Leeds nostalgia: Same street 30 years on

Following last week’s picture of washing lines on Leeds streets, June Westerman writes: The main day for wash day was a Monday, if a big Lorry required access, then the washing was taken off and the line lowered and the lorry drove over it. My father had a shop on Burley Lodge Road at the bottom of Kelsall Road, a watchmaker and jeweller, James Boothroyd. My uncle had a sweet shop at the top of one of the Autumns.

I would have thought that the main picture was taken a good while before 1968. The houses I do believe we’re out in the ‘Red’ area, which meant ‘redevelopment’. These houses had to go down the street to their toilets and two families shared one toilet. Some people who owned their houses had the little bedroom made into a bathroom.

I can tell you all about BurLey Lodge Road and Alexandra Road. I was born in June 1938 and have a lot of happy memories of that area. As the lung girls we used to go to these houses and ask if they would like us to take their baby for a walk. It was very safe to put babies out on the street in their prams, I have to say we looked for nice prams to push, the mothers would say yes and we would walk to Burley Park with them, never a problem.

My husband and I were married at All Hallows’ Church on July 5, 1958, 60 years ago in July, when we will have our diamond wedding. There was also a Salvation Army hostel just past the Autumns, I believe it is now a mosque, my Dad had the job of a weekly visit to wind up their clocks.