[Thomas Jordan’s childhhood home was the colliery village of Usworth. He attended a church school about a mile away in Washington village]

In 1897 was the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria and the villages of Usworth and Washington—Washington celebrated it in grand style. We from the various schools assembled on the village green. I can still remember how nicely dressed all were on that warm summer day […] Our teachers led us into large fields where we sat down and were given a large paper bag packed with food—food and fruit. They filled our mugs with tea and we ate to the sound of the colliery bands playing nearby. It was wonderful to me.