East Cleveland Image Archive

We thought that these were pupils at Saltburn School in 1951, but now know that it was the Saltburn and Skelton District School Annual Sports Association meeting at Saltburn Cricket Ground in 1950. Pupils from Saltburn, North Skelton and Skelton schools participated. Chairman Councillor F. L. Woodrow is with the group who have been presented with the cups.  The headmaster of the school, Mr. Fred Webster, is standing on the right. Barbara McBurney suggested: “I think the girl front row, second from right might be Maureen Smith (nee Hall).” Maureen Smith (nee Hall) informed the Archive: “The girl next to Maureen Hall on the right is Anne Tubbs, boy on right is Alan Crane; boy next to the elbow is Paul Moore. The headmaster is Mr Webster.”

Alan Collins advises the Archive: “The girl on the left of Maureen Hall is S. Harrison from North Skelton; she came second to my sister, Rosina Collins, in the 8 year olds 60 yards event at this Saltburn and Skelton District School Annual Sports Association meeting at Saltburn Cricket Ground in 1950. My mum pasted press cutting with all the winners names, and three other newspaper photos, plus a lovely studio photograph taken in July 1952 (where Maureen Hall is holding the cup, and sitting between my sister Rosina Collins, with five other winners. The two sitting on the other side next to Maureen who were orphans from the Dr Bernardos home at the end of Victoria Road (where a new estate has been built above Rifts Wood). All these girls names are listed on the press cuttings: E. Hanson, J. Phipps, J. Combellac, A. Ward, P. Perry, R. Collins, R. Coates, M. Hall, S. Hunter, A. Tubbs. L. Swain, K. Sherwood. Councillor F. Woodrow presented the prizes. And yes; the boy on the right is Alan Crane. He lived in the same street as me when we moved from Victoria Road/Terrace “at the top end” to 28 Emerald Street in “the bottom end” of Saltburn. Alan Crane lived up a narrow stair case on the top flat opposite a now non-existing corner shop. My family life was falling apart due to my father beginning divorce proceeding in 1954 and he was awarded custody of me and wanted me to emigrate to Australia with him, but my mother was always one step ahead of him and had enrolled me at the Army Apprentice School in Harrogate. It was an awful place to put a budding artist and poet! I think one of the 5 winning girls in my 1952 studio photo of Maureen Hall and my sister and five other winners, was called Joan Birkinshaw. Although I remember everyone’s face, I’m not good at names but I remember that name for some reason. I was the sensitive troubled kid torn apart by a divorce (and witnessing its causal infidelities on a regular basis throughout my infancy and adolescence) who Fred Webster caned rather than ask me why I just stared out of the class window being useless at maths? While Miss Creasor, my kind RE teacher, used to invite me for tea and angel cake at her house in Upleatham Street, after my paper-round was finished, but could not get a word out of me, because she was too scared to ask a direct question, in case she got in hot water if my awful histrionic mother complained! I was, of course, a tortured soul covering it up by whistling and sleep-walking around throughout my childhood at Saltburn until 1959.”

Pupils kneeling: ??, Sheila Harrison (North Skelton), Maureen Hall (later Smith), Anne Tubbs.

Bill Knowles tells us: ”I think the small boy on the left of the picture with the dark hair and the toothy smile is called Allen Crane.”

Thanks to Carole Kellogg for the photograph and information, also Barbara McBurney, Bill Knowles and Maureen Smith (nee Hall) and Alan Collins  for updates.