SDU website blog post brings back sword dancing memories for Joe

SDU website blog post brings back sword dancing memories for
Joe Blackwood, now aged 79!
Your article on the Sword Dance Union website reminded me when I was about 10 years old in 1945
competing as leader of our school sword dance team at Newcastle City Hall when we won the Silver
medal. We used to do rapper sword dancing also. Later at the age of about 14 years I played my
accordion for the then Edgefield Primary School sword dance team and we had our photo taken by
the Newcastle Evening Chronicle in 1950 on the green by the Civic Council Offices. (see picture
below, I am the one playing the accordion). The newspaper clipping is overleaf.
I was born in Byker , Newcastle upon Tyne in 1935. When I was 18 months old my parents moved
to a new house in Fawdon near Gosforth. I went to Edgefield Primary and Junior school which was
located across the road from our house in Edgefield Avenue. At this school, our Headmistress (Miss
Humphreys) organised Longsword dancing, Rapper dancing, Morris dancing and Country dancing for
the boys and girls. It was all great fun for us young people and very competitive with the other
teams during that time.
At Edgefield school in Fawdon it was a privilege to be taught these dances along with Morris dances
and country dances. I won a Bronze medal for accordionist when playing for a team of the judges
who kindly took part for me not having my own team!
Most of this was during the WW2 and as my father was in the RAF for that period we periodically
moved around the UK with him, as a result I attended a number of schools from age 5 to 11 in
Morecambe, Lancaster, Birmingham, Sandy in Bedfordshire and Biggin Hill, all due to the fact my
father was a Spitfire and Lancaster engine mechanic.
After Edgefield school I passed the exams for Rutherford Grammar School where I remained
until 1951. In 1952 I moved from home to Southampton to train as a land surveyor and
cartographer at the Ordnance Survey until my call up for National service where I went into the RAF
for two years and where I met my future wife who came from Nottingham. We were married in
1957 and have three grown children one of whom, the youngest is married. No grandchildren as yet
but we have threatened to sue them for this! I now live in Berkshire, but sadly the accordion expired
a few years ago.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle
c. January 1950
23rd January 2014