If ever a man loved a dog, “Love me, love my dog,” it was Bill Pallister. Bill always had a dog with him for companionship and the Bedlington Terrier was the breed he specialised in. Fewer better judges of the real breed lived in the North-country than he.
There was an old yarn of a miner who explained why he had not gone to “the Toon,” (Newcastle) at the pay weekend saying that “a man lyuks such a fyul withoot a dog.” That was typical of the Burradon pitman who eventually came to Blyth to live and work as a coal-trimmer.
Bill was a good representative of the hardy Northumberland pitman, broad shouldered, all brawn and muscle, and always good tempered. He was endowed with all our native wit and was a popular man wherever he went and among whom he mixed, and he was a keen supporter of what might be aptly described as all the pitman’s sporting hobbies, potshare bowling, boat rowing, running, etc.
One of the gifts he did not possess was that of a vocalist, of which there were so many splendid types in East Northumberland. An amusing story he used to tell was how, when he was at school at Burradon, he upset the harmony of the class singing till the schoolmaster one day detected that he was the guilty one, and ordered him to keep quit, and not spoil the show again.
What he himself lacked, musically, however, was represented in his only daughter, Mrs Hodgson, who, as Miss Pallister in her younger days was a popular vocalist on the local concert platform, while her husband, Mr Harry Hodgson, was the music teacher and organist of the Waterloo Presbyterian Church, Blyth.
To use a homely phrase William Pallister was “as good as gold” straight and honest, a faultless husband and father. In his years of retirement , the curse of rheumatism had laid a heavy hand on him, which closed his companionship with animal life.

Can any of our readers remember the “Clackers” ? This was a craze during the 1970’s that gave doctors and medical staff a headache. If a shot had misfired, one of the clackers could give the arm or hand a nasty sharp rap, hard enough to cause an injury. Doctors were tired of children with clackered wrists and clackered fingers turning up at the hospital casualty, and the local doctor’s surgeries. Eventually these toys were phased out.

Do you have any memories of these toys?

Dr. Robert Alexander Morris died suddenly at his home in Harrogate in January, 1941, at the age of 68. It came as a shock to his family and friends, especially in his native village of Choppington, where he was well known in East Northumberland as a sportsman of the best kind.
He was interested in greyhound coursing and football and was the first chairman of Bedlington United after the club became a limited liability company.
A Justice of the Peace for Northumberland he sat at Bedlington Court and acquired quite a reputation as peacemaker in many of the domestic squabbles that became before the magistrates.
He had a brilliant career as a medical student and after qualifying practiced at Choppington until about 1926.
In 1931 he suffered a double bereavement through the death of his wife and daughter in a car accident.

In July 1956, Frank Higgs aged 43 years, of East Howden was found drowned in Northumberland Dock, North Shields. Frank was a former goalkeeper for Bedlington United and Seaton Delaval.
He joined Bedlington United in the 1927-28 season from a Northern Amatuer Club, Howden Stead Memorial.
In 1928 he made the change to Seaton Delaval and immediaitly following his debut against Crawcrook Albion, he was transfered to Chelsea. Frank remained with Chelsea to the end of the 1929-30 season, and after that played in succession for the Irish League Club, Linfield, Barnsley, Manchester City, Aldershot, Walsall, Carlisle United and Southend United.
At the start of the 1938-39 season he joined Barrow, but after playing in their first eight Third Division games he received an injury which finished his career in professional football.
He was a powerfully built goalkeeper, standing at 6ft 1inches in height and weighed 13 stone.
At his inquest there was no evidence to show how he came to be in the water and an open verdict was recorded.