Childhood

1. Lindon Drive, Derby

Leslie Mason was born on 29 January 1931 in his mother's home town of Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. While he was still an infant, his parents moved into a newly-built semi-detached house in Alvaston, Derby. (His father, John, was a railwayman, and the city of Derby was an important hub on the national rail network). This accounts for Dad's life-long, if irrational, attachment to Derby County FC!

Dad's next door neighbours in Derby were the Holmes family, and their son John, who now lives in nearby Findern, remembers Dad fairly well.

"I knew your Dad, but he was four or five years older than me and that age gap is quite wide in one's earlier years - a young man wouldn't want to be involved with a little boy, and maybe I wasn't very nice to know!!

In fact your Dad lived at 12, Lindon Drive, Alvaston, Derby and I lived at 14 Lindon Drive - a pair of semi-detached houses. We were next door neighbours! My family left this house when I was 12/13, your Dad 17/18, and although we went to the same school (Bemrose) our paths did not cross very much".

Les Mason's childhood home was No 12, Lindon Drive (the house on the right in the photo). John Holmes was his neighbour at No14, the house on the left.

"Bemrose School Boys were known colloquially as 'Bemrose Bucket-Bangers'. I can still remember your Dad playing cricket in the school team - I can recall him (a big boy) going to catch the bus to school wearing white flannels (ie cricket trousers) and school blazer (maroon) and carrying the bag containing his cricket bat and pads.

At home your Dad's family were very quiet. I can't remember him going out to play or roam around with a circle of friends, even though it was OK to do this in the late 1940's and safe too. He played the piano, as did his Dad, your Grandpa.

At the end of your Dad's garden was a large wooden shed painted green with white window frames. In this shed, your Grandpa made models - specially model yachts - maybe about three feet long. He and your Dad, when he was a young boy, sailed the yachts at Alvaston Park Lake where there was a Model Yacht Club.

I was interested to see that you called your Dad 'Les'. I always heard him referred to as 'Leslie'. I had an Uncle who referred to your Dad as 'Togger' Mason (What's Togger Mason doing these days", he would say). I don't know why this nickname was used but it always seemed an appropriate one!"

2. Alvaston County Primary School

"Here are some photos of your Dad's first school - Alvaston County Primary School, on Elvaston Road. What a poor tumble-down place it is now. Such a shame, because it was a super place when we went there, and still could be if it had only been maintained. As it is, the building was sold for demolition in the winter of 1998: it's a good job we got these photos when we did!

The school was built in 1859 by the 'National Society', a body founded by an Andrew Bell, to provide education for the children of members of the Church of England. It was known in Alvaston as 'the National School' and by the children as 'the Nashy' (if that's how it is spelled!).

This shows most of the school, from the school playground. The large room on the left was the children's room. The block in the centre, with the white triangles above it, is the girls' and boys' toilets - very cold on a frosty Derbyshire morning! The west end of the building. Left part was originally for the teachers to live in, right part was the senior classroom.

One other thing I noticed when I revisited to school - there is a groove in the coping at the top of the wall around the playground. This was where we used to climb over the wall as a shortcut to school,
and the groove was worn into the stone by the passage of many small feet and bottoms over the years!!! What a lovely image of your Dad's childhood that must give you".

3. Are any of these places familiar to YOU?

We are very grateful to John Holmes who provided these insights into Les Mason's early life. Dad never spoke about his early years, so all of this was news to us. Is there anybody else out there with memories of Alvaston in the 1930's? Did you (or your parents/grandparents) attend 'The Nashy', with our Dad or at any other time? Does Alvaston Park still exist, and is its lake still a fit place for fathers and sons to sail their yachts? If you have any reminiscences that would help us get to know the world our Dad grew up in, send us an email!