Gloria Stitt

Main Street Memories Gloria Stitt

Present day Addingham is very different to what it was during the Second World War and the 1950s. The first part of this book describes the everyday life of two young girls growing up on Main Street during the war, and for their families. With rationing, gas lighting and no central heating or modern conveniences, life was hard for mothers, particularly, many of whom had their husbands away on the front line. However, as youngsters, the authors knew no different life and playing in the fields and shopping on Main Street (particularly for sweets and comics) were more important! The second part of the book describes an imaginary shopping walk that they could have made down Main Street and back in the 1940s, with descriptions of all the sixty plus shops and other businesses that then lined the street and supplied the villagers with their every need. Few of these shops remain today. However, Addingham, even though no longer a working mill village, retains its charming village character and still has lots to offer, with its thriving population, some much valued shops, and all of its pubs.