The following extract from Kelly’s appeared in 1885 By 1905, the Kelly’s Directory entry for Norton in Hales looked like this #history

Bill Ruston of Newcastle under Lyme has kindly added some wartime memories of Norton. A schoolboy at the time, he came to Betton every summer to help with the harvest and lived in a chicken hut! Wartime Farming – A Visiting Wartime Schoolboy’s Memories I have read with interest the stories of school children, local and evacuees, in wartime Norton in Hales. There was however another group of which I was one. For several years my school, Hanley High School in Stoke-on-Trent had

Mary Keay has kindly provided the Norton website with a compilation of her memories of village life going back to the 1920s. She has a phenomenal memory, has obviously always been very observant, and, for her whole life, been a pillar of Norton social activity. The Memoirs of Mary Keay, lifetime resident of Norton in Hales Introduction Born on March 4th 1925, I was a little girl destined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps. It was a Wednesday and the weather was awful; b

Joice was not an evacuee and was in London during the Blitz. However her mother became ill and she was invited to come and stay at Brand Hall, bringing her two daughters with her. When she recovered and returned to London some weeks later, Joice and her sister remained in Norton. Joice kept a scrapbook of Norton related items Memories written down by Joice Wilson 2 Caefelyn, Norton, Presteigne, Powis,, LD8 2UB At the start of the war my father Victor Bailey had already been |

John Rathbone was born in the village in 1904 and, via scholarships that he won, gained a Degree in Chemistry at Manchester University, rose to be Deputy Director of Education in Manchester and was awarded an OBE. Quite an achievement for the times! John Henry Rathbone OBE, BSc Outstanding Achievements of Norton-in-Hales Lad Born June 2nd 1904, the eldest of three children of the local butcher and his wife, Jesse and Agnes Rathbone, who lived by their butchery and shop on th

Born in the grounds of Oakley Hall in 1920, Fred led an interesting and varied life. Fred Holding Eulogy Many of the people here today, who knew Dad in his later years will be unaware of how varied his life experiences were. He was born in the grounds of Oakley Hall where his father was the head gardener on the estate. He himself grew up to be both gardener and groom and he was in fact an excellent horseman. He lived a very happy life with his brother Robert and his sisters R

Edward Gill is well known to many villagers, as one of the evacuees who came to Norton in Hales at the outbreak of World War 2. He has already published a book about his reminiscences of the time he spent in the village over 60 years ago. Edward now lives in South Wales but still keeps in regular contact with the village all these years later. Most recently, Edward has written some more of his memories of the time. A Wartime Evacuee Remembers Further memories from evacuee Edw

For a flavour of farm life in the last century, reading Dot’s memoirs is a must! Mrs Dorothy “Dot” Robinson Contributed by Cynthia Lucas Dot was born in 1925 and at the age of five went to live at Brownhills, Betton. School was first of all Mount Lane, Market Drayton and later in Little Drayton. The journey to school was quite an adventure. Dot first had to cross the Market Drayton to Stoke on Trent railway line and clearly remembers almost coming to grief on the level cro

Sadly now passed away, these recollections of someone who came to the village in 1942, vividly recall life as a school cook. Homemade food for the school children sounds much more appetising than that presented nowadays! Mrs. Doreen Challinor Contributed by Ron Lucas At 32 years old Doreen Challinor began her 33 years working in the kitchen of Norton in Hales Primary School where she prepared the school meals for generations of children. Even now, in her 87th year, her memor

1939 Evacuee to our village, Allan Ebbrell, who lives in West Yorkshire, has now sent us his most evocative and moving memoirs of his time spent in Norton-in-Hales from 1 September 1939, as approved by Edward Gill and we were, 70 years on, able to reunite them. To read his story, please click on Allan Ebbrell. MY MEMORIES OF THE 1939 EVACUATION. BY ALLAN EBBRELL I have a very clear memory of the day, when at the age of seven years, my young life was to change dramatically. It