What it was like growing up in Meersbrook Park years after the Sheffield Blitz destroyed part of the city

Star reader C M Cosford contacted us to tell his story of growing up in post war Britain and how he still thinks fondly of his childhood years.

Mr Cosford was born December 27, 1940 and was brought up in Little London Place with Meersbrook Park as his local playground.

The 79-year-old said: “On entering the park at the 'bottom gate' on the corner of Meersbrook Park Road and Brook Road, on the right hand side of the path was a large vegetable patch created under the Dig For Victory food scheme and still in use in 1946-47.

“At the top of the garden in the park was a large air raid shelter and a beautiful marble fountain where you could get a drink of cool water in a metal cup attached to the fountain by a strong metal chain.”

He remembers beyond this was the Ruskin Museum, now the offices of the Parks Department, and the covered entrance were two or three cast iron benches and on the floor was a large draughts board laid with marble which was used by some old folk to play a game of draughts.

Mr Cosford said: “I remember children could only go upstairs accompanied by an adult as there were a number of glass cases containing valuable Sheffield plate and semi-precious stones. On the wall were a number of various sketches and drawings made by John Ruskin himself in the 1700s.”

Beyond the museum was a garden nursery complete with greenhouse and hot houses producing plants for other public gardens. Nearby were the swings and playground. From there, just beyond a few trees was the corn field leading up to Norton Leeds Road.

"Yes, it really was a corn field,” he said, “planted during the war, once again under the Dig for Victory scheme and still in use in 1946-47.”

To the left of the corn field were a number of allotment gardens leading to Bishops House, which he describes as a wonderful Tudor-style house dating back about 400 years.

“Going back down the sleep sloping part alongside the ravine containing the actual Meersbrook stream, we came to the bowling greens which are still in popular use today.”

Just inside the nearby gate was a prefabricated building used as a nursery for children whose mothers had to work in the factories during the war. Mr Cosford said his mother worked at Hardy Pick when his dad was in the Merchant Navy.

At the bottom of Meersbrook Park Road was a large Co-op shop on one corner with Taylor's newsagents/toy shop on the other corner, where he had my first job as a paper lad. Next to the Co-op was the Vestry Hall where Mr Cosford and his wife and their wedding on October 20, 1970, after being married at the Kingdom Hall.

- The Star would love to hear your memories of Sheffield parks from your childhood. Email us your memories and we will see what old photos we have in The Star's archive to accompany it.