[Trekker]

does any 1 remember the prefabs on sky edge

[little malc]

I remember them being virtually wiped out in the huge gale which hit Sheffield in 1960, being so exposed, they took a terrible battering, the city centre also looked like the day after the blitz, Sheffield was very badly damaged that day, it was a bit of a freak, as nearby towns escaped, it would be interesting if any other older members remember this.

[Plain Talker]

Originally posted by little malc
I remember them being virtually wiped out in the huge gale which hit Sheffield in 1960, being so exposed, they took a terrible battering, the city centre also looked like the day after the blitz, Sheffield was very badly damaged that day, it was a bit of a freak, as nearby towns escaped, it would be interesting if any other older members remember this.

The gales were actually Feb 1962; my parents very nearly had no church for their wedding day, which was 24 March 62.

The church they married in was damaged, as were many buildings in those gales.

As an aside, my late uncle, (my mother's brother) was the source of much laughter diring the gales.

As I have mentioned in other threads my mother was an Atterclevian (yes! from Attercliffe!) her family were in the old housing, with no indoor Loo.

My uncle insisted on wearing his motorbike helmet to go "across the yard", as he was convinced that one of the rooves around would give way under the force of the winds.

Everyone laughed at my uncle. Until the evening he came back from the loo, with his face white as a sheet, shaking and trembling.

He held out the crash helmet that he had been wearing, moments before.

Embedded in the helmet was a slate, that had been brought off the roof, a slate which would have been embedded in his skull had he not been wearing the helmet.

He would certainly have been killed, if he had not been wearing the crash helmet.

the family did not laugh at him after that!

As for the prefabs, my aunt lived in a prefab at intake; some of the few that survived the gales. Her prefab was on hollybank. It was a nice little house. what I remember from my childhood about the house was that it had a very strange bath.. it had taps that were in the corner of the bath IIRC...which looked very strange compared to the conventional layout of taps on other baths.

There are a few prefabs in sheffield that survived. Virtually every last one on East Bank Road and that area were wiped out. (my great grandparents had one of those) as were all those on the Sky Edge (if i have my facts right)

The ones still standing (that I know about) are on the Stannington hillside, around Cliffe Road, and at Chapeltown. (there may be some around chancet wood, near meadowhead but I cannot remember that for sure.

PT

[kath]

I think one of our old neighboughs lost their son in the gales as he tried to repair someones roof on the skyedge prefabs in the 60s,he fell and met an unfortunate end to life.He was only in his 30s I think.Anyone remember this!

[Trekker]

I lived on Skyedge from about 1956 and saw the gales take out a lot but not all of the prefabs... it was bad... if anybody else lived in a prefab on Skyedge about that time... come back. TREK.

[Maureen]

Try Picture Sheffield .com some pics there
Maureen

[Maureen]

Trek
Its Picture Sheffield .com
or
http://www.picturesheffield.com/database_search.php
Hope u find them
Regards Maureen

[davebrmm]

we just finished putting new roofs on the prefabs when the gales flattened them all

[denlin]

Sky edge was part of my paper round from shaws on manor lane me being a wybourn lad .
I remember the day well when I turned on Sky edge from manor lane the wind had been blowing most of the night before and was was still gusting strongly
but thanks to my bag full of paper I was well anchored.
The sight of prefabs that had blowen in was a very big shock and I remember looking for the numbers so I could deliver the papers .
I walked past one that was flat and a gust of wind come even with my paper bag full I was bowled over and over and landed in the hegde across the road and hearing a great tearing sound as the prefab behind me fell in that scared me s--tl--s a man shouted ar-rite lad thay better get home.
I went back to shaws with my bag still full and the look on his face as I told that I could not deliver them as there were no houses to deliver them to .
He still paid me for the round and my paper bag was never agian as full as before the gale.

[gsf1200.ok]

Don't know sky edge, but there used to be PreFabs at Manor Top (Ridgeway Rd) beyond 1970. I know as I went to Prince Edwards School, and often walked past them. They must have been demolished around 1977 ?

I live in Suffolk now, and I was amazed to find there is still an estate down here which consists mainly of PreFabs - brill. They sort of look quite nice.

Regards

[Wisbech]

I know a family called Raynes (Jack,Nora & John) that lived in the pre-fabs must have been early 60's before they moved onto Manor Oaks

[Big Stan]

I used to live on Sky Edge Avenue and remember looking through the bedroom window of our prefab ( 134 ) with my brother and first seeing our neighbours coalhouse lurch across and block their back door, their roof by degrees began to lift in the hurricane, then it came off completly and sailed into the back garden of the houses on Boundary road, all the time washing and litter and bits of corrugated asbestos roof were blowing through the air. My dad rounded up the neigbours and they were tying half house bricks onto washing lines and throwing them over the prefab roofs, the council brought metal spikes to knock into the brickwork below the pebbledashing so the roofs could be tied down, will never forget it.

[Big Stan]

i was born in 1956 in a prefab on Sky Edge Avenue - we lived on the jennel which went from the turning circle down to Boundary Road - left in 1967 ish

[USUK]

I lived up Crookes by the Bolehills and I remember the neighbourhood took a real beating from the Gale.

I remember going to work that morning and looking straight into someones bedroom as the Gable End had blown out.

[Di-namic]

Originally Posted by Big Stan

I used to live on Sky Edge Avenue and remember looking through the bedroom window of our prefab ( 134 ) with my brother and first seeing our neighbours coalhouse lurch across and block their back door, their roof by degrees began to lift in the hurricane, then it came off completly and sailed into the back garden of the houses on Boundary road, all the time washing and litter and bits of corrugated asbestos roof were blowing through the air. My dad rounded up the neigbours and they were tying half house bricks onto washing lines and throwing them over the prefab roofs, the council brought metal spikes to knock into the brickwork below the pebbledashing so the roofs could be tied down, will never forget it.

I can't remember the number on Sky Edge Ave but I spent many, many happy months in the early 60s at my Aunty and Uncles prefab. Norah and Ernest Staniforth. Their sons were John,David and Richard. I loved them dearly. The neighbours were great and to say the prefabs were a temporary structure I remember them being very sturdy.

[rholt]

I was a fireman at Intake fire station,we turned out during the night shift, on what we thought was small storm damage, not at that time realising how severe the storm was, protected inside the machine. Jumping off the appliance on arrival, the galeforce wind blew us into the garden hedge and at that moment, saw with horror the nearest prefabs front wall blow in, quickly followed by the roof taking off and all the contents disappearing through the gardens at the rear,several other prefabs disintergrated in the same way.It was impossible during these moments to do anything other than to assist occupants to shelter in the local cinema near by. It was at this time unused, and we had to force an entry.Fortunately it was still standing firm. The rest of the night shift,was going from call to call assisting people, mainly where chimney stacks had crashed through roofs.For several weeks, we carried on removing dangerous stacks,roofing with tarpaulins,where we could.