Life and times in Silverdale

Local books by Fred Hughes

‘LIFE and Times on the Dale’ is a classic local history book written and compiled by the much-missed Barry Williams who sadly died earlier this year. Barry is fondly remembered as one of Silverdale’s cornerstones; he was a gent’s hairdresser in the village for a generation and has seen all the changes in the village. Who better, you may ask, than the local barber to recall and record the oral history of the place where he was born in 1935 and lived for most of his life.

The first chapter is purely autobiographical and not only tells Barry’s story but that of his family and many wonderful anecdotes that outline how Silverdale has evolved over the years.

The book takes the reader on a nostalgic ramble into the fields for ‘potato-picking’ week, an annual event that reminds us how close the village was to the farming community while being established as an industrial centre. The author tells us how sport played a big part in local activities, with its famous cricket club and noted players like the Norcup brothers, batsman Joe Ankers and Graham Bytheway. He tells us too how football played an important part in community development, giving a short biography of a Stoke City favourite, the late Ian Moores, a Silverdale lad and a personal friend.

Pubs are not ignored, those that have been demolished and those that have stood the test of time such as the Bush, once known as the Sneyd Arms. Local characters come to the forefront, and Silverdale certainly had more than its fair allocation of them, for Barry has written a whole chapter about them, including the Okey-Pokey boys who made and sold ice cream. Churches, shops, policing and even local politics are discussed in fascinating detail.

But of course the Silverdale story wouldn’t be complete without the history of the collieries, Silverdale of course being the last one to close in the North Staffordshire Coalfield.

The book is lavishly illustrated and has been in publication now for nine years. But it is as fresh as it was when it first hit the bookshelves. Published by Churnet Valley Books, it is still available at all good bookshops, price £8.95.