# data[].attributes.headline
Taikoo Dockyard, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong

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Taikoo Dockyard, Taikoo Shing, Hong Kong

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Our first international story! Peter shared a poem about how he worked at Taikoo Dockyard and started his family while living there - and how visited more recently to find the place he knew gone, replaced by modern flats and "men in Italian shirts."

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Ketch Rigger, School Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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Ketch Rigger, School Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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Ketch Rigger, School Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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“When we were kids - there were still old guns from the war. We used to go down and pretend to shoot them.”

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St Vincent's Centre, Leeds, Berking Avenue, Leeds

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St Vincent's Centre, Leeds, Berking Avenue, Leeds

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St Vincent's Centre, Leeds, Berking Avenue, Leeds

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“This group has saved me. Given me somewhere to come and be someone different. This group has saved me. Somewhere to come to get your sanity back. Like your family.”

“You can be you, no matter what else is going on - you’re not mum, not dad - you’re something completely different.”

“No matter who you are. People here aren’t going to be shocked or surprised.”

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"Barry Dawson - he was like a hippy version of del boy. Proper East End but also smoked pot and was a vegetarian.

He asked me to give him a hand on the burger van. Got it all set up and I said “I thought you were a vegetarian? They're not gonna buy veggie burgers here.”

He said: “I don’t tell 'em. Onions and ketchup and they won’t know"

One bloke said how meaty they were!"

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"Gordon Fozzard - the legendary beer drinker! He died about twenty years ago. Lived in Stourton back when it used to be just a village.

Apparently he went in for the beer drinking championship of Great Britain in 1969. Drank 30 pints in an hour, but he was disqualified when he went to loosen his belt and his trousers fell down.

I used to see him in the pub. He'd get a tray of beer for himself and drink ten pints before closing time. He hardly had any neck so it used to go straight down. He never seemed to get drunk.

He was on Calendar once, in the Garden Gate pub in the 1980s. He worked as a rag and bone man. Apparently he got kicked by a horse and that's what caused the cancer that killed him.

He was a genuine, polite bloke. A legend."

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Hamble Aerostructures Ltd, Kings Avenue, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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Jean Edwards, Hamble Aerostructures Ltd, Kings Avenue, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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Jean Edwards, Hamble Aerostructures Ltd, Kings Avenue, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton

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"My nan! Jean Edwards - moved over here from South Africa. She was married to Terry.

She was a riveter. Used to keep the planes together. She riveted the bolts on the Red Arrows.

There’s a red arrow on show outside Hamble Aerostructures. She did it. She put the front together.

Loved her to bits. My Nan and Grandad brought us up."

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"We were kids, walking from here to town. My friend got a message - some teenage drama I needed to sort. When I looked up, couldn't see any of my friends.

Suddenly they called to me from an abandoned church. I went in.

Then the police came. They rang the owner and asked if he wanted us prosecuted. He didn't so we got escorted home.

My friend and her partner got a right telling off. My punishment...was to make Easter Eggs!

Easter never hits the same any more."

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"I inadvertently got my Grandma into trouble. My parents had a house over four floors. The bottom floor was a cellar, with a kitchen. There was a toilet with a door you could lock, and a tiny window.

My sister had really annoyed me. So when she went to the toilet, I locked the door and went upstairs. My Grandma was the last one to come up. She couldn’t find her.

I told her I didn’t know where she was, but my sister climbed out of the tiny window and knocked on the front door. Grandma opened it and asked her what she was doing there.

I told them everyone my Grandma had locked the door, and she took the rap! Grandma died seven years ago and my sister still doesn't know the truth!"

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"I was 15/16 and desperate for the loo. I walked into the ladies by accident. Thought they’d cleaned it up a bit!

Then I saw a woman in there. Got embarrassed and came straight out.

Best thing is - as I was leaving, three little old ladies were walking in. They saw me coming out, thought they had the wrong door, turned around and marched right into the gents."

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"I didn’t get in trouble, 'cause I didn't get caught!

When I first started drinking, we thought a lad we knew was gonna be in his house. We’d had a few.

Got there and the door was open. I walked in, sat down and put my feet up on the mantelpiece.

A middle aged woman I'd never seen before came in from the kitchen. I’ve never moved so fast!"

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"Seen me at my worst...", Leeds Bus Station, Kirkgate, Leeds

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"Seen me at my worst...", Leeds Bus Station, Kirkgate, Leeds

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"I was on my way back from Wakefield, at Leeds bus station. Very hungover. I'd been staying at my friend's for a week so I had a wheely suitcase with me. I was basically using it as a crutch.

What I didn't realise was that the handle had dropped down. I went to lean on it and fell straight over the suitcase.

This lad asked if I was ok. I said "yeah, I’m just drunk." He asked which bus I was getting, so I told him. When it came, the bus was packed, so we waited for the next one.

When we got off the bus he said "I'm sorry to be forward but...can I walk you home?" And that's how I met my partner.

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One Stop, Temple View Grove, Leeds LS9 9LH

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One Stop, Temple View Grove, Leeds LS9 9LH

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One Stop, Temple View Grove, Leeds LS9 9LH

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"When I first came to England and was learning English - in French there are some letter you pronounce, that you don’t pronounce here. I kept asking for "Whole Milk" but saying the W! W-hole Milk!"

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"My first flat was on Cowper Mount. Above an estate agents. I had my son with me as well, pregnant with my daughter. Had a huge living room and a bedroom upstairs."

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"I was only a young lad. Left home for the first time. Got to the flat - the electric was off. When I was trying to get it sorted, I got locked out. Went to bash the door down but I got the wrong door! Ended up charging in on a young family!"

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“My first house fire – station master – he said to me (we always had a pep talk.) He said “We turn out, you stick with me and go where I go."

One of the other lads asked “Have you got a handkerchief?" Then he give me one, said the master would go in without protection and I'd need it. Sure enough he did. I walked into that house with a handkerchief over my mouth.

Years later, I was in his position. A furniture store just off Harehills Lane. We’d just got a new recruit. The boss said to him – "Wherever he goes, you follow him." He got a handkerchief.

We put the fire out and the lad asked how we manage it. He were really shocked by the heat and how thick the smoke was.”

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The Difficult Nights, Oakwood Lane, Leeds

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The Difficult Nights, Oakwood Lane, Leeds

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“It was a bad night. It got to maybe half nine, ten o'clock, we had a road traffic accident. There were a couple dead in it. Come back. Another one, people badly injured. Then a third at 2 o'clock in the morning.

One of the lads who’d not been long in the service, he said he couldn’t handle that for the next 30 years and was handing his notice in. We tried to talk him out of it, but it was on the chief's desk the next morning.”

Retired firefighters reflecting on the bad nights.

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The Irish Centre Leeds Irish Clovers, York Road, Leeds

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Just Past the Irish Centre Leeds, Irish Clovers, York Road, Leeds

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Just Past the Irish Centre Leeds, Irish Clovers, York Road, Leeds

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“It was about half seven one night. We got a call to an RTA down York Road, just past the Irish Centre. Most unusual. A wagon – not a big one – had hit a lamppost. It hadn't done much damage to the wagon, but he got out to see. The lamppost snapped at the top – as he walked round – the concrete part fell on him and hit his head. He was dead when we got there. If he’d have walked the other way round the wagon it wouldn’t have hit him.”

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“One Sunday dinner time – not far from the Garforth Roundabout, coming in to Leeds. A motorbike with a young lad – smashed it into a bus stop. He was dead. Coming down the opposite carriageway was a nurse – she stopped to see if she could help. Turned out it was her son.”

“You’ll turn out to some places and you won’t like it.”

Retired firefighters reflect on the call outs you don't want to remember.

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“I was called out to a house fire. I knocked at the door. The door was opened – two or three young ladies with no clothes on. I ran back to the station. I told my mother and she told me I was handing my notice in the next day. I wouldn't mind, but I was nearly 40 years old.”

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Killingbeck fields nature trail, Neath Gardens, Leeds

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The Elephant of Killingbeck Fields, Neath Gardens, Leeds

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The Elephant of Killingbeck Fields, Neath Gardens, Leeds

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“One morning there was a knock on the fire station door and a bloke came in: “Can you help us? Our elephant has run out of water.”

I got the lads together.

“Where we going Sub?”

“We’re gonna water an elephant.”

“Can you repeat that?”

“How do you water an elephant?”

“Very carefully”

The guy in charge took us to a tent, and it were true - there was an elephant. We got some water flowing from a fire hydrant. As fast as we were putting the water in, he was drinking it all.

After an hour or two one of the circus guys told us we could pack it in and we went home.”

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The Old Fire Station, Gipton Approach, Leeds

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William Ernest and Elizabeth, the previous generation of firefighters, and Joe - the next. The Old Fire Station, Gipton Approach, Leeds

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William Ernest and Elizabeth, the previous generation of firefighters, and Joe - the next. The Old Fire Station, Gipton Approach, Leeds

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“I joined because my father used to be a fireman during the second world war – a soldier in the first, the army didn’t want him for the second – they said he was too old. He joined the fire brigade, that’s what he wanted to do, so that’s what I wanted to do. It was all ok until I told me mother – she threw a right wobble. She said “I’m not having him as a fireman – my young son – as a fireman.” One by one all my brothers came up to me and told me, “you’re not going to be a fireman” – it was 4-1. But I still came. Mum wasn’t pleased – but she said I could do it if that was what I wanted to do.”

"When we joined the fire service in 1969. I was working in engineering before I joined. The money at the end of it, was about £27 a week. I came in as a fireman - £9 per week. 3 nights on, 3 off."

"My uncle was a fireman in Leeds, and I decided to have a go at it. I ended up doing it for 28 years. My grandson, Joe, is joining now – my daughter’s partner was a fireman here as well, now his son's following in the footsteps of his great grandfather and me. He’s just finishing his public service course at college. He’s 18 on Valentines Day”.

“It’s hard, as a young kid, coming here to train. Five of us from Leeds, two from Huddersfield. 1st January when we joined. We did 13 weeks then. Working all day. There was a bar here, upstairs. Not any more. It was hard though. 9am in the morning. Check all the gear -then we’d go outside and do it. Eat something, coffee or something, then you were washing everything for the rest of the day.”

“ I wasn’t – I was climbing the tower!”

Memories of joining the fire service from retired firefighters.

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The Kirkgate Market Fire, 1975, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Kirkgate, Leeds

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The Kirkgate Market Fire, 1975, Leeds Kirkgate Market, Kirkgate, Leeds

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"The market in town. 1975. We were in first. We had ten pumps, then someone else came with 20, and then there were 30."

“It were only a small fire. What did you need them for?”

“Norman – you could see it from Bramley! I'd been made head firefighter that day. It were my crew there first.”

“I always said it was the first crew who made a mess of it. It were only a small fire in the hairdressers before they got there.”

“I were just doing the job. Unfortunately Norman came later on.”

“I put it out for you!”

“I got there exactly 6.30 on Saturday. I got back at 3pm.”

“You left me in charge of it!"

"We said we’d finished but we didn’t – half an hour, then we were back into town to carry on. We got home about 9.45."

"I got home about 5pm and my wife said “You look tired”. She asked me if the button shop had burned down. I told her yes, it had. I got a slap across the face for that.”

“I let it burn down on purpose.”

Trevor and Norman, retired firefighters.

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“My Grandma was Welsh, my Uncle - actually my dad’s cousin - I’ve been going since I was 5. It’s somewhere I feel like I belong. Every time I go under what I call the red dragon bridge I cheer. I feel closer to my family down there than up here. My Uncle’s great grandson was named after him which means there’s still going to be another generation to see. It’s a beautiful and peaceful place.”

Julie

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Fantasy Island Theme Park, Sea Lane, Ingoldmells, Skegness

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Fantasy Island Theme Park, Sea Lane, Ingoldmells, Skegness

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Fantasy Island Theme Park, Sea Lane, Ingoldmells, Skegness

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“I used to go to Skegness with my family every year. Arcades! Fantasy Island Arcade. Love it! Getting all the prizes out of the machines. Going on the cars. Having a good time. Security used to kick us out for winning too many prizes! I remember my step dad stepping outside for a cig and someone started a fight on him. He called us all and the whole family went outside and gathered round him!”

Aiden

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Alexander Fleming House, Metro Central Heights, London

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Alexander Fleming House, Metro Central Heights, London

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"I worked in Alexander Fleming House when it was run by the Ministry of Health. It was obviously named after him for some reason. I don't know whether it was the same place where he left the window open!"

Alan, reflecting on the invention of penicillin

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The Old Clock Cinema, 247 Roundhay Road, Harehills, Leeds

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The Old Clock Cinema, 247 Roundhay Road, Harehills, Leeds

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"I've lived near the Old Clock since I was ten. I remember when it was a cinema."

The Old Clock opened in 1938, and continued to be a cinema until 1976.

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Templar Street Car Park, Edward Street, Leeds

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"It used to be a big Jewish area - then they all moved to Chapeltown. Then it was a Chinese area - but that's all shut down now."

We talked about this area - mostly used for car parking now - and how the buildings there still show Chinese-style decoration. They've been derelict for years, and it seems they have been finally bought for development.

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The Bingley Arms, Church Lane, Bardsey, Leeds

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The Bingley Arms, Church Lane, Bardsey, Leeds

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The Bingley Arms, Church Lane, Bardsey, Leeds

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"The Bingley Arms in Bardsey - they reckon it's the oldest pub in Britain!"

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"I was walking in Buck Wood with my little kid. A few years ago. I found a satchel. Picked it up. Found two little shoes in it. Tried to keep them but they wouldn’t last.

Turns out it had been left from when the Open Air School had been there. I found this book. Bought it from the newsagents. There's not much other information out there about it."

(The Book Mentioned and pictured - The School in the Wood by Christine Alvin.

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Shoulder of Mutton, Marton 🤬 Grafton, York

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Shoulder of Mutton, Marton 🤬 Grafton, York

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"My grandad was born in a pub called the Shoulder of Mutton in Marton 🤬 Grafton. At one point it was bought by Neil Morrissey to try and turn it into a brewery. They made a TV series about it."

Nathan

(Photo 1850 (unconfirmed). Source unknown. Taken from :http://www.martoncumgraftonhistory.com/village-photo-archive---old--new.html)

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Salts Mill, Victoria Road, Saltaire, Shipley

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Salts Mill, Victoria Road, Saltaire, Shipley

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Salts Mill, Victoria Road, Saltaire, Shipley

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"I used to work at Salts Mill. Washing up. Got paid £25 a week to work 9-4pm Monday-Friday."

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"I used to live on Farm Hill Way in an old terraced house. Then they knocked them all down - they were built on a slant!"

Darren

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Community Links Oakwood Hall, Oakwood Grange Lane, Roundhay, Leeds

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Community Links Oakwood Hall, Oakwood Grange Lane, Roundhay, Leeds

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Community Links Oakwood Hall, Oakwood Grange Lane, Roundhay, Leeds

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We had a big debate about Oakwood Hall - turns out there were several of them!

"This Oakwood Hall is where Community Links are based. They provide support groups for people in the community - I think they focus on mental health."

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We had a big debate about "Oakwood Hall". Turns out there were/are several of them!

"It's ruined - council don't want owt to do with it because it'd cost too much to restore. I remember going round the back - seeing the huge dome windows. Now it’s about to get knocked down and turned into flats."

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Herbert Bowden Hawley, Hammonds Sauce, Dockfield Road, Shipley

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Herbert Bowden Hawley, Hammonds Sauce, Dockfield Road, Shipley

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"Chop Sauce!"

Herbert left home when he was 21, with £10 in his pocket. With his brother Richard, he formed Hammonds Sauce in 1924. Chop sauce was released in 1930 and became the signature product.

Herbert was a keen bandmaster and composer. The Hammonds Sauce Works Band was formed in 1946.

When he died in 1952, he left an estate worth £27,000. The factories are now owned by American companies. The Bradford factory closed in 2002 and production was moved to Lancashire (boo!)

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"I remember when you couldn’t go in the coop between 12 – 2 'cause it were shut for dinner. That were just how it were. Shop was split down the middle. One side were food, one side were beer – they tilled it separate. You could buy oil an’ all.

They used to do "outsales" in the pub an' all. Me and me mate were sent to pick up Websters Mild by my Grandad. We’d swig a bit of it on the way home, and put water in before we gave it to to him."

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The Great Northern Brewhouse, Leeds Road, Thackley, Bradford

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The Great Northern Brewhouse, Leeds Road, Thackley, Bradford

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The Great Northern Brewhouse, Leeds Road, Thackley, Bradford

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"If you look down the side of the pub, you can still see where Thackley Train Station used to be. Old lines used to go to Queensbury. There was a quarry there as well."

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"If you didn’t have owt [to pay] you’d go round the back and get jam cheaper – or for free.   It had it’s own train station. When it closed the land were 100ft deep in glass bottles!"

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Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA), Whitehouse Lane, Yeadon, Leeds

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Underground Factory, Yeadon Aerodrome, Whitehouse Lane, Yeadon, Leeds

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Underground Factory, Yeadon Aerodrome, Whitehouse Lane, Yeadon, Leeds

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"There was an underground factory that made parts for the dambusters aircraft near Leeds Airport – I used to fly up there when it was an RAF station so I know about it. It was under this raised piece of land, covered with grass, they put plastic sheep and cows so it just looked like a field and stayed undetected. It was built in the Second World War"

Eric

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"I used to work there packing ice cream before they moved it all over to Iceland. When Treats went bankrupt we all got a load of ice cream to take home."

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Vickers Tank Factory, Manston Lane, Leeds

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Vickers Tank Factory, Manston Lane, Leeds

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"The tank factory at Crossgates on Manston lane. They reckon it were the biggest tank factory in Europe. I could hear them testing them when I was delivering round there in the '80s. Some would come by train, some by road. I don’t know how they got them tanks down Hawthorpe Road."

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Louis Le Prince, Oakwood Grange, Roundhay, Leeds

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Louis Le Prince, Oakwood Grange, Roundhay, Leeds

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"A French photographer made the first film at Oakwood Grange – Louis the Prince was his name. He disappeared. I think he was killed by Americans in some kind of dispute of the licence. He didn’t have the rights to make the film!"

Gipton Growers

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Rowland Ding, Tatham Way, Roundhay, Leeds

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Rowland Ding, Tatham Way, Roundhay, Leeds

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"There used to be an aircraft factory on Roundhay Road, near where Tesco is. They were building parts for the War. They used to take the aircraft – first world war aircraft – and take off from soldiers field. Test pilot - Roland Ding - crashed into a tree near where I lived on Tatham Way!

The factory shut just after the second world war. We used to go down and get the stuff they were throwing out. We made our own parachutes."

Eric

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"It's a gorgeous space for a cup of tea or a coffee, helping women who need support to get into the industry."

What began as a conversation in our session about how we "never go into the city centre anymore", became a chat about a positive space of support and training; celebrating one of the gems that still shines.

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Women's Holiday Centre, Horton in Ribblesdale, Settle

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Women's Holiday Centre, Horton in Ribblesdale, Settle

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Women's Holiday Centre, Horton in Ribblesdale, Settle

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"We'd wake up on Christmas morning with no idea who was downstairs."

Julie wrote a poem about Horton Women's Holiday Centre as a positive place of sharing where she would take her daughter for Christmas. "You never knew who else would be staying - that's why we didn't know who would be downstairs!".

She wanted to celebrate it for giving women and their children somewhere to go in a beautiful location - to remember fond memories of being there.

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Potternewton Park, Harehills Lane, Leeds

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Potternewton Park, Harehills Lane, Leeds

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Potternewton Park, Harehills Lane, Leeds

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"When I first moved to Chapeltown in 1982, I would see a lot of stray dogs roaming around in packs, especially near Potternewton Park. I was scared of them. I'd keep a very close eye as I walked past.

Now, I'm less scared, and I've come to realise that...I was the one who was nervous. The dogs were fine. I'd just moved to a new area and I was anxious, and scared - the dogs were a symbol of that." - Julie, after writing a poem about the dogs and her anxiety

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Banstead Park Harehills Leeds, Banstead Terrace East, Harehills, Leeds

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The Rats, Banstead Park Harehills Leeds, Banstead Terrace East, Harehills, Leeds

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The Rats, Banstead Park Harehills Leeds, Banstead Terrace East, Harehills, Leeds

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"I used to think that the rats in Barnstead park were confined by the park - that they lived there, and only there. Now I know they can run outside as well! I have to plan my walking routes very carefully because I have a terrible fear of rats!" - Julie

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Dr Pogson was the Seacroft doctor from 1872 – 1912. He became a skin specialist with patients from all over Britain. He offered specialist advice to King Edward VII and developed a skin soap known as “Dr. Pogson’s Soap”, maufactured by the Whitehall Soap Works and sold in pink wrappers at 1/6d a tablet. Pogson left much property, including the old almshouses, popularly known as “Pogson’s Cottages”. He was buried at Saint James’ Church, having been both people’s warden and Vicar’s warden during his active life.

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John Carter, Bailey's Lane, Seacroft, Leeds

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John Carter, Bailey's Lane, Seacroft, Leeds

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Baileys Lane was also known as Carter Lane because of the family who lived and farmed there. John Carter was farming from 1870 – 1899. In 1897 he was presented with a watch worth £50, at a special dinner held in the Lion and Lamb public house in his honour. All the local farmers chipped in to recognise his veterinary work in the community. The farm was eventually to close down, was demolished in the 1950s and used as part of the large housing estate now there.

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The Poppy Man, Rose Villa, York Road, Leeds

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The Poppy Man, Rose Villa, York Road, Leeds

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Thomas Gibson Ackroyd aka the Poppy Man – lived in Seacroft from 1922 and formed the branch of the British Legion. He was said to have worked tirelessly to support ex servicemen. Each year he visited every local school on his pushbike to sell poppies, and donated a trophy to the school that made the largest donation.

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Victor and Louis Lightman, Chadwick Street, Leeds

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Victor and Louis Lightman, Chadwick Street, Leeds

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Victor and Louis Lightman were Lithuanian immigrants who moved over to Leeds in 1880. They ran Globe Cabinet Works. They changed to making aeroplane propellers during the war, and at one point employed over 100 people.

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Seacroft UFO Sighting, Eastwood Garth, Leeds

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Seacroft UFO Sighting, Eastwood Garth, Leeds

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13th August 1984 – Adrian Johnson sights a UFO in Seacroft at the bottom of Eastwood Garth. “it was like a cigar but lights flashed on and off like a plane in the sky and when we saw it, it was getting nearer and nearer and still glowing then there was another U.F.O behind it. I had four of my mates as witnesses."

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"Me mum was from Scotland, me dad from Beeston. I worked in High schools and went to visit my grandparents on the land at the old vicarage, just off Dewsbury road. I went down the dirt track, I remember the machines – my grandad sold the land to a housing company eventually.

Grandad had rickets as a child, he was a right tubby little thing. My grandma was illiterate and was born in a workhouse - I'm not sure which one and I don’t know how they met. We used to walk across into Middleton Park - Miggy Park. There was a tree we'd climb, and we'd sit in it and tell stories. It's still there now. " - Linda

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Charles Archibald Wheatley, Meanwood Road, Leeds

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Charles Archibald Wheatley, Meanwood Road, Leeds

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Viv's Great Grandad was born Archibald Burns, and died Charles Archibald Wheatley. He was sent to prison for giving away free ice cream. He felt sorry for the children of Meanwood who couldn't afford it, but the company took offence as it was technically theft. He did have a bit of a record before that mind, so maybe his name was already tarred...

Viv asked for him to be pinned to Time Street - but it doesn't seem to exist any more! So he'll have to settle for Meanwood Road.

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Grandad Gordon, Boggart Hill Drive, Seacroft, Leeds

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Grandad Gordon, Boggart Hill Drive, Seacroft, Leeds

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"My Great Grandad, his surname was Gordon, was a herring fisherman from Cullen. While he was picking up herring in Cleethorpes, he was shipwrecked. He was rescued on the beach by Florrie - they fell in love and she was my Great Grandma! I wouldn't be here without that shipwreck!

Years later, my little brother Matthew was researching our family history and travelled up to the beach at Cullen. That's where he met Dee Dee, on the beach, and they fell in love. He married her. Now they live together up there." - Clarrie

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Grandad Henrik, Seacroft Gate, Seacroft, Leeds

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Grandad Henrik, Seacroft Gate, Seacroft, Leeds

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Paulina moved to Seacroft a year ago, her family are originally from Warsaw. She told us how her Grandad Henrik's life was worth ten pence.

During the war, a bomb went off and a piece of shrapnel hit him in the chest. He had the Polish equivalent of a ten pence coin in his pocket, which deflected the shrapnel and saved his life!

He was imprisoned in a camp during the war and escaped, meeting another escapee as he fled. The two became lifelong friends and lived together until he died.

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Linda at the LS14 Trust told us about a Seacroft legend known to her only as "Von Eric". He worked with her Dad at Irwin's on Coal Road, and was a grafter. He was a German who had been imprisoned in Scotland during the war and ended up with a hybrid German-Scottish accent. He moved to Seacroft and lived with a dutch lady called Joyce - a nurse who was also much-loved. Linda presumed they were married but actually they were friends who would have a right old row! The story goes that Von Eric died on Christmas Day one year - he went upstairs for a lie down after his Christmas Dinner and never woke up.

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Stainbeck URC Church, Stainbeck Road, Stainbeck Lane, Chapel Allerton, Leeds

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Riding the Stang - A collection of Meanwood stories - Stainbeck URC Church, Stainbeck Road, Stainbeck Lane, Leeds

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Riding the Stang - A collection of Meanwood stories - Stainbeck URC Church, Stainbeck Road, Stainbeck Lane, Leeds

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A daft and fictional audio play featuring lots of real names from Meanwood's past! Poppa (Quizmaster!) Jones - a scout leader who for many years organised holidays for local people. His scout lads. Maria the Austrian - who moved over as a refugee during WWII and married a local. Leonard Curr who wrote an account of nicking turnips from the local farm. And of course - all based around the tradition of "Riding the Stang" - where violent husbands would be publicly shamed by the wittiest man in town. A tradition still practised in Meanwood in the early 1900s

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Mary Bateman - Lamb And Flag, Church Row, Leeds

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Mary Bateman - Lamb And Flag, Church Row, Leeds

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A fictionalised account of Mary Bateman, written by Carole and pinned to the pub which is rumoured to be on the same site where Mary lived!

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Mary Bateman - Hales Bar, Crescent Road, Harrogate

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Mary Bateman - Hales Bar, Crescent Road, Harrogate

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A fictional encounter with Mary Bateman, written and read by Matthew - and set in one of his local bars...

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An audio story about an American immigrant, a modern "witch" with coded tattoos and her mysterious disappearance...

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Ms Isabel Denton (née Raine) 41-43 Town Street, Beeston, Leeds - 1639

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Ms Isabel Denton (née Raine) 41-43 Town Street, Beeston, Leeds - 1639

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Isabel Denton was described as living “cursed with a prodigal husband – a numerous family in danger of penury and starvation”. In other words - they had a lot of kids and could barely afford to eat.

Her solution was ingenious. She invented the straw hat (and the bonnet!)

In the 1600s the straw hat became incredibly "in vogue" and she was catapulted to fame. When she died her business was sold for £7000 - more than £1 million in modern equivalent! Although straw hats are no longer made in Beeston, some hat bands are still made locally!

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Mr Leonard Scurr & Phoebe - Holbeck Moor Road, Holbeck, Leeds

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Mr Leonard Scurr & Phoebe - Holbeck Moor Road, Holbeck, Leeds

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Mr Leonard Scurr “discharged the ministerial functions in Beeston Chapel with considerable ability, but without corresponding moral character” - where his morals were lacking we do not know! He eventually abandoned the church to run a local coal mine.

On January 19 1679 Leonard had been preparing for a trip to London, gathering a lot of money at his property. At 11pm two of his employees from the pit, Holroyd and Littlewood (with accomplices), broke into the house to take the money and kill Leonard's family.

They seized his elderly mother. Mr Scurr was woken. He descended with a rapier and killed two of the men. Leonard fought until his weapon became useless and then tried to escape via a trapdoor, but one of the other men cut his hand off with an axe as he reached to open it. . He was murdered. The servant girl begged for mercy and promised secrecy but a woman with the robbers insisted she was decapitated by the door.

The robbers set fire to the house, but the crime was discovered because of the separated head and hand - not exactly fire-related injuries! Holroyd and the woman fled to Ireland, where they met a woman called Phoebe, holidaying, who had formerly been Mr Scurr’s servant and embroidered his wife's gowns. Holroyd and his mistress were drunk. Phoebe recognized some of Mrs Scurr’s belongings being worn by the woman, and had the pair arrested by magistrate and sent back to York to be tried. Littlewood was also caught and arrested in the hope of a confession.

In 1682 they were tried and executed on Holbeck Moor in front of 30,000 people. A reverend described Holroyd as “hardened and impenitent until the last”.

You might wonder which part of this story we're celebrating. Well - for one - without Phoebe the servant, the pair would never have been apprehended! And as a final bonus - Leonard Scurr left £10 to the poor of Beeston in his will to pay for bread. The 1600's equivalent of a food bank?

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Mr Leonard Scurr & Phoebe - Southleigh Road, Beeston, Leeds (1679)

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Mr Leonard Scurr & Phoebe - Southleigh Road, Beeston, Leeds (1679)

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Mr Leonard Scurr “discharged the ministerial functions in Beeston Chapel with considerable ability, but without corresponding moral character” - where his morals were lacking we do not know! He eventually abandoned the church to run a local coal mine.

On January 19 1679 Leonard had been preparing for a trip to London, gathering a lot of money at his property. At 11pm two of his employees from the pit, Holroyd and Littlewood (with accomplices), broke into the house to take the money and kill Leonard's family.

They seized his elderly mother. Mr Scurr was woken. He descended with a rapier and killed two of the men. Leonard fought until his weapon became useless and then tried to escape via a trapdoor, but one of the other men cut his hand off with an axe as he reached to open it. . He was murdered. The servant girl begged for mercy and promised secrecy but a woman with the robbers insisted she was decapitated by the door.

The robbers set fire to the house, but the crime was discovered because of the separated head and hand - not exactly fire-related injuries! Holroyd and the woman fled to Ireland, where they met a woman called Phoebe, holidaying, who had formerly been Mr Scurr’s servant and embroidered his wife's gowns. Holroyd and his mistress were drunk. Phoebe recognized some of Mrs Scurr’s belongings being worn by the woman, and had the pair arrested by magistrate and sent back to York to be tried. Littlewood was also caught and arrested in the hope of a confession.

In 1682 they were tried and executed on Holbeck Moor in front of 30,000 people. A reverend described Holroyd as “hardened and impenitent until the last”.

You might wonder which part of this story we're celebrating. Well - for one - without Phoebe the servant, the pair would never have been apprehended! And as a final bonus - Leonard Scurr left £10 to the poor of Beeston in his will to pay for bread. The 1600's equivalent of a food bank?

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Terminus Tap Room and Bottle Shop (The Meanwood Brewery), Stonegate Road, Meanwood, Leeds

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George - Terminus Tap Room and Bottle Shop (The Meanwood Brewery)

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George - Terminus Tap Room and Bottle Shop (The Meanwood Brewery)

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We love Meanwood Brewery anyway (for obvious reasons of great beer!) but we especially want to celebrate George. He's lived in Meanwood all his life and recently set up and hosts an excellent open mic at the tap room - giving a platform to local musicians from all backgrounds!

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Elizabeth - Parkside Road, Meanwood, Leeds

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Elizabeth - Parkside Road, Meanwood, Leeds

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Elizabeth was a child in WWII, and one of our group members interviewed her for a school project. She was a jewellery-maker who lived alone and was utterly passionate about her allotment.

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Tigers Gym Boxing & Thai boxing, Stonegate Road, Meanwood, Leeds

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Right in the heart of Meanwood is Tiger's Gym - run by Leeds' First World Champion Boxer, Michelle Sutcliffe! In February 2000 she won the title fight at Leeds Town Hall. We want to celebrate her for creating a positive, welcoming space where fitness is the focus and adults and children alike can feel safe to train!