John Wilkinson    Family Tree 

 About Me  My   name   is   John   Joseph   Wilkinson.   I   was   born   in   Shilbottle,   Northumberland   on   8th August   1946.   According   to   my   birth   certificate,   I   was   born   at   Hut   9,   Garden   Terrace although   my   sister   and   uncle   both   dispute   this.   Their   argument   is   that   my   mother   did   not get   on   too   well   with   the   person   who   lived   there   and   her   mother   only   lived   about   100   yards away   at   Colliers   Close.   Unfortunately   my   mother   died   before   I   realised   all   of   this   so   there is   no   way   now   of   ever   finding   the   truth.   I   have   one   sister,   Irene,   born   in   1950   at   Morpeth. After   my   father   died   following   a   mining   accident   in   1951,   we   spent   most   weekends   at   my maternal   grandparents   house   at   Colliers   Close,   Shilbottle.   I   went   to   Shilbottle   C   of   E School   (The   top   school)   and   after   passing   the   11+   went   to   the   Dukes   Grammar   School   at Alnwick.   I   never   really   liked   school,   mainly   because   it   was   the   first   time   I   had   been separated    from    my    old    Shilbottle    mates    but,    looking    back,    it    gave    me    a    very    good grounding   for   further   education   during   my   apprenticeship.   Leaving   school   at   sixteen,   I worked   as   an   apprentice   electrician   at   Shilbottle   Colliery,   progressing   to   the   Student Apprenticeship   scheme   and   then   to   the   NCB   Engineering   Trainee   scheme.   Part   of   this entailed   going   to   College   at   Ashington   and   later   to   Rutherford   College   of   Technology   at Newcastle.   While   there   I   used   to   lodge   with   a   friend   of   my   mothers   at   Willington   Quay, Elsie   Foster   and   her   father   Arthur   Holland.   My   mother   had   met   Elsie   through   her   own mother   after   they   met   at   Wooly   Sanitorium.   During   the   Engineering   Trainee   scheme   I was   seconded   to   several   outside   firms   as   well   as   departments   within   the   NCB.   One   of these    secondments    was    to    the    Mining    Research    and    Development    Establishment    at Bretby,   Burton   on   Trent   which   I   enjoyed   so   much   I   decided   that   I   wanted   to   work   there.   I successfully   applied   for   a   job   there   in   the   Electrical   Division   and   I   started   in   September 1970.   Also   during   the   ET   scheme,   I   married   Eileen   Castle   at   St   Pauls   Church,   Alnwick   on 7th    September    1968.    We    met    at    the    Teen    and    Twenty    Club    at    Alnwick    where    I occasionally   played   guitar   in   a   band,   Richie   and   the   Rockin’   Robots.Probably   the   worst group   anyone   has   ever   heard   but   we   enjoyed   it.   When   we   married,   we   were   fortunate   to get   a   farm   cottage   on   my   uncles   farm   at   Warkworth.   Unfortunately   after   a   falling   out   we were   asked   to   vacate   the   premises   so   we   moved   back   in   with   my   mother   at   Percy   Road, Shilbottle,   complete   with   new   daughter   Caroline.   Shortly   after   I had   my   successful   interview   at   MRDE   Bretby   and   we   moved   to   a brand   new   house   at   Castle   Gresley.   This   was   like   a   dream   come true    as    the    NCB    provided    100%    mortgage,    solicitors    fees    and removal   expenses.   We   moved   into   our   new   home   in   December 1970.   Second   daughter   Julie   was   born   at   Burton   on   Trent   on   the 16th   December   1972   and   life   was   progressing   very   smoothly.   In January   1976   we   moved   into   a   detached   house   at   Netherseal   and have   lived   here   since   then.   During   my   time   at   Bretby   I   started playing   sports,   mainly   cricket   and   badminton.   After   one   too   many twisted   ankles   I   gave   up   badminton   and   started   playing   tennis    at the   village   club   in   Netherseal,   all   of   the   family   being   involved. Some   friends   from   the   tennis   club   introduced   us   to   golf.   After   a few    lessons    we    joined    ‘The    Craythorne’,    a    local    golf    club,    and played   there   for   about   twenty   years.   When   the   club   closed   due   to reducing   membership,   we   moved   to   Burton   Golf   where   we   have played for the last four years. As   Collieries   across   the   country   began   to   close,   I   took   voluntary   redundancy   in   1989   and   started   my   own   business,   sports floodlighting.   Unfortunately,   despite   some   lucrative   contracts,   orders   were   not   regular   and   I   had   to   admit   to   being   a   poor salesman,   so   I   had   to   look   for   another   job.   I   worked   as   an   electician   for   Dysons   Ltd,   a   company   manufacturing   artificial   coals for   gas   fires,   the   highlight   working   in   Manchester   Tennessee   for   two   weeks,   installing   a   production   line.   I   then   worked   as   a maintenance   engineer   at   Biosil,   an   Ashby   De   La   Zouch   company   who   manufactured   silicone   implants.   Finally   for   my   last   four years of employment, I worked as an electrician for Trelleborg who manufacured rubber products for the aerospace industry. Before   retiring   at   sixty,   I   became   interested   in   family   history.   I   think   what   got   me   interested   was   a   photograph   of   four generations of John Wilkinson. My other hobbies are golf, reading (crime fiction) and home movie editing.  

Mam Dad and Me Abt 1947

4 Generations of John Wilkinson 1948

Richie and the Rockin’ Robots Abt 1964

Richie Billany

Raymond Sleightholm

Tombo Pattinson

Me

Billy Robertson