A daughter has paid tribute to her beloved parents that were well-known in their community for helping keep it alive.
Miraculously, Caroline's family all escaped with their lives, unlike their neighbours who all perished. Buried the deepest, Raymond was eventually freed after workers tried tirelessly to set him free, but he did lose his two front teeth and suffered with various chest ailments for the rest of his life.
Caroline's grandmother looked after the catering needs of many famous faces at the time, including Ken Dodd, Tessie Oshea, Rod Hull, Emu, Jimmy Clitheroe, Les Dawson and Bruce Forsyth to name just a few. "I met them all," Caroline added. Caroline continued: "That was in the days before supermarkets when people brought from the local store, before the days of health and safety and expiry dates, the days of if it smelt OK it was OK. Cheese collected from the wholesalers in a monster slab, then cut by the old wire system, the weight was down to the judgement of the cutter, although usually not too far removed from the customer’s wishes.
"'It all goes down the gut the same way and come out the other end'. However, mum and dad dutifully complied despite the moans and groans."