It’s always the most magical time of the year
Christmas has always been a magical time for families and children – even in the toughest of years. Nostalgia recalls three decades of festive seasons with some touching stories and images
IT was a cold, dark Christmas for families living in the Manchester slums over the freezing winter of 1946 to 1947.
Rationing was in full force, coke and slag had to be gathered every day to keep warm and water froze in buckets and outside toilets.
The midwinter was bleak indeed. Hundreds of homes still lay in ruins after the Manchester Blitz and many families took shelter where they could.
By the end of World War II, more than four million of Britain’s 12.5 million homes had suffered damage.
More than 280,000 had been destroyed and a further 250,000 had been ruined beyond economic repair.
There was not only a shortage of building materials, but a lack of skilled labour too.
The workforce had shrunk from its pre-war level of one million to less than 350,000.
By the end of the war, it was estimated that Manchester had 120,000 sub-standard houses – resulting from a combination of previous poor maintenance, subsidence and bomb damage.
Of these, 69,000 were classed as unfit for human habitation and should be demolished as soon as possible.
The situation was so desperate that it was not unknown for families to take over abandoned military installations – with or without official permission.
Nissen huts on Birch Hall Lane were offered for rent at eight(s), three(d) per week.
There was one cold water tap per hut and the only toilets were situated in the ablutions block.
Repairing Manchester’s war damage would last well into the 1950s, so families made the most of what they had.
Photos from the time give a profound insight into the hardships of family life in the slums - none more so than images of the Duncan family taken in January and February 1947.
The moving photos depict children gathering on the doorstep and the smaller ones in the family sleep four in a bed.
The city school the Duncan children attend is a Victorian relic with cramped rows of wooden desks. Children of various ages, still dressed in coats and scarves against the cold, gather together on one side of the classroom. A solitary light bulb adorns the teacher’s desk.
But there is real human warmth in the pictures too. There are flimsy decorations on the walls of the family house as the Duncans enjoy a meal together. Mother is about to open a pint of milk in the centre of the table. The image epitomises post war austerity.
The picture is very different seven years later in 1954. Rationing has ended and Christmas has regained many of its traditional ingredients.
Our photo shows a Manchester youngster eagerly icing a cake in front of the Christmas tree on December 23.
Home-building had started to improve as well. In 1954, new legislation allowed the city to reassess its housing needs and embark on a five-year programme to demolish 7,500 slums out of 70,000 still remaining.
Salford was quick off the mark, opening the eight-storey Clement Atlee House in May 1956. The building contained 110 flats.
Fast forward 15 years to December 1969, and post-war austerity is being replaced by the new consumerism.
Santa was in his grotto at Lewis’s store and every child looked forward to opening their presents on Christmas Day.
Two great football managers, City’s Joe Mercer and United’s Matt Busby, were swept up in the Christmas spirit when they each took toys to the Variety Club charity lunch at the Midland Hotel on the eve of their local derby.
It was honours even in the match too as the sides fought out a 2-2 draw in the second leg of their Football League Cup semi-final at Maine Road.
One of the most heart-warming family stories of Christmas 1969 came from Bolton.
Four-year-old Simon Dingley was so upset when he saw on TV that Santa had been arrested that he wrote an appeal to the police for his release.
But his sorrow turned to joy when kind-hearted PC George Fobersby called round at his family home and put him in touch with the police station by phone.
Simon was delighted to receive an assurance that the distinguished visitor would be making his rounds as usual.
That, surely, is what Christmas is all about.
If you have any memories of bygone Manchester you’d like to share – or even a picture or two – why not post a comment on the iNostalgia Facebook page or our website inostalgia.co.uk.
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