The cloth-capped Shields toilet cleaner who was the pride of Shields seafront
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Robert Douthwaite wasn’t just good at his job - he got praise from people who came from all over the North East to South Tyneside.
‘Nice little man in the cloth cap’
Robert cut a striking pose and people knew him as the “nice little man in the cloth cap”.
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He was responsible in the mid-1970s for keeping the toilets at Gandhi’s Temple on South Shields seafront clean.
Praise from people in Whitley Bay
And what a fine job he made of it - so much so that a visitor from Whitley Bay wrote to the Gazette to rhapsodise about his work.
We then dispatched a photographer to take a picture of the 63-year-old with his bucket and mop.


“The tiles, the floors and the brass were really immaculate, ” wrote the North Tyneside visitor, a Mr WA Shepherd, adding: “Such pride in South Shields and such pride in his work made my visit such a pleasure.”
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Hide AdBob was naturally over the moon when we told him the news and we want to know if you remember him.
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Smiths in Mile End Road was offering a free bedroom carpet for everyone who spent £70 in the store.


Alan Price was appearing in Alfie Darling at the Crown Cinema in Jarrow with showings at 8.25pm each night.
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South Shields MP Arthur Blenkinsop announced his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election. He had been the town's MP since 1964.
Tell us about your memories from 1975 by emailing [email protected]
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