Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History Bad haircuts as a kid.

Oh yes i remember ALL the dodgy hair do's , i have just laughed that much that i have had a MASSIVE coughing fit and nearly chocked, the fringes that got shorter and shorter with you holding the 'bin' to catch the falling hair ... the stick you both got from your 'street ' friends.... OMG wonder i did.nt get reported for CRUELTY' all because we were POOR LOL

Still remember during the early 60s, me and my brothers getting "short, back and sides" at George (?) Platt's barber shop in Brassey Street (just off Laird Street). He was the only barber who didn't check for nits so basically, if you didn't have wuzzies when you went in there, there was a good chance you had them when you came out! No, seriously, he was a good barber, he reminded me of Sid James out of the Carry On films.

I do remember getting singed! (Why DID they DO that? LOL!)

my 'ald fella used to cut mine, short back and sides ( i'm not having my lad looking like a bloody hippy )
every time after he'd cut it, i'd rush to the bathroom and cry my eyes out, so when I was old enough I became a bloody hippy....so there dad !

You sound as if you are talking about Gerry Hamilton, the barber on New Chester Road in New Ferry. We would take a photo of a film star, from a magazine, and ask for that style of haircut. He would study it and we still got the same old short back and sides. In regard to singeing, my Dad always got his hair singed, claiming it stopped him getting a cold. He said the hair would “bleed” after it was cut and needed to be "sealed". If not, cold germs could get down the hollow hair shaft. Way ahead of his time when it came to modern medicine.

I went to Eaglesome's (sp) on Borough Road nr. junction with Balls Road when I was a youngster. It didn't matter what you or your Dad asked for, you got a severe short back and sides!

Blokes used to go there to be wet shaved - with a cut throat razor!!

One of my treats when spending a weekend in London in the 1950's was to go to Trumper's in Curzon St. for a proper shave with a cut-throat razor, hot towels the lot. The place is still there I think. Until a couple of years ago, we had a barber in Shrewsbury offering the same; tried him once, but he cut me slightly.

In Birkenhead, when I was a child, I used to be taken to a barber in Westbourne Rd., near the corner of Windsor St. He use to put a plank of wood across the arms of the chair for me to sit on.