Memories of  F Robertshaw  Born about 1875 in Bacup.

I had to go into the weaving shed at Top- oth- fold the day I became 10 years old, to learn weaving on sheeting looms under my father, but was not there long before Top-oth-fold mill closed down, and later I went to Shepherds Mill. to work in the card room, at first and later on in the cotton room, where I worked with a man by the name of Monks, who only had one arm. Our work was picking cotton off the sacking which was round the bales. Another of our jobs was to help make the mixings of different cottons, which was done twice a week. A lot of the work done at Shepherds was known as "Shoddy goods" for it was a mixture of cottons.

When I became 13 years old, I had ot go into the big weaving shed as a tenter, and for that the wage was 6/-a week and 6d for spence for the lad. I went to work for a man called Bob Cowside and he was a bully who made things bad for any of the lads who used to have to work under him.

The lads used to have a lively time on the 21st of March, the first day of spring for when they went  to breakfast they used to get outside and have a run around the town before they went into work, and as a rule they were locked out. They had then to go to the office and see Mr Thomas the weaving manager, before they got to start work and then they would get a could kick from the weaver they worked with or maybe a good boxing around the ears.

A curious thing happened while I was working with old Bob. There had been a lot of talk about putting shuttle guards on the looms, to stop the shuttles flying out of the looms. It was a good thing, for a number of weavers had lost the sight of an eye from shuttles flying . At Shepherds they put those guards on some of the sheeting  looms, but one day a shuttle still managed to fly out of one loom, and passing along it caught one man just as he was bending down to pick up some waste paper off the floor. That man was Fred Gower's and when he picked himself up he started clouting hit tenter for knocking him down. The one who owned the shuttle started to laugh, but the poor little tenter had started to cry, for he didn't know what he was supposed to have done wrong and why he was being clouted. Dick Smith went to Fred for his shuttle and explained that the other lad was not to blame, for it had come from his loom, on the other side of the alley. Both of the weavers gave the tenter a penny each.

Just like today parents could face legal action if they didn't make sure their children had a good attendance record at school.

Extracts From Bacup Town Council Minutes for August 1914.

Education Committee Report.

Children found absent from school without satisfactory reason ..... 10

Labour Certificates Issued ...Half Time ...44 Full Time ...48

Partial Exemption Certificates

Application of Mr Hugh Hamill 439 Rochdale Road Bacup for his daughter  Jane

to attend  school as a domestic half timer  be granted.

Application of Mr J.A.Barrett  7 Woodland View Bacup for his daughter

Edith Annie to attend school as a domestic half timer be granted.

Application of Mr J.T.Pickup  Bacup for his daughter Ada to attend school under Bye Law "Y" be granted.

Irregular Attendance

The following persons were summoned to appear before the committee in respect of the non-attendance of  their children at school.

Samuel Harris 7 Bland Street, re Daughter Rose. Father appeared and stated that the child was sick , promised regular attendance in future.

Henry Kerr 5 Random Row, Stacksteads, re Son David. Father attended  and pleaded sickness. He also stated that the child played truant. Promised regular attendance in future.

Enoch Wilkinson 2 Lane Ends, re Son Albert. Father appeared and pleaded sickness. He stated that the child is now attending regularly and promised regular attendance in future.

Robert Howarth 4 Waggoner Tunstead, Stacksteads, re  Son Robert Half Timer. Father appeared and pleaded ignorance. He was told that any further irregularity would involve the withdrawal of the boys half-time certificate.

Thomas Wood 36A Rockliffe Road, Bacup, re Daughter Rebecca. No one appeared and it was  resolved that the Town Clerk  be instructed to take legal proceedings against the parent.

The cases of Thomas Spedding , Bent View Weir, re Daughter Lily and of Mrs Green, 8 Bowker Street re Daughter Eleanor  be adjourned to next meeting.