Anyone remember 50's tram conductor with wooden doll puppet?

[Babs15 10]

Anyone remember this lovely conductor who had a little wooden doll puppet? I remember him entertaining us little ones and especially any kids who were crying or upset. We would be fascinated , certainly livened up the boring journey:)

[hillsbro 32]

It might perhaps have been my uncle, Sydney Robinson. At least, he was a tram conductor in the 1950s and he used to do the Punch & Judy show at children's events in Stannington etc..

[Babs15 10]

Maybe but I dont remember it being a Punch or a Judy but perhaps I've just forgotten:) Just a fond old memory of a kind and funny man.

[hillsbro 32]

Hi Babs15 - what I meant was that he was something of an amateur puppeteer and might have kept a puppet in his pocket when he was working. I have a very faint memory of this but can't be sure. Sydney certainly had a good sense of humour and would have us in stitches at Christmas parties etc..

[Babs15 10]

I think that it must have been him from what you said. The puppet I remember was a little rag doll/peg doll,very cute and yes was kept in his pocket. Anyway its great to know about him,thanks for that.

[hillsbro 32]

Hello again - it's also nice to have this memory of a much-loved uncle. He was actually a bachelor uintil he was 47 (I was until I was 58, but that's another story!). Sydney married Giuseppina from Italy in 1967; they lived at Walkley. Sydney was very kind to his nieces and nephews (see for example my posts #2 and #4 on this thread) and always made us laugh. He died of a stroke in 1995, aged 75 - he was very fit and active until the day he died, and still making people laugh.

[Babs15 10]

Well thats really nice to know.

[Runningman 148]

Definetly remember that particular conductor, but can't remember which route he worked on

[tara 10]

I remember a conductor on the Buses with Puppets. It was in the 1960s so it might have been the number 4 Bus Route. As I lived in Wincobank then.

[hillsbro 32]

Hi tara - that sounds like Sydney. When the trams finished in 1960 he worked on buses for a few years, until he left to become a porter at the Infirmary - that would have been c. 1967-68.

[Shogun 10]

Sounds a real nice bloke but can you imagine someone like that now they would probably give him the sack or someone would throw him off the bus accusing him of being a perv or something, its a shame we don't have old Characters like that around nowadays, were times more Innocent then,I can remember this old fella when I was a lad I think his name was Mr Love he had a sort of tin in his top pocket and he would have flowers there and they were always fresh and different flowers when you saw him he was a real nice bloke and would always have laugh and a joke with the kids he would bend down and say have a smell at the flowers, someone beet him up one day blacking his eye's they accused him of messing with the kids.

[Babs15 10]

Yes ,how right you are. Perfectly innocent and well intentioned, nowadays would probably be reported and questioned! It really was another world ,I think our offspring would struggle to believe some of these nice things that went on. It's nice to remember it all though.