Always late from school for the pick up and so I was always racing at 100mph hurdling hedges and fences (made a lot of enemies doing this) and charging through gates and up and down drives and backs.

It started with a dash over the Mulberry path on the bike to Ernest Beards’ the Newsagent  ‘tha’s late again lad’.  Then stuffing equal numbers of the Yorkshire Evening Post and YE News totalling 150 into the newspaper bag  I was off on the round which started at the Savile pit gates and finished at Wood End.
‘Make sure you fasten the gate’
‘If you go over that fence again I’ll report you’
‘Hes alright he wont bite’
‘You missed us yesterday’
‘The paper was damaged’
Delivering along Church Lane you would occasionally get one of these comments.  I cant forget Harold Charlesworths dog, a docile friendly creature - until the paper lad appeared and then it suffered a character change and would frighten the life out of you even with its owner standing there saying ‘she’s alright she wont hurt you’.   Well Harold, I got my own back -  you wern’t there and the dog was at my heels, I rolled the paper up tight and tossed it in the air, the dog went for the paper and caught a size eight on its way.  We seemed to strike an understanding after that.

I was always delayed at the house with the ancient tree next to Methley Villas where the Misses Campbell lived, they always wanted to talk and it was difficult to rush off.  At least their dogs were behind a door gate, then up Little Church and on to the Parish Hall house and the Churchside.

On Thursdays, classified ads meant the total weight was too much to carry and Ernest Beards would drop half the papers off at the Post Office, Mrs Whittingtons - why he didn’t drop em off at the top of Woodrow Hill I’ll never know.

Then it was the last lap, The Hollings, Bondfield Terrace, Albert Place, Station Road, Claytons Yard and then Wood End.  Poor Dick Lodge, we never carried any spares  and so if I’d wrongly issued a paper then the house at the end of the round went without, he said I was always picking on him.

When it came to elections you didn’t need a MORI or Gallup Poll to tell you the voting preferences -  The YE Post readers voted Ratepayer and The YE News readers voted Labour, yes equal numbers on my round.   Difference was all those who didn’t get a paper were Labour voters.   

The Beards Family

William Beards and Emily Beards (nee Whittaker)
William was a miner who moved up to this part of the country to find work from Staffordshire.
William Beards died from pneumonia at the age of 37 and on his death the couple had 7 children aged from 6 weeks to 12 years old. His wife Emily had no pension or provision and to help she was given a concession by Lord Mexborough to sell ice cream and sweets from home. The family had earlier moved into Methley from Glasshoughton in 1909 and eventually the house ‘shop’ was permitted to sell a better range of goods which included newspapers and tobacco (sales of chewing tobacco for the colliers would have been a significant part of the trade). Newspapers were include because William Beards before his death had a small Sunday morning delivery round to supplement his income.

As the children grew older, they were given areas of Methley to deliver newspapers, probably from about 1910/1911. This continued up to 1946 at Methley Junction then the business (apart from groceries and foodstuffs) was transferred to Main Street, Mickletown. The Mickletown business continued until about 1957/58 when the business was sold and Ernest Beards (eldest son) and his family moved to Castleford and eventually to Bridlington. The Beards family then went on to have 3 more shops in Methley in addition to the Green Row house.
 Ernest to Main Street

 Bill to Main Street

 Susie to Low Common

 Ada Was the only one who lived in Methley her entire life, she married Methley man, Norman Barron and had one daughter Elizabeth who tragically died quite young.

Article by Cyril Leeman.