South Yorkshire Times February 20th 1965
Conisbro’ wife’s £1,224 bingo win
For almost seven months things had looked black for Conisbrough housewife Mrs. Lillian Higgins, but a £1,224 bingo win on Tuesday changed all that.
Seven months was just about the time Mrs. Higgins’ husband, Tom, a 37-years-old miner, was out of work following a pit accident, and with five children to feed and another expected, things were not easy for the couple, who live at 21, Lockesley Avenue, Conanby, Conisbrough.
Then, on Tuesday, Mrs. Higgins’ luck changed, when the 37-years-old housewife paid a rare visit to the Lucky Strike Bingo Hall at Denaby Main and won £1,224 on the National Golden Scoop.
A smiling Mrs. Higgins said at her home on Wednesday, “It’s gorgeous. I can’t get over it. I can’t even remember them bringing me home from the bingo last night.
“My husband had his finger amputated after an accident at Denaby Main Colliery and has been off work nearly seven months. It’s been a real struggle to keep going with five kids to look after, then another on the way.
Mrs. Higgins, whose one and only other bingo win was £25 four years ago, added, “I used to go to bingo a lot, but while my husband has been off work I haven’t been able to afford it. I’ve been three times, I think, in the last ten weeks.
“I wouldn’t have been there last night, but I couldn’t get the wool I wanted to knit some clothes for the baby, and decided to go out instead.”
Three years ago Mrs. Higgins’ sister, Mrs. Anne Savage, who lives at 30, Chambers Avenue, Conisbrough, won about £1,400 at a Doncaster bingo session.
Players at the Denaby bingo hall have now won a total of £8,000 in the National Golden Scoop.