大象传媒

Introduction

At the outbreak of World War Two one of the sisters of my maternal Grandmother was living in Preston, Lancashire with her husband and children. The names of my Great Aunt and Great Uncle were Sarah Jane Tyrer (n茅e Savage) and Harold Tyrer. The names of their children were Franklin Derek Tyrer and Maureen Tyrer.

Most of my maternal Grandmother鈥檚 family lived in Whitehaven in West Cumberland, as it was then known (now West Cumbria). Before, during and after the war, the different relatives who lived in West Cumberland used to keep in touch with those living elsewhere by writing letters, sending postcards and occasionally visiting each other. This short article is based on visits to Preston and Blackpool made by one of my Grandmother鈥檚 brothers, Francis Savage, known by most people as Frank.

Visiting relatives

At the outbreak of war in 1939, Frank Savage was still unmarried at the time and living with his widowed mother and some other relatives in Whitehaven. Frank worked as a coal miner at Haig Pit, in the Kells district of Whitehaven. Coal mining remained a Reserved Occupation throughout the war, so Frank was not called up to the services.

While he was still single Frank perhaps had a little more time to travel than other relatives who were married with families. He was a regular visitor to Preston and stayed with his sister, Sally, brother-in-law Harold, and their children. While staying with the Tyrers, Frank used spend a lot of time with Franklin and Maureen and take them for walks.

The seaside resort of Blackpool Preston is only a short train journey from Preston. So, when Frank was staying in Preston he would often take Franklin and Maureen to Blackpool for the day. Sometimes, Frank would take the children on his own, sometimes Harold would go along and sometimes both Sally and Harold would have a daytrip to Blackpool.

While in Blackpool, people used to walk along the Prom and have their photograph taken, either strolling along the Prom, or in a Photo Booth to send off to other relatives. Some of these photographs have survived and they show that daytrips to Blackpool remained important for some families throughout the war.

Conclusion

In order to write this article, I have been in contact with Franklin and Maureen. This article is mainly based on their memories of these special daytrips to Blackpool with Uncle Frank Savage and their parents during the war years. The photographs that remain are a good reminder of them growing up and of happy family outings when they were young.

During the war, Frank Savage was married to Maud (n茅e McMean). They raised their own family in Whitehaven. Frank remained a coal miner at Haig Pit until he retired, and passed away on 11 August 1979. The memories of these kindnesses are only a very small and personal part of World War Two, but these are also things that happened and are worthy of remembrance.

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