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Letters to the editor

Lightening the load – STAR LETTER

It seems a long time ago now since I was one of a unique band of children known as ‘barrowboys’. That is actually what we were called, though perhaps a more accurate title would have been luggage boys.

I am referring here to the beginnings of national recovery after the Second World War, when foreign travel for most was many years into the future and the solace for thousands of working families was the luxury of a week beside the sea at a Lincolnshire coastal resort.

Very few people owned cars in the late 1940’s and early fifties, so Midlands holidaymakers en route to Skegness travelled by train or by coach to their holiday destination, alighting at the railway station and coach terminus and looking out for a taxi to take them to their hotel or boarding house.

This is where we barrow boys came into our own. Our vehicle was, well, just a barrow; usually a large box or trolley attached to a pair of discarded pram wheels and with two large handles at one end. The barrow acted as a receptacle for suitcases, and mine was made for me by my foster father, as I had been a Grimsby wartime evacuee from the age of three.

No doubt that at first sight, I and my fellow barrow boys appeared to be scruffy urchins out to make a quick profit from unwary holidaymakers, but our customers were well satisfied, because our hire at very small cost allowed them to stretch their legs after the long journey and walk the distance to their accommodation, with the added bonus of not having to carry heavy suitcases.

The first question customers asked was, naturally; “How much do you charge?”, to which I replied, with as much humility as I could muster; “I do not charge sir, I’ll take what you give me.” This was not as gullible as it sounds. The theory, which worked most of the time, was that my hirer was flush with money at the start of the holiday and therefore would give more generously than if I had charged a set amount.

I would expect to be given a shilling, a florin (10p) at most, and I was always careful to book them for the return journey the following weekend, hoping, of course, that they hadn’t spent all their money in the meantime! There were occasional exceptions to the theory, however, such as the family that asked me to take them to Butlin’s Holiday Camp, a distance of three and a half miles and a round trip of seven miles. My ‘reward’ at the halfway point of that trip was a miserly sixpence in old money, which would not have bought even a lollipop today. Needless to say, I did not book them for the return trip when their holiday came to an end.

The real enemy of the barrow boy was his greatest rival for business, the taxi driver, who paid to wait for custom outside the railway station. We had to be quick on our toes to get out of their way to avoid a clip round the ear, no doubt permissible, perhaps even desirable, to control cheeky but enterprising kids in those days. I learned recently that in 1950, the Skegness Taxi Proprietors Association sent a letter to Skegness Urban District Council asking them to request the police to ‘put a stop’ to the barrow boys touting for luggage business on Saturday mornings, as they were a pest and were seriously affecting the taxi drivers’ living.

I was delighted to see that, after consulting with the police, the council replied that, as no complaints for obstruction by barrow boys has been received, no action could be taken.

From my point of view, a good result for healthy competition. But I wonder if the outcome would have been different in today’s social climate?

Peter Hopper, Ipswich

Fundraising Quiz

Thank you very much indeed for the article on the RAF’s ninetieth anniversary. As a proud ‘Yellow Belly’ and resident of Bomber County I have compiled a General Knowledge Quiz entitled ‘Lest we Forget’ in support of the 90th Birthday and the 65th Anniversary of the Dambusters Raids. The money raised from this quiz will be forwarded to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The quiz may be obtained by sending £1 donation and a stamped address envelope to ‘Spark Hayes’, 58 Fleet Road, Holbeach, Spalding PE12 8LA or by downloading www.impquiz.co.uk and following the instructions.

The county’s influence worked on my elder son as he works for BAE and worked on the computer systems of the Eurofighter. The staff at Coningsby very kindly, following a request, showed him around the Eurofighter and this quiz is also a thank you to them for providing him with the tour. Best wishes for the magazine’s continued success.

Margaret Hopkin, Spalding

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