White Heather Camp (The Huttments)

[mike_dawson]

Hi all,
Whilst researching my Fathers Childhood, i found his address on leaving school in 1931 was listed as Eighth Ave, Heaton Park. I have located it with lots of help from my friends.
I have found reference to it being a place for family's from the slums to have a holiday. But i have found the "estate " listed in the electoral register. This infers more than a holiday visit.
Any help please on this estate, also shown on map in 1932 as "The huttments".
Rooting for info,
Regards Mike (The first Hutty)

[bursy]

Hi Mike,

There is an aerial photograph of the White Heather Camp on the Manchester Council Image collection

http://images.manchester.gov.uk/Display.php?irn=60136&QueryPage=%2F

you can enlarge the image

Regards, Dave

[Barbara.H]

White Heather Camp was mentioned early on in the first Heaton Park Prefabs thread (reply 17, January 08)  by Aggiebagwash.  This is the place that became the RAF camp during WW2

From an old M'cr Evening News article:  http://www.nemadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/512949_hall_plans_fail
"Today people still remember the park for the White Heather Camp, a charity that offered a break for children from the poorer areas of the city in the 1920s. It was also used as an RAF transit camp during the war when young airmen staying there included Tony Benn and author James Herriot."

I'm intrigued about your map now Mike, what make is it? I have a Geographia map that I thought was around 1932-1934 in date but there is no Camp or Huttings on mine. (I'm keen to date mine accurately because if it's old enough I will be able to post images of it without getting told off  )


  Barbara

[mike_dawson]

Hi Barbara,
The map i used was on the online map resourse, Old-Maps.co.uk
I selected "prestwich" and chose the 1932 map the scrolled to the corner of heaton park.
I use this site a lot in my geneology works.
Regards Mike

[mike_dawson]

Hi Barbara,
I've just had a lesson in Hyperlinks from my nephew, i will now give you the link to the map.
http://www.old-maps.co.uk/IndexMapPage2.aspx
Hope this works or i am in detention.

[Barbara.H]

10/10 to your nephew and an escape from detention for you Mike!

Do you think your father's family might have been live-in caretakers at the Holiday Camp? Sounds as if it was still going strong in the 1930s.  Or were there people based there permanently to look after the visiting children, like short term foster caring?

I tried Old Maps ages ago but my Old Computer took ages to load the images so I forgot about it. I've speeded up now - its wonderful!

Barbara

[zostar]

The people who lived in the hutments were waiting for that estate behind what is now Sainsburys to be built, they then moved in.  My dad who is still alive lived at Third Avenue, he describes the huts as being quite big, roughly divided into three bedrooms with a toilet tacked on the end. They also had large pipes running round from the fire which helped keep the chill off.  All the residents had to maintain their large garden in good order, they could book to have baths at the wash house, which also had showers.  The site supported a small general shop near the entrance.  the white Heather Camp was nearby but not the same site.

[sarah]

Hi Zostar,

How very interesting and forward thinking of using pipes from the fire.

I am very sorry but it looks like Mike has changed his email address and sadly we do not know what the new one is. I did do a little search too many people with the same name.

The subject of the Heaton Park prefabs quite often comes up.  If you put "Heaton Park prefab" into RootsChat search it will show you the other topics, maybe your Dad may recognise a few of the folk who posted about living there.

Here is one of the threads
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=302853.0

Regards

Sarah