Sheffield Star community reporter shares memories of growing up in Pitsmoor in the 1960s and 70s

I was born in Sheffield, Pitsmoor to be precise, of Jamaican parents, Charles and Myrtle.

I had five brothers and sisters Carol, Veloria, Glenroy, Doreen ,myself and Patrick.

Sadly my brother Glenroy passed away in his early 30s.

We lived in a terraced home which what would be classed as cramped by today's standards, on Petre Street, a long residential road in the heart of industrial Sheffield in the early 60s.

Back then we had no double glazing, no indoor toilets, or central heating. And ice on the inside of the window in winter.

But so did your neighbour, or the family up the road or down the street

So it wasn't a subject for discussion, especially to kids of five and six.

My local school was Ellesmere Primary which I fondly remember. The school was adjacent to Sutherland Road Baths, which was well known around Sheffield.

I also lived close to the many steel works, for which Sheffield was well known worldwide

As a child I was well cared for by my mother and two big sisters who fed me, clothed me and made sure I was where should be, when I should be.

Although it wasn’t really appreciated at the time.

After schooling at Ellesmere, I moved up to Burngreave Middle which was probably less than a mile away from home, up a steep road called Earldom Rd.

Not many school runs back then. We all walked.

Burngreave – now called Byron Wood – was an imperious building sitting atop of one of Sheffield's many hills. We traipsed up that hill everyday to be tutored by our many teachers.

But before lessons we had assembly with Mr Baker and Mr Kettlewell.

Mr Kettlewell I believe was Welsh as he loved reciting that train station in Wales the one spelt: Llanfair pwllgwyngyll gogery chwyrn drobwll llan tysilio gogo goch.

Due to huge slum clearance of the time – which had been going on since post 1918 – our home was bulldozed in 1976, but they took their time about it.

We moved to a new home in S5 which was semi-detached with indoor plumbing.

Which meant we had an indoor toilet, which was a new experience for us in 1976.

The move also meant a move to a new school Herries Comprehensive School which sat on three roads: Teynham, Penrith and Longley Ave West.

This was the school in which I met many lifelong friends and my wife, Elaine.

I left herries school in 1981, and around the same time Sheffield and the UK entered one of its many recessions

This was greatly unfortunate for many people in the country, which also saw the start of the decline of the steel industry and a lot of industrial unrest under a Tory government led by Margaret Thatcher.

Causing rifts between family and community across the country, some of which are still not healed even today.

I left school with a few CSEs and a couple of O levels with little or no prospects, I joined the Engineering Industrial Training Board (EITB) to start my engineering apprenticeship.

I never wanted the apprenticeship, and never did metalwork at school so I never understood why was I put on the course.

Plus, at the end of it there was no job to speak of – so why bother?

After two years on this course, I got talking to my friend Brian.

Brian was in the Royal Air Force.

To me, with no job, and no real prospects, this sounded very interesting and very good.

Brian told me about him being a Mechanical Transport Driver in the RAF and it sounded very glamorous and fun.

So six months from my first application I finally joined the Royal Air Force as a Mechanical Transport Driver – MTD for short.

This was a massive change for me...I was a Sheffield lad with a job, a rarity for many.

I spent 12 years in The RAF serving in the UK and abroad.

My UK bases were Raf Brampton, down in Cambridgeshire. Then back up north to RAF Scampton, the home of the Red Arrows.

While I was based at Scampton I had a four month detachment to The Falklands Isles.

On return from there, I was posted with my wife Elaine and two children, Lee and Jahmaine, to RAF Gibraltar, situated on the southern tip of Spain.

In 1990, after two years there I was posted to RAF Waddington, where I stayed there for five years.

My RAF career finished in 1995, and I then moved back to Sheffield after 12 years.

When looking back on my RAF time I have mixed feelings, but on the whole I feel happy and proud of my service for my country.

I had good times and bad times in the RAF. Times of isolation and times of great camaraderie, I think the RAF you gives you perspective on human behaviour.

Rank and privilege gives certain people a different outlook on life.

Some feel power is only any good if it's abused, but others take it in their stride.

Others feel it gives them the right to bully and harass.

These people were few and far between, however the ones I know of are the ones I came into contact with, therefore there could have been many more.

There was sexism, racism and homophobia on a grand scale. Plus any other ism you could think of.

This was always backed up with the phrase: “If you can’t a joke you shouldn’t have joined up”

For the next 25 years, I've held numerous jobs across Sheffield mainly engineering and heavy industry.

In 2020 I was given an opportunity to change direction in my job role and career, and train as a community reporter for The Sheffield Star.

This is a new role for me and is like no other post I've held before. This will be a steep learning curve for me but also a great opportunity.

I’d like to hear from other people who served in the armed forces so I can share their stories too. You can get in touch by emailing me at: errol.edwards@jpimedia.co.uk or by sending a letter to:

Sheffield Star, c/o The Lifestyle Centre, High Street, Beighton, Sheffield, S20 1HE

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor