Thomas and Eliza's Children - Edna Dent

Edna Dent was Thomas and Eliza's 7th and youngest child.  Edna was born on the 11th April 1904 at Barnard Castle Co Durham.

Barnard Castle

At the age of 25, in 1929, Edna married William (Billy) Noon aged 30, who was from Winlaton.  William was born on 22nd February 1899.

Winlaton 1936

Sadly I don't have any photographs of Edna or Billy, but at one time they lived at 10 Turret Road Newcastle upon Tyne.

10 Turret Road Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019

The 1939 Register records that William worked as a Steel Rougher. 

In 2005 William's daughter Norma informed me that her father worked at the Delta Steelworks Swalwell for 40 years, leaving with a gold watch and a pension of ten shillings a week. 

Edna and Billy had only one child, Norma Noon who was born in 1935.  Norma went on to marry John Burton - they had a daughter and son.

A few years ago I was in contact with Norma's son who was also interested in his family history.  Through him, Norma and I wrote to each other via email.  

"23rd December 2005

Dear Pauline,

I enjoyed reading your email to John, it was most interesting.  I don't remember your mam at all, so it was nice reading about her.  I do remember Billy though, as I was learning to play the piano about the same time, and he taught me to play 'My Guys Come Back' without music 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQT76WlpUQ
 - my only piece of jazz!  He was very good.  

Aunt Janet and Uncle Luke are only vague memories I'm afraid.  I seem to remember that they went to Peru to work, but didn't stay long, as they didn't like being with the native people.  It must have been quite a change from Scotswood!

We saw a lot of Aunt Jinny and Uncle Tommy - they were my Godparents.  Tommy fell from a ladder while working as a cleaner for the United Buses, and never worked again.  He had a number of operations and spent many, many months in Hexham Hospital.  The operations were on the hip and resulted in one leg being shorter than the other - I remember the huge built up boot he wore?  The ulcers were a result of all this.  No Health and Safety or compensation in those days, so life must have been very hard.  Aunt Jinny took in lodgers and cleaned for a number of people.  The embroidery was a form of therapy.  Tommy learnt this while in hospital, and making soft toys.  I wasn't living in Newcastle when Jinny became ill and went to Hospital.  I remember mam saying she visited and found her scrubbing the floor!  She didn't know mam, who was so upset. Very sad to remember all these things.

Aunt Sally married Ernie Pattinson and they lived in Hordon. Ernie worked in the pit there.  They had 3 children, Elsie, Fred and Norman.  Fred was in the RAF and served in India during the later part of the war.  When he came out he worked in the Ministry at Longbenton and lived with Aunt Jinny for a lot of years.  He never married and is living in Peterlee, Co Durham

Aunt Milly married Thomas Davidson and lived in Scotswood.  They had four children, Edna, Freda, Elsie (another one) and Tom.  I spent a lot of time with them being a bit younger than Elsie and a bit older than Tom.

Uncle Jack (John Robert) married Eleanor (Nellie) and they had two children, Claudia and Fred.  Uncle Jack worked for Vickers Armstrong.

Mam (Edna) married Billy Noon and lived in Armstrong road first, then in Denton Burn.  I was their only child, born in 1935 at Grandma's flat in Whitfield Road.  Dad worked for nearly 40 years at the Delta Steelworks in Swalwell.  He left with a pension of ten shillings a week and a gold watch, which he gave to his grandson.

Delta Works Swalwell

 I married John William Burton who originated from Scotswood and spent the war years in Cumbria.  He was in the RAF for 12 years, during which time we were married.  We have lived in Cumbria since the 60's and have a son and daughter.  My daughter lives in the Scottish Highlands.

Freddie as you know, died in the Montague Pit disaster in 1925.  I think it must have affected all the family.  Mam said that Grandma went every day to the pit head to wait for news, and all you could hear was the rushing of the water as it was pumped out of the mine shaft.  At one time the owners wanted to fill in the mine but public opinion changed that and eventually all 38 men's bodies were recovered.  I still have some of the original cuttings from the Evening Chronicle, along with some of those from the paper 50 years later in 1975.

The Dent family came from Woodland and Copfield in Co Durham to live in Whitfield Road in about 1911.  I think it must have been to find work.

I have quite a few photographs and hope you find some of them interesting [these photographs may have been sent to me but I had to purchase a new computer and they may have been lost in transfer of files].

Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.    

Norma" 

"Jan 2006

Dear Norma,

Thank you so much for such a lovely and informative letter. You brought back memories that I thought had been completely erased from my memory. 

Grandma and Grandpa Dent (Luke and Janet) were always talking about the Dent girls, "Our Sally, Edna, Meelie, and Jinny". Unfortunately I can’t remember much of my Great Uncles, but Uncle Jack and Auntie Nellie I just about remember, I know we visited them.

Sally's son Fred Pattinson I remember very well as he lodged with Aunt Jinny and Uncle Tommy, so we saw him when we visited them.  Fred always appeared very worldly and intelligent to my sister Dorothy and I.  I think I also met Claudia Dent at Gregson Street Scotswood at Luke and Janet's.

What amazed me is Janet seemed to get on well with her sister's-in-law.  I never heard her ever say anything awful about them.

I cannot believe Fred is still alive he must be about 85 now.

Fred, Billy, Edna and Elsie are grand Dent family names, but the tradition of naming children after other family members has long gone now, which is a real shame. My middle name is Clark, the Clark was from both my Grandma's - Grandma Dent was a Clark before she was married, and so was Grandma Stafford, although they were not related.

It is a bit of a fluke that I called my daughter Elise, like you Norma she is an 'only one'.  Her name is French for Elizabeth, but I didn't have the sense to carry on Clark for her middle name - it is actually Nicola.  Having a surname like Tweddell I wanted her to have a pretty name, but when you glance at Elise it is often taken for Elsie, as it is just the 'i' transposed, so she is often called Elsie Tweddell by the doctors etc.  I don't think she realises there have been a few Elsie's in the family before her!  

I was telling our Dorothy about getting your lovely letter and she was talking about your mam.  We both remember Edna through the eyes of very small children, but to us she was very friendly, buxom and bonny.  Dorothy remember’s her being very smart wearing a black pencil skirt, stockings with seams and her wetting the back of her heels to keep her shoes on. It is strange what you remember as a child isn’t it?

I can just imagine Uncle Billy teaching you a piece of Jazz Norma.  Dorothy and I idolised him, although we didn't really see much of him.  We thought he was very handsome in his Merchant Navy Uniform, and was a fabulous pianist, to this day I love listening to Fats Waller and Satchmo.

I can remember him bringing back some really exotic presents from his travels.  Grandma had a musical gondola, and a beautiful cameo and gold broach which was passed on to my mam and then to me and will eventually be passed on to Elise. 

 Cameo Broach bought by Billy Dent for his mother Janet

I can also remember he brought back a fez and smoking jacket for Luke.  Luke was a good sport and would sit with his fez and smoking jacket on - smoking his pipe full of Condor Sliced tobacco.  On very rare occasions, these days, if I get a whiff of Condor Slice it takes me back to Gregson Street.  Wonderful memories!

Fez

I cannot explain how wonderful it has been contacting you and to receive family information that brought memories flooding back.  I am not going to allow this to be forgotten this time.  I have many photographs of people from my dad's side of the family that I have no idea who they are, so I have written the information on the back and have started an album containing photograph. birth, wedding and death certificates so they can be passed on and not forgotten.  I am going to do the same with my Dent family  Dot says she has a few more photographs so if they are of interest I will pass them on to John through email.

With warm and loving wishes        Pauline Tweddell"

William (Billy) Noon passed away on May 6th 1982 at Denton Burn Newcastle upon Tyne at the age of 83.  

Edna Noon (nee Dent) passed away in 1984 aged 79

Edna and William had been married for 52 years.