Todwick Grange childrens home

[Petergrace 10]

when i left i ended up living near .. Noel Barrett on stepney buildings in sheffield,

last time i saw him was a few years ago, he was working on the door at the saddle on west street ( think it had a different name though )

[paulsyk 10]

Hi my name is paul sykes i was in stradbroke childrens home in the 80s can anyone who used to live there get in touch cheers

[goatgenetics 10]

when i left i ended up living near .. Noel Barrett on stepney buildings in sheffield,

last time i saw him was a few years ago, he was working on the door at the saddle on west street ( think it had a different name though )

 

Hi Peter.

Keep an eye open for him or anybody else from TG. Noel was a lovely, little lad but that was a very long time ago. LOL!

C.

[dlmoore 10]

some of its ex residents must use the forum:)

 

some of the teachers where goood there mr brewer mr wilkinson and not forgeting mr hilman who we all used to call crank:)

 

i was in todwick till 85\86, i can remember some teachers 2 , john stubbs, sue ross, nancy asbury also remember sue who we all called skivvy cus she used 2 make us hot drinks mornin an afternoon lol.

[vanessa34 10]

 

Im sure i remember you Miss Dlmoore,,didnt we meet on the Todwick Grange school roof a few thousand times lol...What id like to know is wheres all the Todwick mob from the 80s,,,That was the decade that was............

[livvysdad 10]

Hi, my names mick cutts i was at TG late70s to 83-84ish, reading some of your post brought back memories, and they werent all bad , i cant remember exactly when i arrived a todwick, but i started off in unit one with dawn peaker ,james booley,(from yarmouth) tracey t , my careworker was tom and there were three lynn,s there , guy batty, lynn thompson,lynn gardiner and blonde lynn she was tall long blonde hairand a bit more.

 

I cant remember everyone but it would be great to know how you are all getting on,even if you have to remind me who you are, after unit one i moved up to number 9 with sean wheatley, tony harrison, maria nash, and occassinally pete ? when he came on leave from the navy also there in unit 2 was tony and i think he had a sister there with him at the same time.

 

If i remeber right glen marshall and linda blunt got married whilst i was there,

anyway it would be great for anyone to fill in the gaps , take care hope to hear from anyone .

[dick ellis 10]

i was in todwick 87ish dont know if anyone remembers me lol

 

hi andy teabag jones i remember you my names richard ellis i was in unit 2 with you with shaun brooks craig dearmen juile giffod and our lass debbie booth i hope you get back to me you was a good lad

[bellis 10]

Hi, my names mick cutts i was at TG late70s to 83-84ish, reading some of your post brought back memories, and they werent all bad , i cant remember exactly when i arrived a todwick, but i started off in unit one with dawn peaker ,james booley,(from yarmouth) tracey t , my careworker was tom and there were three lynn,s there , guy batty, lynn thompson,lynn gardiner and blonde lynn she was tall long blonde hairand a bit more.

 

I cant remember everyone but it would be great to know how you are all getting on,even if you have to remind me who you are, after unit one i moved up to number 9 with sean wheatley, tony harrison, maria nash, and occassinally pete ? when he came on leave from the navy also there in unit 2 was tony and i think he had a sister there with him at the same time.

 

If i remeber right glen marshall and linda blunt got married whilst i was there,

anyway it would be great for anyone to fill in the gaps , take care hope to hear from anyone .

 

i was at todwick around that time so im sure our paths will have crossed but your name doesnt ring a bell

[livvysdad 10]

Hiya I worked at Todwick about 30 years ago and lived in the grounds there. I dont remember names of the teachers but many of the kids.

 

Hi , did you work in unit one ? around early 80s with tom bratton? i was there around 79-83/4 , would be good to hear from tom again and other staff and kids.mike cutts

[Capacitorkid 10]

I was at TG, but it was earlier than the time most of you refer to. I was there Jan '69 to April/May '71, and was aged 10 and a half to almost thirteen during my residence. The only names of children I remember who are mentioned here are Bonnie, her sister Rose, and I'm sure they had a brother called Michael.

 

Staff wise, If the "Christine" writing a lot of the messages is the one I recall, you had blonde hair, were approx 20 years old when you started work there late '69/early'70 and were originally from Warwickshire. I remember a Linda...not sure if her surname was Blunt, but she had short dark hair. Joyce Parrat I don't recall as being an "ogre" (as someone described). Ken Hodgson - the Principal, I remember very well; he had 3 children named Sarah, Elspeth and Peter. His wife was from Wales - not the nearby village, but the country. Speaking of which, I also remember Rhona, and Ivor Bell - a very tall fella. Harry Bower used to be an electrician in the RAF Regiment before working at Todwick; his brother Colin was my best friend for quite some time whilst there!

 

Other staff who come to mind are Mick Dunning, Don Fluitt and his wife Margaret, Ken Terry, John Hudson, Ken Roach, Mary - her surname escapes me - who was in charge of the 'wooden wing' in early '71. There was also a Scot named Andrew, a Canadian called Mac, a Geordie - maybe called Frank?

 

Many of the children's names come to me quite easily too: Lloyd J, David H, Mick M, Mick R, Jimmy W, Raymond M, Paul K, Martin G, Cyril W, Eddie O, Brian F. Some of the girls - I can't remember many of their surnames: Gail, she was 14/15 in 1970 and had a sister 2 or 3 years younger; a blonde-haired girl called Lyn (I remember her from the summer of '69 - which I'm sure Bryan Adams will appreciate!); Pamela ?, Theresa B and her brother Paul; I seem to recall a girl who was around 10 or 11 at the time called Beverley? And of course, Bonnie and Rose. To be honest, there weren't many girls there at the time I was.

 

So who am I? Well, if anyone remembers me that's a different matter, but I wont give my name because I'm rather a retiring creature. Does anyone remember 'Dougall', named after the Magic Roundabout character? That's me. If Colin Bower should read this, I know he will, he was the one who gave me the name.

 

Teachers: John Driskell, Norman Elliot, David Arbor, Mrs Hanson (the Headteacher in the early days), Joan Callaghan, Roy Greaves, Mary? Cooper - I had a double-act there because her husband Ray, was my Social Worker. There was another female teacher who's name escapes me but she had dark curly hair to her shoulders and wore specs. There was also (in 1970) a female teacher from Saskatchewan, Canada, whom I'm pretty sure went on to become Head.

 

'Support' staff, for want of a better name: Charlie Burgin (Caretaker - used to live in the front Lodge), my mind's eye also sees the caretaker who used to live at the back Lodge and had blonde curly hair, Terry (Chef), Peter, Dennis and Hedley (Gardeners), Mrs Spence (overnight care worker), Lilly (school cleaner).

 

Holidays I remember from there are at Bets-y-Coed farmhouse in '69, and in '70 we had 2 weeks in caravans at Newquay, Cornwall.

 

Whilst at the Grange I developed a small interest in birdwatching. It didn't go far at the time, but around 8 years after leaving there I became hooked on Wildlife (birds in particular), Nature and the Environment. Anyone who knows the place will understand how regretful I am that the interests didn't develop fully whilst there. Anyone who doesn't should look at a satellite picture, then you'll understand. What a place, what a missed opportunity.

 

Though very sad and sorry for the children there through the troubled times I believe led to its closure, I must say that overall, my time at Todwick was a very happy one. Some people might have difficulty comprehending how time in the care of the Local Authority can be spoken of in that way; when home life is as disadvantaged as mine was, and the family is fragmented largely through poverty and the resultant problems of it, to find yourself in an environment where your guardians are as kind, caring, and as fair with discipline as they were at TG in the time I was there, gives a stabilising influence and fairly solid foundation for later years. Yes, TG and the staff helped shape my life in a positive way.

Edited December 1, 2010 by Capacitorkid
Comma, grammar!

[Aries22 10]

They are on the facebook pic section mr teabag

[Capacitorkid 10]

They are on the facebook pic section mr teabag

 

Reference who/what?