Whittle Blacksmiths
It was indeed Arthur, I think he lived at Bilton or Hipsburn and was regular at the Schooner Hotel in Alnmouth, I believe scrumpy was his tipple which seems to fit the persona.
It wasn't unusual for local farmers to turn up at the Blacksmiths shop on Saturday / Sunday mornings to have their equipment repaired / welded, I was once sent from a repair on the screens to help Arthur with a plough with a broken frame!
I'm not sure how, or if, they paid for our services, maybe the Manager (Kit Miller) or the Mech Eng (Bob Little) were just being community spirited!?
I remember Kevin well he was our school year and started his apprenticeship at the same time, I also remember a Blacksmith who looked every inch the part 6'3 18st nicknamed 'The Quiet Man' who could juggle hammers, he was started the year before us but transferred to Brenkley Colliery, I think he lived in the Seaton Burn area. His car was a regular weekend repair job, some of the bodywork was made up of empty 5 gallon oil drums from the stock yard pop riveted in, filled, rubbed down and sprayed, there was no end to our engineering ability!
|