Scrap or Rag and Bone Man

Many of us are now aware of ‘Scrap Men’ coming round in small lorries shouting through a megaphone for scrap metal, but do you recall the men with a horse and cart shouting ‘any old iron.’ And not forgetting my younger days when they shouted ‘any old rags’ and we rushed to see if our mum’s had any rags so that we could exchange them for a balloon or goldfish.

I took this photo a number of years ago in Forest Town but unfortunately didn’t date it.

Comments about this page

  • I went to School with Walter Pedley whose dad was a rag and bone man . They gave out colouring books to us kids if your mum gave them anything

    By Malcolm evans (16/01/2024)
  • Lancashire, Bolton in particular, the shout was “rag and bone, cream and white stones”. What we used to call donkey stones, chalk I guess, white stone to edge the front doorstep, cream one for the back step

    By stephen broadbent (19/09/2022)
  • Looking for Pedleys, scrap metal merchants in or around Mansfield. My friend was a Pedley called Kathleen, she will be in her 60s now. My name was Joan Hudson. Thankyou

    By Joan Staff (18/10/2021)
  • There was a scrap yard just off Church Street area down a little alley more or less opposite the Snooker Hall. I do remember the Rag ‘n’ Bone men unloading there with their Horse & Cart/s, this would be in the mid fifties or thereabouts. Can’t recall the name of this little alley however although we used it as a short cut to where? Long time ago. There was also a large Scrap Yard on Baums Lane back then – Pedley owned it I think, I knew their son John back in the school days.

    By Steeve Cee (26/12/2019)
  • I went to school with Ivan Florence there scrap yard was atthe bottom of Newgate Lane School Field.

    By david jervis (04/01/2017)
  • Wow that’s my uncle Vic! Did not expect him to be the first pictrue to come up when showing my son what rag and bone is! he was a lovely man I loved visiting him as a child very much missed

    By Curstie Mellor (19/12/2016)
  • The man in the photograph wearing the trilby hat is Vic Florence, a gentleman and a scholar. He lived in Ravensdale and sadly he is no longer with us.

    By Trevor Leatherland (28/03/2014)
  • The shout round Woodhouse at one time was “Any rag and bone, old iron” I won’t say who shouted it, I’ll let someone have the guess and see if they remember him as well as I do!There used to be an occasional knife sharpener every so many years, I last saw him as a child,and he said that nobody had anything to sharpen so we must all be so prosperous nowadays. The loud hailer men today are getting to be a nuisance,and I might be old fashioned, but you hear these things going on a Sunday. Is this correct does anyone think? Personally I feel we can do without it.

    By John. (18/08/2013)
  • We seem to all have been “seduced” by the reward of the goldfish or balloon offered in return for rags, clothes and such. I can recall the Rag & Bone Man coming down Moor Street and chasing him with some “old clothes” and getting the gold fish…. I was about 5 at the time. There was just one small thing, the clothes were what Mum had just purchased from the Coop, I think for Whitsuntide. To make a long story short Mum got the clothes back, I lost my gold fish and received a damn good hiding! Regardless these stories do bring back what I believe were hard, yet fun and fantastic times,, whichever era we were in. Regards Mike Frost

    By Mike Frost (04/10/2012)
  • I to remember the Rag & Bone Men and we also used to get them and we had a Goldfish Bowl but they never seemed to last very long unfortunately.

    By Malcolm Raynor (14/09/2012)
  • Pauline, lovely picture ! Brought a smile to my face… I remember them coming round the street shouting, and their call was ” RAG-BONE “….The Rag man used to park himself outside of the school with his Goldfish…Especially to tempt the school children…There were no plastic bags to carry the Goldfish home, we had to take a Jam Jar… regards alan

    By alan curtis (23/07/2012)

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