The Coburn Family

June Coburn and Ghiela in the garden at 67 Basingstoke Road, 1971.

Garden of 67 Basingstoke Road, c.1975.

Mum at the window in 20 Helford Road, c.1981.

L-R: Kelvin Reynolds, Kevin Locke, John Coburn, Jerrard Locke.

We got to hear of this place called Peterlee through my older brother John. He’d heard there were houses available in the New Town through some boy he met while working at a holiday camp. Where we’d been living in Scotland was very cramped and the kitchen and outside toilet were shared with other tenants. Here in Peterlee, we were offered a modern three bedroom house with its own bathroom and kitchen.

It was just before Christmas 1970 when we first arrived in Peterlee and picked up the keys to 67 Basingstoke Road. I was 17. We literally had nothing to our name because the place we’d been renting in Scotland came fully furnished. My mother myself and our dog Ghiela shared a single horsehair mattress in the living room. On Christmas Day we had a slice of bread each. The dog had nothing. I still feel guilty about that. With it being Christmas, nowhere was open to get any help or to sign on. The elderly lady living next door was a life saver. She fed us for the next few days, and the dog! What kindness. We repaid her by doing her shopping, running errands and things like that.

June Coburn