Graham Middleton tells the romantic story of how his parents met
Resource Type: Audio | Posted on 2nd October 2014 by Jenny Porter
Graham describes how the trains would rattle the windows of Chatsworth Street as they passed underneath him. His mum first met his dad when he was on leave from the army. He left from Lime Street to return to the front only to get off at Edge Hill to meet with her again, going AWOL (absent without leave). He eventually had to go back to the army but their relationship continued.
Interviewee: Graham Middleton
Interviewee Gender: Male
Date of Interview: 14th August 2014
Interview Transcript
Graham: When the trains were going past, the vibrations would rattle, this is in 38, now, above the shop, where literally, the window frames would rattle – I mean the houses were in a very poor state. I remember, sort of kids and we’d probably all do the same, sort of be lifted up, looking down over the wall as the trains were coming and going through the tunnel, which went under Chatsworth Street, I remember that, the noises. My mum even told me that when she met my dad, he was in the Army and she was related to a friend of his in the Army, and he came home and he’d obviously fallen in love with her. He was getting called back, he went down to Lime Street to get on the train, they went down to see him off and when they got back to Edge Hill, he got off and he went for it. He was absent without leave and eventually he was persuaded to head back, but he was reluctant to.
And that’s what I can remember. And always the smoke, or the steam, you know, whenever a train went past the steam would be all over the place for a bit until it disappeared.
Categorised under: The War
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