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Croft Cottage memories revived once more
A postcard evacuees sent home of Westquarter Road. Croft Cottage is at the end of the road, behind the large wall
This week’s trip down memory lane again takes us to Redding.
Robert Jack got in touch after reading Annette McIntosh’s memories of living in Croft Cottage in an edition of the Falkirk Herald last month.
Mrs McIntosh was born in the house on Westquarter Road and was trying to find a photo of the building which was demolished to make way for housing in the 1950s.
Mr Jack’s brother James was born in the attic of the cottage in 1945 and his grandfather died there the year earlier.
Although Mr Jack himself was born in the hospital, his parents were living with his grandmother at the time and his first months were also spent at Croft Cottage.
Mr Jack, a keen family historian who has been researching his background for 30 years, agrees that evacuees didn’t live in the house but did stay in other houses in the street during World War Two .
The 65-year-old, who now lives in Maddiston. said: “I believe that Mrs McIntosh’s family swapped houses with the Frickleton family in 1943
‘‘They did not stay there long, as, when my grandfather Robert died, they again swapped houses, this time with my grandmother, Jean Jack.
“So there were three families who lived in the cottage during the war.”
Mr Jack has fond memories of visiting his grandmother at the cottage and playing in the large garden to the rear of the property.
He continued: “I believe my grandmother was the last person to live in the cottage. She moved in the mid-to-late 1950s and it was knocked down soon after.
“It was such a big property that they were able to build two council houses on the land. “
Robert’s father and uncle used the large attic of the house for an unusual purpose – to build a motorbike sidecar.
“I don’t know why they decided to build it there,’’ he said.
‘‘But I remember I was just a boy in 1952 when they lowered it down the wooden steps from the attic using ropes – the same attic my brother was born in.”
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Weather for Falkirk
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North west
