Childhood Memories of Boxing Day

8 January 2021

I remember enjoying Boxing Day as much as Christmas Day. First stop was to see the Quorn hunt in the marketplace. A fine spectacle they were too, resplendent in their scarlet jackets. This meet was well supported by the people of Loughborough.

Then on to the drill hall in Granby Street to meet my grandparents, Jack and Mary Nix of 12 Thomas Street. There was a party laid on there for children – sandwiches, jelly and cake, and noisy games.

Looking back, it must have been horrendous for the adults. The room was big, or it seemed so at the time, with a wooden floor. Dozens of children running up and down, whooping and hollering. I remember it being great fun. Not sure if there was a bar there, if so maybe it helped the adults to cope.

My grandparents, Jack and Mary, were heavily involved with the Royal British Legion, one was secretary, the other treasurer. I believe at one time the hall was used by the TA before it moved to Leicester Road.

Granddad was a military man and believed everyone should serve some time in the armed forces. One year, he was chosen to represent the Loughborough branch of the Royal British Legion at the Royal Albert Hall’s Service of Remembrance. I was so proud to see him on television.

Grandad was born in Mapplewell, Yorkshire in 1873. He left school at the age of 13, worked down a coal mine in Barnsley until the age of 19. Then he joined the York and Lancs regiment. Fought in the Boer War, Matabele wars, World War One, and was in the Home Guard during World War Two. He died in 1963.

by Diane Ayres