Photographs show faces from wartime in one part of Merseyside

West Kirby has changed significantly over the years, with the town’s roads and the buildings that line it looking very different, being used for different purposes or once adored shops no longer existing.

If you go back almost 100 years, like many places on Merseyside, parts of the area are arguably unrecognisable to how we see them today. But old photos still tell the stories of life in West Kirby^[1] from years gone by - including these images, captured during WWII.

The photographs, believed to have been taken between 1939 and 1942, offer a glimpse into the past of West Kirby Residential School, which was first known as a Children’s convalescent home in the late 1800s.^[2] According to West Kirby School and College's website, the home began in Filey Terrace by admitting six children so that they could benefit from "good clean fresh air, good food, dedicated care and attention."

The present site^[4] was later acquired, with a hospital block built in 1899, and was recognised by the Board of Education as a Day School attached to a Home, which was opened in 1901. The "first school in the country to be recognised for the education of children with physical difficulties," by 1905, the Board of Education recognised the school as a Boarding School.

But the fascinating photos, courtesy of Russell Craig, 65, show life on the site during WWII and feature his mum Hilda Turnbull, who worked there at the time. Originally moving to Birkenhead, by 1939 Hilda was living on-site.

Russell, originally from County Durham, told the ECHO:^[5] "My mother was brought up in Newcastle. Her grandfather lived for a time in Birkenhead in St Paul's Road. I guess that’s how she moved away from the family home.

"It’s now West Kirby School and College, but my mother was working and living there at the time when war broke out. I remember my mum saying that she liked working there because she was working with children.

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"I do remember her saying to me once that she could remember the bombs dropping. She did speak about her friends when I was kid - I know she definitely liked it there and had friends."

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Living in Birkenhead from the late 1930s until 1942, Hilda joined the ATS - Auxiliary Territorial Service - and went to Scotland, where she met Russell's father. Russell described his mum, who died in 1998, as "outward-going and always bringing humour to a room," and hopes the photographs spark memories for residents living in the area.

West Kirby's Children's Convalescent Home site during WWII (Image: Image submitted by Russell Craig)

Russell said: "All my mother's colleagues at the time would be long dead - unless they're very old. But I think some of the kids in that photo could still be alive or if not the children of those kids could well be and might recognise someone.

"It's such a good photograph and you can see they're geared up for war. The guy at the front of the photo, he looks like he was in charge of fire safety or something and on the right-hand side is the postman who looks about 17.

"My mum is sitting in the left-hand corner not looking at the camera in that photograph. I just thought there will be people around that area who may recognise someone in that group photograph."

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References

1. ^{^} West Kirby (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
2. ^{^} the late 1800s. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
3. ^{^} 30 fascinating photos capture Liverpool life back in the 1930s (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
4. ^{^} The present site (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
5. ^{^} the ECHO: (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Join the Liverpool ECHO's memories and history WhatsApp community (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Liverpool ECHO by signing up here (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)