The "LIFE of BRIAN" Part 2

BLOG 290107 - The “LIFE of BRIAN “ - Part 2 of 10

Our “Queen of Villages” could NOT boast as having an Airport or Bus Station In fact, throughout the full 20+ years I lived in the “Queen of Villages” I NEVER once saw an aircraft pass overhead - I did once hear the Luftwaffe though, I think it was 1942, flying over to drop their load of bombs on the numerous Steel Works in the Sheffield/Rotherham area, - it was during some dark, dismal and dank night, I remember getting under the lounge table - none of the families used the brick built Anderson Air Raid Shelters built for our communal protection they were damp, filthy and smelly. Oh! I should add that the local bus service did pass by our front garden ( a 10ft x 10foot patch of grass descried as lawn when the need to impress prevailed) ,it passed by twice each hour, every hour in both directions from about 6.00am in the mornings to 10.00pm at night (at 20 minutes to and 10 minutes passed the hour, in one direction and 10 minutes to and 20 minutes passed the hour, the other way), six days a week - on Sundays it was a reduced service which did not start until mid-day and finished about 6.00pm. I should have added that we did have a 2 Bus Stops within 20 paces ( crafty measurement … yes? ) -that’s 20 child’s paces of our front door. No cars, or taxis service though. Shanks Pony was the only alternative - very few pushbikes also ( War effort I suppose)

The “Queen of Villages” could boast an Infants and Junior School - Victoria School - (5 Bus Stops away) This was my school where I had my early education, walking there most days - 30 to 45 minutes in each direction ( all weathers). I also had my own “personal coat hook” in the school cloak room- designated with a dangling coloured cardboard cut out, of a grey elephant - this was my own personal coat hook and I was very proud of it ( as retaining in my memory obviously substantiates). There were separate Girls and Boys outside Loo s - the Boys Loos were really Bogs and were open aired and exposed to the elements, (I don’t know if this was true for the girls also - I never went near them). Oh! and sometimes I had a sleep in the afternoons - on a camp bed in the School Hall/Class Room. In fact all the class were supposed to have a sleep - dont know why, probably because they thought the possibility of nightly bombing raids by the Germans would depriveus of our rest and keep us awake.

I went to church every Sunday - to St James’ ( cant remember from what age). In later years I did play the Church Organ there, and occasionally (less than discretely I should add) I “pepped” up the music with jazz and boogie - that was until “Skip - the Scoutmaster” heard me one time and suggested it was not the thing to do to illustrate my talent, and that if I was not careful he may consider demoting me as the Patrol Leader of the my beloved “Peewits“ Patrol - only recently I learned that both Billy Connelly and Bernard Cribbens were also Peewit Patrol Leaders - such exalted company . What a disgrace that would have been - too great to handle, I guess, I would have left the 12th Don and Dearne St James Scout Troop - with a Sherwood Green (edged with Yellow) Neckerchief, held in place with a woggle - such a disgrace if that had happened thankfully it did not.. . ..

The "LIFE of BRIAN" Part 1 of 10 - 060107

BLOG 060107 - The “LIFE of BRIAN “ - Part 1 of 10

Let me now set my life scene !!! My family name and bloodline is ALVEY

I was born and bred in S Yorkshire, after 20 plus years I began moving around following my chosen profession of Design/Production Engineering. Eventually I met and settled down in 1971 with my wife Sandra, right here in Burton Joyce, with a pleasant, satisfied and comfortable feeling (now I realise why) for I have lived in this village for a greater length of time than anywhere else. Surprisingly it was only 6 months ago that I discovered that Burton Joyce was in fact, was “slap bang” in the middle of “THE BOX” (a close group of villages where the Alvey name may well have germinated) - MY ROOTS - Is this some mystical solution to my feelings of pleasance, satisfaction and comfort ?

These notes are just a small part of a “Genealogy/Social History Study” I have begun to develop as an extension to the major genealogy study my cousins Joan and Peter have been undertaking for many years. My particular interest is the “ALVEY’s of BURTON JOYCE“ - no surprise for it is my name and where I choose to live.

Early spelling of the ALVEY name, vary around themes of the pronounced ”sound of it“, no surprise, for many individuals could neither read nor write in early times, early spellings will therefore understandably differ

ALVEY family members certainly were never backwards at coming forwards, as the following list illustrates :-

In 1557 Robert Alvye was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1558 Robert Alvye was the Sheriff of Nottingham,
in 1564 Edward Alvey matriculated from Nottingham to Cambridge University.
In 1572 Nicholas Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1573 Robert Alvey was Mayor of Nottingham
In 1576 Nicholas Alvey was the Sheriff of Nottingham
In 1577 Henry Alvey admitted Foundress Fellow of Cambridge University
In 1580 Robert Alvye Mayor of Nottingham

In 1587 **Robert Allve was the Mayor of Nottingham ( fair probability that he was my 10x Great Grandfather - BjFams ref. no.19 )
In 1594 Robert Alvey was Mayor of Nottingham (Robert of Car Colston)
In 1596 Henry Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham
In 1598 Henry Alvey (Cordwainer) was the Sheriff of Nottingham
In 1611 John Alvey was Chamberlain of Nottingham

It is via “Robert Alvey” the Mayor of Nottingham that the “ALVEY’s of BURTON JOYCE” originate - via his Grandson William Alvie of Burton Joyce (Ref74) in Burton Joyce from 1647. - William the son of Richard Alvey (43) of Woodboro

In 1641/42 “William Alvie of Burton Joyce” was listed in the Protestant Returns

So here we go .. .. ..

The “LIFE of BRIAN” - Part 1

I was born and raised in South Yorkshire, - “OUT SIDE the BOX“ - within a working class family, living and working the South Yorkshire coal fields in a small village/town with the name of Wath-upon-Dearne (pronounced as Waf on Dern ) and referred to as the “Queen of Villages!” !!. First of all I should explain…. It was not a village, nor indeed could it legitimately be justified in boasting and calling itself the “Queen of Villages “ but it did?????.”.

However, it could boast as having TWO major coal mines ( Manvers Main and Wath Main) - both complete with majestic Pit Head winding gear, Manvers Main also had the added facility of huge Coke Ovens, all continuously spelching out, acrid smoke and toxic fumes all over the “Queen of Villages”….. and numerous slag heaps. Slag heaps of such stature they obliterated the mid-day sun and spread wide over such an area, they probably rivalled the ski slopes of the Cairngorms and Glencoe added together. So intimidating were these Coal Mines, slag heaps and smouldering Coke Ovens that, and until the age of 11 , I assumed and really believed we could actually be living alongside HELLS BOILERHOUSE ( I have typed this is upper case so that it shouts out at you in the same way as it shouted out at me.. .. .. .. for ll of 14 years.)

For 14 years I could constantly see both of the Pit Heads - only a few hundred yards away (sorry it was the pre-metric” era ) and they were always there, both of them, always. When I looked out of our lounge window it was “Manvers Main” I could see, hen when I looked out of the front room window it was “Wath Main“. It was when I was 11 and started going to the school in the next village - Brampton (“10 Bus Stops” away - sorry but this is a much easier way to describe distance than quoting a metric measurement) and it was then that I realised that it could not be HELLS BOILERHOUSE - it just looked and smelt like I imagined Hell it would be.

Our “Queen of Villages” could boast as having, not just one, but TWO railways - complete with stations and tracks - the old LNER and its rival the LMS. The LMS was our own personal operation (our home was an LMS terraced cottage) and it could be seen from both our lounge and front room windows. The track and lines had been constructed on the crest of a 25 foot (Sorry! Cannot convert English feet to New World Metric) embankment only 400M (about 1 Bus Stop) away - (See! I can occasionally use metric as a measurement). It ran in a direction which was across our vision ,which meant that the scenes remained visible for quite a time, to a small child I me the trains were magical, immense and both noisy and spectacular. As a result I became an avid Train Spotter

Our “ Queen of Villages” could also boast as having the largest Rail Marshalling Yards, devoted to coal distribution, in the whole of Great Britain.
It could boast also as having it own Gas Works and Storage Plant - I couldn’t see this from our lounge and front room windows ( and it was only 4 Bus Stops away), although occasionally I am sure I could smell it
My village could boast of having a canal system also (The Don and Dove), a Brewery (Whitbreads), two Cinemas ( the Majestic and the Grand), A Swimming and Slipper Baths - ( I never did understand what “Slipper” meant ), an Athletics and Sports Ground, which occasionally hosted wait for it .. .. Yorkshire Cricket - second team. (each of these facilities were 4 Bus Stops away from my home , except the Grand Cinema which 6 Bus stops - we also referred to Cinemas as “Picture Houses” in those days).... ...

and there more, much more to come

Part 2 of 10 to follow.. ..

If you have an issue you would like to get “off your chest” or discussed as a “One to One“,
e mail; wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk

"THE BOX" and The LIFE of BRIAN

BLOG - “THE BOX” - the “LIFE of BRIAN “ - 050106

THE BOX

"Out of" THE BOX

This BLOG is by way of an introduction to the "LIFE of BRIAN" which will be the conyiuing BLOG subject over the next few postings

"THE BOX” This is the term given to the compact area of small Nottinghamshire villages which appears to have contributed greatly and be quite instrumental in the "spawning" the ALVEY family name

The later notes will explain in a little detail how “Missing John”’s branch of the Alvey family fragmented away "out of" THE BOX only to return in later years, quite passively and without any knowledge of its significance

The illustration of “The Box” shows it containing the villages of Burton Joyce, Gedling, Lambley, Woodboro, Lowdham, Gunthorpe, Caythorpe, Oxton, Epperston, Shelford Stoke Bardolph, Bleasby, Carlton, Arnold, Calverton, plus East of Nottingham

The the right plots how my particular branch of the ALVEY’s moved away from THE BOX - initially to South Normanton and eventually to South Yorkshire - presumably for economic reasons. The illustration also clearly shows the return path taken by myself completely oblivious as to any historical significance of my “family roots”

If you have an issue you would like to get “off your chest” or discussed as a “One to One“,

e mail; wetwo@brianalvey.co.uk