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TNT
Eric’s E-mail Address
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Hi, I'm Eric born on the 26th May 1952 in Whittle Drive Ormskirk. I am
the sixth of ten children; I have five brothers and four sisters. I don't
remember a lot about my younger days except that I was quite happy.
I started school at Greetby Hill infants, I remember my first day, my sisters
took me and I did not like it at all, the school that is. After all the
crying I did finally settle in.
I moved up to the Junior School when I was 11 in 1963, one of my best school
memories was the annual sports day; I especially enjoyed the Sack race and
always did well in it. I can not think of anything else about school except
that I seemed to always be in trouble. I enjoyed the school holidays mostly
as it meant I could go off playing all day. We would go bird nesting at the
aerodrome near Burscough or go to the Dump as we called it, which also had a
pond, we would go looking for frogs or newts and spend a lot of time there.
At the dump people would throw their unwanted items there, e.g. old prams,
bikes and such like. With the prams we would use the wheels to make a trolley
and ride around the estate, some of the trolleys were quite elaborate. I
remember one summer we took an old two man canvas canoe all the way to
Scarisbrick to the Leeds Liverpool canal on our bikes which was a five mile
hike (how we did it I don't know).
We would spend all day there and if we got into any problems it was a case of
knocking on someone's door which we often did. It was great fun going through
so many different locks along the canal. At the end of the day we would leave
the canoe hidden in the overgrowth until one day it had completely
disappeared. We also spent a lot of time fishing, I remember catching my
first perch, I was absolutely made up, and I took it home and ate it. There
were plenty of woods there to wonder in and out of, we would go nesting or
collect conkers, we always had our catapults with us, we would often fire at
the birds, into the water or at some old windows especially down at the
aerodrome as there were plenty of old houses there.
Bonfire night on Scott- estate was quite an exciting time, we used to collect
old rubbish and trees for several weeks for the Bonfire and there were a few
different gangs that would try to rob our 'Bommie'. If that happened it meant
that we would have to go around and rob other people's Bonfires, some of the
lads involved were Kenny, Willie, Ronnie, Ian, Billy, Steven, Michael, and
Ron Berry with whom I once got into a fight with, it was on his back door and
his dad came out and stopped us fighting.
Ron was probably one of my best mates at that time. We would spend a lot of
time on the playing fields at the back of our house and as soon as we came
home from school we would be there playing football or some other game. I
remember we would make our own kites, some would be box kites, I also remember
we would play French arrows which consisted of an 18inch cane with a point at
one end and a set of flights at the other. I remember our Eddie throwing a
dart at me and it sticking in my leg (ouch!!). Another game we played as kids
was called split the kipper, two people stood opposite each other with their
legs apart and you would throw a knife between each others legs. Other games
we used to play were football, cricket and rounders. We also had a
vespa scooter that we would play with on the field; we would race up and down
all day. On our playing field there were some changing rooms which were
old railway carriages; anyway, one night we broke into them so that we could
play cards, then all of a sudden we heard a siren going. It was the police.
The grass was wet and they crashed into the changing rooms, we all scampered.
They made a lot of enquires I think we got away with that in the end.
I remember I started smoking at a very early age I think I was nine,
(encouraged by one of my sisters), anyway one day I was rooting through my
dads pockets looking for a cigarette or even dog end (that's a half smoked
cigarette he often saved them there as I often see him taking one out), he
didn't have any but instead I came across a wad of notes. so I took one thinking
he wouldn't miss it, on my way to school I called into the shops to buy
some sweets, I remember the shop keeper giving me my sweets and
saying that I should pick up my change after school so that I would not lose
it, so I did. I called back after school and the shop keeper told me that my
mum had called in during the day, when I got home there was hell to play
with.
My dad came home from the pub one night I think he had been gambling, he
emptied his pockets in front of us kids and there was quite a bit of money
there, he started to share it out amongst us when suddenly he turned to me
and said you'll be getting nowt, I suppose that was to teach me about
stealing, (I think it nearly worked!!).
Over the years I had a few belts off my dad and on some occasions off my mum
too. I remember in the school holidays the family going to Alton towers and
Butlins. Ron Berry also came with us to Butlins. It was really good there as
we were allowed to stay out late.
I look back now and wonder how we all lived in our house as it only had three
bedrooms and there were ten children, maybe Colin and Douglas had moved out.
Up stairs there must have been a boy's room and a girl's room and also my
mums & dads room. I do remember my gran staying and the dining room being
made into a bedroom for her. At that time we had no emersion heater to heat
the hot water only a back- boiler. In the summer we would heat the water with
a water heater in the outside wash-house and take the water up stairs in
buckets and left it on the landing until there was enough for a bath, us
three boys would use the same water as we were not that old. I remember our
John, Eddie and myself in the back bedroom, one night I was pushing our John
out of the bedroom onto the landing and he fell straight into one of the
buckets of boiling water, did he scream, I think he stayed in hospital for a
couple of weeks, I remember him coming home with a load of toys (lucky
thing).
When ever we younger boys get together and talk about the old days I think
the main topic that comes up is when our Colin used to bring home a
girlfriend for tea and we would all get a belt off of him as he thought that
we all ate like animals and sniffled far too much, snotty kids he would call
us.
When ever we used to watch late night TV and there happened to be a scary
movie on, there would always be a fight on the stairs as you didn't want to
be the last one into bed after it had finished.
There was always a fight to get the seat nearest to the television and if you
needed to use the loo you would always say 'nobody get my seat as it's
saved'. When mum and dad were out the girls always thought they were in
charge that resulted into more bickering and fighting.
I moved on up to Wigan Road School we would walk too school it was a three or
four mile walk to get there, I met up with Dave and Malcolm Wrathall.
I joined in all the sports and quite liked the cross country running,
I didn't do very well at school and I used to bunk off a lot. The only lessons
I did enjoy were wood-work and metal-work.
I remember hiding on top of one of our chicken sheds at home until mum went
to work and then I would go into the house as the door was never locked.
On a couple of occasions when I was playing truant I would go to Liverpool
with Malcolm to queue up for Liverpool F.C tickets and watch them play.
We would regularly go to the game and would all meet up at Ormskirk train
station and travel to the game together.
In my second year at the school it became mixed after being all boys. I don't
know whether this was better or worse. One day coming home from school going
down the pads I was crossing a narrow foot bridge and caught the handle bars
of my bike on one of the railings went head over heels and knocked one of my
front teeth out. I also remember starting judo classes and attended for a
couple of years and also joined a boxing club in Burscough, I used to go
there once a week (I think it was a Tuesday night).
I got into a few scrapes at school but nothing too serious. On one occasion a
few of us went down to Wally's house where I had my first experience of glue
sniffing, I didn't like it one bit it felt like going to the dentists and I
hated going there.
Later on when I was in the Merchant Navy I did try marijuana, it was better
than the glue sniffing although I only tried it a couple of times.
During the summer holidays I used to help mum and dad pick on the farm. We
used to pick peas, beans, beetroot and potatoes. On Saturdays I used to help
Bill Huyton on his farm, I used to have to muck out the pigs. In the winter
his wife used to make us coffee with rum in it, which as a kid was nice.
I had a morning paper round plus I delivered papers in the evening
after school. Another way to make some money was to go and collect empty pop
bottles as they had a three penny deposit on them. On occasions we used to go
to the back of the shop and helped ourselves to the empties until the shop
keeper got wise.
Other jobs I used to do were to help the milkman and the bread man to make
their deliveries.
At school I remember getting the slipper from the gym teacher; I also got the
rulers edge across the back of my hand by Mr Posenbelly as we used to call
him. I think the best day of school was the day I left, what a day.
As a teenager we would go round to all the youth clubs. I remember going to
Skelmersdale, we would get a couple of bottles of cheap wine to drink then go
to the youth club, I remember Alex Boyer diving over a table-tennis
table to 'Head butt' some bloke, that's just some of the things we would get
up to as a gang of youths hanging around Ormskirk.
I used to have a Lambretta 125 with a few mirrors and what-nots on it. I did
enjoy the music mostly Motown and Northern Soul which I still like to listen
to today. I suppose you could call me a mod! I do remember coming off my
scooter a couple of times, one time I ended up breaking my leg, I got it
trapped under a car and it was a job to get it out, I thought I could get
away before anybody saw, I could not stand on it so I waited for the
ambulance to arrive to take me to the hospital. The hospital was great. I
used to order take- a ways and get a taxi to deliver them to me on the ward;
a few other patients would also order some food.
On one occasion at the hospital I asked one of the nurses if I could
have some pain killers, she said I would have to wait. So I asked her
for the pay phone. I rang 192 for the hospital phone number with that I rang
the number and I asked to be put through to ward three (the ward I was on)
and I spoke to the staff nurse down in the office down the end of the ward I
told her that I was Eric Finch from down the ward, and that could I possible
have some pain killers. I could here her
laughing I'm glad she saw the funny side of it, but I did get my
tablets. Later on I went out with that nurse for a couple of months.
Nights out in Ormskirk were pretty much the same night after night On one
particular occasion I went out drinking with Paul Cutmore, at the end of the
night we felt a bit hungry and decided to go for a Chinese, I remember we had
just about finished our meal when a lad came in shouting the odds and started
a fight, when the police arrived it all quietened down and for our trouble we
decided to pinch a bottle of Soya sauce (as you do when you have had enough
to drink.) Later on that night the police picked us up and took us to the
police station, they charged us for being drunk and disorderly at first and
then they found a bottle of sauce stuffed in-between the back seat of the police
car so they charged us with theft as well and we ended up in court. I
remember the headlines in the newspaper it stated WE DID IT FOR A LAUGH. I
was also a member of the Boy Scouts and we went on a few field trips which I
enjoyed.
After Id left school I started work at James Mercer's with our Doug learning
to be a heating engineer and plumber, I always used to go home and tell mum
how he used to bawl and shout at me and give me all the crap jobs. Although I
enjoyed my job after eighteen months I was getting fed up at home so I
decided to join the Merchant Navy.
I did my six week training in Basingstoke and met up with Dave
Wrathall again which was a nice surprise. I enjoyed this job and on some of
the trips I cruised around the Mediterranean and sailed to America three times. I also
went to Montego Bay in Jamaica, Venezuela, South America and some of the
small West-Indies islands.
On one of the trips to America I was put in jail in
New Orleans for being a bit drunk.
Another time we were not allowed to go back to our ship on the Mississippi river as the water was so
rough.
A 'Taffy' shipmate of mine lost his life in Spain. He borrowed a
scooter and wrapped it round a tree; he was from Blackwood in Wales. I stayed in the
navy for a couple of years but left because I felt I was loosing contact with
my mates back home.
I started working at Tesco's and after four hours I realised that was enough,
I found work at an upholstery firm in Burscough and remember going to Southampton for some training,
and I have now been an upholsterer for around thirty years.
I remember a trip down to Cardiff to see our Colin, he
was in the middle of building himself a yacht, and he was into sailing in a
big way. I did all the upholstery for him and in return I was allowed to go
on her maiden voyage, I don't think our Colin was ready for me as I used to
drink a lot. On the return journey I caught some mackerel; they were cooked
and eaten within ten minutes. One day Colin had gone below to get some sleep,
he left me and his friend sailing the yacht and said to wake him if we get
into any trouble, three or four hours later we were heading straight into a
big liner path, it kept blowing its horn so after a while we thought we had
better wake Colin, he was not best pleased, the air went blue to say the
least.
I moved from Ormskirk and went to live in Blackpool with Mr and Mrs
Griffiths, who were to later
become my in-laws, there I found myself a job at Hams upholstery. I worked
there for a few years and also got an evening job in a bar so that I could
meet people.
While I was living in Blackpool I remember I had a night out
with Paul Cutmore, it ended up with us having a fight with some lads. I don't
know what started it as Paul was already at it when I got there, I just
happened to look over a church wall and saw these people fighting and got
stuck in, I did not know it was Paul until a few minutes later, we came away
with a few cuts and bruises but had a good laugh that night.
I started dating Jill for a year or so, I remember going to watch
Freddie Starr with her. We had some good times in Blackpool but we later
split up and I went back to live in Ormskirk although I still called in to
see her family on my trips to Blackpool, some years later we got back
together and married on 3rd March 1984.
We lived in Blackpool for a while and I commuted from
Blackpool to Birkdale. I was a partner in an Upholstery
firm with Ronnie Mac, which ran for about ten years. After which I went
self-employed started up as Nayland Upholstery for about twenty years, before
I started in my present employment at TNT. I still keep my hand into
upholstery.
Later Jill and I moved to Burscough so that I was nearer to work. Jill got a
couple of jobs, working behind the bar in a couple of local pubs. We have two
lovely children Lisa and Leanne.
We lived in Burscough for eighteen months before moving to Colchester, where we bought an
old rundown cottage which we have renovated a couple of times. Sometimes I
think Jill thought we were living in a builder’s yard, but we were really
pleased with the end result. We lived about sixteen years in the cottage, in
the latter years we had some good family holidays including Australia, America, Austria, and also Portugal, it was a sad day
when we finally split up and left the cottage. We had a lot of good memories
in that cottage. I have since moved to a lovely bungalow at Dedham near Colchester which I am in the
middle of refurbishing.
One of my main hobbies throughout my life has been my dog Rascal. I got her
as a six month old greyhound pup and started training her at ten months. One
of the first things to teach her was to chase, I did that by tying one of the
kid's teddies to a long pole and as I spun the pole round slowly she started
to follow it one way and then the other so that her muscles would build up
together. I let her catch it from time to time. Finally I got her to run
round a race track, what a big thrill that was. I raced rascal at Bury
St.Edmonds and Milldenhall stadium the latter being a hundred mile round
trip. Rascal never let me down, she didn't always win but she always tried
her best. I got most of her races put onto a couple of videos. Later on I
bred her with a dog that won the English derby. She had nine pups and lost
three at birth. I ended up with six dogs,
I sold four of them and kept two. The biggest one died when he was
three and Megan the runt of the litter is living with our Lisa. I lost rascal
just after I had moved into my new home. I had just shut the patio door and
she must have seen something in the back garden, the next thing I herd was a
great big thud. I went into the dining room to find her in a right mess. Five
minutes later she died, that really upset me.
I have been working at Stansted Airport for a global
logistics firm for the last three years and I am still enjoying my job. There
is a good group of people here, which have helped me to get through my bad
times without knowing it.
What the future holds for me god only knows, at the moment I am doing well
and I am happy with my life.
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