JOHN Culloden’s childhood playground was Castle Hill.
And now, after moving from Almondbury to Golcar, he still looks at the castle every day.
He collected paintings of Castle Hill and believes it must be a much-painted scene among artists.
John, 76, said: “I lived at Almondbury until I joined the Army and it was all fields and woodland in those days.
“Castle Hill and the open spaces around it were like my playground.
“We’d go up there and made dens, fly kites and fly model gliders made out of balsa wood.
“It was only years later I realised the significance – I have a painting which says ‘will I ever see another daffodil?’ and it made me realise that it must have been painted many, many times over the years.
“I wonder if anyone even knows how many paintings there are? From a nostalgia point of view I’d be interested to know.”
Castle Hill is a place of fond memories for the Culloden family.
When his sister Denise emigrated to Australia decades ago they had her going away party in the pub at Castle Hill.
John said: “You can’t halt progress but you’ve got to let things move forward.
“There was something up there before. They took it down and that should be replaced,” he added.
