Ernest Robertshaw was born in 1887 to parents Dan and Eva. He had three sisters: Beatrice, Amy and Lottie, all younger than him. Lottie had two daughters, Peggy and Madge, who lived very near to my mother's family home.
Ernest Robertshaw, my grandfather, was notorious in the area because of his drinking. He used to get drunk so badly that other people used to have to return him to his home as he was incapable of walking. On occasions, he would even 'mess his pants'. He would have rows with landlords of the local pubs so would have to keep changing his port of call! When he arrived home, he managed to wake all his family and Ethel, my grandmother, would have to clean him up. My mother said she used to start shaking at night in her bed, dreading the hour of his return. She promised herself that she would never get married to a drinker. I can quite understand where she was coming from. (Throughout my life, I have always been lectured on the evils of drinking and going into pubs. Consequently, I never used to drink in pubs until I moved to Wales.)
Unfortunately, as so much of his income went to the local hostelries, the family was short of money. My mother remembers her aunt, Gertie, who used to help out for money. She remembers that her mum used to do all the decorating in the house, as well as the general housework, and she struggled to make ends meet. Another source of income was through selling cigarettes from the window of the barber's shop: a packet of Capstan cost 6 old pence! My mother was sent out to the shops to buy cigarettes to resell on from their window. I don't understand how the money was made from this! It sounds as though, from all accounts, Ernest made his wife's life a living hell and it was no surprise that she escaped him for a while. The mystery remains how he won her back. Was it because she became pregnant? Was Harold Lockwood married? I suppose these questions will never be answered. Joyce, their love child, did not even know that she Ernest was not her father, yet all her siblings did. She only discovered this in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
Ernest Robertshaw, my grandfather, was notorious in the area because of his drinking. He used to get drunk so badly that other people used to have to return him to his home as he was incapable of walking. On occasions, he would even 'mess his pants'. He would have rows with landlords of the local pubs so would have to keep changing his port of call! When he arrived home, he managed to wake all his family and Ethel, my grandmother, would have to clean him up. My mother said she used to start shaking at night in her bed, dreading the hour of his return. She promised herself that she would never get married to a drinker. I can quite understand where she was coming from. (Throughout my life, I have always been lectured on the evils of drinking and going into pubs. Consequently, I never used to drink in pubs until I moved to Wales.)
Unfortunately, as so much of his income went to the local hostelries, the family was short of money. My mother remembers her aunt, Gertie, who used to help out for money. She remembers that her mum used to do all the decorating in the house, as well as the general housework, and she struggled to make ends meet. Another source of income was through selling cigarettes from the window of the barber's shop: a packet of Capstan cost 6 old pence! My mother was sent out to the shops to buy cigarettes to resell on from their window. I don't understand how the money was made from this! It sounds as though, from all accounts, Ernest made his wife's life a living hell and it was no surprise that she escaped him for a while. The mystery remains how he won her back. Was it because she became pregnant? Was Harold Lockwood married? I suppose these questions will never be answered. Joyce, their love child, did not even know that she Ernest was not her father, yet all her siblings did. She only discovered this in the late 1970s or early 1980s.
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