i have seen this an a post i remember this being a coggy watch man am i right? and where did the name originate?
Printable View
i have seen this an a post i remember this being a coggy watch man am i right? and where did the name originate?
Origin unkown but it was Cockey Watchman and not Coggy.
The story is that the watchman had a cocked eye that looked sideways. :ninja:
A bent watchman. The word Cocky for watchman then became common. Kids called it Coggy.
It could well be that both words were in use in different areas - but I only ever heard Cocky. In many places they'd have a brazier at night for warmth. Health and Safety would probably make that impossible now.
Definitely "Cocky" where I lived:unibrow:
I'ver never ever heard the saying lol
I suppose different area's of liverpool could have used different words
It was both of them in Birkenhead, cocky and coggie. They used to be either very bitter old men or very easy with their meagre hospitality. A strange breed indeed.
They were common in the 1950's and into the 60's, usually protecting road works. here is the typical view of one in the early '60's.
That's a classic pic',Sirob!
True. As kids we used to go and visit a few of them. Imagine that, this day and age. We used to share tea and they would tell us stories of WW2. They all seemed to have served in one war or another. They never seemed sad or loosers to us kids, they seemed worldly wise and full of wonder. I can't imagine letting my kids or grand kids anywhere near guys like that. How times change, and for the worst.
Yeah, there was a cocky watchman in our local swing park and the kids would go and get a warm by the fire. All innocent stuff but would be frowned upon now.
Jeeze, the poor guy would need a CRB check to even say hello to a kid now.Those guys were responsible for all us kids going away to sea and joining the Army. They gave us a thirst for wonder and adventure. Our dads were in the pub. Where could you get that now? All adults are child molesters these days. In fact we're not, 99.9% of us really care for kids.