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On another occasion we were doing the same thing waiting waiting for our turn-around time this time at a place called Greaseborough, a young lad about 14yrs old came to me saying "help me I`ve been stabbed", he was holding his side and looked as white as a sheet. We were outside the Greaseborough Working Mens Club so we helped him in there and asked them to call the police and ambulance. When they came we explained what had happened and they wouldn`t let us finish our shift, we had to go to the police staion to give a statement and also have our fingerprints taken for elimination, the knife albeit only a penknife had caused quite a serious wound. The lad was ok and had calmed down a bit. It was later found out that he had a row with his mate and one thing led to another and he ended up with a knife in his side.

It would get pretty rowdy ot the weekends but I found if you had a joke with them, situations that were ripe for trouble could be diffused, my mate was always ready if I couldn`t handle it but I always did, ended up getting a few fella's. Never one to pass up a chance, that was me then, I was young,single and free, so why not.

On a Sunday, if I wasn`t working I would go to my cousin Anne`s, who lived in a lovely little village called Todwick. When I was younger I spent all my weekends and school holidays there , it was so in the sticks that they didn`t have electric or flush toilets but I loved being there. We would go to a dance at a place called Swallownest, they had them every sunday night. We knew loads of people there, we would go to the pub first, meet up with everyone then go to the dance.

On the bus home after the dance one sunday I sat next to a lad, quite a goodlooking lad, tall with blonde curly hair, we got chatting he said he was in the army doing his National Service , he had been on leave and was on his way back to his barracks. He asked me if he could write to me I said yes and promptly gave him my address,can you believe it ? I had only known him about 15 minutes. It seemed ok to do that till I got off the bus and thought what a stupid thing to do, too late now.

I went to work the next morning, up at 3.00am to get ready and catch the staff bus at 4.00am to start work at 4.30am to take the coalminers to work. It was difficult getting up at that time , especially when you didn`t get to bed till about 11.30pm, still you can`t have it both ways.

I finished work at about 12 noon got home at 1.pm as I walked through the door Mum said there was a guy in the front room waiting for me, I had no idea who it could be, shock horror it was the lad I met on the bus last night. I asked him what the hell he was up to, I told him I never expected to see or hear from him. I had made a stupid error giving him my address, to this day I don`t know what happened, he must have got off the bus at the next stop and possibly followed me. I couldn`t get any explanation out of him only that he was so smitten with me ,that he had gone a.w.o.l. from the army.

Anyway I thought he must really be keen (and I was between boyfriends) so we went out for lunch at the local pub. I got to like him and made arrangements to meet him again when he had sorted things out with army.

I didn`t hear anything from him, bearing in mind there were no telephones, unless you were rich. Three weeks later I received a letter from him saying he had been arrested by the military police and was put in the army gaol (glasshouse) for two weeks, also in the letter was an engagement ring, quite a nice one, I showed Mum and Dad and we had a good laugh. I had only seen this guy twice. Dad said i`ll bet he bought this from woolworths. So off he went to Town straight into a jewellers and had it valued, no one was more surprised than him when the jeweller said it was 9ct gold had two diamonds and a sapphire worth about £25 doesn`t sound much now, but that was equivelant to 2 months wages.

I wrote back to him but did not enclose the ring in case it got lost in the post, he would think I had kept it then. I said it was far too soon and that I would like to see him again but on a friendly basis.