17 replies to this topic

[ely]

DOES ANYONE RECALL OLD SALT ..-BOB DUDLEY .HARRY OTLEY..

[kizzy]

Hello ely

There is a good thread on St Helens characters in the 'Do You Remember' forum. Both those two men are mentioned are in there. Have a look you might find it interesting. Welcome to Connect :-)

[jonmuse]

Hi ely

I remember an old chap pulling a hand cart around selling salt sawn from a big block. He had a peg-leg, and would talk to his horse (which was himself). It must have been in the 1940s Milk was also delivered in churns by a horse drawn milk float. It was measured out into a jug. Bread was delivered from the Co-op by hand cart.
Thanks for the memory

[bigal]

I remember Bob Dudley; he "worked " occaisonally for Hudson's fruit sellers in the old market area outside the Victoria tap.
He came into the Vic one day complete with a frying pan, lump of lard and a few slices of bacon; walked up to the coal fire and began cooking saying to the lanlord,
Won't be long guvnr, just frying up me breakfast; he had a cockney accent, but no one ever knew where this originated. He slept in the brick kilns at Greengate and never wore more than a pair of old pants and a dirty white Tee shirt; quite a character.

[Dicky D]

When we think of St. Helens 'characters' we tend to think of those that don't quite fit into what we consider the norm but some of the people that I remember do not fit into this category. Leo Murphy for example of Redgate Boys Band fame. Slightly eccentric, but a man of many talents and was able to mine the talents of hundreds of local young men.

[tessmop]

l remember Sammy Hindley and his scrapyard near Windle pilk school.

[SKYMAN]

In the late forties and early fifties there used to be an ex navy stoker
known in all the locals,he was known as miss Fontain,if you ever dropped anything on the
pub floor when he was around you better leave it there,,,,ha ha
ELY. that bloke you mentioned with Bob Dudley,Harry Hockley comes to mind,.im sure that was his name
not too sure about the spelling,

Edited by SKYMAN, 17 November 2011 - 08:39 PM.

[Minerlad]

jonmuse, on 04 September 2011 - 06:47 PM, said:

Hi ely

I remember an old chap pulling a hand cart around selling salt sawn from a big block. He had a peg-leg, and would talk to his horse (which was himself). It must have been in the 1940s Milk was also delivered in churns by a horse drawn milk float. It was measured out into a jug. Bread was delivered from the Co-op by hand cart.
Thanks for the memory

The man with the peg leg didnot sell salt he was a rag & boneman. His wife was always with him, waking behind the horse and cart. The man who sold salt in part or whole blocks, which he sold to the 3 Fish & Chip shops that where on Higher Parr St. He all ways stopped at the Queens Head, shouting woo to himself as he reached the pup enterance.He dropped a bar under the cart handles as the cart only had 2 wheels. I lived on Higher Parr St untill I was12yrs old that was in 1947.

[SKYMAN]

a real oldfie was the little guy they called the soldier,he used to sit near where samuels was in church street selling matches,,,,he used to wear an army over coat ,nice chap.

[StanOwen]

bigal, on 21 September 2011 - 04:22 PM, said:

I remember Bob Dudley; he "worked " occaisonally for Hudson's fruit sellers in the old market area outside the Victoria tap.
He came into the Vic one day complete with a frying pan, lump of lard and a few slices of bacon; walked up to the coal fire and began cooking saying to the lanlord,
Won't be long guvnr, just frying up me breakfast; he had a cockney accent, but no one ever knew where this originated. He slept in the brick kilns at Greengate and never wore more than a pair of old pants and a dirty white Tee shirt; quite a character.

I remember Bob Dudley, he was often referred to as ' Fodder '. He had been a serving soldier in what was known as the ' Indian Army ' before and during the Second World War and yes he was a ' Cockney ' I am led to believe, ( I stand to be corrected ) that he was demobbed perhaps in Liverpool and remained in the North West until his death. I'm not sure of the date of his death but the late 70's early 80's springs to mind.

[firemansam]

I remember Bob Dudley, when i was an apprentice fitter at Ravenhead Brick works in Burtonhead road. Bob was one of the gang who slept in the kilns at night. a few of them worked on the fruit stalls round the market.

[john b]

StanOwen, on 13 May 2012 - 01:05 AM, said:

I remember Bob Dudley, he was often referred to as ' Fodder '.

When i was a kid there was a guy we all knew as fred fodder,i dont know where he lived but all the other kids use to say he lived in a makeshift camp near the council tip on college street.I seem to recall an article in one of the local papers years ago about this guy having to move from his "camp" for some reason.

[Griffin]

I think this was the same chap who used to have a rag and bone round in Dentons Green in the sixties. We knew him as Black Bob, and he called everybody guv'nor.

[vinty]

Does anyone remember Billy the newspaper seller.
There were many stories about him, one being that he tried to sell the Saturday night Liverpool Echo with all the Football results in to someone who told him to Bug*** off because he could get the final results on the Wireless
Billy's reply was Yes you can but you can't wipe your ar** on the Wireless.

Edited by vinty, 13 May 2012 - 11:03 AM.

[Griffin]

That's done the rounds for a long time. It's been attributed to Mr Carlton in Kirkland Street, and Wilf Young in Tennis Street.