The Okey Bloke – Life In Newbold Heath

Recollections of Newbold Heath in the 1940s and 50s. With thanks to Lynne Airey, Rex Wilkinson and Lynda Coleman.

Newbold Heath in the 1940s and 50s was a lively and close-knit community where people not only knew their neighbours but were often related to them.

Lynne Airey was born in the front room of her maternal grandparents’ house on Bagworth Road. Her paternal grandparents lived next door and her great grandma, Anne Kind, lived om Merrylees Road. Lynne recalls ‘it was very handy having all my grandparents in one place!’ Not long after her birth the family moved to Cabbage Row in Newbold Verdon but she spent her summer holidays back at Newbold Heath.

There was a corner shop, run by Mrs Clarke where you could sit on a stool whilst you waited for your order. Milk was supplied from Chater Farm by Gerald Bates, measured out into a jug or bowl. Rex remembers bread delivered daily by Priestnall’s of Desford. Freeman’s from Ratby delivered meat and a pork butcher from Ellistown supplied bacon, sausage and pies. A special treat was the Sunday
afternoon arrival of Eric’s ice cream van, known by Lynne as the ‘Okey Bloke.’

Many people grew vegetables in their gardens and on the nearby allotments. Pigs were often kept at the
bottom of the garden and would eat food scraps. When they were taken to be killed, they would provide many cuts of meat and lovely bacon to be shared with family and neighbours. Lynne also remembers her Grandad Statham getting two rabbits which she had as pets ‘we used to gather dandelions and grass for them to eat and then one Sunday I arrived at The Heath to find that they weren’t there as he had killed them to eat’

The main occupation for the men was mining, working at the various pits in the area. Before the advent of the pit head baths they could be heard coming home from a shift, wearing heavy miners’ boots and covered from head to toe in coal dust. They would wash at the kitchen sink, as houses did not have a bathroom, before sitting down to a meal.

As well as providing employment, mining related subsidence had a major impact on the community. Rex recalls that at one time it was possible to cruise down the Bagworth Road on a bike until subsidence altered the shape of the road. Families had to move out of their homes and furniture moving across rooms or crockery being shaken loudly were regular occurrences. However, when subsidence caused some of the sewers to crack, gardens produced fine crops and especially strong self-set tomato plants!

Wider world events also had an impact. Rex recalls that during World War II the lorries owned by the
Wilkinson’s haulage business had to be sent over to Coventry for many days to help clearing the rubble
following the heavy bombing of the city. School was in the village and Mr Len Wilkinson would take the children down in his car, often making 2 or 3 journeys. Lynda, the youngest in the Bell family, recalls refusing to get in the car for her first day at school and her mum had to hurriedly get her bike out to ensure she made it. She enjoyed school after that but was rather put out later on when her teacher, Mr Clinton, and his family, who were newly arrived in the village, were invited to her family Christmas dinner!

Do you have memories of Newbold Heath or Newbold Verdon that you would be willing to share with the
Parish Archive? We would love to hear from you.