In their latest book, local author, Mia Thomas writes about Shildon: from stalwarts of the town, to heroes, to the tragic, good and decent people from a time far different from our own.
The journey begins with reminiscences of the first ever railway and the role Shildon played in its evolution. This chapter contains interesting descriptions of Shildon in the 1830s and the 1870s, and finishes with the 1925 Centenary.
We then delve into the origins of football in Shildon: where the early football teams played their games before using the field on Dean Street, the names of players, different teams and so on. Other subjects of note are the Albion Ball Alley, the Cycling Ground, the Good Templars, the Congregationalists and the smallpox epidemic of 1872, when 90 people perished. One chapter has detailed lists of Shildon pubs and their landlords.
The closing three chapters (of eleven) are all WWI related, and extensively so. You will learn how brutal the Germans really were when entering Belgium in 1914, how they treated soldiers in captivity, and also about the brave lads of the local territorial battalions who fought at Ypres in 1915.
The book is a full 963 pages in length and costs £15.99. It is available at All Cyced Up on Church Street, the One Stop Shop on Byerley Road, and here at the Town Crier offices.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
