shop behind the lorry with the blind was a confectioners called "Taffies" so called because it was run by a welshman. Beyond that was a cafe and then a post office - which is still in business.

				Here we are again in the alley behind the houses (numbers 83 to 91) in Bridge Street. That's my sister Joyce toting an air rifle - times were tough then and you had to defend yourself against the brigands ! She's actually standing outside number 85. The Hoyle family lived in 85. Jean was a pupil at the Grammar School and a couple or so years older than me. She taught me my first French words and also how mono-alphabetic substitution cyphers worked - though we didn't call them by that name - they were just "secret writing". The small wooden door (extreme left) in the wall hid the midden - that's were all the household rubbish was put. The wall enclosed the back yard, in which there was a bleak little brick enclosure containing the outside loo.

The little house at the back is 28A Bridge Street. My maternal grandparents (Elsie and Billy Jackson) lived there in the 1950s and I lived with them too, for about 15 months, in 1956. When I first moved in there was no electricity - only gas. Bit of a problem for a teenager who wanted to play the latest records on his Philips Disk Jockey. But eventually the wires were put in, and I was able to baffle my grandparents by playing Elvis Presley and Bill Haley to them. Round the back of the house, in Elizabeth Street. was Braidwood's Farm - 120 pigs, hundreds of chickens and the occasional herd of cattle in the centre of a town of 30,000 ! The shop to the left was Faraday's Chemists. The French master ("Tommie") from the Grammar School used to regularly cycle down to Faraday's and there was much speculation as to what he was buying - particularly as there was a branch of Boot's Chemists much closer to the school. I can't remember what the shop on the right was - I think a butcher's. The photograph on the left is used with permission of Edward Carr, the photographer and copyright owner. Edward lived and worked in Heywood, and is now retired and living in Hebden Bridge.

Bamford Road Primary School 1947 - 1948 I'm not sure how many primary schools there were in Heywood, but "Bammie Road" was the best ! (Regent Street, Magdela Street and St Joseph's also spring to mind). Here's two class pictures which have survived - or maybe they stopped doing class pictures. At any rate, they are the only two I have. If anyone recognises themselves, please get in touch. When I was last in Heywood (October 2006) the school was boarded up, so it can't be too much longer before its gone. Click any of the pictures below for a larger version. Apologies to anyone whose name I've forgotten, mispelled or just got plain wrong. It was all a very long time ago !
	In charge: Mrs Wilton Back row:Thomas Ridsdale,?,?,Sylvia Schofield,Pauline Morley,?,?,Rosalind Birch,Lorraine Kay,?,Frank Ashton Second Row: John Hatton,?,Self,Billy Horan.?,Jack Catlow,Raymond Fitton,?,Sydney Stott,Tommy Griffiths,? Third Row: ?,?,?,?,Josephine Walmsley,?,Cynthia -,Sandra Chadwick,?,?,Joyce Wagstaff,Joan Simpson Front Row: ?,Carl Beswick,Keith Worrall,Jack Noon,?,?,?,?,?,Billy White (see above on bike)
	In charge: Miss Brown Back Row:Tommy Griffiths, Frank Ashton, Raymond Fitton,?,Rosalind Birch,Pat Johnson,Tommy Ridsdale, Dave Henry,? Second Row:?,?,Brenda ?, Lorraine Kay, Sylvia Schofield,Mavis ?,Sandra Chadwick,Joan Simpson,Pauline Morley Third Row:Colin Podmore,Billy Horan,Lewis Foster,Brian Goodall,Stanley Fishwick,Jack Catlow,Sydney Stott,?,Adrian Kay,? Fourth row:?,?,Josephine Walmsley,Joyce Wagstaff,Hilda ?,?,Cynthia ?,? Front row:?, Billy White,self,Jack Noon,Keith Worrall,John Hatton,Carl Beswick
	Still Bammie Road, but now its Standard 4, the last class before moving on to Secondary school. Here we are in the Isle of Wight. I think it must have been at Bembridge Farm (or very close). After the murky sea of Blackpool I was amazed to find that you could see many feet under the sea water and that it was blue / green. In charge (l to r):Miss Wilton, Mr Mills, Mr Cutler (Headmaster), Mr Hemmings Back Row:?,?,Billy Harrison,Colin Cunliffe,?,Michael ? Second row:?,?,Carl Beswick,Stanley Fishwick,self,Billy Horan And I can't remember any more names, except the lad at right on the front row was the son of Mr Cutler, the Headmaster

Heywood Grammar School
This is Standard 2 Science at HGS in 1954 . The picture was taken in the "other" geography room - at the bottom of the stairs in the basement. The geog teacher took it - I think his name was Haworth - but no connection with Collops. Wind the clock forward by 52 years and we are at the HGS reunion at Heywood Cricket Club on the night of 13th October 2006. Three of the people in this picture were present at this bash.

Left picture:Margaret Gartside, Roger Leach, Christine Fowler Center:Roger Leach, Coralie Ogden, John Kay Johnson, Geoffrey Bates Right:Roger Leach, Coralie Ogden, Keith Taylor, John Kay Johnson From "our year" Gordon Kay and Donald Sigsworth were also present, but I don't have any photographs - yet. If you want to come to the next re-union, its in September, 2 years hence. If you don't know who the organiser is, contact me and I'll put you in touch with her.
And for the moment - that's it. I have more stuff I'd like to put on the site, but for now I have to get on with other things which are, perhaps, more important. Call back soon