WHEATLEY HILL

I woke up this morning
And found that my mind was in a kind of a haze
My sight travelled backwards to years long gone by
When I lived down the colliery, where the pit was close by
I saw the pit wheels turning and watched with a sigh,
As the men come up from underground to look at the sky.
I thought of the men with coal dust on their chests,
Maybe closing those mines, was all for the best.
I opened my eyes and the mirage was gone,
There were only green fields, on which the sun shone,
I walked up the road, where once the pit shops laid.
Where the fitters and the electricians, all learned their trade,
And the thought crossed my mind; they should have been there still.
Where the youth of today, could have learned a great skill,
But alas like the years they have withered away.
Like the houses have gone, where we spent our young days
We once had a cricket field - one of the best
But I'm afraid its no more, it has gone to rest
Walked on to the Church and it filled me with pride
I find it's the same, when I came here as a bride.
At the end of church street, where the schools used to be
I thought of all the children I had cared for you see,
How many times I had dried their tears,
Stopped noses bleeding and put plasters on knees.
The schools have gone but the memories remain
If I had my time over, I would do it again
On past the blacksmiths, the Picture Place that was,
And along to the school that was only for boys,
The clock on the wall, with a plaque down below
With the names of the boys who would never come home,
The school has now gone, but the plaque has been set
In the memorial that stands near the chapel of rest

by Mrs. Mabel Holdcroft.