AS a boy John Croston grew up in Preston where his mother was a weaver.

He has fond memories of going to the mill to have lunch with his mum, sitting between the looms, munching on pies.

His mother, Suzie Farnworth, used to work in Horrocks Mill in Stanley Street.

"I used to go in and sit between the looms to eat pies that we bought outside. It was a matter of convenience. My father had died and there was no-one in a home.

"We used to sit on weth cans. All our family worked in the mills, my mother was a weaver. She used to run about six looms. There were also tatlers, spinners and winders working in the mills."

One of the most memorable occasions of John's childhood came in 1938 when Preston North End won the FA Cup.

"They decorated the mill in blue and white, with bunting strewn all over. It looked tremendous," he said.

John who lived in St Mary's Street, off Ribbleton Lane, and went to St Ignatius' Primary School recalls taking part in the Whitsun procession of 1937

along with those making their first holy communion at the church.

The youngsters marched along in their smart white suits leading the parade through Deepdale and on to the church, opposite Preston Bus Station.

John, now 69, took up coach building when he left school: "I went to work at a place called Dyson and Greyson off Porter Street," he said, "I started there as a boy and finished off at the Rolls Royce in Crewe. When I went to Rolls Royce it was a different world, much cleaner and better paid."

He moved to Crewe and then on to Tarpauley near Chester where he lives now. But every week one of his relatives sends him a copy of his favourite free weekly so that he can keep up with local news.

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