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Dennis Dixon Eddie Bickerton John Hannan Gwen Hall wasn’t there; rabbit pie and stews and things!’’ and stews and pie rabbit there; wasn’t or anything but we never starved because there was always rabbit rabbit always was there because starved never we but anything or Talks about working on the Chat Moss farms Talks about how his father worked with the night soil that Talks about how his great grandfather from Describes some of the difficulties the farmers But it was a good life, we enjoyed it. We weren’t massively rich rich massively weren’t We it. enjoyed we life, good a was it But as a child… fertilised and prepared Chat Moss as farmland… Ireland ended up farming on the moss... used to face… game keeping which he had to learn from scratch more or less. less. or more scratch from learn to had he which keeping game had to give up a job he liked, which was butchering and turn to to turn and butchering was which liked, he job a up give to had ‘’If we were going to school camp we used to ‘’The old chap [Eddie’s father] during the days he used ''Back in the late 1800's my great grandfather ‘’The farmers were doing quite well. This grandma and the sisters to stay in Keepers Cottage. So my dad dad my So Cottage. Keepers in stay to sisters the and grandma have to earn our own money so we used to to lean over on a steam crane and lift the night soil out of came over from Ireland to work on the was in the early 60’s. There’s was convoys of When he came home his father had died and they wanted wanted they and died had father his home came he When have to go on the moss and work for it ‘cos me the barges in the wharf and put them in the little trucks Manchester Ship Canal and he stayed on trucks going down to London and they were a butcher and then he went in the forces in the ‘14 -‘18 war. war. -‘18 ‘14 the in forces the in went he then and butcher a dad was on poor wages on the canal. We used on the top and then the trains would take them all round the canal from Liverpool all the way up to all working hard and everybody seemed to be Dixon [kids], my dad was the youngest son. He kicked off as as off kicked He son. youngest the was dad my [kids], Dixon to go on the farms and work for three pence the moss and distribute them to the farms. Each farm had Manchester/Salford. On his way through Irlam making money. Everything was going alright Shacklady kids and my mother was about the eighth and twelve twelve and eighth the about was mother my and kids Shacklady an hour and we used to have to work flamin’ its own rail siding and they used to take them up there. which is where we are now he noticed that they until we went into the EU. What they used game keeper and he came to Irlam Moss. There were thirteen thirteen were There Moss. Irlam to came he and keeper game hard we did! I worked on quite a few and we They used to drop so many wagons in each rail siding for were developing farmland and decided that he'd to say was that they could make their money Grange to farm. My fathers family, the Dixons; his father was a a was father his Dixons; the family, fathers My farm. to Grange used to do a bit of harvesting but that was a the farmer to unload in a pit where they shovelled all this have some land and stayed, so we've been here if you had two good weeks of harvesting the wildlife and the safety of yourself and others. and yourself of safety the and wildlife a Shacklady and in 1916 her eldest brother came to Barton Barton to came brother eldest her 1916 in and Shacklady a little job that was, you only got that now and night soil from. I’m not sure but I think some of them [the ever since. lettuce, you could make your money for the Please be a responsible walker, respecting the land, private property, property, private land, the respecting walker, responsible a be Please ‘’My mother was born at West Derby, Liverpool and she was was she and Liverpool Derby, West at born was mother ‘’My then. We used to get scratched to glory with trucks] were tipplers; they tipped automatically sideways, When I was farming it was salads and vegetables. year. It was unbelievable, because of supply and harvesting the corn. The farmers used to let some of them they had to shovel out which was a pleasant Originally back when he started in the early demand but as soon as we went into the EU written pieces on the same spot they are inspired by! inspired are they spot same the on pieces written Describes how her family came to live on the moss… the on live to came family her how Describes you go on the field when they were coming job! The farmers used to empty them themselves and 1900's they were still doing things which they they could source it abroad. Then in the early Use this map to guide you around Chat Moss, and read creative creative read and Moss, Chat around you guide to map this Use round with the reaper and binder, not the spread it on the fields as and when they wanted it’’ did in Ireland like hay making and corn thrashing 80’s we had a terrible storm, there was huge Marion Blundell Marion combines that was a later day. When they were that sort of thing so I don't quite know when hailstones and it came down about this time people. going round and round they used to let you go it developed. How I knew it salads were the of year in June and they were like big flying out a community's perception of the Moss, picking out key places and and places key out picking Moss, the of perception community's a out always find somebody to do it cheaper, that’s it in a nutshell’’ a in it that’s cheaper, it do to somebody find always when they were getting at the end and so all main crop. It was mostly lettuce, spring onions, saucers and in the centre of it there was like a Based on stories, experiences, observations and aspirations, it maps maps it aspirations, and observations experiences, stories, on Based want things cheaper every time you talk to them and they can can they and them to talk you time every cheaper things want the rabbits used to congregate at the end and radish and then you'd have a few cauliflowers, big nucleus and they said that it was sand from produced by local people as part of the Stories of Chat Moss project. project. Moss Chat of Stories the of part as people local by produced have them delivered. But they were cruel really, you know they they know you really, cruel were they But delivered. them have they used to shoot the rabbits coming out and cabbage, potatoes; they were quite a big thing as the Sahara and it came across and we lost 25 This imaginative map has been created in response to creative writing writing creative to response in created been has map imaginative This want to go to one place order what they want, nationwide and and nationwide want, they what order place one to go to want foxes; anything coming out we used to get it well because the ground is so rich. It would grow acres of lettuce. do with supermarkets, they don’t like a bit here a bit there, they they there, bit a here bit a like don’t they supermarkets, with do you know. It was great; it was a great life at the absolutely anything. It was fabulous.'' We had three sons and they did work on the appreciate the history of their area. their of history the appreciate or two very large growers in this country. That’s probably a lot to to lot a probably That’s country. this in growers large very two or time you know. I didn’t realise how great it was farm but they’ve gone into other professions these memories to inspire creative work, helping younger generations generations younger helping work, creative inspire to memories these fifteen hundred to two thousand acres; just iceberg lettuce, one one lettuce, iceberg just acres; thousand two to hundred fifteen really.’’ now and there was no way that they were the Moss and local area. Local schools have worked with artists to use use to artists with worked have schools Local area. local and Moss the about four hundred acres - well there’s growers now growing growing now growers there’s well - acres hundred four about going to continue.’’ stories and memories of these people, building up an oral history of of history oral an up building people, these of memories and stories ‘’You see when you talk about Chat Moss you talk if you like like you if talk you Moss Chat about talk you when see ‘’You Alma Turner farming by local communities.

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