THE faded certificate held by pensioner Les Booth tells the story of a very different life to that enjoyed by youngsters today.

It shows that his father, Thomas was allowed to work in the massive Murray's cotton mill in Ancoats when he was just 11 years old - grafting in the heat for half a day before heading to the classroom.

Dated October 15, 1898, the permit is just one of hundreds of tickets, photographs and documents kept by Thomas and handed to his son in an old leather satchel before he died at the age of 93.

Les, 77, of Lindwall Close, Northern Moor, Wythenshawe, said it was remarkable his dad lived so long, considering his early life in the mill and surviving two world wars.

He said: "In my dad's day, they had schoolchildren working in the mill half-time.

"Each day they gave them a little docket, saying they'd work in the mill in the morning and go to school in the afternoon, or vice-versa.

Noise and dust

"He said it used to be terrible because of the noise and the dust. There were no Health and Safety rules and the filth was everywhere.

"You never knew what was coming out of the packs of cotton that had come from all over the world.

"It was forced work - in a way it was slave labour, because he had to do it. I don't know how he lived to the age he did, but he was a fit man all his life."

When Thomas left school, he joined the Royal Army Service Corps and served in the First World War, delivering arms and equipment to the troops.

Les, who lives with wife Sadie, 76, and daughter Gemma, 27, said: "The wagons he drove had solid tyres and no windscreen. He said it was like driving a tin box on lumps of wood.

"They had just carbide lamps and couldn't see beyond the bonnet. He didn't say where he served but we have a photo of him in Bonn in Germany after the war - looking demob happy." In the Second World War, Thomas worked for Salford Corporation and told how he had to pick his way across the debris of the bombing as he walked to work in the dark.

The mill dockets show Thomas's date of birth as March 16, 1887, and say: "This is to certify that Thomas Booth, being of 2 Sebastopol Street [Ancoats] . . . and not less than 11 years of age has been shown to the satisfaction of the local authority of this district to be beneficially and necessarily employed."

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