Basil Abbott- The Chemical Yard
I left school in April 1952 and started work at Brook Shaw's Ford dealers in Sheffield. Later that year I went into employment at C.L. Marcroft's garage situated at the Chemical Yard at Totley.
As you entered the garage area the first occupant was Mr. Bradbury the blacksmith. He was such an interesting person, I loved listening to his stories from way back in time. Then came the garage where Jack Clarke was in charge. He lived on Bushy Wood Road with his wife and two sons. Above the garage was the office area. People working in that area were Mr. P. Marcroft and his uncle and also two females called Rosemary and Sonya.
The next building was the joiners run by Ernest who also has his son working with him. Also working there was Dick Taylor who did quite a lot of different jobs. Because my father died when I was 12 years old, Dick looked after me like a dad. He lived in a small row of cottages near the Cross Scythes with his sister. We had two Bedford tipping lorries that went on the building sites and returned at tea time. The drivers were Ernest Gascoigne and George Johnson, who lived near the shooting range. The building foreman Dennis Marshall often came to the yard either to see Mr Marcroft or have his Morris Minor seen to.
In the cottages at the bottom of the Chemical Yard the only people I really knew was Mr. & Mrs. Russell and their son Ken. My time in the garage was a happy time with lots of memories. Jack sometimes got a bit grumpy with me but I just smiled and carried on regardless. We dealt with some real top class cars like Jaguar, Lagonda, Aston Martin, Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire, Alvis to name a few.
Also I met some very interesting people such as Mr. Stuart Wood, Director of a Sheffield Steel Works (Jaguar mark VII); two representatives of Tinsley Wire Industry (Austin A40's); Dr. Lingfoot of Baslow Road and his wife; Ms. Barbara Braithwaite who later became Mrs. Marcroft; the owner of Swerco Welding Sheffield (Canadian Ford V8); Mr. Faddon, hardware mongers of Abbeydale Road (Jowett Bradford van).
A treasured photograph of Basil Abbott and Jack Clarke in the Chemical Yard
Jack Clarke was an excellent mechanic and he knew everything about cars. One time we built (well I only helped) a two-seater sports car which they raced at Snetterton track. The registration number was "CLM 1" which speaks for itself. For those interested in cars it was designed with the following: Cooper chassis, Jowett Jupiter engine, ENV rear axel, Morris rack and pinion steering, rounded off with a fibre glass body.
I had an accident in the garage when a stiff window catch broke and it caused rather a deep laceration to my right wrist. I was taken to see Dr. Lingfoot who stitched and dressed the wound. I still have the scar to this day.
Mr. Phillip Marcroft was a great man to work for, kind, understanding and generous. He gave me a 5 shilling commemorative piece for the Queen's Coronation. I still have this coin to this day. My time at the Chemical Yard is a time that I will never forget with all its wonderful memories.
I left in July 1955 to serve in the Royal Air Force. At that time I didn’t think that in my future I would be the manager of a Funeral Directors.
Thank you for reading this article and I hope that maybe the place or the names mentioned may bring happy memories for you too.
Basil Abbott
January 2018
From Anne White
It was very interesting to read the letter from Basil Abbott regarding The Chemical Yard.
I was delighted to read that he remembers my mother and father, Mr and Mrs Russell and my brother Ken. He obviously didn't know about my elder sister Audrey, or myself as we would probably have been at school when he was working in the yard. My brother would have been very interested in seeing the cars being repaired.
Mr Abbott may be interested to know that I have written many articles about my childhood in Totley and they can be found in back issues of the Totley Independent also on the Totley History Group website under the headings of The Chemical Yard and under my married name, Anne White. I have also taken part in the Oral History project.
My dad had a licence to sell sweets and cigarettes from our cottage and the two young ladies who worked for Mr Phillip Marcroft would call round during their lunch hour to buy a few treats. My mum was a very friendly, kind person and, one day, they were telling her how they didn't have a special place to sit and eat their lunch at work. They had to make room on their desks for their sandwiches etc and it was far from ideal. My mum listened sympathetically then suggested that they could come to our house if they wished and she would make a cup of tea etc. They were delighted to accept her offer!
They would arrive with their packed lunches and mum would make the tea and sit them at the table in our tiny front room with the fire burning brightly in the old Yorkshire range! If I was at home I would sit in my dad's comfy old armchair and listen to them chatting to each other and to my mum.
They wore pretty dresses and wore make-up and talked about all the subjects that a young 12 year old girl found very interesting!
One day, one of the girls started to tell my mum about a book she was reading, I listened very carefully and joined in with the conversation. When she realised that I was keen to know the story she offered to lend the book to me when she had finished reading it. I had always been an avid reader although we didn't have many books in the house and we were always busy with everyday chores as we had many animals to care for etc. True to her word, she lent me the book, it was a copy of The Diary of Anne Frank.
I read it with a mixture of horror and disbelief, it was so difficult to imagine a child's life so very different to my own sheltered existence. It fuelled my desire for reading and knowledge though so I was very grateful for the loan. I couldn't remember the names of these two young ladies so I am indebted to Mr Abbot for mentioning Rosemary and Sonya in his letter!
There was a special atmosphere about life in The Chemical Yard that is inexplicable, despite its dreadful name it seemed to cast a spell on anyone who lived or worked there. Despite all the tragedies that happened to my family I still remember my childhood there with happiness and I am so pleased that Mr Abbott has such wonderful memories too
Anne White
March 2018