PHOTOGRAPHS RELATED TO MRS WALTON AND FAMILY

Mrs Walton was contacted via leafletting in the Eccles area. This deposit of photographs was lent as a result. See attached sheet for information about Mrs Walton's family.

Mrs Walton, was born at Penshaw Street in Patricroft in 1918. Both her parents worked at Togo hill in Trafford Road; her father was also a Drill Sergeant in the Territorials, after they were married her mother took in washing. Her grandmother was called Sarah Edwards and Mrs Walton was more or less brought up by her. Her grandfather was a carter and they lived across the road from Togo hill. Her maternal grandparents were called Mr and Mrs Hishmurgh and they lived in Barlow Street. Mr Hishmurgh was also a carter and Mrs Hishmurgh sold herb beer. Mrs Walton went to Christ Church School in Eccles. When she left school she got a job with the County Council in the Department that dealt with Public Assistance, more commonly known as the Means Test. At the beginning of the time that she worked there, there were a lot of demonstrations about the provision of relief, most families were given relief only if they were willing to do hard outdoor work such as sawing logs, for about half the average wage for that work and the Means Test was imposed by household, not just on the individual who was claiming. Mrs Walton remembers being afraid that someone would put a brick through her window because she worked there. She eventually moved from the General Office to taking minutes at Committee meetings and to working for the registrars. Mr Walton was born in Stockbridge in Yorkshire in 1916, he had one brother called Jack. He went to Christ Church School in Eccles up to the age of 10 and then he went to Green Lane School. At the age of 14 he got a job with an asbestos firm in Trafford Park and at the age of 18 he went into the Navy. In 1946 he got a job with the Post Office Telephones and he died in 1972. His family had two off-licences in Eccles, one on the corner of Milton Street and Shakespeare Street. His maternal grandmother was very lady like and had worked in a shop as a manageress. Her surname was Clarke and she was born in the Nags Head Pub in Davyhulme. Mr Walton's maternal grandfather was an inspector on the railways.