The Leaving of Liverpool

Like so many I do not live in your beautiful city but I have roots there and you can never forget your roots. I was blessed to have a grandfather who hailed from Liverpool and moved to Ireland with his skill as a basket weaver was greatly sought. He had learnt this traditional craft in Liverpool as way back then hazel baskets and trays of all sizes were needed in the docks etc.

He came to Derry in the north of Ireland as it was a busy wee port and they had the demand for his skill. I remember as a child being taken walks out along the river by my Dad and shown the hazel cops that his father tended to gather in the rods he needed for his work.

Like his other six brothers come the Great War they all enlisted in the Cheshire Regiment and went to France to fight. But that's a different story.

How many of you know of the sons and daughters of Liverpool that have travelled far and wide throughout the world taking their skills and their Liverpool wit with them. The Liverpudlians who went to live abroad never forgot their roots and instilled a pride in their city that has lasted generations.

Thats a really nice post that Gerry

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Originally Posted by SteH

Thats a really nice post that Gerry

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Sure is, nice story.

A lovely, descriptive piece of work. Nice one Gerry.

Are there any other Liverpool descendants on the site that want to tell their story

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Originally Posted by Gerry

Are there any other Liverpool descendants on the site that want to tell their story

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A great idea for a thread Gerry. We have a lot of ex pats on here and it would be interesting to hear their stories about how they emigrated, or their parents or grandparents.

I had a Great Great Aunt that left Liverpool in 1908 and sailed to Boston on the SS Ivernia. She went with he 18 year old son from Woolton Village for a better life in the states but she died 3 years later. The son became successful in the shoe industry and later worked on the campus at Havard University and there is to this day an extended family still in the Boston area. I have just made contact with a distant cousin there who has provided me with geneology info that was impossible for me to obtain elsewhere.

Really moved by Gerrys thread. Wherever you go in the world you bump into a scouser. Come to think about it, you always bump into someone Irish, which is always a blessing!

My own Dad, God bless him, apparently came from a Gypsy family from Ireland. My family name is not common in England but is all over the place in Florida. the scouse/irish DO get around.

Do the Cheshire Regiment still exist in any form? I would love to know. Perhaps someone could set up a thead for some of the Liverpool related regiments.

I have a brother who lives in Runcorn and he was able to have my Granda's military record traced for him with the Cheshires. They were able to tell when he and his brothers all signed up. Were they fought etc etc.
My Granda was injured and captured by the Germans and spent the end of the war as a POW. He was returned home on a hospital ship and signed his discharge papers on his stretcher at the bottom of the gangway. He lived a few years longer but died a young man leaving three young sons and a widow who wasn't entitled to any pension as he was discharged from the army "in good health".

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Originally Posted by Gerry

I have a brother who lives in Runcorn and he was able to have my Granda's military record traced for him with the Cheshires. They were able to tell when he and his brothers all signed up. Were they fought etc etc.
My Granda was injured and captured by the Germans and spent the end of the war as a POW. He was returned home on a hospital ship and signed his discharge papers on his stretcher at the bottom of the gangway. He lived a few years longer but died a young man leaving three young sons and a widow who wasn't entitled to any pension as he was discharged from the army "in good health".

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i've heard similar stories regarding the discharge papers, it is kinda sick when you think about what they gave

Life was very cheap back then. The government didn't really care for the working class cannon fodder.

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Originally Posted by Gerry

Life was very cheap back then. The government didn't really care for the working class cannon fodder.

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yeah but they don't mind pushing the success stories for their own gains while they forget about the poor men who gave up everything

Have we any members with Liverpool roots that they would like to talk about?