C3a-077c: Jack Hogg: a personal history
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Title
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Jack Hogg: a personal history
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Description
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A personal history by Jack Hogg, born in Saltaire in 1922. His account includes details of growing up in Saltaire, including attending Albert Road School.
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Associated place or event
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Access Rights
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To view the full story please contact the Saltaire Collection
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Abstract
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Jack was born in 1922 and was told that his great grandfather had originally lived in the area but had moved to Richmond, North Yorkshire, where his father and his father’s brothers and sisters were born. His father’s family came back to live in Saltaire when his father was a boy. The family lived in Upper George Street and Jack describes how the kitchen was fitted out with a gas stove and a large sink with (cold) running water. Jack was fascinated by the dry closet toilets in the village that had to be emptied manually by the ‘night soil’ men using a horse and cart.
Before long, sewers were laid in the village and an innovation was installed in each house – the ‘Tipler Toilet’. This was a simple system involving a 10-inch diameter shaft that had a seat at the top end and was connected to the sewer at the base of the shaft. All waste water drained into the shaft and when an optimum weight was reached, the lid tipped over and emptied the shaft which was a bit of a shock for anyone sitting on the seat when it happened.
Jack’s mother and Auntie were weavers at Salts Mill and when Jack’s father married his mother, they were allocated a house at 18 Helen Street. Most of Jack’s close family worked in the Mill. His grandfather was a lift and hoist operator and other family members worked in different areas. His mother and Aunt were responsible for two standard looms, arranged in a ‘gate’ position and driven by large belts from overhead shafting. Jack recalls the noise being ‘shattering’ and that the only communication possible was through lip reading.
A poignant memory for Jack was the outbreak of both Diphtheria and Scarlet Fever in his childhood. In the late 1920’s he was confirmed as being infectious and taken to Morton Banks Isolation Hospital for seven weeks in the ‘Fever Van’. He was aged 7 years, but his parents could only visit once a week on a Saturday and visits were only allowed outside the building, where his parents could only shout greetings to him through a sealed window.
Jack's memories include those of his school days, ‘wash days’ at home, the cobbled back alleys, the places of worship and the many other amenities in Saltaire.