CYCLE ADVENTURES, meeting Princess Anne and becoming a table tennis champion might seem like an odd collection of memories to string together…
But for Frank Slack, 86, sitting in his quiet Grotton home, they are fond reminders bursting to get out of his time growing up in the borough…
In his early life, Frank spent much of his time caring for his parents, as his mother became an invalid after a spinal operation and his father suffered from working on the railway.
He was close to his grandparents Elizabeth Walkden, who died in the workhouse, and Frank, who worked at the coalface and died of gangrene in the asylum.
But a hard start to life did not dampen Frank’s spirit and aged 17 he set off on his first big adventure – a cycle ride to Southport with his brother Harry and friends.
“It was great, we enjoyed it very much – although we lived on just apples!” he recalls.
“I bought a push bike and we just went. We had no puncture kits or anything, just clothes on our backs. One of my friends Dennis has no brakes and really struggled on some of the hills!
“The roads were poor after the war and the bikes were old and difficult to cycle but our companionship and sense of adventure kept us going.”
During the trip, Frank tried his hand at a game of table tennis at a youth hostel – sparking a hobby and talent for years to come.
On returning home, he joined the Saddleworth club and was soon made captain of the team, helping them to championship titles throughout the 1950s.
At work, bright and creative displays filled Frank’s days as he ran a florist shop with Lesley Longbottom.
He says he will never forget the day they were commissioned to make the floral arrangements and posy for Her Highness The Princess Royal when she attended the official opening of the Royal Oldham Hospital in 1989.
Frank is still surrounded by plants in his home today, where he keeps more than 40 in his lounge and insists they help to purify the air and improve his health.
Frank’s brother Harry Slack was a councillor and Mayor of Oldham in 1988 and politics also runs deep in Frank, who has been a staunch Labour supporter since being inspired by Minister of Health Aneurin Bevin speaking in Oldham in 1949.
Frank declares: “People didn’t come into the shop because I voted Labour but I stuck with what I believe in. Life was so hard but Labour helped to change all that.”
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