Maureen Raine (nee. Waddell)

We first lived in Pickard Close before moving to 31 Ashton Rise. One memory which stands out, which I now find amusing, is of the Queen’s visit to Peterlee in 1960. Our house was going to be in the sightline of the Queens car as it drove up Edenhill Road on route to the White House. Whereas most of the houses in this part of Peterlee are red brick, ours had a part rendered finish and so they gave it a fresh coat of paint and the windows and doors. Well they painted the sides of the houses, windows and doors that would be visible to the Queen’s car as she passed. The other side of the houses they didn’t even touch.¹

My twin sister Margaret and I joined the Ballroom Dance School at The Whitehouse on Eden Lane. It must have been in 1960, because I recall we were about nine at the time. I’m sure it was our Mother who encouraged us to go. I can’t remember the names of the couple who ran it. I think his name was John. He was tall and slim with a pencil moustache and was always immaculately dressed. My first dance partner was David Turnbull. Margaret’s partner was Bill Raine. Me and Bill started courting when I was about eleven or twelve. When I first took notice of him, I remember saying to my friend Linda Parkin that I was going to marry that boy, which I did of course. When I was 14, our parents moved us to Easington, which is when we stopped going to the dance school.

I left Dene House Secondary School in 1966 and in the August started work as a machinist at Charnos, where they made ladies underwear. I was only there five or six months. The manager, Mr Burke, wasn’t a nice man. Burke by name, berk by nature. My mam Renee, who was then working at Clix Fasteners, offered to ask the owner Frank King if there was a job for me there. As soon as I received word that I had a job to go to, I marched into the manager’s office and told him I was leaving. I remember a friend saying to me afterwards that it was the only time they’d seen me coming out of his office smiling, rather than crying.

My first supervisor when I moved to Clix Fasters was Edna Mackey, who was a lovely woman. To begin with, they put me on the machine attaching the sliders to the zips. The chain, as it came off the gapers, could cut your hands to bits. I was quite happy when they took me off this and moved me onto repairs, which had to be done by hand.

The funniest memory I have from my ten years at Clix was the day that my mam saw a mouse. She was working on the tent zips, which were huge, long things, when it ran up the length of the chain towards her. She started screaming and shouting and with all the commotion the whole factory stopped work. Edna Mackey investigated and as soon as she realised it as a mouse, jumped up onto the packing bench. Everyone ended up in fits of laughter once they realised what had happened.

¹ Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Peterlee on 27th May 1960. After arriving at Horden Station at 10am, the royal couple were driven to the town centre for a welcome reception before visiting St Cuthbert’s Parish Church and Peterlee Memorial Methodist Church. From there the motorcade made its way to Peterlee Community Centre (The Whitehouse), then continued its journey on to Jeremiah Amblers factory on North East Industrial Estate, Ann’s Pantry on York Road, and 18 Avon Road, home of Mr and Mrs. Tindle. The royal couple departed Peterlee at 12pm and drove to Durham before continuing to Newton Aycliffe New Town for the final leg of their official state visit to County Durham.