That’s what we were known as, those of us who lived on Butler’s Hill before they pulled it down in the late 1950’s.  They transferred us to a newly built slum housing estate “up Mosley” and pretentiously called “The Welbeck” to lend it an air of country Home and Garden.  “Little Moscow” because it was so deprived, although I never recognised that at the time and it did, in fact, return the only Communist councillor on the UDC.

We lived on Bestwood Road, my grandma and grandad on Cavendish Street and my auntie, uncle and cousins on Hankin Street.  Both my grandad and uncle had worked in the local pits of Hucknall and Linby, although my grandad had retired by the time I popped on to the scene.  My dad was an electrician at Rolls Royce.

There was a piggery at the bottom of my grandad’s garden, which was essentially a lawn with surrounding borders of lily-of-the-valley.  Further up the street was an abattoir where we kids could watch beasts being slaughtered; and on the corner with Bestwood Road was Sabins the bookies where I’d take my dads’ bets.  Next door a shop of some sort (-I can’t visualise it now-) where we bought fags for my grandad, sold individually in little triangular “tuffee” bags.

At the head of Bestwood Road was the Landmaster factory which made tractor parts and garden machinery.  My mam told me stories of her doing “skywatch” from its roof during the war, another legacy of which were the omnipresent railings stumps as witness to their removal to fund the need for wartime steel.

Our house was a two up/two down terrace with the garret being converted into my bedroom.  There was an outside toilet and outhouse where we kept the peggy tub, mangle and tin bath.  Edie-West-next-door converted their outhouse into a bathroom.

We and they were the only houses on the estate that were owner-occupied, the rest being Council.  When we were compulsorily purchased for demolition my dad contested the £850 he was offered for it.  He was told the top price offered was £900 for Edie-West-next-door’s  which was because of the bathroom upgrade.  My dad squeezed another few bob out of them and settled for £875.

It was a privilege to have lived there.