William Curley, (one of my Great Grandfather’s cousins)

The text says: “Mr. William Curley of the Old School Walbottle, who has died in his ninetieth year, used to recount how when he was the driver of the famous Wylam Dilly on the Wylam-Lemington route he was in the habit of stopping the engine so that the passengers could gather blackberries.

He had an interesting career as a colliery winding engineman and at the age of ten he was able to handle a winding machine himself. He was winder in turn at West Wylam, The Hagg colliery, The Union Pit and the Percy Pit, Lemington, retiring at the age of 74. His home was formerly a school which is believed to have been attended by the late |George Stephenson”