RIP Susan Quilter

Susan making her First Holy Communion. Our Lady's Church, Harrison Rd.

Sadly, the community lost a delightful lady recently. I had known Susan Quilter for almost a year and the first half of her story was posted here only a couple of weeks ago: Moira St.

She was very keen to share her memories of being an English/Irish child growing up in Leicester and gave me the most fabulous photos; so many in fact that I'm able to make two fascinating stories. Sue's partner, Pat, has kindly given me permission to complete her story by posting the next part, Biddle St.

Thank you Pat, and we are so sorry for your loss.

The netball team at St. Patricks school, Harrsion Rd. Susan, top left, with the lovely bow in her hair.

 If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:

The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester or join The Irish in Leicester group on Facebook.

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

Moira St

Susan Quilter was born in Leicester to an English mother and Irish father.  Her father, William Greally (called Bill in Leicester) was born in Roscommon in 1922. He was the eldest  of 7 brothers and a sister. His grandparents had a small farm but, although there was plenty of work to be had at home, the money was better in England. He first came over with three or four other fellas when he was 17 in 1939.They came to Reading where he got a job as an apprentice electrician. This was a reserved occupation which meant he was not conscripted when war broke out.

He later moved up to Leicester to work in the mines at Desford and had rooms at 2 Moira St.

Bill Greally's pit tag.

Susan’s Mum, Irene Lismore, had come to Leicester with her family when they moved from Bisceter, Oxfoshire. They lived at 4 Moira St!

Bill and Irene met and were courting for about 2 years before they married in 1944.

Irene’s parents moved back to Oxford and, after they had married at Leicester Registry Office, Irene and Bill lived at no. 4. They had 5 of their 6 children here: Pete, Sue, Maggie, Dette and Gez. It was a 3 bedroom rented house and Irene’s Mum came back to live with them after she was widowed.

Pete Greally in the backyard of Moira St.

 The older children, Dette, Sue and Mags went to St. Patrick’s school on Harrison Rd and Sue later won a scholarship to go to Wyggeston Girl’s school.

There was one other Irish family on the street called Quinn, and Kathleen Quinn went to St. Patricks School too.

Sue can remember Griffith’s shop; potatoes in sacks, sweet jars full of collar studs and buttons, slabs of cheese and bacon. She says “Even though they might be closed you could always knock on the door and they’d serve you.”

The family used Our Lady’s Church on Harrison Rd. which is now a Hindu temple. She remembers the May Day procession which went down Moira St, along Melton Rd, up Canon St and back along Harrison Rd to the church.

The picture below is taken on Coronation Day, 1954 under an archway on Moira St. There had been a street party to celebrate the Coronation with tables set out in the street. Unfortunately it started to rain and the women pulled the tables in out of the wet. Susan's mother, Irene, is left of centre wearing a swagger coat and expecting Maggie.



Moira St. Coronation day 1954.

Her uncles followed their brother Bill over and would often stay with the family. They might then find their own rooms or even go back to Ireland and come back again. Sue remembers that her Uncle Pat, known as “Black Pat” would pawn his suit on a Monday morning and get it out again at the weekend. “He’d come round on a Friday night with a steak to be cooked and a tin of Lucky Numbers sweets.”

Bernard Greally's Travel Identity card.

Click through for more about the original St.Patrick's school on Royal East St.

 If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:

The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester or join The Irish in Leicester group on Facebook.

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

Harrison Rd

I've had a fantastically quick response from the new friends I made at the Holy Cross lunch club on Tuesday. These two photos were taken at St.Patrick's School, Harrison Rd, around 1956/7 and were given to me by Susan Quilter, top left of the netball team with the lovely bow in her hair.

Surely some of you, your parents, friends and family are in these photos too. I would love to hear from you if you are!

The school netball team. St Patrick's School, Harrison Rd, 1956/7
Susan Quilter, Shirley Russell, Monica Reid.
Front row Ann Robinson,Pat Bailey, Janet Irwin, Judith Shell and Susan Fox..

This photo includes Mr Brennan centre stage. He was Deputy Head at the time, and went on to be Headmaster at English Martyrs.

St Patrick's School, Harrison Rd, 1956/7.

For more about St. Patrick's school and club and its role in the life of The Irish in Leicester see :

Garden St,  St. Patrick's school, Royal East St., Wharf St, St. Patrick's club, Abbey St  

 If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:

The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester or join The Irish in Leicester group on Facebook.

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.

St. Patrick's school, Royal East St.

St Patrick's school, Royal East St.
(Thanks to Colin Hyde for the photo:  East Midlands Oral History Archive)

I wrote a few days ago about a lady whose family had lived on Wilton St ( off Belgrave Gate).Well.... 

She and her brothers and sisters went to St Patrick’s school in Royal East St. A Leicester Mercury article states " the Victorian Gothic building was constructed for the town’s expanding Roman Catholic community. Later a church, built by Irish immigrant labour, was attached to the school forming a T shape. This became a separate parish in 1873 (it was originally attached to Holy Cross)."

A postcard from St Patrick's church.

Spencer’s Guide to Leicester, 1888, describes the school as ornamental and well-conceived…"there are 500 children in the schools which Dominican Sisters teach. Being so handy and central it harbours children of many denominations who receive the same attention as the large colony of Irish children who crowd the courts and alleys of the district that lies between St Margaret’s and St Marks."

The space where the stataue of St Patrick once stood.

 The Dominican Sisters had long gone by the time my friend attended the school. Miss Belton was headmistress and she transferred up to the new school. The priest was Canon George.

My friend remembers Carr’s button factory facing the school. The buttons were made from ivory and the children would suck cast off pieces strewn all over on the ground outside like sweets.This cherished cutting from the Leicester Mercury gives a little more information.

The school closed in 1937 and moved a new school on Harrison Rd for pupils aged 4-14. Catholics at the time collected money to help the cost of setting up the new school. While collecting money for the new school she recalls seeing terrible conditions in Wharf St. There would be 8 houses around a courtyard with a single tap between them: far worse conditions than anything she’d seen before.(More on Wharf St in a future blog.)

She met her husband in 1953 at Our Lady of Good Council on Moira St before the church moved out to Gleneagles Ave, He was an officer in the RAF She met him at a dance at the Birstall Social club-home. He lived in Birstall and was home on leave for the weekend. One of his friends was engaged to a friend of her sister’s and that’s how they met.

If you'd like to be involved contact us on 0116 276 9186 or pop in to:
The Emerald Centre, Gipsy Lane, Leicester. LE5 OTB

We're now also on Twitter: follow me on  @irishleicester

Click here to view a map of The Irish in Leicester.