Thomas's Celebration of Stanley

Hello, I'm Thomas James Armstrong, I was born in Shotley Bridge Hospital, but grew up in Shield Row, one of the villages surrounding Stanley. I am 28 years old and was once a Stanley Town Councillor. I have been in and out of local politics and community events over the last few years. It's lovely to share some stories about my family's connections with the old Board School and a nice way of keeping memories alive, and not losing them to time. 

The Board School is close to my heart, one of the first times my little boy walked independently outside of our house was outside of the Board School. So, that was his first time out of the buggy in Stanley. We were outside of Far Place in Stanley, which is just opposite the Board School. I said to his mam, how about we get him out here? He did a bit of running around, and obviously, proud dad, I got it on my phone, and I thought, it's funny, because my family has got ties with the Board School, and now I've got that little memory of my son running around outside of there before all of the big boards went up.

My great-grandparent, grandad Harris, went to the Board School as a little boy. He was coming out of school on 16^th February 1909, when the 

Burns Pit disaster happened, he told my grandma Lillian, the explosion had happened underground, the pit sirens rang to obviously alert everybody of the disaster, that story had stuck with her and she'd passed it on to my mam and to me. As my little boy gets older, I'll pass it on to him. Also, my great-grandma Harris was the cleaner at the Board School. My great grandma passed away before I was born, but my grandma thought it'd fun to tell me what her mam did. She was the cleaner in the Board School, she had a fear of mice, rats, rodents, and I think they had a hamster or gerbil, like a sort of class pet. She went in to clean the classroom. For some inexplicable reason she let it out! Later that day, the hamster went from the Board School to the shop next door, which was Brough’s store at the time, now the original Factory Shop. They had to call for the rat catcher to come and capture it! My great grandma knew full well how it happened and then obviously confessed to it many decades later. My grandad, Colin Boyd, was actually the rat catcher who was called in! He was amazed at great-grandma Harris’s confession.

Coincidentally, at the same time as my great-grandma was the cleaner at the Board School, my great-granddad Billy Hughes, went to work at the Board School as a caretaker. It was coincidental to think that he was working there as a caretaker at the same time as my great-grandma on the other side was working there as a cleaner. She was on my mam’s side of the family and he was on my dad’s side. 

I now live on the Murray Park Estate which used to be a dog track and football ground many years ago. My dad would take photographs of Stanley’s streets. I asked him, "Why are you taking pictures of the local streets?" He explained that as time passes, the streets will change. Buildings will be knocked down and new ones put up. It interested me how photography could capture moments in the town's history, to look back upon in years to come and say things like, "I remember Dawson's shop or the old Elite buildings," or, "I remember when View Lane Park, Shield Row, used to have a little bridge in it and a bowling green''. My son Morgan, who's three now, won't remember any of those things and pictures are a lovely form of reference. So it's all the more important that Karbon Homes try to do something around the community on the Board School site and actually have a plan for it. People may lose a bit of pride in their town centres when things are kind of disregarded and neglected, so it's important. In small towns and villages these types of buildings are part of the heritage. It's important that things are maintained, otherwise you just end up losing them.

With Stanley you could look at the negatives, but there's lots of great things going on like PACT House which does lovely food and takeaway on a Wednesday and a Saturday. My partner, my son, and I often go there to enjoy them. Also, all the little shops are so friendly. We like to try and support local things, like the Far Place shop as it is helping animals, which is something very close to me and my partner's hearts. Also, the shopkeepers are always happy to have a conversation with you, which is lovely because I would imagine people in cities may not always experience that. I love the community element of living in Stanley. I hope that the little businesses continue to thrive, and that people still engage with the community, because I think once people stop engaging, you haven't really got your community anymore. 

You've got to make memories with these places and experience them. It might seem a bit old-fashioned to take a bag into Stanley and do a bit of shopping and have a chat and go home, but if people try it they might enjoy it. Often the mindset was that you had to leave Stanley to succeed. My advice would be follow your dreams. I don't want to try and convince people to stay in Stanley if they're not happy here. But I think before you before you go, think about what you would miss. If me and my family were to leave Stanley, I don't think we would go far. 

With our friendly community, and the nice walks we have in the brilliant countryside, it is a lovely place to live.