Recollections 2

To AMY Recollections Author John McCormick Introduction After reading an article about memory retention in which it was stated that some people could remember as far back as to when they were only two years old, I decided to put myself to the test. I found that all I could remember of my infancy prior to the age of five was that of my being washed in a zinc tub in a house that had a gas mantle, an old type cooking range and a recess bed, but I was amazed by the amount of detail I could recall from the age of five onwards.

page 1 Dormans Pub For the first five years of my life I lived with my parents and three brothers and a sister in a single end {a one-room flat with shared outside toilet} above Dorman’s pub at the south corner of Major Street and Abercromby Street in the Calton district of Glasgow. Prior to being married, my mother and father also stayed with their parents in single ends above the pub at which time Major Street was called Duncan Street, and so for a period of time three generations of my family lived in the single-ends above the pub. The single ends were accessed at the rear of the building by way of a wooden staircase that led to a corridor on each side of which the single ends were situated. They were demolished towards the end of 1935 and alterations were made to the pub, both inside and out. At the time of writing it is now called “The Cottage Bar”, but sadly is destined for demolition.

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Origin Of The Name McCormick. The name McCormick literally means “Son of the Chariot” and refers to a nickname given to a first century Prince who was born in a chariot while his mother was on a journey. “McCormick” is a branch of the clan “Buchanan-MacCormick of MacLaine” The McCormick Motto, “Sine Timore” means “Without Fear” The name“Gillecrist MacCormaic” is recorded in documents dated 1132, and later references mention the christening of Agnes McCormick, daughter of Hugh McCormick, on the 6th September,1674, at Ayr.

Page 3 Family Genealogy McCormicks were numbered among those who settled in America and Canada in the 17th. century but the

biggest exodus from Scotland came as the result of the Highland Clearances in the 18th. Century when thousands were evicted from their homes by the English to make way for sheep-farming. Many Scots, McCormicks among them, sailed to far off lands, but likewise a large number crossed over to Ireland, where my Great, Great Grandfather Edward was born in 1807. He and his family came to live in Glasgow sometime between 1842 and 1851. The 1851 census shows him living in Malta Street, in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, with his wife Margaret, who was of Campbell descent, and their three sons, Daniel, Edward, and Patrick, who were aged 16,12, and 9, respectively, all of whom were born in Ireland. Daniel at the age of sixteen had followed in his fathers' footsteps as a shoemaker and in 1858 he married Helen Lough who gave birth to a daughter, Catherine in September 1859. At that time they lived at 32 Great Dovehill, Glasgow. Page 4 Eight months later, in May 1860, after moving to 109 Bridgegate, Glasgow, they were blessed with a son whom they named Patrick.

The Bridgegate at that time was populated by people who had left Ireland because of the potato famine. It later became known as “Paddy's Market” due to people displaying their wares(mainly second-hand clothing) on the street in the hope of raising some money. In 1869 Daniel and Helen's son Patrick died of congestion of the brain which must have been a terrible blow to them. But God moves in mysterious ways, in 1870 they were blessed with another son and they named him Patrick after the son who had died. The 1871 census shows Daniel, Helen and family living at 23 Wilson Street,Glasgow and his brother Edward, wife Elizabeth and family at 30 High Street. Great, Great Grandmother Margaret died in 1875. Great, Great Grandfather Edward died in 1877. Daniel, Helen and family moved to 20 Candleriggs. When their son Patrick was 27 he wed local girl Mary Kelly and took up residence at 116 Drygate, Glasgow where Mary gave birth to my father in November 1897. page 5

My mother, Jane Livingston McKay, was born in 1898 at 83 Green Street, Calton in a house similar to those in Major Street. Sometime between 1901 and 1914 my father's family and my mother's family both moved to adjacent flats in Major Street. When war broke out in 1914 my father enlisted in the army and was assigned to The Scottish Rifles. He was sent to Flanders in 1915, where most of his regiment was wiped out in battle. Thereafter he was sent home and re-assigned to the Irish Fusiliers. He and my mother wed in June 1916 at which time my mother was in pregnancy.

She gave birth to my

brother George in October. In 1922 my mother gave birth to a daughter Mary who died in infancy. It would of course have caused her much grief, but perhaps this was allayed to some extent when she gave birth to my sister Janet in 1923. Brother Tom was born in 1925, Jimmy 1928 and myself 1930. Another brother named Archie was born in 1933 but died aged 8 months.

page6 My family's quality of life in Major St. was that of abject poverty, but thousands of families were living in conditions similarly to ours.

Fortunately a

massive housing project was underway and a large number of council houses were being built, mainly in the East end of the city. One such area was the Shettleston district where redevelopment had taken place in various streets.

In 1935 my parents were

allocated a house there and it was perhaps the excitement of leaving the slum district of the Calton to start a new life in Shettleston that left a lasting impression on my mind. On the day we were to take up our new residence my uncle George (mother's brother) arrived with a horse and cart. All the family helped to load the cart with what belongings we had and my father and my eldest brother George set off with uncle George. The rest of the family walked up to the Gallowgate and boarded a tramcar bound for Shettleston. It was a big adventure for me.

I had never been on a tram and

I was amazed at the magic of the conductor when at the turn of a handle on his machine the tickets came out.

page 7 The journey in itself was a big thrill. I sat with my nose glued to the window and watched the tenements with the shops underneath, as the tramcar hurtled along the Gallowgate to Parkhead Cross, then down Westmuir Street past Muiryfauld Drive and into Shettleston Road. We alighted at Matteo's Cafe and I clung to my mothers hand fearing that I might get lost. We were in Shettleston but we might as well have been in America. To me it was strange territory. I had never ever been far from Major street. When we turned the corner into Fernan Street I clung to my mother even tighter. On the other side of the street were two huge drooling Saint Bernard dogs and although they were in a yard behind a fence I was still frightened.

I came to know that they belonged

to the Simpson brothers who owned the billiard hall next to the yard.

Had I been able to look into the

future I would have seen I was to be a frequent

visitor there and be involved in a battle royal resulting in my head being split open. page 8 150 Old Shettleston Road The flat that my parents had been allocated was on the top storey at 150 Old Shettleston Road.

It

was one of seventy-eight flats that had recently been built occupying the site running down the west side of Fernan Street on to Old Shettleston Road, round into Ram Street, which was a cul-de-sac, and back on to Old Shettleston Road. The flats were accessed by way of closes, each of which led to six flats, two on each level. There were four closes in Fernan Street, then one in Old Shettleston Road, seven in Ram Street, and another at the end of the terrace in Old Shettleston Road. I well remember the day we took up residence in our new home. My father, brother George and uncle George had arrived before us. My mother led the way up the stairs and when we entered our new home it was a time of great joy.

For my mother it must have been like a dream come true. The flat consisted of a long hallway, three bed rooms, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. Page 9 Each of the first two bedrooms had a gas fire, and the third bedroom had a small solid fuel fire. The living room, which was quite spacious, had a much larger solid fuel fire that was back to back with the oven in the scullery and had a back boiler that fed the hot water system. The bathroom had a large cast iron bath, a good sized wash-hand basin and a toilet with a pull-chain cistern situated high on the wall. The right hand side of the scullery housed a coal bunker and cupboards.

Above the bunker and cupboards

two shelves ran the full length of the wall. Below the window facing the doorway there was a shallow sink and a deep sink with an Acme wringer, or mangle, fitted between.

A zinc water boiler, which was fired by a

gas ring underneath, stood in the corner to the left of the sinks. A copper hot water tank was located above the zinc boiler, and a recess in the wall

opposite the shelves housed the oven, above which was a hob with three gas rings and a grill. All in all it would be an understatement to say that it was quite a change for to come from the living page 10 conditions of the single end in Major Street to live in a four roomed flat, which at that time would have been classed as having all the mod-cons. We learned that four families had already moved in up our close; the Morelands and the Houstons on the bottom level, and the Wallaces and the O’Learys on the middle level. A few days after our family moved in, the Cousins family came to live in the flat across the landing from ours. In due course all of the flats in the new development cam to be occupied and neighbours became well acquainted. I personally became acquainted with more than members of the families living there. At the time of moving into our new home our family consisted of my father aged 38, my mother 37, siblings George 19, Janet 12, Tom 10, Jimmy 7 and myself 5. George only worked occasionally as he suffered from a weak heart. Janet and Jimmy went to Welshot Road school in Tollcross. Tom who was deaf and had an

impediment of speech, both the result of childhood illness, attended a special school for the deaf and dumb in Renfrew Street in the city centre.

Page 11 I was enrolled in Shettleston Infant School at the East corner of Carntynehall Road and Old Shettleston Road. From the age of 7 to 11 I went to the junior school, and thereafter attended Wellshot Road school, in Tollcross. In 1936 my mother gave birth to another son, Edward {Eddie},and that same year I contracted scarlet fever and was taken into Belvidere Hospital in London Road. In 1937 my mother received a letter from the School Board to take Jimmy and me to the Parish Buildings in Green Street. Bridgeton. This she did, and we were rigged out with “Parish Claes.” We were each given two sets of combinations, two grey shirts, two grey “V”necked pullovers with red and blue stripes round the neckband, two pairs of short grey trousers, two pairs of grey knee-length socks with red

white and blue stripes round the top, and two pairs of boots. It was obvious that any children wearing this type of clothing were ‘on the Parish,’ but this didn’t bother me as some other children at the school were dressed in likewise fashion. Page 12

Although our living conditions were far better than those in the Calton we were still living in poverty; My parents had managed to get second-hand furniture, but were still using the four straw-filled “biscuits” as mattresses and a pine table that we had in Major Street There were no curtains.

To buy them even if they

could have been afforded would have been considered unnecessary expense as the windows had roller blinds, although they were seldom drawn as we lived on the top flat. Eddie slept in the same room as my mother and father, and as a baby, since there was no pram, a drawer padded with a folded blanket was used as a crib.

Janet slept in the middle bedroom,{which she later shared with Granny Martha, my mother's mother) Tom, Jimmy and I slept in a double bed in the third bedroom, and George slept in a single bed in the same room. Porridge was the standard breakfast, and at lunchtime Jimmy and I went to the ‘dinner school’

page 13 where we would get a free meal and a small bottle of milk with a straw. Sometimes we would get sliced dumpling and custard and, like other kids, on the way out I would lift a slice of dumpling and put it up inside my pullover. The main meal in the evening would consist merely of potatoes and turnip mashed together, or mince with lentils, peas or dough-balls in it. Sometimes we had peas-brose or tripe, neither of which I liked, and preferred to settle for a couple of slices of bread fried in lard until it was crispy brown. On occasion my mother would send out for three or four sixpenny bags of chips and divide them among the family, and on rare occasion we would have fish and

chips, but sometimes we would just have a bowl of home made soup. Whenever toast was made each slice of bread would be placed on the end of a fork and held in front of the living room fire until toasted. This was done in order to save fuel which otherwise would be used if the bread was toasted under the grill in the kitchen.

Page 14 Granny Martha Granny Martha who was widowed when her husband Jimmy died in 1934 came to live in our house in 1936 and the only place she could be accommodated was in the same room as Janet. Although she didn’t go out much, she took pride in her appearance and always looked quite ladylike. She always wore lace-up boots, dark blouses, and black or brown ankle length skirts with side pockets which accommodated large red handkerchiefs with white polka dots.

She had long grey hair that she would brush

over and over and then put it into two pleats that hung over her bosom Indian style, or else she would

roll her hair into a bun and pin it at the crown of her head. We were all very fond of Granny Martha despite the fact she took snuff that would make everyone sneeze, except for her. She took great care of Eddie during his infancy, which was of much assistance to my Mother as it left her free to get on with her chores. My Mother was hard worked and as a family we helped out as best we could.

page 15 I liked to help her with the groceries which were only bought as and when required. There were no fridges or freezers in those days and to help to keep bottled milk from going sour, it would be left standing in cold water. My mother took pride in keeping the house clean. She washed the floor with a hand-held scrubbing brush, and washed the clothing on a scrubbing board in the deep sink in the kitchen, or scullery as we called it. As each article of clothing or bedding was washed, one or other of the family would turn the handle of the wringer while my Mother fed it between the rubber

rollers. When the washing was completed it would be hung on the pulley operated drier that ran almost the length of the scullery ceiling, or if the weather was good, it would be hung in the drying green at the rear of the building, but only on a certain day, as each of the six families up the close had a particular day for using the drying green. While she never said, I knew that she didn't like washing Granny Marthas' clothes. She always held them at arms length because they smelled of snuff. page 16 Granda Paddy's Funeral. Granda Paddy(my dads' father)died in Barnhill in 1938. Arrangement was made to have his body brought to our house in preparation for the funeral and when the undertakers arrived they placed the coffin containing Granda Paddy’s body on two trestles in the large bedroom which had been cleared of furniture On the day of the funeral the adults were assembled in the large bedroom, where the service was to take place, awaiting the arrival of the minister. As I stood in the doorway of the scullery I heard a

gradual build -up of voices followed by shouting a loud thud.

and

Thereafter uncle Archie (my mother’s

brother-in-law) ran down the hall and out the door, pursued by my father. It turned out that an argument had arisen between uncle Archie and uncle George, and that uncle Archie had lost his temper and heaved the coffin on to the floor. Later I learned that when uncle Archie ran down the stairs, instead of running out of the close on to the street, he turned and ran into the back court (drying green) where my father caught him as he tried to climb page 17 over the surrounding railings and gave him a sound beating. Normally my father was of placid nature but that particular day he was like a raging bull. I never ever liked uncle Archie, he was very arrogant, and I liked him even less after what he did. I remember that when all this happened my mother came and led me into the living room and said that I was to stay there with her. I think she did this in case I

would look into the bedroom and perhaps see my Granda Paddy lying on the floor. Thankfully all this took place before the arrival of the minister and I can only assume that when he did arrive all seemed quite normal. A the time of writing uncle Archie must be long gone but I have never forgiven him for his despicable action. I only saw him once after that day. It was twenty years later and it was once too often.

page18 Xmas and New Year Christmas and the New Years’ day were always keenly anticipated. We used to hang up stockings on Christmas eve and in the morning would be delighted to find in our stockings, an orange or apple and a bar of chocolate or toffee. We were also happy to receive presents such as a game of snakes and ladders or ludo, a pack of playing

cards, a “Dandy” or “Beano” annual or a torch and suchlike.

One year I got a cowboy outfit including a

mask and so for a time I was “The Lone Ranger.” Today such presents would be regarded as simple gifts, but at that time were received with much excitement, and when I compare them with the presents that children receive nowadays, such as computer games, D.V.D. players, T.V. sets and computers, etc., I just accept the march of time, but think;-“Times have indeed changed.” My Mother usually made a “clootie dumplings” over the Festive Season.

All the ingredients would be

mixed in a bowl and then emptied on to a piece of linen which would be gathered up an tied with a

page 19 string. It would then be boiled in the zinc boiler. When ready the cloth would be taken off and the dumpling dried in front of the the living room fire. On Hogmanay two dumplings were always made and sliced up along with currant bun and shortbread in readiness for New Year’s Day when my aunts, uncles and cousins would arrive.

We always had a right good

party and those who drank would get happy, but were never troublesome. Uncle George always brought his accordion like he did at other times of the year when we had family gatherings and would accompany the singers as they took it in turn to sing My mother was a sweet singer. Her favourite song was called;-“The Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee” The tune used to be played at a fast pace by the blue grass banjo players but in reality it is a very sad song and when my mother sang it, some would shed a tear. In all probability the composer wrote it from personal experience.

page 20 “The Girl I left in Sunny Tennessee” Lyrics On a morning bright and clear To my homeland I drew near. ‘Twas a village down in sunny Tennessee. I was speeding on a train

That would take me back again, To the girl I left in sunny Tennessee.

As the train drew in at last Old familiar scenes I passed. Then I saw my mother waiting at the door. As my friends all gathered round, Tears on every face I found. Then I realised my sweetheart wasn’t there.

I whispered;-“Mother, dear, Where’s my Mary, she’s not here.” Then the whole world seemed a dreary dream to me. For she pointed to a spot In the churchyard’s lonely plot. There my Mary lies in sunny Tennessee.

page 21 I could hear the darkies singing, As they bade farewell to me, Far across the fields of cotton, My old homestead I could see. And the moon shone in its’ glory

As they sang the sad, sad story Of the girl I left in sunny Tennessee.

With some wiping the tears away when my mother finished singing, my father would change the mood by singing

“The Cod Liver Oil Song”.

Lyrics I’m a young married man who is tired of life Ten years I’d been wed to a right sickly wife. She did nothing all day but sit down and cry A prayin’ to God to get better or die.

Now an old friend of mine came to see me one day, He said of my wife, she was pinin’ away. He afterwards told me that she would get strong, If I got her a bottle from dear Doctor John.

page 22 Well I got her a bottle, ‘twas just for to try. And the way that she drank it, you’d think she was dry. I got her another. It vanished the same.

And now she’s got Cod Liver Oil on the brain.

Oh Doctor, Oh doctor, Oh dear Doctor John, Your cod liver oil is so good and so strong. I’m afraid that me wife will go under the soil,, If she doesn’t stop drinking your cod liver oil.

Now my house, it resembles a big, doctors shop. ‘Tis filled up with bottles from bottom to top. And when in the morning the kettle does boil, You’d swear it was singing out “Cod Liver Oil.”

Now come all you young fellows, where e’re you may be, I hope that you’ll heed this fair warnin’ from me, From sickly women, I pray you’ll recoil, Or you’ll end up a-swimmin’ in Cod Liver Oil.

Auntie Lizzie always joined Auntie Nellie in singing a song called “Two Little Girls in Blue” page 23 “Two Little Girls in Blue” An old man gazed at a photograph in a locket he'd worn for years.

His nephew then asked him the reason why that picture caused him tears. Come listen, he said, I will tell you lad, a story that's strange but true. Your father and I, at the school one day, met two little girls in blue. Two little girls in blue, lad, two little girls in blue. They were sisters , we were brothers and learned to love the two. One little girl in blue, lad, who won your fathers' heart, Became your mother, I married the other, but we have drifted apart. I thought her unfaithful, we quarrelled lad, and parted that night for life. My fancy of jealously wronged a heart, a heart that was good and true. For two better girls never lived than they, those two little girls in blue. Page 24 “The Buggie.”

At the time we lived in Shettleston, there were four cinemas in the district;- The State in Shettleston Road near Annick Street, The Broadway, later called The Odeon, in Amulree Street, The Palaceum in Edrom Street, and The Premier, or “Buggie”[Bughouse], (so called because it was a fleepit).

It was located

in Shettleston Road between

Darleith Street and Kenmore Street and was later converted into a social club. The Buggie was the cheapest of all four cinemas. Admission was thrupence.[three pennies] or entry could be gained by handing in three jam jars. We always went there on a Saturday afternoon to see serials such as “The Clutching Hand”, or “Flash Gordon”, a serial about rocket ships, featuring Larry [“Buster”] Crabbe, a former Olympic athlete. It is said that this serial gave inspiration for the Star Wars films. The seats in The Buggie were just long wooden benches and sometimes we would just be settled down when an usherette would shine her torch on us and tell us to squeeze up to make room for others. Page 25

When the lights were put out ready for the show, everyone would cheer and a ray would beam down from the projector at the back on to the silver screen. During the show

disinfectant would be sprayed

around and the spray would be seen flickering through the ray of the projector. Sometimes someone would open the back door of “The Buggy” so that other kids could skip in without paying. When this happened the usherettes would come round to check the ticket stubs and after our stubs were checked they would be passed along to anyone we knew had skipped in. To get money to go to any of the more costly cinemas or to buy sweets we would search through middens (ash/rubbish pits) for beer bottles to take to the pub and claim the deposit. Alternatively we would go to the fruit shop or grocers for wooden boxes that would be broken into sticks, tied into bunches and sold round the neighbours' doors as kindling.

page 26 War Declared The first I heard that Britain was at war with Germany was when “Wee Archie”, a small knock-kneed man who hobbled the streets of Shettleston selling newspapers, came along Old Shettleston Road shouting repeatedly;- “War Declared” Steel came to be in big demand for armament production, and towards the end of 1939 workmen cut down the steel railings that separated the back greens and also the steel railings that separated the front gardens. This turned out to be a handicap for my brother George to some extent. Whenever he ventured to go out he would do so on his own as he was quite independent. Sometimes, because of his heart condition, he could only walk a short distance at a time and then take a rest by holding on to the garden railings for support. I can still see him to this day holding on to the railings, gasping for breath. In the spring of 1940

my mother, Jimmy, Eddie and

I were evacuated to Alyth, a small village about 14

miles north-west of Dundee. On the day of departure, with a few personal page 27 belongings and our gas-masks slung over our shoulders, we went over to the school as arranged and were met at the gate by two teachers, one of whom asked for our names and ticked them off on a sheet of paper she was holding. The other teacher then pinned a ticket on to our clothing detailing our names and destination and then we passed into the playground beside the other evacuees. Once everyone had been accounted for, we all walked in a column down Carntynehall Road to Carntyne station where we boarded a train that took us to Queen Street station where more evacuees boarded. When we came off the train at Dundee, we were lined up and taken outside the station where a number of buses were parked, and when our names were called, we boarded a bus which took us to Alyth. Upon arrival at Alyth we were taken to a large mansion, where we met the lady of the house, Mrs. Thomas, who then took us a short distance to a row of low-roofed houses, which had originally been occupied

by coal-mining families, and led us into one which was to be our home for the next few months.

Page 28 The row of houses were owned by Mrs. Thomas’ husband, Maurice and his brother Lawrence, who had a contractor business. They were obviously wealthy but never looked down on us, and the whole Thomas family did all that they could to make our stay as pleasant as possible, something that was very

much appreciated.

Sometimes we were taken on the back of a truck

to

Blairgowrie where we earned money by picking berries gathering potatoes, or “tattie howkin” as we called it. It was great having strawberries or raspberries, other fruits were hard to get. Much as we enjoyed staying in Alyth, we missed the rest of the family, and my mother became increasingly concerned that Janet, at the age of seventeen, had been left with too much to cope with in looking after the household. My father was working at laying tarmacadam on the roads, and Tom had left school and was working in a

furniture factory. Janet was working in a confectioners but also had to do the shopping, cooking, and the laundry. My Mother eventually decided

page 29 that it would be better if the family were all back together, and we returned home in early January, 1941. When we arrived home much change had taken place; There were lots of barrage balloons about, an air-raid shelter with six compartments had been erected in each back court, baffle walls had been built across the front of the closes of the old tenement buildings in the area, and windows had strips of brown sticky paper criss-crossed over the panes to stop the glass from splintering during air-raids. It was quite a sight during the night air raids to see the searchlights criss-crossing the sky and to see the glow where places were on fire, but it was also scary

hearing the bombs exploding and feeling that

they were coming closer and closer. The heaviest air-raids came in March 1941, when, over two successive nights,German bombers targeted the munitions factory at Bishopton, Singers factory in

Clydebank, and the shipyards along the Clyde. Also targeted were Sir William Arrols engineering factory in Rigby Street, about 300 yards from where we lived, and close-by William Beardmores’ forge, both of which were involved in armaments production. Page 30 Records show that 1,200 Clydesiders were killed in the raids, and 1,680 injured. 361 Glasgow streets are listed in the wartime Damaged Properties Index; A total of 6,835 houses were badly damaged and more than 20,000 suffered minor damage. Clydebank took the worst pounding of all. Five hundred people were killed, and out of a total of 12,000 houses, only seven were left intact. Thankfully our family came through the blitz unscathed. By mid 1941 brother Georges' health seemed to have improved and he managed to get a job as a waiter at a Ministry Of Labour Camp, but at the end of April, 1942, he took ill and passed away. I was broken-hearted but I didn't want the other members of my family to see that I was upset. I sat sobbing in the bathroom.

I was 12 years old and couldn't understand how God could let my brother die. He was only 26 years old. Jimmy left school that year and started work with a gazing company in East Wellington Street in Parkhead.

page 31 The Winter of 1942 Winter was always the hardest time of year for families such as ours and the winter of 1942 was a very severe one. Such was the weather that the schools were closed for more than a week and since the rest of the family were out working my mother sent me out to gather pieces of wood or anything that would burn and on one occasion I brought in a yard wide runner of old linoleum which got torn up and fed into the fire piece by piece. There wasn't enough room for all the family to sit around the fire so some would sit in the scullery with the oven door open to let out the heat. The gas fires in the bedrooms would only be lit long enough to take away the chill before bedtime and porcelain hot water bottles were used to heat my

parent's bed and the bed shared by Janet and Granny Martha. The other two beds were heated by the front damper and the side-irons of the living room fire wrapped in individual cloths. The cheapest form of fuel was charcoal, but it had to be fetched from the gasworks at Provanmill, a good five or six miles from where we lived.

page32 I had been there with Jimmy but in 1942 I had to go on my own since Jimmy was at work. I wrapped up as best I could and put on my leather helmet to keep my ears warm and set off with an old pram borrowed from the Moreland family. On the way there I pushed the pram with my hands up inside my sleeves to help keep them warm and when I eventually arrived at the gasworks had to wait in a queue. However when my turn finally came a workman lifted the bag of charcoal into the pram. On the way home I found a bundle of newspapers tied with string. Like other members of the family I would always bring home any newspapers that had been left lying

around. These would be twisted and looped into a sort of knot to be used as kindling. Charcoal gave out a better heat than coal and to make it burn longer it would heaped with dampened dross. Even potato or turnip peelings were sometimes put on top and when all this burned through it would turn to a terrific hot glow. One way or another our living room and scullery would always be kept warm. Page 33 Versions of “Lili Marlene”

One of my family's treasured possessions was an old fashioned wireless that was powered by an acid filled accumulator. It wasn't very often that our house was quiet, but whenever the news came on the radio everyone fell silent to hear the latest about the war and sometimes I would try to tune in to hear “Lord Haw Haw” (William Joyce, a British traitor who spread German propaganda.) I liked to listen to the request programmes as I have always loved music, and while after a time I got fed up listening to records of Vera Lynn singing

“We’ll Meet Again” and “The White Cliffs Of Dover” which were played over and over, I never tired of listening to the haunting melody of “Lili Marlene’. Originally it was an anti-war poem written by a German soldier in 1915. It was set to music and became very popular.

Hitler wanted it banned, but because

the tune itself was so popular new lyrics were written This version of the song in turn became very popular, mainly through being sung by Marlene Deitrich. Page 34 “ Lili Marlene” Outside the barracks by the corner light I’ll always stand and wait for you at night We will create a world for two I’ll wait for you the whole night through For you Lili Marlene, For you Lili Marlene. Bugler tonight, don’t play the “Call To Arms” I want another evening with her charms Then we will say goodbye and part I’ll always keep you in my heart In my heart, Lili Marlene. In my heart, Lili Marlene. Give me a rose to show how much you care Tied to its’ stem, a lock of golden hair

Surely tomorrow you’ll feel be blue But then will come a love that’s new For you Lili Marlene,

For you Lili Marlene

When we are marching in the mud and cold And when my pack seems more than I can hold My love for you renews my might I’m warm again, my pack is light It’s you Lili Marlene, It’s you Lili Marlene. Another version was written and made popular through being recorded by Vera Lynn and Ann Shelton. Page 35 “Lili Marlene” Underneath the lamplight by the barrack gate, Darling I remember the way you used to wait; ‘Twas there that you whispered tenderly That you loved me, you’d always be My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene. Time would come for roll call, time for us to part, Darling I’d caress you and press you to my heart; And there underneath the lantern light, I’d hold you tight, we’d kiss goodnight, My Lili of the lamplight, my own Lili Marlene. Orders came for sailing, somewhere over there,

“All confined to barracks” was more than I could bear, I knew you were waiting in the street, I heard your feet, but could not meet My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene. Resting in our billets just behind the line, though we are parted your lips are next to mine, And there where that far-off lantern gleams, Your sweet face seems to haunt my dreams, My Lili of the lamplight, My own Lili Marlene.

Page 36 Perhaps the most moving version of this song was that which was found in a Canadian soldier's field note case, W.W.2. “Lili Marlene” Sometime after midnight in a land not mine, Somewhere in our muddy, dead-strewn battle line, Sleep would not lull my soul tonight, And so awake I long to write, To you Lili Marlene, To you Lili Marlene. In this battered shelter, lashed by icy rain,

Thoughts of you are sunshine that banish grief and pain Soft burns my candle, soft yet bright, My love for you is like that light, So true Lili Marlene, So true Lili Marlene. My beloved darling, I can't forget that day, The last we were together, before I went away, Rain fell like tears from sorrowing skies, But tears, not rain were in your eyes, I knew Lili Marlene, I knew Lili Marlene. How I long to look into your eyes so blue, And feel your voice enchant me, like it used to do,

page 37 I'd trade the world to see your smile, And hold you close, just for a while, My sweet Lili Marlene, My sweet Lili Marlene. Lower flames the candle, grey the eastern sky, One more day of battle, another day to die, God, How I hate this warring hell, But I endure each screaming shell, For you Lili Marlene, For you Lili Marlene. Wait for me my darling, till I return to thee,

When the guns are silent in hush of victory, Even the flaming gates of hell, Against we two, cannot prevail, Adieu Lili Marlene Adieu Lili Marlene

Such was the popularity of the song “Lili Marlene” that it was recorded by many artistes, and it is perhaps worthy of mention that the tune has been adopted as the Regimental Slow March by the British Special Air Service and The Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry.

Page 38 American Servicemen

Towards the end of 1941, while my family were listening to the radio the programme was interrupted by the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl harbour. The bombing of Pearl Harbour was undoubtedly the biggest mistake that the Japanese ever made. It

resulted in America entering the war and over the ensuing three and a half years, hundreds of thousands of Japanese forces and hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians were killed. After America came into the war there was a gradual build up of American forces in Britain. In Glasgow they not only thronged the streets of the city centre, but were present in the surrounding districts. As youngsters we used to approach them saying:“ Any gum chum?” and invariably we would be given chewing gum or chocolate. The Americans were very generous, and it was perhaps their generosity and smart appearance that attracted the womenfolk.

Page 39

The city centre, and in particular, Sauchiehall Street, became the main flirtation area. It became commonplace to see women walking arm in arm with American servicemen and undoubtedly they were welcomed in pubs, clubs, restaurants and stores, etc where their money would be spent.

Little did the general public know that the American servicemen were here in readiness for the “D-Day” invasions, and that they would soon be gone. Many young women became G.I. brides but many more became pregnant and when their offspring arrived they were left fatherless. When the Americans eventually left in 1944 they were, of course greatly missed. I believe that most people were glad that the Americans had come here, perhaps with the exception of the parents of young girls who had flirted with the Americans and literally, had been left holding the baby.

Page 40 Miss Ramsay and Mr. McFarlane. 1944 brought my schooldays to an end. My last three years of schooling were spent at Wellshot Road School where I came to know two teachers whom I came to respect and have never forgotten; Miss Ramsay, a P.E. Teacher, and Mr. McFarlane, a maths teacher.

Both of

them are worthy of mention. I am eternally grateful to Miss Ramsay who, knowing how keen I was in learning to swim, went out of her way to teach me. When I did learn, I practiced as often as I could and eventually became a fairly strong swimmer, something that stood me in good stead in later years while swimming in Loch Lomond. I had joined the Boy Scout movement and our group used to camp on the west bank of Loch Lomond at a place called Aucheheiglish. The name is Gaelic and means “The Church in the water.”

What appears to be

the spire of a church can be seen beneath the surface between Auchenheiglish and the island of Inchmurrin and on one camping occasion I went out on a rowing boat with two other scouts, the McGlinchy twins, David and Daniel, to locate the spire. When we did I swam page 41 underwater to get a closer look but when I surfaced the twins had rowed away from the spot by way of a joke and when I swam towards the boat, they rowed away laughing. I had no choice but to swim for the shore which was quite a distance and at one point I thought

that I wouldn't make it. When I did ,(thanks to Miss Ramsay) I lay exhausted on the shore. Mr. McFarlane was nick-named “Fudgie”, but why I never knew. Perhaps it was related in some way to the fact that he was very nervous. When he got excited his head would shake uncontrollably and he would foam at the mouth. I knew that he had shell-shock as a result of his wartime experience as a soldier in The First World War and it annoyed me no end when some of my class-mates would deliberately get him worked up just so that they could have a laugh. One day they got him so worked up that he stormed out of the classroom with saliva running down his chin whereupon I lost my temper and shouted that if any one annoyed Mr. McFarlane again, I would punch their face in. Mr. McFarlane was never teased again after that.

page 42 It seemed that my classmates heeded my threat, and I felt that it was because I had stood up to the school bully, Alex(Lexy) Borland who was powerfully built and walked about ape-fashion.

For a laugh he used to punch pupils so hard on the muscle of the arm that it would be left dangling. My Granny Martha had drummed it into me that I should always stand up for myself and when Lexy punched me on the arm one day, I vowed that I would do the same to him. At the opportune moment I mustered all the strength that I could and punched him on the muscle of his arm. I waited for his retaliation, but it never came. Perhaps he was too taken aback or his arm was too sore. He just stood looking at me when I said,”That's us quits, Lexy”, and there the matter ended. 1944 also brought the death of Granny Martha. The day she died my mother had told me to let Granny Martha know that dinner was ready. I opened her bedroom door and called her. There was no reply and when I looked in she was lying sprawled dead on her bed. It looked as though she had been sitting on the edge of the bed when she died and had fallen backwards. page 43 The Tea Boy My first job at the age of fourteen was in a large furniture factory in Kent Road where my brother

Tom worked.

Tom and another chap by the name of

Willie McIlwraith, who attended the same school as Tom, had been given employment by the manager of the firm, Mr. Hodgkinson, [or “Mr, H”., as he was called for short] who was fluent in the sign language. Willie was deaf and like Tom, he could speak after a fashion. He always watched others in conversation and seemed to think that they were always talking about him. Time and again he would wrap a lot of twine round his knuckles, and hold up his fist saying:-“ You talk about me!”, and time and again Tom would lead him away to save any trouble. The furniture factory stood in Kent Road, facing the St. Andrew’s Halls, which backed on to the Mitchell Library. The factory which was built over four levels, was owned by two men named Mr.Cohen and Mr.Cantor. It was said that they started business in a small factory making hair mattresses which they personally page 44 delivered to customers by horse and cart.

At the outset the firm was called “The Perfection Bedding Company,” and even when it expanded and started producing hard furniture and upholstery, the title was retained. When I started work in the factory there was somewhere around two hundred and fifty people employed there. I was employed in the bedding department and worked in what was called “the flock bin”. It was a large room where the flock was stored. The flock itself was made from cloth rags fed through a teasing machine and then blown through a duct into the flock bin. It was my job was to scoop the flock into mattress covers, take them to a machinist to be sewn up, and then lift each of them on to a bench where I beat them out flat with a large two inch thick wooden pole in readiness for tufting. I didn’t like the job as I was breathing in the dust from the flock every day, and I was relieved when, in January 1945 another 14yr. old, Patsy Orr started work there and I was given the job of fetching materials for the other workers.

page 45

I also became the ”Teaboy” and on pay day some of the workers would tip me some money as a reward for making the tea and running errands and so between the tips and the pocket money that my mother gave me from my wages, the money soon began to mount up. I didn’t have much to spend it on, except for the odd bar of chocolate or bottle of soda water, or the occasional visit to the cinema, so one day, much to the delight of my mother, I bought a chip pan and a cutter that could cut a potato into chips at the push of a handle. The chip pan proved to be a great buy and was used, not only for making chips, but also for making doughnuts. In the making doughnuts the dough was rolled flat. The circles were cut out using an upturned tumbler, and the centres cut out using an upturned bottle cap. The hoop-shaped pieces of dough were then lowered into the chip pan containing melted lard, and when the doughnuts were ready they were lifted out and sprinkled with sugar. The doughnuts became a great favourite and anytime a family member started to make some, others would shout:-“Make some for me while you’re at it”

page 46 Even after ten years the windows of our house didn't have any curtains. I suppose they weren't really necessary because of the roller blinds, but one day I saw a pair of gold coloured curtains in a shop window and having saved some more money decided to buy them for the living room. I am glad that I did; my mothers' face lit up when I gave her them. No doubt after coming from the slums of the Calton and living in the house in Shettleston for ten years without curtains, she would have looked upon them as a luxury. In due course I also saved enough money to buy a dining suite consisting of a sideboard, a pull-out table and four chairs. It was not of the best quality. It was known as “utility furniture” and apart from the chairs and the table legs which were made of wood, the rest was composed of plywood with veneer finish. It was a lot cheaper than “the real McCoy” but it served the purpose. It was good that the table could be extended and that the whole family could sit round the table when having a meal, something that we couldn't do with the much smaller pine table.

Page47 V.E. Day When the war in Europe came to an end in 1945, the eighth of May was declared V.E. Day, and on that day people were somehow drawn to George Square. I set off with some of my chums from Fernan Street and started to walk to the Square.

We walked

along Old Shettleston Road and on to the part of Shettleston Road where Beardmores Forge stood. This part of the area was normally very quiet as there were no houses or shops there, but on this occasion there were quite a number of people all heading in the same direction. When we reached the Junction of Shettleston Road and Duke Street more people were coming down from the Parkhead, and when we got to the junction of Duke Street and Carntyne Road others were coming through from Carntyne. By the time we got to George Street, leading to George Square, we were in the midst of a massive throng. George Square was packed and people had climbed the on to the trees and statues.

There was an atmosphere of

sheer joy and being there was a once in a lifetime

experience.

Page 48 Man's Inhumanity To Man After the war in Europe came to an end, film was shown of the British and Allied Forces entering the concentration camps where bodies were lying all around, some dead, some still alive, but all of them just skin and bone. Horrific scenes were also shown of hundreds of skeletal bodies, some still moving, being loaded into vans and taken to be thrown into pits for mass burial. Documentaries showed how Jewish people were rounded up and transported to the concentration camps where they were deprived of all their possessions, and were stripped naked and made to kneel at the edge of a pit where they were shot in the back of the head. Others were stripped naked and told that they were going into shower rooms, when in fact they were going into chambers to be gassed and then incinerated. Before being incinerated the bodies were examined to see if there was any gold in the teeth and if so it

was extracted. Evidence came to light that human skin had been used to make lampshades. How God let these atrocities take place only God himself will know. Page 49 Two or three months after the end of the war in Europe, President Truman took the dreadful decision to use atomic bombs. It was said that he was advised that the invasion of Japan would cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, as the Japanese would fight to the death like they did in Okinawa. The newsreels showed the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film showed a plane with the name:-“Enola Gay’ on it, carrying the bomb called “Little Boy,” which was dropped on Hiroshima. The second bomb, called “Fat Boy,” was dropped on Nagasaki two or three days later. The film also showed each bomb exploding and a huge mushroom of smoke rising high into the sky, followed by scenes of the devastation. Only the skeletons of the strongest of buildings were left standing, the rest were reduced to rubble.

It was said that people were incinerated by the intense heat and that in total a hundred and twenty thousand were killed and a hundred and fifty thousand injured. How true the words of Robert Burns;-“ Mans' inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn.”

Page 50 Post-war Perfection Bedding Co.

In due course the servicemen who had worked in The Perfection Bedding Co. before going to war, began arriving back and when ever they did Mr. H. would assemble the workers and bring whoever it was into the flat, where each of them in turn received a rapturous welcome. I didn’t know any of the servicemen as they had joined the forces before I started work in the factory, but I soon got to know them. First back was Jimmy Thomson, then Willie Milroy, Pat McHugh, Harry Wark, Robert McPhee, and Jimmy Angus. Alex Miller and Alex Barnswell showed up in their naval uniform: Robert Kinniburgh, and Johnny McAneny,

in the R.A.F. uniform; Arthur Clark in the uniform of the H.L.I., and Willie Docherty in the uniform of the Black Watch. The biggest welcome by far went to John Orr who had been in a German prisoner of war camp for five years. The scene in the flat on the day

he returned,

was indeed, one to be remembered.

Page 51 As soon as he entered the womenfolk rushed over and showered him with hugs and kisses. John was the works mechanic and was responsible for the maintenance of about twenty sewing machines, the tufting machine, the buttoning machine, two filling machines, four tape-edge machines, the rolledge machine, the hair-rope machine, the kapok teasing machine, the sisal teasing machine and the largest of them all, the coir,[coconut fibre] teasing machine. I have always been a keen learner and in taking note of this John not only took the time to explain to me how each of the machines worked but also taught me how to operate them.

The coir teasing machine which was located in the top flat had three compartments. The coconut fibre came into the factory in compressed bales roughly three feet in height by two feet square and were bound by inch wide strips of bamboo and steel bands. Once the metal bands were cut the bales were split into slices which were fed through the mouth of page 52 the machine into the first compartment where they were broken up by large revolving steel flays. Thereafter the broken pieces passed into the second compartment containing two large revolving metal drums with sharp spikes on them that tore at the fibre to tease it. When the coir was teased out it then passed through to the third compartment where it was scooped out and thrown down a chute to the flat below for the filling of bunk-bed mattresses. Sometimes hard pieces of fibre would cause the drums to jam and when this happened the rule was to switch of the machine and then use a dockers hook to clear the drums.

The first operator of the machine was a man named Davy Bowman, and one day when the drums had jammed he started to clear them with the hook without switching the machine off. When the drums were cleared they started to revolve. His hand was drawn in and the drums to jammed again. When John Orr saw what had happened he switched the machine off, rushed to get his tools, and loosened off the drums to get Davy free.

Page 53 The hand was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated. Davy was off work for a considerable period of time and on the day that he returned, Mr. H. assembled the workers in the bedding department and brought Davy in. He had been fitted with an artificial hand covered with a black leather glove.

After a welcome back

speech Mr. H. announced that Davy would be foreman of the bedding department. I felt sorry for Davy and I knew by the look on the faces of the others, that they felt sorry for him too.

I think that Davy may have realised this, for when M. H. stopped speaking after announcing that Davy would be foreman Davy held up the arm with the artificial hand and provoked laughter when he pointed to the hand and said:-“And anyone who gives me any back-chat will get a thump on the head with this.” The operating of the coir teasing machine

was

taken over by Hughie Wordie who was quite a character. During the lunch break he would go round asking other page 54 workers for their newspapers and at the end of the day he would be seen coming down the stairs from the top flat, with a bundle of newspapers under the one arm and a bundle of bamboo strips under the other. He always took them home to be used for kindling. One afternoon, with newspapers and bamboo strips under his arms, he came rushing into the flat where the mattresses were made shouting at the top of his voice that the fibre machine was on fire and that somebody better phone for the fire brigade. Then he ran out and down the stairs. The fire brigade put out the fire and the next day when I was up in the top flat throwing fibre down the

chute there was Hughie whistling away like he always did, as if nothing had happened. I really enjoyed working in the factory. Everyone was friendly. There was a good atmosphere Jimmy Thomson used to try to amuse by singing parodies of well-known songs, and the women who stripped the covers off the coir bunk-bed mattresses so that the coir could be re-cycled would share sweets or soft drinks and often join together in singing.

page 55 I can still picture them and recall there names;Maw Orr, grandmother of Patsy, Annie Orr, Patsy's mother, Lavina Orr, his sister, Maggie McHugh, mother of Pat, Nellie Gallagher and Helen Brooks. One of the songs that they often sang was called “An Auld Maid In The Garret” I always thought it amusing, the words are as follows follows. “An Auld Maid In The Garret” Ah have often heard it said, frae mah faither and mah mither

That goin’ tae a weddin’ is the makin’ o’ anither. Well if this be true ah will go withoot a biddin’ O kind providence, won’t you send me tae a weddin. Refrain And it’s oh dear me, how will it be If ah die an auld maid in the garret? There’s ma young sister Jean, she’s no handsome or good-lookin’ Scarcely sixteen when a laddie she was courtin’ Noo she’s twenty-four, wi’ a son and a daughter, Ah’m seven more and ah’ve never had an offer. Refrain

page 56 Ah can cook and Ah can sew and keep a hoose real tidy, Rise early in the mornin’ and get the breakfast ready. Nothin’ in this wide world would make mah heart so cheery, If only some auld man would ca’ me his wee dearie. Refrain Come ye tinker, come ye tailor, come ye sodjer, come ye sailor, Come any man at a’ that’ll take me frae mah faither,

Come rich man or poor man, come foolish or come witty. Come any man at a’ that’ll marry me for pity. Refrain Now Ah think Ah’ll go back hame ‘cause there’s naebody that’s heedin’ There’s naebody that’s heedin tae poor auld Annie’s pleadin. Ah’ll go awa back hame tae mah ain wee bit garret And if Ah canny get a man, then Ah’ll maybe get a parrot. Refrain.

page 57 At the age of sixteen I began my apprenticeship. At that time I already knew how to make the various types of mattresses, and went on to learn the operation of the various machines and the bulk cutting of upholstery covers, which was relatively easy. It involved spreading out a number of layers of material, chalking out the shapes with the use of templates, cutting out the shapes by the aid of a

band-saw, and then identifying each shape by marking them with various letters, e.g,;- I.A.[inside arm], O.A.[outside arm], I.B.[inside back], O.B.[outside back].T.S.B.[top seat border], or F.S.B.[front seat border] etc. I also learned to make chair and divan frames, how to upholster and how to fit carpets all of which, along with advice given me by my mentor, John Orr, stood me in good stead throughout my adult life. John once told me always to study the way work is normally carried out, and try to find a way of doing it easier or faster, or both. This advice I always heeded, and it certainly proved fruitful.

page 58 Jimmy and Madge For whatever reason I have always remembered my brother Jimmy and his girlfriend, Madge McNay, going to the cinema to see”The Jolson Story” starring Larry Parks and Evelyn Keyes when it was released in 1946. Maybe it was because they raved about it so much afterwards. Jimmy and Madge were married on the Nineteenth of

December, 1947 with Tom as best man, and Janet, best maid. I still have a treasured group photograph,taken at the reception showing all of my immediate family, plus aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and many neighbours, not only from up our close, but also from Ram Street and Fernan Street. The background of the photograph shows decorations and the words “Happy Christmas” strung across the wall and this added to the atmosphere of the occasion. Perhaps needless to say, Uncle Archie wasn’t present at the wedding but his two daughters, Jeannie and Martha, were there with their husbands and families. When Jimmy and Madge got married they managed to get a house in Carntyne Road and went on to have four of a family; Thomas, Roslyn, Marjory, and Alison.

Page 59 Army Days Towards the end of October 1948 I received a letter and a rail travel warrant from the Ministry of Defence stating that I had been conscripted to serve in the Royal Artillery, and that I was to report at Aldershot Barracks on the Eighteenth November.

It was with heavy heart that I set out on my journey that day. It was my first time away from the rest of the family and I was concerned for my mother’s welfare as her health hadn't been good. On reporting at the army barracks at Aldershot I was rigged out with an ill-fitting uniform. After two days there I was transferred the Royal Artillery depot at Rhyl for basic training. After ten days at Rhyl preparation was made for our battalion to go overseas to Alexandria. Three days before we were due to leave a sergeant came into our barrack room and said that he was looking for a volunteer to do some painting. It was always the golden rule in the army never to volunteer but something inside told me to do so. When I did the sergeant took me to the Commanding page 60 Officer who put my name on a prepared letter and handed it to me saying that I was being transferred to an ordnance depot at Bicester. When I arrived at the depot I found that the personnel there were a mixture of military and civilian, but mostly civilian. The only military there

were four members of the R.A.F. and five soldiers, including myself. Upon reporting at the depot I was taken to an office where my escort knocked on the door. Before entering he instructed me to a wait outside and while doing so I took note of the gold-leafed name on the door:-“Sergeant Major Greene. V.C.” A short time later I was bid enter and I handed over my letter to The Sergeant Major.

I don’t know

how I managed to keep a straight face when he explained that for the rest of my time in the army, I would be billeted at the ordnance depot; that I would get breakfast and evening meal in the canteen at the depot, and that I would be working five days a week in a museum in Westcott about 12 miles distant and roughly half-way between Bicester and Aylesbury.

page 61 I have always had great respect for anyone awarded a medal for bravery, especially the V.C., and at the outset I had much respect for Sergeant Major Greene.V.C., but the respect waned when I learned that the V.C. stood for Victor Charles.

It might not have been the case but I firmly believed that he took advantage of his initials by putting them after his surname knowing that others would think that he had been awarded the Victoria Cross. Sergeant-Major Greene was never strict with any one. He was easy going, and never objected to being called by his nickname, ”Tiffy” (so called because he was an artificer). When I came out of Sergeant Major Greene’s office I was shown where the canteen was and then taken to my quarters which consisted of a bedroom and a bathroom with a toilet. The following morning I went to the canteen at half-past seven, as instructed, and after breakfast boarded a bus along with Sergeant Major Greene, Sergeant Reardon, Gunner{Buck}Ryan, a number of civilians, and the four R.A.F. personnel, the senior of whom was a Wing Commander named Hughes. Page 62 The bus which was driven by another soldier, Gunner Perry, took us to a top-security establishment at Westcott where, after everyone on the bus had been screened, we were allowed to pass through the gate.

Gunner Perry stopped the bus at a nearby building where Sergeant Reardon and the four R.A.F. personal alighted along with the civilians. A short distance further on the bus drew to a halt at a hanger across the way from a canteen. SergeantMajor Greene told Gunner Perry to wait for him, and instructed Buck and I to get off the bus. He then opened the side door of the hanger and handed me the keys saying that from then on I would be responsible for opening and closing. The hanger housed a Messerschmitt, a Junkers 88, a Hurricane, a Spitfire, a V.2. Rocket, a VI.1. Rocket and various smaller missiles. Everything was in need of refurbishment and Buck and I were given the task of cleaning and painting them in their original colours. The hanger also housed a kitchen, a rest room, a toilet and some cupboards. After showing us where all the required equipment for the restoration was stored page 63 Sergeant Major Greene left saying that the bus would be back for us around ten past five. The bus came just after five and we were taken

back to the canteen at the depot where we had dinner, and so the daily routine came to be:-After breakfast, board bus for Westcott at 0830, work in the hanger from 0900 till 1700, return to ordnance depot. Evening meal at 1800.

Weekends were free of duty and, weather

permitting, I would go into Bicester, Oxford or Aylesbury. On my first trip to town I bought an electric kettle for use in my bedroom and a small portable radio which I took back and forth to the hanger each day. A few days before Christmas, 1948, I received a letter from my father saying that my mother was seriously ill. I showed the letter to Sergeant-Major Greene and he granted me compassionate leave. When I arrived home on the 22nd. December I went into the bedroom to see my Mother, and she held her hand out to me. She was too weak to talk. I sat on the edge of the bed holding her hand between mine and tried to make her believe that she would get well, page 64 although I knew in my heart that she wouldn’t. It had happened on four occasions that a member of

my extended family had died on another family member’s birthday. My sister Janet had been born on 24th. December 1923, and although I am not normally superstitious, I thought that if my mother was going to die it would be on Janet’s birthday. Janet's birthday passed without incident and this gave hope that my mother might recover but on Christmas Day she was so ill that my father felt that the family doctor should be sent for. In that era, unlike today, working class families didn't have phones and in order to get in touch with our family G.P. Doctor Capaldi, I ran the five hundred yards or so to his surgery in Shettleston Road to inform him that he was needed urgently. He told me that he would be as soon as possible, but as I walked home I had the dreaded feeling that his visit would be in vain and when I did arrive home I knew by the look on Janets' face that my mother had died. She was laid to rest in with my brother George in Janefield cemetery. Page 65 After her death, as a token of remembrance, I

made a pilgrimage to the city centre every Christmas, knowing that the salvation army band would be there, and I would

wait till I heard “Silent Night” played

before returning home. She may be absent from my mind at times but never on Christmas Day. Even now, almost fifty-eight years on, at the time of writing, I still grieve for her. Sad to relate The Salvation army has now been prohibited from playing in the city centre the reason being, as I have been informed, that it might be offensive to other faiths, and in some establishments Christmas has to be referred to as The Holiday Season. The loss of my Mother was bad enough for the family but it must have been even worse for my father. He must have missed her terribly. They got on so well together and never once did I ever hear them quarrel. My Father was the not the type of person to show grief; he kept it bottled up and this probably contributed to him having a stroke in October, 1949. which resulted in his left arm and leg being paralysed.

Page 66

Back To Civvy Street. With my National Service having been completed, it was with much joy that I

returned home on the Tenth

June,1950 wearing a spare uniform as the suit I left in no longer fitted. As I neared home Tom and one of his pals, Willie Miller who, like Tom was deaf but could speak after a fashion, rounded the corner of Fernan Street and when Tom saw me he waved. We met at the close and hugged each other then Willie shook my hand and signed to Tom that I had broadened out a bit. When I entered the house Janet greeted me in the hall and then I went into the living room where my father was. When he saw me he shook my hand saying how good it was to have me back and I tried hide the sadness I felt when I saw his other hand twisted by the paralysis. My father had come through much more than most; He was fifty-three years of age. He had experienced the horrors of the battlefields of France in The Great War; He had lost his mother and father, two daughters, two sons and most tragic of all, his wife, and now he

page 67 was paralysed, reliant on Janet to look after him' something which she did as capably as a qualified nurse could have done. My father never regained the use of his arm again despite Janet and I exercising it. We also kept bending his leg back and forth, and through time he was able to walk with support. On the day that I returned home from the army Tom informed me that the The Perfection Bedding Company had moved premises to Stepps Road in Queenslie Estate. The following Thursday I went to see Mr, H. about my return to work. He said that I could start back on the coming Monday and kindly offered me an advance. I thanked him for the offer but refused to accept. While in the army part of my pay was sent home and I didn’t have much to spend the rest on so it just mounted up. About three weeks after I came home I spent some of it on two new Florestine covered easychairs, and dumped the old rexine one. When I started back at work, there was a new foreman in the bedding department. Davy Bowman had retired, and had been replaced by Joe Gonella, brother

of the well known trumpet player, Nat Gonella. Joe, page 68 like Davy, was easy going and as long as targets were met he was quite content. Only four new employees had started in the Bedding department since I left; Frank McIlreevie, Charlie Boyle, Faye Beverage, and Jessie Dougan.

These were workers who all lived in the east

end and had replaced some of the workers who lived in the west end who found it too far to travel to the new premises, such as Annie Orr, Maggie and Pat McHugh, Alex Barnswell, Jimmy Angus and Sanny Miller. The other workers that I knew before I was conscripted were still there. Bessie Mason who cut the panels and borders for the mattresses was in charge of the sewing-machinists. Two sisters, Mary and Katie Slowey, operated the tape-edge machines, Rab McPhee the tufting machine, Willie Milroy the buttoning machine. Johnny McAneney and Arthur Clark operated the roll-edge machines. other workers were either engaged in the making of the mattresses or in labouring. ` There was a bonus scheme in operation whereby after a certain figure was reached by each individual he or she would be paid extra according to how much

more was produced. Before I went into the army I had page 69 learned how to make the various types of mattresses and how to operate the roll-edge machine. I hadn’t been back at work long when Arthur Clark took ill and was off work. Joe Gonella asked me to work on the roll-edge machine till Arthur came back, and I readily agreed. I knew what the bonus target was on the roll-edge machine. I reached it by three o’clock and then sat in the restroom reading a newspaper. After a time Joe came in and said that I had been away from the machine long enough. I explained that I had done the quota and said that if I was to go beyond that then I would expect to be paid bonus. Joe thought that since I hadn’t yet completed my apprenticeship I might not be allowed to go on bonus but said that he would speak to Mr.H about it. When he returned after speaking to Mr.H., he said that I would be on bonus work until Arthur came back. Arthur was off for three weeks and when he returned he did of course go back to his rightful job on the Roll-edge machine.

I went back to my previous job where I was only on page 70 time work. Not being happy with this I asked for a meeting with Mr. H. which was granted. I explained that I felt that since it had been alright for me earn bonus on the Roll-edge machine while my apprentice ship was not complete, then it should be alright to earn bonus on any other job.

Mr. H. agreed and from

then on I worked on bonus regardless of what job I did I had banked money during my time in the army and now that I was on bonus work my savings began to mount up so I decided to buy a television for my father, mainly so that he could watch horse-racing. Once in a while we would manage to take him to Dean's Pub in Shettleston Road where he would sit and chat with old cronies. Getting him there was difficult as four flights of stairs had to be negotiated and although we supported him, he was afraid that he might fall. Most of his time was spent reading newspapers and studying horse racing form. He wasn't a heavy gambler but occasionally he would write out a betting slip and get me or Janet to take it to Chic McGuinness, a

clandestine bookmaker who had a pitch near the

page 71 Shettleston football ground in Old Shettleston Road. When I brought the television set into the house I didn’t tell my father that I had bought it for him in case he thought that I felt sorry for him but merely said that I had bought myself a television set and I joked with him saying that I would let him watch it for a small fee. One day in 1951 when I was watching the evening news along with my father and Janet it was announced that a man named George McKay had been accidentally killed in a shipyard and that his next of kin had been informed. The man was my Uncle George, my mothers' brother. He had fallen into the hold a ship and died of his injuries. It was of course a sad time for all but in particular for his wife Sarah and her family. I will always remember my Uncle George for his playing of the accordion at the parties we had in our house at 150 Old Shettleston Road.

page 72 Tom and Betty. Tom met his wife-to-be Betty Wylie, at the club for the deaf and dumb that he frequented. Although Betty was deaf she was a good speaker. She was also very good at the sign language and acted as an interpreter for the deaf and dumb. Tom

and Betty were married in 1950 and for a time

lived with Jimmy and Madge in Carntyne Road. In 1952 Madge's mother moved from her home in Crownpoint Road to a single end in David Street but was only there for a matter of months when she passed away. Thereafter Tom and Betty moved into the single end and after a time they were allocated a larger house in Turnlaw Street. They raised four of a family; Thomas, John, Peter and Geraldene, all of whom became fluent the sign language. At the time Tom and Betty were living in Turnlaw Street I got a phone call from Betty's father saying

that Tom and Betty had bought a three-piece suite from Hendersons furniture store in London Road. He said that the suite had not been made properly and was back in the store for repair for the fourth time and asked page 73 if there was anything that I could do to help. I told him to tell Betty to meet me at Hendersons at ten o’clock on the coming Saturday. When we entered the store Betty saw her suite labelled with her name and address so I went over and examined it. While I was examining the suite a salesman came over and asked if he could be of assistance. I told him who Betty was and explained that the suite had been brought back in for repair whereupon he said that it was ready for re-delivery. When I said that the suite hadn’t been repaired properly he turned nasty and asked me what I thought I knew about upholstery. Taking note that there were a number of customers in the store I raised my voice and said that I was a qualified upholsterer and knew a damn sight more than he did and raising my voice further said that the suite had been back for repair four times. I then started pointing out all the

faults. By this time the salesman was a bit flustered and said that the best he could do was either replace the suite or give back the money. Betty must have read his lips for she immediately said:- “That’s fine I’ll have my money back.” page 74

Humiliation of the Scots. Towards the end of 1950 I read in newspapers that the Stone of Destiny had been removed from Westminster Abbey by members of The Scottish National Party. I had gained some knowledge of Scottish history and knew that prior to the year 1296 Scottish kings had been crowned on the stone. In 1296 King Edward the 1st. of England had the stone removed and placed under the throne in Westminster Abbey for future Kings and Queens to be crowned thereon, thereby symbolising domination over the Scots. Like others, I was more than pleased that the stone had been removed. However it was found again in 1951 at Arbroath Abbey where it had been left, covered over with a Saltire. After the battle of Culloden in 1746 the Duke of

Cumberland outlawed the wearing of tartan and the playing of bagpipes. He also gave orders for the Highlands to be cleared (in this day and age this would be ethnic cleansing) so that the land could be used for sheep farming. In the course of the cleansing men were shot or hung, houses were burnt and women page 75 were raped then turned naked into the countryside. I could accept to a certain extent that all of this was the way that things were in those barbaric days, but

when I read that the Stone of Destiny was

to be placed under the throne in Westminster Abbey in readiness for Queen Elizabeth to place her posterior over it at her coronation in 1953, I felt disgusted and discarded a treasured possession that I had kept since I was seven years old. In 1937 when King George the sixth was crowned, like other schoolchildren, I was given a tin box of chocolates to commemorate the occasion. The lid of the box was embossed with the faces of the King and Queen, and no doubt others, like myself, kept their tins as souvenirs, but when I read about the Stone of destiny to be placed under the throne I threw my tin away.

Like other Scots I didn't think it right that the queen was crowned Elizabeth the 2nd. when in fact she should have become Queen Elizabeth the 1st. as the previous Queen Elizabeth had been Queen of England only.

However since discarding the tin my patriotism

has been strengthened by the many other insults that Scots have endured over the years . Page 76 The Campbells While working in “The Perfection Bedding Company” in 1954 I met Amy Campbell, the girl who would become my wife. Amy had just come back from Canada after living there for three years. We took a liking to each other and it wasn’t long before I asked her to go out with me. At that time she and her mother were living in lodgings in McNair Street, Shettleston. We arranged to meet at the corner of Edrom Street and Shettleston Road. I was there first and when I saw her arrive thought how elegant she looked in her long fawn coloured coat and matching hat. As we started to walk along Edrom Street she

linked her arm in mine and we walked arm-in-arm through Tollcross Park to the gate at the far end of Wellshot Road where we crossed over into the Green’s Cinema. From then on whenever we were out together Amy linked her arm in mine; a memory that I cherish. Both of us liked going to the movies but we also liked going to the theatre. Among the many artistes we saw was the unforgettable page

77

Danny Kaye who made us laugh so much; Slim Whitman who had a unique way of singing “Rose Marie”and “The Indian Love Song; ”Johnny Ray,who wore a hearing aid and sung with his hand over his ear in case the microphone picked up the whistle from his hearing aid; Guy Mitchell who had a big hit with a song called ”She Wears Red Feathers And A Hula Hula skirt; ”Dickie Valentine and Bonar Colleano who shared the same bill and who were both killed in separate car crashes, but the most memorable of all was Josef Locke who had a powerful voice and sang without the aid of a microphone. That evening at The Empire Theatre he walked on to the stage to the music of “Hear My Song Violetta” and started the show by singing it. He also

sang “I’ll Take You Home Kathleen,”

”When You Were

Sweet Sixteen” and “The Isle Of Innisfree.”

When

people in the audience started shouting requests for various songs to be sung he held up both arms and the audience fell silent. He then shouted: “Shut your bloody mouths, I’ll sing what the hell I like”. Only Josef Locke could have gotten away with shouting that to a Glasgow audience; anyone else would page78 have been boo-ed off the stage. However he sang some more songs and finished by singing “The Soldiers' Dream” accompanied by flashing lights and a simulated sound of cannon-fire. When the show ended the audience were on their feet calling for an encore and he came back on stage to sing the song “Goodbye”. As he sang the closing lines “Goodbye Goodbye, I wish you all a last Goodbye” he waved a handkerchief and members of the audience responded by doing likewise. It was truly an evening to be remembered. When Amy was born in 1931 only one of her grand parents was still living. That was her Granny Voilet

who had been widowed in 1910 when her husband Robert Scott Campbell fell to his death from a roof in Dunlop Street, Glasgow where he been at work. Granny Violet died in 1935 when Amy was only 4 years old. Amys' other grandmother Catherine Taylor gave birth to Amys' mother Annie in 1900 but died of alcoholism in 1904 at the age of 34. Amy’s father, Robert Scott Campbell was born in 1896. He served in The First Battalion of The King’s Own Scottish Borderers during the First World War and fought in Gallipoli, Ypres, Cambrai, and at the battle of the Somme.

page 79

He was taken prisoner but managed to escape along with a wounded officer whom he carried on his back for some distance through enemy lines. In recognition of this action he was awarded the Military Medal and after the war received a personally hand-written letter from King George V.,relative to his captivity, wishing him well in civilian life. When the war ended he worked as a steel erector, a job that also entailed coating the steel with redlead paint. Amy’s mother Annie, or Nan as she was called, had

been a domestic servant when she married Robert in 1922.

Their marriage certificate shows that they were

married in the Calton district. It also shows that both of them resided at 23 Green Street, Calton. In those days it was quite commonplace for couples to give similar addresses when planning marriage. If a couple planning marriage lived in different areas, banns had to be posted in both parishes and of course had to be paid for, so in order to cut costs both parties would give the same address. Robert and Nan went on to have four of a family; page 80 Robert, Violet, Hughie, and Amy. They lived in Moncur Street in the same squalid conditions as my family did in Major Street. Around the same time that my family into the house in Old Shettleston Road, Amy’s family took up residence in one of the newly-built Shettleston flats at 151 Pettigrew Street. Shettleston. At that time Robert was aged 12, Violet, 9, Hughie 7. and Amy, 4. They had only been their new home a matter of months when Amy’s father took ill and passed away,

seven weeks before Amy's fifth birthday.

A post-

mortem revealed that he had died from lead poisoning. He was laid to rest in Sandymount cemetery on the Seventh of July, 1936. Amy’s Mother must have had found it extremely hard to raise four youngsters on her own, and the harshness of life would only have eased as each of them became old enough to go out to work. Robert became a baker and Hughie became a qualified rigger. Both Violet and Amy worked as sales assistants, and then as tram conductresses. During World War Two Amy's brother Robert was in page 81 the Merchant Navy and twice had the misfortune to be on ships that were torpedoed. Hughie likewise joined the Merchant Navy in 1946. With her two sons being away from

home Amy's mother moved with her two

daughters to a smaller house at 270 Aitkin Street, Dennistoun. In December 1948 she received a letter from The Bolton Steam Shipping Company, London. Dear Madam, “S.S. ROMNEY”

It read:-

“We have to inform you that we have received a cable from the Master of the above named steamer that your son, Robert left the ship at Victoria. B.C. Under these circumstances, therefore, we shall not be making you further payment on your allotment. Yours faithfully J Bonnard Secretary” Hughie also jumped ship at Victoria in 1949. While in Canada Robert met and married a nurse of Scottish parentage, Margaret McKimmy, and settled down in Port Coquitlam where they raised two sons, Peter and Robert. Page 82 In 1951 Amy, her mother and sister Violet went to live in Canada. Violet found work as a carer in Woodlands Hospital for the Mentally Ill in New Westminster. Amy worked as a telephone operator, but then found a better paid job at The Frazer Saw Mills. However two years and a half later Hughie, Amy and her mother decided to go back home .

Violet

wanted to remain Canada as she had a well-paid job and prospects of marriage.

Hughie had saved some money during his time in Canada and had also won a considerable sum playing poker in the lumber camps in Kamloops. Hughie, Amy and their Mother put together what money they had and decided that there was enough for Amy and her mother to return home with some left to give them a fresh start. Amy and her mother flew back home in the summer of 1954, and lodged with Mrs. Murphy for two years, by which time they had enough money to use as a deposit on a single-end at 70, Eveline Street in Dennistoun. After almost twenty years they were back to living in a single end with an outside toilet.

Page 83 Corner Boys When I came home from the army, I went back to hanging around with my cronies at the east corner of Fernan Street and Shettleston Road. There was a café there at that time called “The Cosy Corner,(now called “Pelican Cafe”), which was owned by Charlie Coccozza, who was quite sociable. He always

gave credit but rightly wouldn't give further credit to anyone who hadn't paid what was already owed. There was an occasion when one of the guys, Jim Mc G. was refused credit for this reason and that night he smashed one of the windows of the café. On another occasion one of the others, Alex G. outlined a plan of how he was going to rob the café. The café had a sitting area with six sections and each section had a table with a four-seat bench on each side. Now and again we would “sit in” and buy soft drinks,ice cream, milk-shakes or cups of Bovril. Alex had taken note that when Charlie opened the shop, he always went through to the back shop and would be there for a few minutes, before coming through to the main counter. Alexs’ plan was to go into the café with some of the page 84 guys about half past ten in the evening and sit in the first section till five minutes before closing at eleven o’clock and then hide under the seat while the others left taking the empty tumblers over to the counter on their way out as they always did. The plan was put to practice. Alex hid under

the seat and after Charlie locked up he stole a sum of money from the till and lay under the seat till Charlie opened up next morning. When Charlie went through to the back shop Alex then nipped out the door without being seen. A few days after the café window got smashed four plain clothed policemen booked all those standing at the corner, myself included, for loitering. The trouble was that at that particular time I hadn’t been loitering. I had been in the café for a packet of Woodbine cigarettes for my father and had stopped for a chat before going back home when the police arrived and I was booked along with the others. We all had to appear in court where we pled guilty and were fined a five shillings each.{twenty-five pence, present day} page 85 After that if we were standing at the corner and saw a policeman approaching we would move out to the edge of the pavement. It seemed to satisfy the policeman that we moved and he would walk past without saying anything.

There was an occasion when a well respected policeman called Murray approached and we all moved out, with the exception of Jim McG. who stood leaning against the wall. Murray told Jim to move but he refused saying that police thought they were big men just because they wore uniforms. I was surprised when Murray turned and walked away because I knew that some times with the aid of just one other policeman he managed on a number of occasions to arrest a well known character called “Big Joudie”for breach of the peace. Big Joudie was a hefty man who lived in Kenmore Street. In sobriety he was quite a jovial character but when drunk he would cause mayhem and it would, at times, take four policemen to overpower and take him to the police station in Chester Street.

page 86 However some time after Murray left he returned in plain clothing and challenged Jim to a square go {a fair fight}

Jim readily accepted the challenge and

both of them went through the close next to the café

to the backyard. The rest of us went into Fernan Street and climbed the wall over-looking the backyard of the café to witness the fight. It was a good clean fight but it was clear that Murray had boxing experience. Jim was outclassed, but give him his due, he fought till he was exhausted and ended up on all fours. Murray stood over him. He knew that he had taught Jim a lesson. He then picked up his jacket and left without a word. A few weeks later Murray again approached Jim at the corner and told him that he was under arrest for theft and said that if he came quietly they would walk side by side to the police station but if not then he would have to be handcuffed. Jim chose to go quietly. As it turned out Jim had stolen lead from the roof of a church and sold it to Barney McShane who had a scrapyard in Westmuir Street near Parkhead Cross

page 87 and, unbelievingly, had signed the receipt for the money in his own name.

Like today,Glasgow had its’ gangs;

“The Tongs”, “The

San Toi,” “The Dunn Street Stickit,” “The Billy Boys,” “The Norman Konks,” “The Easy Boys, “The Baltic Fleet” etc. “The Kenmore Boys” hung around outside The Waverly pub

(now called “The Gantry Bar”), at the

west corner of Kenmore Street and Shettleston Road. Charlie McGibbon, who was always well groomed and wore expensive suits, was looked upon as the leader. John Hill{for some inexplicable reason nicknamed “Sheriff”}and Willie Ferris, were among the first to sport the “Teddy Boy” suits. Among the others who hung around Kenmore Street were Big Bill McLeish, Billy Bradley, John Curry, Andy McMillan, Matt McConnell and Danny Dunsmore who all worked as asbestos sheet roofers as did Jim McG., and my best pal Willie Hendry. We all got to know each other and whenever any of the Kenmore Boys were on their way past our corner or when we were on our way

page88 past theirs we would have a chat.

As to what befell of some of them; Andy McMillan, who had been courting Margaret Black from Kenmore Street, was killed when he fell ten feet from a roof. Danny Dunsmore was decapitated when the car he was travelling in crashed into the back of a lorry carrying overhanging steel sheeting. Billy Bradley sustained serious back injuries when he fell through the roof of the Palaceum Cinema. Willie Hendry was badly injured in a fight at Parkhead and had to have an eye removed. He was killed on a country road in the dark of night in Benbecula, where he had been working, when he was run over by a truck driven by a soldier. The truck didn’t stop and when questioned by the police the driver claimed that he thought he had run over a sheep. John Curry spent five years in Barlinnie Prison for serious assault on Jock Somerville, a quiet natured chap, who somehow got caught up in a fight between some of The Kenmore Boys and the Doyle brothers, Tommy and James who hung around the corner of Edrom St. and page 89

Shettleston Rd. The first I knew of the fight was when John Curry came to the close where Willie Hendry lived. I had been standing there with Willie when John approached carrying a parcel which he handed to Willie, saying “Hold on to that for me, it’s my suit, it’s got blood on it, we were in a fight and I ran a sword through Jock Somerville. I’d better beat it, the screws{police} might be looking for me” and off he went. The next day Willie and I went up to John's house at the corner of Kenmore Street and Old Shettleston Road to see if John was there, and as we passed the window on the first landing we saw two policemen coming across the back yard towards the close. We knew that they had also seen us so instead of going to John’s door on the first story we went to the top story where a friend, Alex Gray lived and knocked on the door but there was no answer. The two policemen came up the stairs and banged the knocker on John's door. There was no reply. They then came up to the top story and asked us why we

page 90 were there. When we told them that we had come to see Alex Gray one of the policemen banged on the door and when there was no reply he told us to be on our way. Most of the gang fights were fought for glory or revenge and I always tried to avoid them but there was an occasion when, much to my regret, I got caught up in one. I had been standing at the corner with Willie Hendry and some of the others one day when Alfie Elliot, a well-known gang leader from Soho Street approached. He and Willie had recently had an altercation and as Alfie neared he challenged Willie to a square go. Willie readily accepted the challenge and Alfie suggested that they fight on the spare ground beside the burn at Carntynehall Road. Willie and Alfie set off down Fernan Street towards Carntynehall Road and after they crossed over Denbeck Street the rest of us went to go into Simpsons’ snooker hall in Fernan Street between Denbeck Street and Shettleston Road. By this time Willie and Alfie were half way down

page 91 Fernan Street but as I looked a number of Alfie's gang came out of the closes on the other side of the street. Willie turned and ran back into the snooker hall pursued by Alfie and his gang and a battle broke out. The two sides were hitting each other with snooker cues and throwing snooker balls. I must have got knocked out but I remember getting to my feet and climbing out of a window at the rear of the hall with blood streaming down the right hand side of my face. Thereafter I had to go to the Royal Infirmary where the wound was scrubbed clean with a nail scrubber, stitched up, and a bandage put round my head. So for a while I went about looking like an Apache Indian. It was just as well that I was known to the members of The Kenmore Boys for there was a time when I was with Peter McPhee, a cousin of Amy, and my being with him probably saved him from being beaten up. Peter lived in Malcolm Street in Parkhead with his wife Margaret and their daughter who had been a flower

girl to Amy at our wedding. I was sitting with him in a cafe in Westmuir Street one day when Charlie

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McGibbon, Bill McLeish, John Currie, Matt McConnell and Billy Bradley all came in. Peter had previously been involved in a fight with some of them and when they entered Peter said;- “I am bang in trouble now.” I told Peter that everything would be alright and as we were leaving I exchanged greetings with them and spoke briefly to John Currie. As we were speaking all eyes were on Peter but we left without incident. Of those who frequented the corner of Fernan Street, there were only two that I really looked upon as being my pals, namely Willie Hendry and Jim McPhee. I first met Jim in Simpson's snooker hall which was in Fernan Street about thirty yards down from the café. He was what would be called today “a hustler”. He would look out for strangers in the hall. He would let them think that he wasn’t a very good player, and

then ask them if they would like a game. He would let them win the first game and then ask them if they fancied a bet.

page 93 If they accepted the bet, he would beat them and say that he was lucky to win. He would then ask them if they wanted to go double or quits and if they did he would beat them again and ask them if they wanted to go double or quits again. He would do this until the other player quit or had no money left. There was a day when, like Jim I was practicing on one of the six tables. He came over and asked me if I would like to play. I replied that I would and of course he let me win. He then asked if I fancied playing again this time with a side bet. I said that I would play again but without a bet. I told him that I knew what his game was and that he wouldn’t get any money out of me. He just smiled and said;-“Let’s play anyway.” From then on we played each other regularly and he

taught me various shots. We became good friends, so much so that he and his wife Helen called their first son after me and named him John McCormick McPhee.

page 94 Jim who was Protestant, but didn’t bother about church, married a Catholic girl, Helen Mc Cusker. They lived with Helen’s parents in Quarryknowe Street, where I often visited them. On one occasion when I was there a priest paid a visit. I thought that it was good of him to do so, but didn’t think it very noble of him when he accepted the tenshilling note that Helen’s mother gave him for the chapel funds. This was a poor family and yet the priest took money when in fact, he should have been giving it. My other pal Willie Hendry and I knew each other from childhood. When I was about eight years old he threw a stone which hit me on the head leaving a gash that had to be stitched. He must have told his mother

what had happened for she brought him to our house where he apologised. After that we became chums and when I went to his house to see if he was coming out to play Mrs.Hendry would always invite me in and give me drink of lemonade.

page 95 As a teenager I was sometimes invited to stay for dinner and became well acquainted with the rest of the family. Willie had three brothers; Donald, nicknamed Dosha, Thomas, nicknamed Tosh, and John, who after doing his National Service in the Catering Corps, signed on for another seven years. When he came out of the army he courted and married Margaret Black some four years or so after Andy McMillan's fatal fall. As a child Margaret had the misfortune to have had rickets and had to wear a caliper through into adulthood. Sadly John and Margaret were only together for a few short years when Margaret took ill and died. Willie also had two sisters, Mirren and Margaret.

Mirren married a sailor called Laurence Love. Margaret spent three months in a coma after being knocked down by a stolen car. When she recovered and was well enough she married Stewart Logan, a boxer who lived on a top story flat in the same close as the Hendrys in Fernan Street.

page 96 After they married Willie and I used to visit them in their new home, a prefab in Sheildhall. As for Willie he married Beatrice Moran who lived in Tollcross and who used to come over to Shettleston with her pal, Alice Rogers. Alice was best maid at the wedding and I was privileged to be best man. It came as a terrible blow when I received the news that Willie had been killed. I went to the funeral which was conducted from a funeral parlour in Shettleston Road, and that was the last time that I saw Beatrice or Alice. What became of Beatrice I do not know, but in the

1980's I heard that Alice had died. I met her brother through my cousin Agnes and in 1986 Alice's son Tam worked beside me in a factory in the Cambuslang Industrial Estate.

page 97 Farewell To The Perfection Bedding Company. Whilst I really enjoyed working in The Perfection Bedding Company, the day came in 1955, when, on point of principal I had to leave. The women who had replaced some of the men who had gone into the armed forces, were kept on when the men came back but were paid at a lower rate. At the time I chose to leave Frank McIlreevie and I were were working on the mattress-assembly line along with three women. All of us had the same number of mattresses to make before going on to bonus, but the men had a higher basic rate. Frank and I had the knack of lifting the mattresses on our own and carrying them above above our head to be placed ready for tape-edging. The women couldn’t do

this so Frank and I had to take it in turn to lift the mattresses for them. One day Joe Gonella got Frank and I together and said that the works accountant figured that since we were being a higher rate than the women, we should have a higher quota to reach before before going on to bonus. I pointed out that the time that Frank and I lost in lifting the mattresses for the women more than page 98 compensated for the difference for the in the rates and suggested that the women get paid the same rate as the men. The accountant said that this was unacceptable so I gave the required one weeks’ notice and left. The Monday after I left I obtained bonus work in The Crestol Bedding Co., in Tobago Street, Bridgeton. It involved making coir-filled bunk-bed mattresses. The covers were of a thick, hard-wearing material called “white duck.” After each cover was filled and the end sewn up the mattress was then stitched with two rows of stitching round the border and hand-tufted with leather tufts. All his was done with the use of a twelve-inch, ten-

gauge needle and twine. Since the white duck material was so hardwearing, it was difficult to pierce with the needle. When I first learned how to side-stitch and tuft, John Orr took me aside one day and asked me if I could think of an easier way to side-stitch and tuft. When I said that I couldn’t he said that he had thought of a way and told me to bring my needle into his workshop at the lunch-break. page 99 When I did he put the needle in a vice and filed each end into a three-sided bayonet point and told me to try it out but not to let anyone else know. I tried it out and it was a huge success; the needle went through the material much more easily and as a result I did the work faster and being on bonus earned more than the others. Like John had told me I didn’t let anyone else know about it and at the end of each day I put a cork on each end of the needle and took it home lest anyone would see it. Further to this I noticed that the others sometimes rubbed their needles on top of their heads

and when I asked one of them why they did so he explained that they all used Brillcream on their hair and that in order to make the needle go through the material more easily they greased it by rubbing it on top of the head. This gave me the idea of using a candle for the same purpose so I got one and tried it out. It worked a treat. I kept it in my apron pocket and now and again I would rub it on my needle but always did so with my hands under my workbench so that the others page 100 wouldn't notice. However when I started work in the Crestol factory I got a pleasant surprise; Sanny Miller and Jimmy Angus

were working there as was Alex

Barnswell's brother, John, whom I met for the first time that day . Sanny and Jimmy had been given the opportunity to keep their jobs when the Perfection Bedding Company moved premises, but as both of them lived in the Anderston area they felt that it was too far for them to travel to Queenslie Estate. When I asked them what kind of wage they could earn in

Crestol they said that the bonus rate was good and that on average each of them made fourteen mattresses a day. Sanny must have noticed that I smiled when this was said and asked me how many I could make in a day. When I replied that I could make twenty-one he said that it was impossible, so I said that I would prove it the next day. About half-an-hour before stopping time I stocked up the boxes at each end of my bench with tufts and balls of twine, ready for the next day. Page 101 The next morning I got of to a quick start; I wanted to prove my point. I made greater effort than I had ever done before and finished making the twenty-one mattresses with three quarters of an hour to spare. Two weeks after I took up employment in Crestol Robert Mc Phee also started work there. It turned out that after I left my job in Queenslie Estate Robert was transferred to the job that I had been doing on the mattress assembly line and like me, when was told that he was expected to do a higher quota before going on to bonus he put in his notice and left.

The bunk-bed mattresses were made in an out building and at the end if the day when we came into the main building to clock out we would be at the clock a few minutes before or after the official stopping time of five-thirty and, being on bonus work, it didn’t really matter. However I had been working there for about three months, when one day we were all at the clock about four minutes before stopping time. Monty Caplan who was one of the owner’s two sons liked to show his authority and when he saw us there he told us to clock out saying that we would all be page 102 docked a quarter of an hour’s basic pay for being at the clock too early. Everyone clocked out with the exception of myself. I told Monty that I wasn’t going to clock out because there were times when we clocked out after stopping time but never ever got paid a quarter of an hour extra. Upon hearing this he stormed over to the clock and stamped my card saying that I was quartered. The next day, which was a Wednesday, I arrived at work as usual and was just about to take off my jacket

when John McNish, the foreman, came over and told me that Monty had instructed him to tell me that I was fired for industrial misconduct. John was a good foreman and I had nothing against him personally but when I heard that Monty had instructed him to tell me that I was fired, I said that since he was being used as a message boy he could go back and tell Monty that he better have all the money that was due to me ready for three o’clock on Friday when I’d be back. When I arrived at the factory just before three o’clock on the Friday John McNish was standing at the entrance. He handed me my pay packet saying that Monty page 103 had said that I wasn't to be allowed into the factory. Before I left he shook my hand saying

that he hoped

that I would find another job quite soon. I thanked him and informed him that I had already found one and that as from Monday I would be working for Joe Gaya who owned a small bedding factory called:-“Everest Bedding” in Rae Street in Townhead. Roll-edge machine operators were few and far

between and knowing that Joe Gaya needed one I had gone to see him on the Thursday . Joe had been operating the machine himself which meant that his evenings were mostly taken up in attending to the administration of his business and he said that if someone else was operating the machine then he could attend to the administration in his office during the day. I knew that it was too small a business to operate a bonus scheme but I needed a job even at the basic rate just to bide me over till I found something better. I always liked to work on bonus or on piecework as I didn’t see the sense of working on time work five days week for a wage that I could earn on page 104 bonus or piecework over three days. I also managed to get some week-end work making divan frames in a small bedding factory in the city where I got paid cash-in-hand. However after discussing terms with Joe, he agreed to pay me more than the basic rate. Two weeks after I started working for Joe I came out of the factory at finishing time and found John

McNish waiting to see me. He said that Monty had sent him to ask if I would go back. I knew that Monty wanted me back, not out of remorse for firing me, but because he obviously couldn't find a replacement and consequently was losing out on the production of a hundred and five mattresses a week. I told John a lie when I said that Joe Gaya was paying me more than I had been earning in Crestol and said that he could tell Monty that he had done had done me a favour when he fired me, and also to tell him that I hoped he had learned a lesson from firing me for the sake of showing his authority.

page 105 Meeting up with old workmates. I worked for Joe Gaya until the early January 1956 when I went to work for “Coorsh Brothers,”a furniture factory in Broad Street. During the Christmas and New Year holiday period, Amy told me that there had been a rumour that The Perfection Bedding Company was to be taken over by a firm called

“Airsprung,” and that she and some of the

others were going to work for Coorsh Brothers in Broad Street. She also said that Coorsh Brothers had a large contract for coir-filled bunk beds and that they were looking for tradesmen with experience of making them to work on piecework. I made successful application to work there, gave Joe the required weeks’ notice and left. When I started working for Coorsh Brothers I got quite a few surprises. Arthur Clark was foreman; Willie Cochrane, Johnny Mc Aneney, Jimmy Thomson were working on the contract Also there was Katie Keenan, a cousin of Cathie Keenan, whose family had lived in one of the single ends in Major Street and now lived in Fernan Street, page 106 but the biggest surprise I got was to find that my cousin Martha McKenzie, daughter of Uncle Archie was employed there. The last time that I had seen Martha was nine years previously

at Jimmy and Madge’s

wedding. Also working there was Mary McEwan whose maiden name was McGarrigle. Mary had lived in the slums of

the Calton with her family and moved to Pettigrew Street at the same time as Auntie Lizzie and Amys' family. Mary used to curse like a trooper. Her sister Hannah did likewise and as a youngster led other kids, myself included, to steal bread from a local bakery. I couldn't believe my ears when she told me that Hannah had become a nun. I had been there about three weeks when Rab McPhee came to work on the contract. It was good to be working with some of my old mates again. Amy became pally with one of the other workers, Susan Fleming, who lived in nearby Marquis St. with her husband Willie, son John and daughter Anna. Amy and I used to visit them and became good friends

with Willies' sister Maggie and her husband

Willie Nolan. page 107 The Death of my Father. Janet had a hard time of it in nursing my father and her task became even more onerous when he contracted cancer of the groin in early 1957. I tended him as best I could after work and whilst a

district nurse visited now and then, Janet took care him most of the time and had the extremely unpleasant task of cleaning out the wound. In those days medical treatment available was not the same as now and his suffering over the ensuing nine months became so intense that I prayed for him to die. He passed away November of that year. I was at his bedside before he died and he pointed upwards saying “They are coming for me now.”

When he said

this the vision of a horse drawn coach came into my mind. His funeral, like those of my mother, brother George, Granda Paddy and Grannie Martha, was conducted from the house. Uncle Archie, whom I hadn’t seen since Granda Paddy’s funeral, had the audacity to be present. He came over as if to speak to me but as he approached I turned and walked away. Page 108 During the service in the large bedroom he stood opposite me and it brought back memories of the day almost twenty years earlier when, in the same room, he heaved my Granda Paddy's coffin on to the floor. It had been arranged that Tom, Jimmy, Eddie and I

would Carry the coffin with the aid of two Funeral attendants, and when the service Uncle Archie gestured with his thumb for me to take my place for the lifting of the coffin but I just glared at him and he must have seen my expression as one of hate and contempt. I am sure that my father would have wanted me to treat uncle Archie with the contempt he deserved. Thankfully that was the last time I saw uncle Archie. His son also named Archie came to live in Avenue Street near Farme Cross , Rutherglen, but I always avoided him simply because I didn't want to hear anything about his father. I suppose that his father will be long since dead at the time of writing but I still haven't forgiven him for throwing my Granda Paddy's coffin on to the floor and I never will. It was a sacrilege.

page 109 Live and Learn? During the month of November, when my father passed away,the contract for the bunk-beds in Coorsh Brothers was completed and I went to work in Hillington

for “John McGregor and Sons” who had a bedding factory on one side of Hillington Road, and furniture and upholstery factory

on the other

At this period of time Tom and his pal, Willie Miller were also working in Hillington but in different factories. Willie was working in the Rolls Royce factory and Tom was working for John Letters, golf-club makers but his wage was nothing great. Knowing that there was a vacancy for a cushion filler in John McGregors and Sons, I spoke for Tom and he got the job and after a time he went on to bonus work. I was employed on bonus work in the upholsterycutting department along with two other men one of whom I didn’t like and only knew as Davy. The other was Alf Greenlees who lived in Castlemilk and with whom I got on quite well. The upholstery material was laid out

in anything

uf to fifteen lairs on long benches.

page 110 Davy worked on the first bench and Alf on the centre bench. I worked on the third. The bulk-cutting of the upholstery covers was

done with the use of hand-held band-saws and care had to be taken to avoid accident. It was always the golden rule to hold the material with the free hand behind the saw when cutting, but sometimes the rule was, inadvertently, overlooked. Alf had already lost a finger while using the band-saw and one day when we were cutting out the shapes Alf let out a yell and when I looked round his hand was oozing blood. He had cut off another finger. When I saw what had happened I held Alfs’ arm upright and led him to the main office where a towel was wrapped round his hand till an ambulance arrived, but I remember that on the way to the office a woman who had been sweeping the floor fainted

and as we neared

the table where Davy worked he looked at us but showed little concern and carried on with his work. One of the ambulance men put Alf's, finger in ice in the hope that it could be sewn back on, but this proved to be unsuccessful.

page 111 Marriage to Amy

Amy and I were married in Bluevale Church, in Duke Street, Dennistoun, on the Seventh of March, 1958. Eddie was best man and Mary Slowey was best maid. The reception was held in the Co-operative Hall in Pettigrew Street, and telegrams were read from Amy’s sister, Violet and her husband, Denny, and from Amy’s brother, Robert and his wife, Margaret, offering congratulations. A third telegram was read from Uncle Bobby and Auntie Nellie, who by this time had moved from the slum dwellings of Mathieson Street in the Southside, to a new house in Castlemilk. It read:-“McCormick, the Captain, Campbell, the Mate. Crew to follow at a later date.” The “Crew” did indeed follow; we went on to have three of a family with approximately four years between each Linda 1961, Annette 1965 and Craig 1969. Most of my money had been spent on our wedding, and I didn't have enough left to give Amy the honeymoon that I would have liked to. The first night of our marriage was spent in the single-end at 70 Eveline Street.

page 112

Amy and I lived with Janet till February, 1959. We had put our names on the housing list long before we were married, and were allocated a house at 52, Tormusk Road, Castlemilk. We suggested to Amy’s mother that she come to live with us which she did. Janet gave up the house in Old Shettleston Road and went to live in a smaller house in McNair Street near Mrs.Murphys' house where Amy and her mother had lived upon return from Canada. Almost twenty-five years had been spent in Shettleston and it was with mixed feelings that I went to live in Castlemilk. A few months after we moved in Amy's mother took ill and went into hospital to be operated on for Diverticulitis, but died during the operation. We contacted Amy’s brother Hughie who at that time was living in Possilpark. We also contacted Amy’s brother Robert and her sister Violet in Canada but they were unable to come over in time for their mothers’ funeral. She was laid to rest beside Amy’s father in Sandymount Cemetery.

page 113 The Sixties The decade of the sixties is one that fills my mind with memories. In the spring of 1960 a disastrous fire broke out in

a whisky bond in Cheapside Street in the Anderston

district of Glasgow.

Fifteen firefighters were

killed when a wall collapsed on top of them. It was a tragedy for Glasgow and a time when Glaswegians united in sorrow. July of that year marked our worst holiday ever when Amy and I went on a self-catering holiday

to

Rothesay through a newspaper advert. We arrived to find that the accommodation was in a tenement. The landlady had left the keys of the flat with a neighbour who leaned out of the window awaiting our arrival. When we entered the flat we were very disappointed. It was a dump, but we had paid in advance by post otherwise we would have left and looked for a flat elsewhere. Amy drew my attention to a notice on the top of the coal bunker in the hall which read:-“Coal used

page 114 must be paid for on the day before departure.” I told Amy not to worry and that we wouldn’t be paying for any coal even if we did use it as there had been no mention of it in the advert. The weather was nothing great while we were there and we had to use some of the coal, but two days before we were due to leave I told Amy that I was going out for a walk. I returned with a wooden box that I had picked up from outside a fruit shop and when Amy asked me what I wanted it for I just told her that she would soon find out. I emptied the coal from the bunker, put the box inside and placed the coal on top of it. The evening before we were due to leave the owner of the house showed up and asked how we had enjoyed our holiday. She seemed quite unconcerned when we told her frankly that we didn't think much of the flat. She said that we were to give the keys to her neighbour at the end of our stay and if she wasn't in to put them though the letter box.

Before leaving she

asked if we had used much coal. It didn’t bother me

any that I lied when I said that we had been out most of the time and hadn’t used any, but on her way out page 115 she lifted the lid of the bunker, looked in, closed it again and left. I would liked to have seen her face when she eventually discovered the box inside. Our first child Linda, was born on the TwentySecond of January, 1961 and after the christening quite a number of those who attended came back to our house for tea, among them Susan and Willie Fleming. After everyone left Amy said that Susan had mentioned about Willie being in the Masons. I had always been curious to learn what Freemasonry was about and I had long since given up on religion. For one thing I didn’t feel it right that some people seemed to think that they could do what they liked during the week as long as they went to their places of worship on Sundays and taking into consideration that religion has always been a source of trouble, I always felt that the world would be a better place without it. However on one occasion in 1962 when Susan and Willie had paid us a visit I asked Willie if it would

be possible for me to join the Masons and he said that he would get me an application form. He informed me that he and his brother-in-law Willie Nolan were both page 116 members of Lodge Union Glasgow, number three hundred and thirty two, adding that they would recommend me. While Susan and Willie were in our house that day I received a phone call letting me know that my Uncle John had died. Uncle John was a bit of a loner. He kept himself to himself and didn't keep in touch with the family. It may well have been that there was a family dispute at some time, and he had fallen out with the rest of the family. However he never married and at the time of his death he was a lodger with a family called Casey who lived in Glenacre Drive, not far from where we lived in Tormusk Road. He worked for Glasgow Corporation as a road sweeper and was found dead in the Trongate where he had been sweeping the road. Towards the end of October 1962 I had been listening to the radio when it was announced that most of the St. Andrew's Halls had been destroyed by fire. It was a sad day for Glasgow. The building was among

Glasgow's finest and had been the venue for many different events. The evening before it was destroyed a boxing match had been held in the main hall. By 5.am. the building was ablaze. Page 117 The year 1963 is one that I remember for a number of reasons. In January of that year I was accepted as a member of the lodge and I soon realised that it appealed to me. I found that Freemasonry in itself was not a religion and anyone could join regardless of their faith as long as they believed that there was a God. I also came to learn that members were encouraged to live by a moral code and to be charitable not only to masonic causes but also to other causes. In April 1963 Eddie and Betty set sail with their two sons on a assisted passage to settle in Australia, where they set up home in New South Wales. That same year Uncle Bobby died at the age of 55. At that time he and Auntie Nellie and family were living in Castlemilk Drive, where Amy and used to visit them. Auntie Lizzie visited them also and sometimes she and Auntie Nellie would come to visit at our house, it

being not far away. Likewise Amy and I would go to visit Auntie Lizzie. I still have a letter that Amy and I received from Auntie Lizzie in the 1967. It reads as follows:“Dear Amy and John, page 118 I have just found out why you did not answer my letter, I never posted it. I just found it inside a book. I remember I finished it and put it in the envelope and sealed it when someone came in and I forgot it again. I wrote to say how my leg was very sore as I had changed to one back from the repair and it was making me ill. I was dragging myself home after work, then to crown it I fell off the table trying to close the curtains and hurt my back, but it is a lot better now and I went back to my job but it won't be for long. Nellie was over on Saturday but I never seen her as I was at my work. I will have to write her as there is a form for her to sign from the insurance. Is Amy still working, if she lets me know what day she is off next week I will come over. I feel its ages since I saw the girls and you both. I hope the girls and you

both are well as this leaves me not too bad at present.

See you soon, Auntie Lizzie.

P.S. Did you know that Jimmy had a bad cut at his work to his hand so he is not working now. Uncle Bobby, like myself, worked in Hillington and we would meet and take the same bus to work. Page 119 I liked Uncle Bobby, he was good company and was always cheerful. When he became ill he continued to work despite being short of breath. It got to the stage where he had to stop every so often to take a breath during conversation and one day after I asked him how he was, he said that he felt that he was just about finished. A few days later he passed away. The year 1963 also stuck in my mind as the year that American President, John F. Kennedy. Was assassinated.

I saw the assassination live on

television and also saw live the shooting of his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. Following on from the assassination of John F. Kennedy similarities between his assassination and

that of Abraham Lincoln were published; It makes uncanny reading:Abraham Lincoln was elected to congress in 1846. John F. Kennedy was elected to congress in 1946. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960. Both were particularly concerned with civil rights. Both wives lost a child while living in the White House. Page 120 Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both Presidents were shot in the head. Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln. Both were assassinated by Southerners. Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908 John Wilkes Booth who killed Lincoln, was born in 1839 Lee H. Oswald, who killed Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by three names. Both names are composed of fifteen letters. Lincoln was shot in a theatre named Ford. Kennedy was shot in a car called Lincoln, made by Ford. Lincoln was shot in a theatre and his assassin ran and hid in a warehouse. Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and his assassin ran and hid in a theatre. Towards the end of August 1963, with assisted passage available to British families willing to page 121 settle in South Africa, for South Africa.

Amy's brother Hughie set sail

He obtained a job as supervisor in

the gold mines and soon learned to speak Afrikaans, perhaps because of its' similarity to the Scottish dialect.

He had returned from Canada in 1956, and

began courting Annie Sutherland from Allander Street, Possilpark. They married and set up house in a one bedroom flat in Closeburn Street, near where Annie had lived. By 1964 they had five children: Alan, aged 7, Hugh, 6, Robert, 5, Harry, 3 and Sandra aged 1. In November of that year Annie gave up the flat and

she and her family stayed in our house for two days before setting sail for South Africa to join Hughie. When Annie arrived Hughie informed her that they had been allocated a five-roomed house at Vanderbijlpark. They moved into their new home on the First of January, 1965. They sent a newspaper cutting which reads:-

A family of new South Africans, Mr. And

Mrs. Campbell and their five small children, who had to be content with one bedroom in their home in Glasgow, spent New Years day settling into their spacious five roomed house at Vanderbijlkpark. Page 122 The Mayor, Mr. C.A. Herbert spent New Years Day visiting new arrivals from the United Kingdom in their homes seeing if they had all they wanted. Among the families he visited were the Campbells and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Slater and their four children from Manchester. Mr. Slater said: “We normally spend New Years Day in heavy overcoats, huddled over a fire with all the doors and windows closed to keep out the bitter cold and fog.

I am already getting on wonderfully well with my bosses and my fellow workers at Iscor----(this is missing on newspaper cutting)-----and everyone we meet takes a friendly interest in our welfare. Mrs. Slater finds her home, which also has three bedrooms, far better designed than the Manchester house. They have already found that although the wages are higher, food, especially meat,butter, vegetables and fruit (you pay 1s.and 6d.for a peach in Manchester) is cheaper and much more plentiful. Mr. Campbell has been in the Republic for more than three months, and has already picked up more than a page 123 smattering of Afrikaans. His wife Annie, and five children, Alan 7, Hugh 6, Robert 5, Harry 3, and Sandra 1, arrived at Vanderbijlpark on Tuesday. Mr. Campbell said “We have found a vast improvement, both in working and living conditions in Vanderbijlpark. I chose to settle in South Africa because after a careful study of conditions in other countries I came to the conclusion that this was the ideal country to bring up my children.

More than 300 families from the United Kingdom are expected to settle in the Vaal Triangle within the next two months. Early 1965 was a happy time for Hughie and Annie. It was also a happy time for me and Amy. Our second daughter Annette, was born on the 25th. February. The year 1966

marked the birth of Lorraine

second daughter of Hughie and Annie. Sadly, 1967 brought the death of my sister Janet. On New Years’ Day she complained of feeling unwell and upon being examined was found to have cancer that required early surgery. She was taken into

hospital

and when Amy and I went to see visit her we were told that she had died shortly before our arrival.

The

page124 doctor who had operated on Janet came to speak to us. His gown was saturated with blood and he heartlessly told us that he had done his best to save Janet but that during the operation she had burst all over him. My heart was broken. I felt so sad that Janet who had such a hard life was dead less than a month after her Forty-third birthday.

If I was to be asked what I remembered of 1968 I would readily say the James Watt St. fire and the hurricane that struck Scotland. The hurricane stuck in the second or third week in January and more than twenty people were killed, eight or nine of them in Glasgow. Reports said that around a quarter of a million homes were damaged, some seventy thousand in Glasgow where more than three hundred houses were wrecked and around eighteen hundred people left homeless. A few months beforehand a large oil tanker foundered off the south-east coast of England and threatened wildlife in the area. The “British” government was so concerned that it offered immediate relief but the same government showed no compassion and made no offer of relief for the people of Scotland page 125 who suffered human and material loss as a result of the hurricane. This was another example of “British” Government attitude towards the Scots. In November 1968 twenty-two upholsterers died in a blaze in Sterns upholstery factory in James Watt Street. The fire had started on the ground floor and

the upholsterers were trapped upstairs due to all the widows having steel bars. A few days after the disaster

I met a friend,

Jim Murdoch who said that his wife had broken down in tears at the news of the fire as she knew that I was an upholsterer and feared that I might be among those who perished, but at that time I had been working in Hillington. By late summer 1968 Hughie's wife Annie

was

pregnant again and wanted to go home because she didn’t want a coloured doctor to deliver her baby. While Hughie preferred to stay he didn't want the family to be split up so they decided to pack up and return to Glasgow. When they came back home they were given temporary accommodation in Northpark Street, Maryhill and while living there Annie gave birth to their fifth page 126 son Ian who, ironically, was delivered by a coloured doctor. Some months later an order was placed on the tenements in Northpark Street to be demolished and the family was allocated a

spacious house in Cecil

Street, Hillhead. At that time Hughie and Annie weren’t getting along; they quarrelled a lot and it got so bad that one day Annie left taking the family with her. When Hughie came back from South Africa

he

obtained work as a rigger in Howdens engineering firm and was pally with a turner there called Jimmy Hughes who lived in the same area as Hughie. John Mc.Gregor and Sons had been taken over by a company called ‘Schreiber” but kept the trade name of John McGregor for quite some time because it was well known. Two new tape edge machines had been installed in the bedding department making a total of four. Knowing that I had experience in tape-edging Arthur Clark, who was the foreman in the Bedding department at the time, asked if I would be willing to be transferred to the

page 127 cutting department and I readily agreed as I would still be working on bonus. In thinking back to what John Orr had told me about trying to find faster ways of doing particular

work, and from the knowledge of machinery that I had gained from John, I figured that a slightly larger pulley wheel on the motor of the tape-edge machine would drive it slightly faster without it being noticeable and I would be able to make extra bonus, but I didn't know where to get such a pulley wheel. However when I spoke to Hughie about this he said that Jimmy Hughes would probably make one for me. Hughie got back to me saying that Jimmy had said that it wouldn’t be any bother. Hughie and Jimmy always worked on Saturday mornings so one Friday while doing maintenance on my tape-edge machine, as was the common practice before stopping time on a Friday, I disconnected the pulley wheel and took it home and, after dinner took it to Hughie. Hughie brought the wheel back to me on the Sunday along with the new one and on the Monday I tried the new one out. It worked a treat and with the machine page 128 running that little bit faster than the others I was tape-edging six more mattresses a day and putting a lot more money in my pay-packet.

Along with upholstery and bedding Schreiber produced their own unique type of teak furniture, and as long as it was for their own use, employees could buy for less than the retail price. Amy and I bought a double wardrobe, a dressing table and a chest of drawers, but within four weeks of buying them I won a prize of another double wardrobe and two chests of drawers all of which matched what we had already bought. Suggestion boxes had been placed in various parts of the factory so that employees could put forward ideas that might be of benefit to the firm and to encourage them to do so a prize was given every three months for the best suggestion. The foam mattresses that I tape-edged were for bed settees. The panels for the mattresses were cut to size and then hemmed by the sewing machinists in readiness to be taped on to the borders. Again I put John Orr’s advice to practice and I put forward the suggestion that the edges of the page 129 panels be folded in while being tape-edged, thus eliminating the need for hemming. A director of the

firm asked me to give a demonstration of this being done. The method was adopted and hence I won the prize. I still have the furniture thirty-eight years on. In February 1969 Schreiber closed the bedding department and I was laid off with a redundancy payment of two hundred and forty pounds which went straight into the bank.

Amy was pregnant at the time

and a few weeks later our third child Craig, was born on the twenty- third of April. I wasn't too concerned that I had been made redundant. Jimmy Hunter, the manager of “Slumberland”, Paisley had contacted me about a month previously offering me employment as a divan upholsterer. I had declined his offer mainly because of the travel involved. It meant taking a bus into Glasgow city centre and then a train to Paisley. However Jimmy had said to get in touch if I changed my mind. Having worked through the offices in the Lodge I was installed as Master in December for the coming year and thus the decade of the sixties drew to a close. Page 130 David Wallace Bean

Over the years I have known people who kept their sense of humour despite hardship. One such person was a man named Wallace Bean. During my year of office as Master I received a letter from him. His full name was David Wallace Bean but he was always called by his middle name.

He joined the lodge

in 1923, and was Master for the year 1933. He served for 12 years as treasurer in the Provincial Grand Lodge of Glasgow and also served in office in The Grand Lodge of Scotland. In the mid sixties he and his wife retired to spend their twilight years in Ault Quarrie Masonic Home, Dunblane. When I started to read the letter I realised that he was frail and that his eyesight was failing. The handwriting was shaky and lay at an angle of around forty-five degrees. In the letter he said that he had affiliated to Lodge Dunblane. He went on to say that his wife had died and been cremated as he hoped he would be, and then he added;- “Date and time as yet not fixed.”

page 131

I felt that this was an example of how people can keep their sense of humour in the face of adversity. Here was an old man living in a Masonic Home. He was in a frail condition, his eyesight was extremely poor, he had lost his wife and yet could make others smile. I felt that I had to go and see him so I paid him a visit along with a Past Master of the Lodge, Alex Thomson who had known Wallace since 1947. Wallace had always looked lean but now he was very thin and stooped. Such was his vision that he mistook Alex for Alex's father and said “hello Abe it's great to see you again” We stayed for quite a while recalling old times. Wallace was cheerful all the way through and when saying our goodbyes I thought that he would never let go of my hand. Wallace was a good man, he led a good life and never looked for praise in helping others. He died in 1972. Tribute was paid to him in the Lodge and a fitting obituary along with his photograph was published in The Grand Lodge Year Book.

page 132

Castlemilk. Amy and I liked living in Castlemilk in our early years there but by 1971 we wanted to move. The area was getting notorious for gang fights and Grace and Andy, the couple in the flat directly below ours had frequent violent quarrels, mainly when Andy had been drinking. Although I didn’t like to interfere in domestic quarrels, the thumping and shouting got so bad one night that I went to try to calm things down. As I went down the stairs Grace and Andy

were out on the

landing having a right go at each other and their kids were screaming. When Andy saw me he ran down the stairs. Grace had blood running down her arm and when I looked at the wound it looked like she had been stabbed. I took her into the house and bathed the wound with cold water and covered it with a large first-aid dressing. When I suggested that the police be called Grace said that she didn't want them involved so I had to respect her wishes and leave it at that. A few weeks later they had another violent quarrel. I went down and I banged on the door, which

page 133 was eventually opened by one of the terrified children.

When I entered the house Grace was on the

floor and Andy was straddled across her with his hands round her neck.

I pulled him off and told him that

he’d better leave or I would phone the police. As he went he was mumbling under his breath and banged the door on his way out. After that Grace divorced Andy on the grounds of cruelty and we didn’t hear any more about him until about twelve years later when we learned that he had been strangled. He had gone to Edinburgh where he re-married and apparently had ill-treated his wife over a period of eight years, despite her having developed cancer. He came home drunk one night and after beating her, he fell asleep. His wife who had reached breaking point put a pair of tights round his neck and strangled him. She was charged with murder but pled guilty to a charge of manslaughter and, because of her health condition and the terrible abuse she had suffered over a lengthy period, she was admonished.

page 134 Gang-fights became quite frequent in Castlemilk

and

one day upon hearing a rumpus I looked out of the window to see a gang-fight in progress and an old woman standing on the pavement obviously afraid to cross the road. I phoned the police station and told the receptionist about the situation. At that time such calls weren’t treated with anonymity and I was asked to give my name and address. When I refused saying that I didn’t want to be involved, the receptionist said that she would have to treat my call as a hoax so I just put the phone down. When I went back to the window the fight had developed into a running battle with the gangs running up Tormusk Road With Castlemilk becoming so rough Amy and I decided that it was time to move house. The opportunity to do so arose in 1972 when two five apartment semi-detached villas came up for sale in Jedburgh Avenue in Rutherglen. One was at number 27 and priced priced at five thousand, eight hundred pounds. The other at number

41, was in very poor condition

page 135 Early times in Jedburgh Avenue Amy and I decide to buy the house at No. 27 and used my redundancy money which we had saved as a deposit. We took occupancy of our house in May and the first thing that Amy wanted to do was to get a carpet for the hall and stairs so that anyone coming to the door wouldn’t be looking into bare floorboards. Enough carpet was needed to cover the bottom hall, twelve stairs, a half-landing, another seven stairs and a top landing. I measured up and found that forty-two square yards were required. After shopping around we saw a red axminster that we both liked in Ross’s carpet and linoleum shop where free-fitting was advertised. We went in and ordered the carpet and knowing that the rate for fitting canvas-backed carpets was one pound fifty per square yard I told the salesman that I would be fitting the carpet myself and therefore wanted sixty three pounds off the price. When he said that this couldn’t be done I said

that we would just go elsewhere. Upon hearing this he said for us to wait and went through to the back shop. When he came back he said that his boss had approved page 136 the discount approved and the money saved went towards the purchase of a carpet for the living room. The neighbours in the adjoining house at number twenty-five were two sisters, one of whom had a daughter in her early twenties. They were a bit snooty and seemed to resent us being there. I don't think that they liked the idea of having a young family next door. Our neighbours on the other side at number 29 were Robert and Lilian Wylie with whom we got on well. Robert and I used to take in turn to cut the dividing hedge between our front gardens and we would always trim both sides.

Amy and Lilian would take in each

others’ washing if it rained when one or the other was out. In general we helped each other whenever possible just the way that neighbours should. Amy was an accomplished pianist and when Robert and Lilian came to know of this, they offered to give

us an old upright piano that had been in their house when they first moved in. I scraped the piano down to the bare wood, stained and polished it and then had it tuned.

page 137 The piano was a source of much enjoyment. I have always liked music and sometimes when Amy was playing I would stand by her side and sing. Whenever Amy herself sang she would always sing “Love Letters In The Sand,” “Have You Ever Been Lonely” or “That's My Desire” and now when I hear any of these songs, it brings back cherished memory. Amy soon formed friendships with other neighbours in particular; May Hamilton and Ann Forrest. who lived on the opposite side of the avenue. May and her husband Bill lived at number 26. They had two sons, Ian and William, and three daughters, June, Anne and Dot. Ann Forrest and her husband, Alex lived at number 30 and only had one of a family, a son named Gordon. Amy, May and Ann always went shopping together and also went to the womens' dancing along another friend,

Jean Singleton who lived in Avonbank Street and Mays' sister Jessie who lived in Greystone Avenue. Jessie didn't have any children of her own but really liked children. She was always good to them and the kids themselves knew that when they were with Jessie they would have great fun. Everyone, even page 138 adults called her “Aunt Jessie” In later years Amy, May and Ann came to be known as “The Golden Girls,” through a television sit-com of that name At the time that we took up residence in Jedburgh Avenue, Amy was working evenings in the Rosevale bingo hall in Dumbarton Road, Partick. Our elder daughter Linda was then eleven years old, Annette was seven, and Craig three. The only time that Amy and I saw a lot of each other was at the week-ends. During the week when I came in from my work Amy would be ready to go out to hers, and I would take care of the kids. On the Twelfth of July, just two months after moving in to our new home, she was on her way home from work and was walking down the short lane between

Melrose Avenue and Jedburgh Avenue when she was attacked from behind by a man who tried to steal her handbag. Amy held on to it but was punched and knocked to the ground.

Luckily her screams were heard by two

off duty policemen and their girl friends. One of the policemen gave chase to the attacker.

page 139 The first that I knew about all of this was when one of the policemen and his girlfriend brought Amy home. She was in a state of shock and her earlobes were bleeding. When the man couldn't get the handbag, he had tried to steal her earrings. When I heard what had happened I asked Amy about the man who had attacked her and she gave me a description. I asked the couple if they could stay with Amy while I went to look for her attacker. I went along the lane where Amy had been attacked and as I turned into Melrose Avenue I saw a group of people one of whom had hold of a man.

He had been chased and

caught by the other policeman. From the description that Amy had given me, I

knew for sure that this was the man who had attacked her. He wore bleach-marked denims and a parka jacket like Amy had said. I grabbed hold of him saying it was my wife that he had attacked but the policeman intervened and said that if I hit him I could be charged with assault. It was just as well for about a minute later a police inspector and a sergeant came on the scene.

page 140 About two months later Amy was summonsed to appear in court as a witness for the crown in the case against Alexander Paterson, her attacker. However on the day of the trial he pled guilty through his lawyer who said that his client was truly sorry for what he had done and that he was in need of psychiatric help. The judge, being of the kind who believe all that they hear, put the accused on probation. Three years later the same man was accused of attacking an eighty-two year old woman by striking her on the head and stealing her bag. The wound required several stitches. He was found guilty. The judge lenient and sentenced him to two years’ in prison.

was

Times have certainly changed; A board on a wall in The People’s Palace at Glasgow Green lists names of a number of other people who were publicly hanged in Glasgow in the nineteenth century not only for murder but also for other crimes such as burglary, theft, forgery, and hamesucking.(assault on a person in his or her home)

page 141 The evils of Alcohol. 1973 is a year that I remember primarily for the death of John Bone the Master of my lodge for that year. John lived in Kingsbridge Drive in Kings Park and as a taxi driver had his own black hackney. It was suspected that John had a drink problem and as it turned out, he was in fact, an alcoholic. At the time that I joined the lodge, our committee meetings

were also held in The Masonic

Temple at 100 West Regent Street. Sometimes if a committee meeting finished early enough we would go into The Strand Bar in Renfield Street. Whenever John was asked what he would like to drink, he would always say:- “I am on the bandwagon. I'll have a double

tomato juice” but I learned from his wife Lena, who is now dead, that when he came home from the meetings he would sit drinking whisky. In December 1972 the lodge moved to the Masonic Hall in Whitehill Street Dennistoun, as the property at 100 West Regent Street was to be sold. One night some time after I came home from a committee meeting therein June 1973, I received a phone call from Lena who said that she was at her wits end with John. Page 142 Since coming home that evening he had consumed almost a full bottle of whisky and she couldn't

stop him

from drinking more. I told Lena that I would come down to see if I could be of some help. I got in touch with Andy Paterson another member of the lodge who had a car and at the time and lived in Buchanan Drive in Cambuslang informing him of the situation. Andy picked me up and we headed down to Johns' house. When we we got there we rang the bell. But there was no response. Lena had gone out but the lights were on. We continued ringing and through the frosted glass door, we saw movement on the floor of

the hallway and eventually the door opened. John had crawled down the hall and managed to reach up to open the door. When we got in we couldn't lift him as he was too heavy so we dragged him through to the living room and managed to get him on to an easy chair. I then went into the kitchen to make coffee in the hope that it would help to sober him up, but by then he had fallen into a deep sleep and there was no way we could waken

page 143 him. There was nothing we could do so we covered him with a housecoat and left. At a committee meeting two months later, I was sitting next to John and although he appeared to be sober I could smell drink from him. After a time he excused himself to go to the toilet. When he returned he sat down and suddenly collapsed. We lifted him on to a table and someone suggested that his false teeth should be taken out to avoid him choking. I leaned over to remove his teeth and then

realised that he must have been sick when he went to the toilet. The smell of vomit and whisky was overpowering and I had to go outside to get some air. When I returned after about fifteen minutes John had come round and seemed none the worse for his ordeal. After the meeting I took him aside and said that I had smelled drink from him and he said that he one before leaving the house but never took more than that if driving. Four weeks later, he collapsed and died.

Page 144 Flying Ice Cream. In 1973 Amy was promoted to

“Prize Bingo Stock

Controller” with a salary of Twenty Four Pounds per week. The extra money certainly came in handy as the year before we had spent some of our holiday savings on decorating and fitting new cupboards in the kitchen and bathroom. Amy and I liked to go on holiday every year and that year we took the family to Blackpool. We were at the Pleasure Beach one day I had bought ice

cream cones for Linda and Annette. Unwittingly I let them take the cones on to the Waltzers. What happened next was like a scene from a T.V. comedy show. Amy and I were standing near a bald-headed man who was among the crowd watching the waltzers going round and as they turned and then spun in the opposite direction the ice cream came off one of the cones, went sailing through the air and splattered across his head. All those nearby

burst into laughter as did the

bald man himself.

page 145 Thia Russel In 1974 Amy was transferred to the Strathclyde Bingo hall in Summerfield Street Dalmarnock with the position of Catering Manageress at a salary of Thirty Five Pounds per week. This was a big help to us. Apart from the extra money it meant that,as her new workplace was nearer home, Amy could leave a bit later when going to work and be back home a bit earlier.

This situation however, didn’t last long. The Strathclyde closed in August 1975 and Amy was made redundant with a payment of Two Hundred Pounds. It was at the

Strathclyde Bingo hall that Amy met

and became good friends with Thia Russel who

worked

there. Thia was very likable despite the fact that she used bad language a lot but did so in an inoffensive and sometimes comical fashion. She once said that as a youngster she was out playing

one day when her mother leaned out of the

window to call her in. She said:- “Ma Maw leaned oot the windae and shouted at the top of her voice:“Thia,Thia” and guess whit, somebody phoned for the f-----g fire brigade”. On another occasion she told us that her sister page 146 Nan had moved into a new house in the top story of a tenement and that she had gone to visit her. She said:- “When ah got to the top of the f-----g stairs, ah wis f-----g exhausted, and when Nan opened the door ah couldnae resist sayin;- “Is God in?” Amy liked working in the Prize Bingo and became friendly with many of the punters. Whenever anyone

called “House” they were given vouchers which they could exchange there and then for a prize or they could save up the vouchers to get a more expensive prize. Sometimes punters would approach Amy and Thia and ask them to buy the vouchers because they preferred cash to the prizes. Amy and Thia would buy the vouchers and save them until the lodge was having a social night and then exchange them for prizes for the Tombola stand. The lodge did, of course, reimburse the money laid out. Recently I enlarged a group photograph of Amy, Thia and the other staff of the Strathclyde Bingo Hall.

I passed a copy on to Thia who was very pleased

to have it. I am sure that she will look upon it as a prized possession. Page 147 Someone Special Amy liked going to the lodge socials. She loved to dance and used to pull me on to the floor despite the fact I had two left feet. I liked to watch dancing, especially the tango, but never ever learned how to dance. I was always too busy working. I worked all the

overtime I could get or did “homers” and never found time for social activities, such as bowling, golf or dancing. After Amy was made redundant from the Bingo she worked in the “City Bakeries” in Rutherglen for a while and then got a job in 'The Hosiery Shop' in the Mitchell Arcade in Rutherglen which really suited her as she had always been a keen knitter and in fact used to start knitting baby clothes to give to neighbours whenever she knew that they were expecting an addition to the family. Through working in The City Bakeries and in the wool shop Amy became well known and whenever I was walking

with her in Rutherglen lots of people would

say ”Hello Amy”. It made me feel that I was walking with someone special, ----- and I was.

page 148 A Bargain. On one of frequent visits to Glasgow city centre Amy and I stopped to look in the window of the Clydesdale store at Queen Street.

at the corner of Argyle Street

Among the musical instruments on display was a Belton organ and I new that it had taken Amy’s fancy although she didn’t say. About a month later we looked in the same window and took note that the price of the organ had been reduced by a hundred pounds, so I asked Amy if she would like it as a Christmas present. She said that she would but suggested that we wait until the January sales to see if there was any further reduction on the price. When we went back in January, the price had been reduced by a further fifty pounds, so we went into the shop to buy the organ. The salesman asked if we wanted a hire-purchase agreement but I said that I would pay cash if I got a discount. He said that he would find out and came back to tell us that we could have a discount of thirty pounds so the organ was indeed a good buy. Page 149 Working for the Slumberland Group. After I was made redundant at Schrieber I couldn't find suitable employment in the Glasgow so I got in touch with Jimmy Hunter to see if his offer was

still open. It was, so I started to work for The Slumberland Group. It meant extra travel as it involved taking a bus in to Glasgow and then a train from Glasgow Central Station to Paisley, but this was offset by the fact I would be working straight piecework which meant being paid a certain amount for each divan upholstered. Again I put John Orr’s advice to practice and worked out a method of doing the work faster and became the highest earner of the six divan upholsterers. Mr. Emmit, who was one of the directors of the Slumberland Group would visit the factory in Paisley occasionally and on one such visit he asked me to come into the managers’ office. He explained that Jim Hunter the factory manager, was having to spend too much time on the shop floor. He felt that a supervisor was needed and said that since I was the only one who was time served with wide experience it made sense to offer me the job and replace me on the bench. Page 150 After talking terms it was agreed that I would receive the average wage of the other upholsterers. Although it was a drop in my wage, I wouldn’t be

working as hard, so I agreed and pondered upon ways to increase the production of the upholsterers, and thereby increase the average wage. I got in touch with Billy Davidson, a divan upholsterer who like myself preferred working on piecework and started him as my replacement. As it was the upholsterers had to fetch all the materials that they required such as divan frames, polypropylene, wool felt and covers. I got the upholsterers together and explained that if I brought all their materials to them it would save them a lot if time and consequently they would be able to produce more and therefore earn a higher wage. In due course their wages rose to a level whereby the average wage was higher than what I had been earning when I was on piecework. In effect I was labouring to them and supervising at the same time,but it suited me. I wasn’t working as hard as I had been on piecework and I was getting a higher wage than before. Page 151 Sad Letter From Canada

In February, Nineteen Seventy Six, Amy received mail from her sister’s landlady in New Westminster, Canada bearing sad news. I still have the letter in which she calls Amy “Amie.” It reads as follows:Dear Amie and family, It is with heavy heart that I sit down to give you such sad, sad news. Dennis just can’t bring himself to put it into print, but I feel that you should be warned about your sister, and my very good friend Vi. Her last X-rays show that cancer has gone ranty and travelled through her whole body, her lungs, liver, and the doctor was here this morning and wants to put her back into the hospital for more tests, but we all have to face it, there is nothing more to be done, unless some miracle happens in the scientific world immediately. This morning I phoned Margaret and Robert and told them just how acute her condition is. Margaret didn’t know that Vi. had a mascectomy last July. They are to get in touch with you, but Dennis feels that it should not be left any longer. I have tried to brace him for page 152

the ordeal ahead, but when the doctor told him that they had got all the cancer, he truly believed. I have watched her go steadily downhill now for the last few months and I knew that it was just a matter of when her time ran out. Vi. doesn’t know that it has her consumed, and she must believe that she will get better, or she will not go back to the hospital. Her and I are still planning on our trip to see you and the kids come summer, and we’ll just leave it at that. The doctor told Dennis that she has six months at the most. I don’t think she will see the middle of March, she is so much like my little Scotch friend Ina Monroe, she went in six weeks. Don’t plan on spending any money on coming here Amie, I hate to say it but she hasn’t much time left. Believe me, you all have my deepest sympathy, and my heart bleeds mostly for you and Dennis, because without her, he is a lost man. My prayers and God Blessings are with you all. Tearfully and with a very heavy heart, I hope that I haven’t shocked you too severely. Elsie McSweeny, {her landlady}

page 153 Amy was sobbing as she read the letter and as I tried to comfort her the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find that Bill Murray, a very good friend had come to visit. When he saw Amy in tears he asked what was wrong. I showed him the letter and he asked Amy if she would be going over to Canada to see Violet. Amy said that she wanted to go, but couldn’t. Nearly all the money we had been earning had been spent on the house. The next day Bill returned to our house and gave Amy a flight ticket to Vancouver and an open return ticket, saying that we hadn’t to tell anyone what he had done, and that we could pay him back whenever we could manage. Amy arrived in Vancouver only to find that Violet had passed away, but she took consolation from having been there for the funeral. The kindness of Bill Murray moved me greatly and I resolved to repay the cost of the flights as soon as possible. I went to see John Milne, the owner of “Independent Upholstery Supplies”in Tradeston and

asked him for sample books of upholstery material. I had dealt with John over a number of years so page 154 getting the pattern books wasn’t a problem. I also spoke to John’s nephew Paul, who worked for John, explaining that it was my intention to recover three piece suites and asked him if he would be interested in making some extra cash by using his van to uplift and deliver the suites. Paul agreed so I advertised my work and cleared out the largest room in our house to use as a workshop. The work soon rolled in and I was able to repay Bill within three months. I will never forget his kindness. Amy and I were both glad when I stopped recovering suites and that we had the proper use of our lounge again. Apart from that I had been overworking myself by working on the suites in the evenings and at weekends on top of doing my regular job. In June, 1976 the Slumberland Group decided to concentrate all production in England and their factories in Scotland were closed down. Again I was out of work and this time it wasn’t so easy to find

another job. The furniture trade wasn’t busy and many factories were working on a three-day week. Once again Bill came to the rescue. page 155 Bill was a representative with I.C.I. and was able to buy materials at cost price. He was also part of a dance band that played regularly every Friday and having seen some of the stools, pouffes and ottomans that I had made in the past he suggested that I make one of each to be displayed at the functions where he played to see if he could get orders for them. I was able to use my shed to do the work as the goods I was making were small in comparison with three piece suites and with Bill getting materials at cost and with having no overheads we were able to sell well below shop retail prices and orders came rolling in. Since Bill was bringing the materials and delivering the finished goods we split the profits fifty-fifty. The venture only lasted for about two months but we made a fair sum of money. I also made a fair amount of money from work that I did for a priest in Howwood, near Johnstone.

He had called to say he had got my phone number from someone whose suite I had recovered and asked if I could do some work for him. I went to see him and found that he wanted six page 156 large antique chairs recovered as near to original as possible. I measured up and took the sample cuttings from each chair to John Milne who was able to match them quite closely. When I phoned the priest and gave him a cash quote for the work he accepted saying that my price was two thirds of what he had been quoted elsewhere. I didn't ask Paul to uplift the chairs as I didn't want to use the lounge of our house again as a workshop so I stripped the covers from the chairs to use as templates when cutting the shapes. Once the covers were sewn up I recovered the chairs at Howwood and when the work was completed the priest asked if I would accept a cheque.

I reminded

him that I had given him a cash quote and then said that I would accept a cheque as long as the V.A.T. was added on to the price. He decided that he would pay

cash and as he gave me the money he said “You are not one of us, are you?”.

I replied that I was not one of

anything, pocketed the money and said my farewell. It's a true saying that money talks.

page 157 Hugh P. A Mans' Own Worst Enemy. Further to doing work for the priest I received a phone call from Hugh P. who had furniture and carpet store in Greenock. He used to come into Slumberland to buy divans and mattresses, and I had sold him stools and ottomans after it closed. Knowing that I was experienced in carpet-fitting, as well as upholstering and mattress-making, he had phoned me to ask if I could help him out as one of his carpet fitters had left. I went to work for him but soon found that he wasn’t very honest. He could measure rooms for carpeting but when it came to measuring for hall, stair, and landing, he just couldn’t calculate how much carpeting was required.

He took me along with

him on three occasions to do this type of measuring

and each time added four square yards to the amount required. In effect he charged each customer for four square yards of carpeting that he didn't have to supply. Further to that Hugh used to tell me to bring back any off-cuts, which he then would sell. After a page 158 while if there was an off-cut I didn't bring it back and just told Hugh that the customer wanted to use it. While working for Hugh I noticed a second-hand tape-edge machine for sale, and I toyed with the idea of buying it and going into business making divans and mattresses, but I didn’t have the capital to buy the machine, pay for premises and pay for materials. I thought that Hugh might be interested in such a venture so I showed him the advert and told him my thoughts saying that if he was interested then I would help to set him up in business making divans and mattresses providing that there was more in for me than I was already being paid. Hugh bought the machine and obtained premises in Blackhall Street. When the machine arrived I found

that it wasn’t working properly but with the knowledge that I had gained from John Orr I was able to fix it. Having been in the trade for so long I knew where to buy mattress materials and went to a Lynns Bedding and Upholstery Supplies in Hillington where I ordered enough spring units, coir pads, felt, and ticking to get things underway. It got to the stage where I couldn’t cope with page 159 all the work on my own and so with Hughs' approval I got in touch with Joe Quadrelli who had worked with me in McGregors and whom I knew was out of work. Joe agreed to accept the job saying that it would do until he got something better. After a while I suggested to Hugh that perhaps we could also start recovering three-piece suites but I think that this gave Hugh a shrewd idea that would be more to his advantage. Previously whenever anyone bought a suite from his shop he would uplift the customer’s old suite {if they had one} and dump it but he started to keep the old suites and brought them in for me to repair and recover.

I got the upholstery material from John Milne and whenever a suite was recovered it would be taken to Hugh’s shop and sold as new which, in fact was illegal trading practice More than eighteen months after setting up the business Hugh still hadn’t offered me anything extra despite the fact that he was doing so well, so I spoke to him about getting a bit more in my pay. He said that he couldn’t afford to give me extra page 160 in the meantime but might be able to do so later as he had other plans in mind. Hugh had two sons who were nearing school leaving age and about two weeks after I asked him about a higher wage he spoke to Joe and me saying that he thought that there was potential for expansion and that he was thinking of bringing his sons in after school each day so that they could gain experience in mattress-making and upholstery for when finished their schooling. After Hugh left I said to Joe that I thought that Hugh was just using us and Joe said that he had

thought the same thing when Hugh mentioned about his sons coming in. On the Friday of that week when Hugh gave us our wages I told him he’d blown it and that we wouldn't be back.

After we left we went into a cafe across

the way and when we came out we saw Hugh walking with both hands in his trouser pockets and his head bowed. I have never seen a man looking so dejected. I didn't feel sorry for him. He had tried to play Joe and me for a couple of fools but at the end of the day, he was the fool. page 161 Andrew Sharp LTD. / Repose Bedding Ltd. After I stopped working for Hugh in 1978, I went to the job centre and found that “Andrew Sharp Ltd” was advertising for a divan frame maker for their factory in Clydesmill Road in Cambuslang Industrial Estate. I applied for the job and went for an interview only to find that Janie Russel, daughter of Thia, was working in the office there and that Sid Adskins whom I had known from away back was the manager. Sid knew the experience I had of the trade and

after we talked for a while about old times he said that I could start the following Monday. When I started work on the Monday I spent some time in the office with Sid who explained that Sharps had been buying in divan frames from Browns of Hillington but now planned to make their own. After making out a list of the piece parts for the various types and sizes of divan frames so that Sid could place an order for timber, I was given the task of setting up two divan assembly lines which involved making two assembly benches and two pre-assembly benches. page 162 A larger air compressor was needed as the existing one that fed the airlines for the upholstery staple guns wasn’t powerful enough. Screw guns and timber staplers which could take up to two-inch staples were also required. Within a month the two lines of divan framemaking were in operation and there was no more need to buy frames from Browns. A year and eleven and a half months after I started working in Sharps the firm was taken over by “Repose Bedding”, a firm which was owned by two

Englishmen, Ray Allibone and John Ellcocks. The employees who had been with Andrew Sharp for two years or more were given redundancy payment, but since I had only been there for a year and eleven months I got nothing despite the fact that my service was only two weeks short of two years. When I said that I thought it unfair I was told that I wasn’t entitled to any redundancy and furthermore that my year and eleven months with the firm would be excluded from future calculation of service. After the way I had been treated when Repose Bedding took over Sharps I felt that I deserved better,in

page 163 particular since I was instrumental in setting up the divan frame making section. John Elcocks called the frame makers and the upholsterers together one day and said that it was his intention to start a piecework scheme and that a time and study of our work would take place with the view of fixing prices for each type and size of divan. Tam Nelson, who had been one of the upholsterers

with me in Slumberland, and I were selected to be timed. Tam and I had been subjected to time and study before and we new the score but when John Elcocks asked us if we had ever been timed before we both said that we hadn’t. Tam and I agreed to make it look as if we were working fast but, in actual fact, take longer to do the job.

Tam stapled roughly every half inch instead

of about every inch thereby taking about twice as long to upholster the divans. Likewise when I was being timed, instead of going for eight laths of timber at a time I lifted four and instead of glueing four laths at a time I glued them individually. Page 164 Further to that, when assembling the frames I used more staples than was needed like Tam had done when he was being timed. As a result the prices we were given both on the upholstery and the frame-making were well above what they would have been. When Tam and I started working on piecework we played it cool at the start and didn’t go all out to

make as much as we could on piecework, otherwise we might have been re-timed. We didn’t have the agreed prices in black and white so we spoke to the accountant saying that because there were so many different prices for the various types and sizes of the divans we were getting mixed up when trying to calculate how much wages we were due and therefore couldn't check to see that our due and therefore couldn’t check to see that our wages were right. The accountant gave us a print out of the various prices and once we had that we knew that the prices couldn’t be altered otherwise the union would be brought in. Thereafter we began to increase our pace gradually and eventually I was earning twelve and a half thousand pounds a year. Page 165 Auntie Lizzie and Auntie Nellie. Auntie Lizzie passed away in 1983 aged 76. At the time of her death she had been living with her daughter Agnes, her son-in-law Henry Brown, and her two grandsons, Eddie and Danny. Eddie had been born handicapped and Auntie Lizzie

helped as best she could in looking after him through childhood and into adulthood. Eddie now has a flat in a special unit and a motorised scooter to help him get around. Auntie Lizzie's older daughter Mary had married Jim Bell who lived in Barrowfield and they had four sons, James, Robert, Alex and Ian. At the time that I lived in Shettleston, the top close in Fernan Street nearest to Shettleston Road was where my pal, Willie Hendry lived. Beyond that was Hendersons Foundry which occupied the corner site. The foundry no longer exists and flats now occupy the site where it stood. With their family all up and married Mary and Jim now live in a flat there. Auntie Nelly died in 1985 at the age of 76, the same age as Auntie Lizzie was when she died. With her three daughters having married Auntie Nellie had page 166 decided to

move to a smaller house and managed to get

one in the same area in Barlia Street. She was found dead in the hallway there near the door. It was thought that she may have been attempting to get to the door when she collapsed. I remember how she

claimed that she only drank port and how, once she'd had a few she would drink anything within reach. I also remember her for her laughter. Sometimes when she started to laugh she couldn't stop. I recall one evening when she was in our house in Old Shettleston Road. It was dark outside and the roller blinds hadn't been pulled down. All of a sudden Auntie Nellie exclaimed : “Oh my God.” When I looked at her she seemed frightened. My mother asked her what was wrong and she replied:“Somebodys' jist efter lookin'in the windae.” My mother then said:- “Don't be daft, it must have been yer ain reflection ye saw, dae ye forget that we're oan the top flat?” Auntie Nellie burst out laughing and she laughed so much that she blurted out “Oh, ah'll hiv tae go tae the toilet.” and hurried knock-kneed fashion out of the room.

Page 167 Toast to Lodge St.John, Kilwinning, Kilmarnock, No. 22 At the time that I joined the lodge I was more of a listener than a speaker but in due course became accustomed to speaking at lodge meetings and early in

1984 I received an invitation to propose a toast to Lodge St.John Kilwinning, Kilmarnock No. 22 on the occasion of the lodges' 250th. Anniversary to be held on the 10th.November, so I set about researching the lodge history, which was so rich that I was able to compose a speech and then memorise it in readiness for the big day. It turned out to be a big day indeed. Approximately 500 attended the event, too many to be accommodated in the lodge room. In anticipation of a large number being present close-circuit television had been set up to relay proceedings in the lodge to other areas within the building. After the meeting some 460, which included The Grand Master Mason of Scotland and a number of other dignitaries, sat down to a fine dinner in The Grand Hall. After the meal and an address by The Grand Master I was called on to propose the toast to the lodge, a page 168 copy of which I kept as a memento of the occasion. I think it worthy of mention as it touches on part of Scottish history and also of how the works of

Robert Burns came to be published. It reads as follows; “First of all, I would like to say that I look upon it as a honour to have the privilege of proposing the toast to Lodge St. John Kilwinning, Kilmarnock No. 22 on this the occasion of its' 250th. Anniversary. It is an occasion which must have entailed a great deal of preparation and no doubt the brethren of Lodge St. John would have been most anxious that all would go well on such an important day in the history of their lodge. Let me assure them that any fears that they may have had to the contrary, have proven to be unfounded and I am sure that they will look back on this occasion and derive a great deal of satisfaction from its' success. For those of you who may not know, Lodge St. John is one of 17 present day lodges originally chartered by Lodge Mother Kilwinning, and that in its' antiquity

page 169 ranks 3rd. on the Roll of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ayrshire.

The Charter of the lodge dated 14th. November, 1734, is in an excellent state of preservation and was granted on the petition of eleven brethren who were all members of Lodge Mother Kilwinning, and this being so, then Lodge St. John is truly descendant from that ancient and highly respected lodge. The Charter of Confirmation from The Grand Lodge of Scotland was granted on the 13th. Of April,1737, and as you may have observed in the lodge room, is in a frail condition and enclosed in a glassed frame to prevent any further damage. Amongst the eleven brethren who petitioned for the erection of the lodge was Lord Kilmarnock who was the first Master of Lodge St. John. Records show that he was still in this office in 1742. On the 20th. Of January, 1742, he was installed as Master of Lodge Mother Kilwinning and it is worthy of note

that after being installed he admitted an

Entered Apprentice, The Earl of Eglintoun, who became the 15th. Grand Master of Scotland.

Page 170

Lord Kilmarnock attained this prime office in November 1742,

and in doing so became the 7th. Grand Master of

Scotland. His masonic career, to say the least was remarkable and it was a career that ended all too soon. He was executed for the part he played in the uprising of 1745. A plate depicting his execution has its place in The Burns Museum in Kilmarnock. To say that his death must have been a terrible blow to the Craft would be an under-statement but he has left his mark and his name has a permanent place in the annals of Scottish Freemasonry. The mention of the Burns Museum leads me to say that the brethren of Lodge St. John must be proud that our National Bard was an Honorary Member of their lodge, the Honorary Membership having been conferred at which time Lodge St. John was numbered 24 and met in The Old Commercial Inn which stood in Croft Street. For those of you who may not know, Robert Burns was initiated in Lodge St. David, Tarbolton, which at the time was a unison of two lodges, namely Lodge St. David No. 174, and Lodge St. James, No.178. They became united on the25th. June,1781 and nine days

page 171 later on the 4th. July, Burns was initiated in this united lodge in his 23rd. Year. The union of the two lodges however lasted only a few months. There was disagreement among the brethren. The members of lodge St. James felt that their lodge had lost its identity. The lodge split and Lodge St. James was re-opened under its former title and is now numbered 135. Lodge St. David became dormant in 1843 but was re-opened in 1869 under the number 133. Robert Burns was installed as Depute Master of Lodge St. James in 1784 and held the office till 1788 and it was during this period that he received Honorary Membership of Lodge St. John. The minute relative to his Honorary Membership however does not refer to him as the Depute Master of Lodge St. James but reads as follows; “26th. October,1786. Present The Master, Depute Master and several brethren when John Galt, farmer in Cressland, upon his petition was made an Entered Apprentice: at the same time Robert Burns poet from Mauchline, a member of St.James, Tarbolton, was made an Honorary Member.

Signed. Will Parker.

page 172 In recognition or appreciation of this honour, Burns wrote the poem entitled “The Sons of Old Killie” and in the opening four lines he would have been referring to the Master Will Parker when he wrote; “Ye sons of old Killie assembled by Willie to follow this noble vocation, Your thrifty Old Mother has scarce such another to sit in that Honoured station.” In that same year Burns was persuaded to publish his writings by subscription. He received much assistance from members of Lodge St. James and further assistance from members of Lodge St. John, who subscribed for 350 copies of his works. The Master, Will Parker subscribed for 35 copies, another member for 75 copies, and the printing was done by another member of the lodge, namely John Wilson,and so the members of Lodge St.John played a very important part in giving to the world the works of Robert Burns. His works contain at least three poems in addition to “The Sons of Old Killie” which refer to members of

Lodge St. John.

The “Begbie” referred to in “The

Ordination” was

a member who was initiated in 1786.

”Tam Samson” of the poem “Tam Samsons Elegy” was page 173 elected as Lodge Treasurer in 1779 and “Johnny” in the poem “Hic Jacit Wee Johnny” was John Wilson, the publisher of Burns' works. Among the treasured possessions of Lodge St. John are a sword and a 16th. century charter chest with three locks and keys given by Lord Kilmarnock; A mallet presented by Robert Burns and a letter written by Sir Walter Scott which reads as follows; “Sir, I am much gratified by the sight of the portrait of Robert Burns. I saw that distinguished poet only once and being a bad marker of likeness and recollector of faces, I should, in ordinary case have hesitated to offer an opinion up on the resemblance, especially as I make no pretension to judge of the fine arts, but Burns was so remarkable a man that his features remain impressed on my mind as I had seen him only yesterday and I could not hesitate to recognise this portrait as a striking resemblance of the poet

though it had been presented to me amid a whole exhibition.

I am sir, your obedient servant,

Walter Scott. Edinburgh. 14th. Nov. 1829” A foot note reads; “I will accept the inscription

page 174 which you tell me the proprietors intend putting to the engraving as a great honour.” The full history of the lodge brethren, may never be written. There are only four sheets of minutes from 1751 to 1779 and

minutes from 1838 to 1857 are

missing, but it is known that the lodge was still working at this time as the lodge has in its' possession, the cash book for that period. We can only hope that the minute books have not been destroyed and that one day they will be returned to the lodge where they rightfully belong. During the twelve year period from 1880 to 1892 Lodge St. John barely functioned and almost became dormant, however 1892 saw the start of a new lease of life and the lodge has, I am happy to say, been working regularly

since.

Over the years Lodge St.John has

produced many

brethren who have given outstanding service to their lodge and the Craft. Amongst those of more recent date have been James McCrone Past Master who passed away in 1972, at which time he was Treasurer of the lodge and of the Provincial Grand lodge of Ayrshire.

Page 175 Having

completed 25 years as such Grand Lodge saw fit

to confer on him the rank of Honorary Grand Marshal. Past Master Brother John Drummonds' service in Grand Lodge was quite remarkable. When I first came to Lodge St. John in 1963 he was serving as Grand Steward and did so through to 1980. In 1981 he was elected as President of the Board of Grand Stewards. Last, but by no means least, who could forget Past Master brother Daniel Cairns who not only served as lodge secretary for 30 years but also served the community as Provost, as magistrate, as Dean of Guild and served on the Town Council for 41 years. These are the names of a few of the worthies of Lodge St. John. There are a great deal more, too numerous to mention; members who worked through office and became Master, others who served in office and

never aspired to be Master; members who never took office but assisted whenever possible. They all played their part in making Lodge St. John what it is; a lodge held in the highest esteem and I feel that it would be fitting at this time, as a good wish for the brethren of Lodge St.John, to say to them in the words of Robert Burns. Page 176 “Within your dear mansion may wayward contention Or withered envy ne'er enter. May secrecy round be the mystical bound, And Brotherly Love be the centre.” I know that all visiting brethren will heartily agree when I say that the brethren of Lodge St.John are members of a lodge of which they can justly be proud; one which has done justice to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ayrshire and to the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Brethren, this toast is coupled with the name of Past Master Brother Thomas Paterson and with apologies to those brethren of Lodge St. John who perforce have escaped mention by name in this brief resume of their lodges' fortunes, I would call on all visiting

brethren to be upstanding and raise their glasses to Lodge St.John, Kilwinning, Kilmarnock No. 22.

Following

the celebration of Lodge St. John's

250th. Anniversary I received a letter from the secretary, William K. Lyle thanking me on behalf of the Master and brethren for proposing the toast. I still have it to this day. Page 177 Birth, Marriage, Death, Break-up. My daughter Linda had married in 1982. In 1985 she gave birth to a son, Martin and in 1987 gave birth to a daughter, Nicola. 1987 was quite an eventful year. Our younger daughter, Annette and her boyfriend Jim Thomson had been courting for some time and decided to get married on the 20th.March. It was quite a day. Jim had always been keen on motor bikes and had started riding them at an early age. He had a number of male and female biking friends who came to the wedding. When I saw them I thought that they were like a bunch of Hells’ Angels, but there is truth in the old

adage; ”Never judge a book by its’ cover.” They were nice people and a number of them stayed overnight sleeping on the floor of our front room. Annette and Jim lived in with Amy and me for ten months when they bought a house at 80 Western Road, Cambuslang. On August the 23rd 1987, when all the family were in our house to celebrate Amy's birthday, I received a phone call from Dundee. A very good friend, Colin MacGillivray had died following a heart attack and one page 178 of his daughters had phoned to let me know. Colin had been a past master of Lodge Thistle Operative Dundee No. 158. In 1977 when he was Master of the lodge I felt privileged when he conferred on me, Honorary Life Membership of his lodge, an honour that I treasure. Colin's lodge and my own lodge, Lodge Union Glasgow had been inter-visiting since 1959 and each meeting was always followed by a social evening with dancing and songs by individual singers. Colin would sometimes act as M.C. and I can still hear him saying “ we are

really scraping the bottom of the barrel now, I call on John McCormick to give us a song.” Further to the social evenings the members of the two lodges and their families met every year for a picnic after which we had races, football and tug-owar, and a good time was always had by one and all. Through all this many friendships were formed, and on occasion, Colin and his wife Nan stayed overnight with us at our house in Jedburgh Avenue. Shortly after Colin’s daughter phoned to tell me that her father had died his wife Nan phoned to ask if I would say a few words about Colin at the funeral. Page 179 It was the least I could do and it didn’t matter to me one iota that Colin and Nan were catholic and that the funeral service was of course to be conducted in the chapel. At the funeral, before we entered the chapel, Colin’s sister came over and said that when arrangements were being made for the funeral the priest said that I wouldn’t be allowed to speak in the chapel, and while I thought “so much for Christianity

and love thy neighbour”,

I just said to her that it

was alright. When the funeral was over we went to a hall in Dura Street where we sat down for a bite to eat. After a time Colin's sister came over and asked if I would now say a few words about Colin. It wasn’t difficult to speak about Colin. He was a good man through and through. He lived for his family and as a plumber to trade worked hard to support them. He was well liked and highly respected. On one occasion when we paid a visit to his home he had just finished building a wall in his back garden. He had made a really good job of it and in addressing the funeral guests I likened Colin to the wall saying page 180 that he was solid in stature, solid in his beliefs, solid in friendship and solid in character, all of which he certainly was. When I finished speaking I was given a round of applause and felt quite embarrassed as I didn’t think it right for people to applaud at a funeral. My grand-daughter Nicola was born on the 11th. of December 1987, and on Christmas Day I got

dressed in a Santa Claus outfit and stood looking out of the front room window awaiting the arrival of Linda, her husband and the two children. The car eventually arrived and I watched Linda get out of the car with two year old Martin

and two weeks old Nicola

wrapped who was wrapped in a shawl. The car then drove away and when Linda and the kids came into the house Linda was in tears. I asked what was wrong and she told me that she and her husband had split up. Like Christmas 1948, it is a Christmas that I will never forget. The house that Linda had in Battlefield was sold and the family moved to a council house at 23 Cambuslang Road, near Farme Cross, where Linda had to raise the two children on her own. Page 181 The Lockerbie Disaster. The 21st.December 1988, the day that a plane was blown up over Lockerbie is a date that I will always remember. I had been talking on the phone with Ian Wilson, a Past Master of the lodge, when the news that a plane had come down was announced on the television. It was later stated that all on board had perished and

that people on the ground were killed. A further statement said that there had been an explosion on the plane and that debris was scattered over hundreds of square miles. Bodies and parts of bodies were lying in the streets and gardens and part of the plane had landed in a street in Lockerbie with some passengers strapped in their seats. The cockpit had separated from the plane and was found with the flight crew inside. The disaster had a terrible effect on the general public but this could never have been compared to the effect that it must have had on those who had lost loved ones. Two Lockerbie brothers who were orphaned by the disaster were awarded more than three million dollars. One died died of drugs related illness and the other committed suicide. Page 182 The Premature End of My Working Life. In 1989 just before the Christmas and New Year fortnight holiday, John Elcocks and Ray Allibone called a the workforce together to say that they were in financial difficulty that the factory would have to close.

The Union was called in to discuss redundancy payment and it was arranged that along with the redundancy and holiday payments that were due we were to be given eight weeks wages in lieu of notice. I came away with Four Thousand Pounds and took satisfaction from the way that Tam and I worked it to get good piecework prices. It more than compensated for the way I had been treated when I didn’t get a penny at the time of the takeover. I felt that Tam and I had put one over on John Ellcock, and I also felt that I had taken him down a peg or two when I had words with him a five months earlier. Sometimes when any of the pieceworkers wanted to go home about half an hour before stopping time, Syd would let them as long as there were enough divans and mattresses made up to cover the orders. Page 183 On one occasion when I asked Syd if I could leave, John Ellcocks was there. Just like Monty Caplan, he liked to show his authority and said “I'll say if you can go or not and I am saying no.” I responded with “That's right, you show everyone who is boss.”

He

came back with-“I could fire you, I have fired men before and had them in tears pleading for their jobs back.” I then said- “That would be your choice, but I wouldn't be in tears nor would I plead with you for my job. I would take you before a tribunal and win.” At this point he backed off and said- “it wont go that far, but I am still not giving permission for you to leave early” I knew that he wouldn't fire me. Thanks to what John Orr had taught me I was, by far, the fastest divan maker in the factory and it would have been too great a loss in production had I been forced to leave. At the time Repose Bedding closed down I was 59 years old and I soon found that at that age it was difficult to find work. On a number of occasions I filled in applications for work at my trade and despite detailing my long page 184 experience and supplying copies of references, not once did I receive a reply. I came to the conclusion that employers were looking for 25 year olds with 40

years experience. I decided to try for work at something different and went to the job centre. The new Royal Concert hall that had been built at Buchanan Street was advertising for a maintenance man at a salary of two hundred pounds per week. I filled in the application form and felt sure that with my experience of upholstery and carpet fitting I would be the ideal man to repair any damaged seating or carpeting. Yet again I didn’t receive the courtesy of a reply. I had no option but to sign on at the labour exchange where I went through the degradation of being means-tested and ended up on Income Support. After a time I was summonsed to attend a meeting to arrange training for skills. The meeting was attended by a number of men who likewise were unemployed. They were asked what they would like to train as, and each named their choice. When I was asked what skill I would like to learn I said “none” as I thought it was stupid to train in each other's trade when we couldn't find work at our own. Page 185 My Indian Jigsaw.

For almost a year before being made redundant I had been suffering from a hernia near my left groin. I didn’t want to take time off work to have it attended to, but now that I couldn’t find employment, I decided to make arrangement for an operation. The operation was carried out in The Royal Infirmary and when the time came to be discharged I was given instruction to sit in a hot salt bath every day. Despite doing this the wound turned septic and a nurse had to clean and dress it every day. It took me three months to fully fit. Knowing that I was interested in Native American culture Craig bought me a thousand piece jig-saw to while my time away. The picture on the lid of the box depicted Indian warriors on horseback. It took me some time to finish it and as it neared completion I realised that one piece was missing.

The only option

I had was to take part of the picture off the box, paste it on to a piece of cardboard and cut out the shape of the missing piece. Upon completing the jigsaw I framed it and still have to this day. Page 186

Not-so-Nice Neighbours. At the time of my hernia problem, a young man named James Yates was living in the house next door to ours. Craig had slipped and been injured on the spikes that separated the two gardens so I cut them off. The two sisters who lived next door took exception to this and shortly afterwards they moved out. The house was bought by Mr. And Mrs. Yates who were guardians their two grandchildren, James and Julie. Mr. And Mrs. Yates died within a year of each other and Julie married leaving James living in the house on his own. Craig had been working in Casa Fina, a household store at the north-east corner of Glassford Street and Wilson Street, Previously, upon leaving school he had worked in shoe shops under the Youth Training Scheme with a wage of 23 pounds per week. When he went to work in Casa Fina he found that he had a flair for design and at a Household Stores Exhibition the stall that he set up for Casa Fina won

page 187 first prize. He was now earning in excess of 100 pounds per week and had bought his second car, a Fiesta, his first having been a Renault. Amys’ brother Hughie sometimes stayed the weekend at our house and one weekend when he was there I went to the toilet around three o’clock on the Sunday morning. On my way back to bed I heard a thud from outside and looking out of the window saw the rear end of a car as it went along the avenue. Hughie had got into the habit of going for the Sunday papers whenever he stayed the week-end and when he came back from the newsagents that morning he said that the passenger door of Craigs’ car was damaged and that part of a black bumper was lying in the street. I went outside and picked up the black bumper wing and remembered seeing a small black car parked on the other side of the street the day before. Craig and I reported the matter at the police station in King Street, mainly to have it recorded. Just as we arrived back from the police station James Yates was coming out of the house. We spoke for

a few minutes and Craig told him about the car door being damaged. page188 Every day after that whenever I was out and about I kept looking for a small black car with a new bumper wing. About two weeks after the incident Amy and were on our way home after a night out and had just turned into the avenue when I spotted a small black car with a new bumper wing and a damaged mudguard. I took note of the registration number of the car and gave it to Craig who passed the information to the police. About a week later Craig received a phone call from a girl who said that the police had been in touch with her regarding the new bumper wing. She admitted that she had bumped into a car in Jedburgh Avenue and the police gave her our phone number saying that she had get in touch with Craig to give insurance details. It turned out she was James Yates’ girlfriend. He must have known that she had damaged the car yet he never said anything. However Craig not only claimed for the repair but also for a re-spray and her insurance company had to meet the costs.

Craig left Casa Fina in 1991 and went to work in Caledonian Airways. He worked there for three years before joining British Airways. Page 189 George Houston Nicola began her education in 1992 at the same school as Martin, “The Burgh” in King Street, Rutherglen. Sometimes Amy or I would collect Martin and Nicola after school and take them home. Amy, like myself, used to chat to a man who was at the school to take his grandson home and in the course of conversation with Amy one day he mentioned that he used to live at 150 Old Shettleston Road. It turned out that he was George Houston who lived in one of the ground floor flats during the period that I lived at that address, and that his grandson was in the same class as my grandson, Martin. The next time that I met him at the school we had a real good chat about the old days when both of us were youngsters. It brought back memories of how his mother would sometimes send a jug of home-made soup up to our house, of how we grew up together, of how we used to play pontoons with other kids at a penny a time, and

of

we how we went searching the street for shrapnel

after the air-raids. At the time of meeting George again he was the sole survivor of five brothers and three sisters. Page 190 Sad Holiday. In February, 1993, two weeks before Amy and I were due to celebrate our 35th. Wedding anniversary, all the family were in our house when Craig announced that as a present for our anniversary the family had clubbed together and made arrangements for Amy and I to go on holiday to Vancouver. To give for us to prepare the trip the date of departure was set for the 6th. April. The week before we were due to leave Amy and I paid a visit Hughie and found that he was quite ill. He had severe backache and could barely walk. We got in touch with Ian, one of his five sons, to let him know that his dad was ill and needed someone to be with him.

We stayed with Hughie until

Ian arrived and then we had to leave. The next day Ian phoned to say that his dad had been taken into hospital where his aorta had burst and that he was in intensive care.

Amy and I went to see him but he was heavily sedated and couldn't respond when we spoke to him. The doctor said that since Hughie was in hospital when his aorta burst he would probably pull through. Page 191 Amy and I flew out to Amsterdam on the sixth of April, where we boarded a plane for Vancouver. Upon arrival were met by Bill Williams (father-in-law of Amys' nephew, Peter) who drove us to the home of Amys' brother and his wife, Margaret in Port Coquitlam. On our first week on holiday we visited

the 1.000

acre Stanley Park which borders downtown Vancouver where I was pleased to see a statue of Robert Burns. We also travelled to Seattle to visit the poppy fields. At the end of the first week Margaret took a phone call from Hughie's son Ian asking if he could speak to me. He had phoned to tell me that his dad had died. After the call I was so choked up that I couldn't speak. Seeing this Amy said “Hughie's dead isn't he.”

Amy and I felt bad about missing the funeral but Linda and Annette attended along with Madge, May Hamilton and Ann Forrest. When we arrived back home we learned that Hughie hadn't had any life insurance and that as the family couldn’t afford to pay for the funeral. The cost was met by the social services.

page 192 Joy and Sadness. It was with much joy that when, in 1994 Amy and I learned that after seven years of marriage Annette was going to become a mother. She gave birth to a daughter on the 19th. Of May 1994 and named her Gail. That same year Bill Murray who had been such a good friend to Amy and me over a 31 year period died in his home in Kingsacre Road, Kings Park. He had told his wife Morag that he wasn’t feeling well, then laid down on a couch and passed away. Bill had been an elder in Kings Park church and so between that and playing in his band at dances every Friday he was very well known. He always helped others in any way that he could without any thought of reward.

His funeral was conducted from Kings Park church which has seating for a thousand and it was filled to capacity. Like Bill had wished, I never told anyone about his kindness when he arranged for Amy to go to Canada, but after his death I felt that others should know. I will always remember him. Page 193 Visitors from Canada. Shortly after Bill's funeral Amy's brother Robert and his wife Margaret came over on holiday from Canada it was much easier to accommodate them than it had been when they were here in 1975. With Linda and Annette having their own houses and with Craig working on the Airlines and living in Cranleigh, we had two spare bedrooms. It was good having them here and I enjoyed going with Robert to visit Pettygrew Street where he lived as a boy and then over to Old Shettleston Road where I had lived. Whilst they were here the Edinburgh tattoo was on and Amy and Margaret went to see it. Robert didn't want to go because his leg was giving him trouble. As

a boy he had tuberculosis in the hip which resulted in one leg being about two inches shorter than the other. I was glad that he didn't want to go as I didn't want to go either. Amy and I had been before and while it was an excellent display, the weather hadn't been good. It rained continuously and we sat holding an umbrella, with our legs inside a plastic bin bags in an effort to keep dry. Page 194 The Perfect Cover-Up Hero Commander Lionel Kenneth Crabb. G.M. O.B.E.

The mysterious disappearance of Commander Lionel Kenneth Philip Crabb, G.M.- O.B.E. is something that has intrigued me ever since I first read about it in a newspaper in 1956. Had I been able to look into the future I would have seen that I was to meet, and become well acquainted with ex-Petty Officer David Morrison Bell. G.M. who, if not along with Commander Crabb on the fateful day that he vanished, certainly knew something of the circumstances that led to his disappearance.

On the 17th. Of April 1956 Commander Crabb,

a

frogman who had vast experience in dealing with explosives, booked into the Sallyport Hotel in Portsmouth along with an American C.I.A. agent who signed the register as

Mr. Smith.

The next day the Ordzhonikidze, a Russian Cruiser, escorted by two destroyers, docked in Portsmouth Harbour. Aboard the cruiser were two high ranking Russians, Marshal Bulganin and Premier Khrushchev who had

come to Britain on a goodwill visit. Page 195

Commander Crabb was last seen in the Sallyport hotel on the evening of the 18th. Of April, and it came to be known that Russian sailors had seen a frogman near their ship

the following morning. It also came to be

known that a row broke out over the matter between the Russians, Bulganin and Khrushchev and

two Labour

Politicians, Hugh Gaitskell and George Brown at a guest of honour dinner. Eleven days after Commander Crabb was last seen at the Sallyport Hotel the Admiralty announced that he had vanished when carrying out trials on secret underwater equipment in Stokes bay. It was assumed

that he had drowned, but contrary to this, it was reported

that on the 19th of April Russian frogmen

had been observed entering the water and after a skirmish hauling another frogman aboard the cruiser. Further to this, when the Russian cruiser was returning to Russia an official report was issued by the Captain of a Danish destroyer, on the 29th of April, that he had seen a helicopter landing on the cruiser and, through binoculars, witnessed two men, one of whom was led, being taken aboard.

page 196 In June 1957 three men were fishing from a boat in Chichester Harbour when they saw something floating in the water and after a struggle managed to haul it into the boat.

It was a headless and handless body in a

rubber suit. Upon returning ashore the men reported their discovery and the police had the body removed to Chichester mortuary where it was examined by a pathologist. The pathologist report stated that the body was male and while the upper part was in a state of decomposition, the lower part was preserved. There

were no distinguishing marks or sign of injury, and the feet had a toe deformity. Two days after the body was found Commander Crabbs' mother was taken to see the body but could not identify it as the body of her son. One person who did identify the body as that of Commander Crabb was Sydney Knowles, who had been a diver with Commander Crabb for a number of years and had seen him on numerous occasions with his clothes off. However he contradicted this later by stating that when he went to see the body he was met by two men, one of whom was a Chief Inspector, and went on page 197 to say that

after seeing the body he told the two men

that Commander Crabb had a

toe deformity different

from that on the corpse. He also stated that Commander Crabb had a scar, in the shape of an inverted Y, on his left leg. Since there was no such mark on the left leg of the body and the toes were different, it was definitely not that of Commander Crabb. He then went on to say he was then advised that, for the sake of Queen and Country, it would be best to state that the body was that of Commander Crabb. This

he agreed to do, and he also agreed to sign an Official Secrets Act document. At an inquest held on the 26th. June 1957 the pathologist who examined on the body on the 10th. June, stated that he also examined the body on the 14th. June and recorded that there was a scar on the left leg in the form of an inverted Y. Pathologists are usually thorough in making examinations.

This raises

the question as to why there was no mention of the scar in the first report, and since it later came to light that Commander Crabb had a scar, about the size of a sixpence, on his right thigh, then why was this not mentioned in any of the two reports.? Had the page 198 pathologist been ordered by M.I.5. to give a false report? The pathologist report resulted in the body being declared as that of Commander Crabb and amid a great deal of controversy as to the true identity of the body, it was buried in Milton Cemetery in Portsmouth. Thereafter a headstone was

placed at the grave with

the inscription, IN EVER LOVING MEMORY OF MY SON COMMANDER CRABB AT REST AT LAST.

Commander Crabb's mother told friends that the inscription was without his full name, proper rank, or mention of his awards leading to her belief that it was not her son in the grave. Commander Crabb had been awarded the

George Medal for gallantry and undaunted

devotion to duty. He also had been awarded the O.B.E. and had been hailed as a hero during World War Two. If the question was to be asked as to why the burial was without military honours or the presence of naval officials, it could be assumed that the authorities knew that the body was not that of Commander Crabb. If the body was not that of Commander Crabb, then whose body was it?

Page 199 There was a theory that it could have been the body of a loner, selected for its stature and toe deformity, placed in a frogman suit, decapitated, hands cut off and then submerged in sea water for a lengthy period before being dumped in Chichester harbour, by the Russians or the British, at a spot where it would either be found by boatmen or washed ashore. Although

this theory seems outlandish, it is nevertheless a possibility. If the person who was reported to have been taken aboard a helicopter when it landed on the Russian cruiser was indeed Commander Crabb, it would have been an extreme embarrassment to the British Government. They would have had reason to put the body in the water at a spot where it was sure to be found, and declare it as the body of Commander Crabb in order to make it look like that the person taken aboard the helicopter was not Commander Crabb. Likewise, had the Russians captured Commander Crabb they would not have wanted the British to know, as the kidnap of a British war hero would have been looked upon as a major international incident. The Russians likewise would have reason to make it look page 200 like it was someone else other than Commander Crabb who had been taken aboard the helicopter, and they may have come up with the idea to put the body in the water. Many

theories

have been put forward as to why

Commander Crabb was Diving under the Russian cruiser

Ordzhonikidze and what had happened to him. One theory was that he was using an underwater camera to search for a hatch designed to lay nuclear mines and that he had been electrocuted by the cameras' power cable. If this had been the case then he would already have been dead when a frogman was seen being taken aboard the Russian cruiser, and the Russians would have had proof that he had been spying on their ship. On the other hand, if it wasn't true that the Russians had pulled a body aboard the cruiser, then the rubber suit on the body declared as that of Commander Crabb would have had signs of burning. Another theory was that he was examining the hull of the Ordzhonikidze to find out what equipment the cruiser had that enabled it to travel at speed, and to stop and turn quickly, but this can be discounted,

page 201 as he and Syd Knowles had examined the cruisers' sister ship the Sverdlov the year previous. In the Wikipedia Encyclopedia it says that in 1990 an ex-member of the Soviet Naval Intelligence claimed that

when Commmander Crabb was seen in the

water he was shot by a Russian sniper. It is highly unlikely the Russians would shoot someone in British Territorial waters. A claim that he had been shot by the British also appears in the encyclopedia.

It reads;- “ On March

26th. 2006, The Mail on Sunday published an article by Tim Binding entitled 'Buster Crabb Was Murdered By M.I.5'. Binding wrote a fictional account of Crabb's life, 'Man Overboard', published in 2005. Binding stated that, following the account, he was contacted by Sydney Knowles, now living in Malaga, Spain. Binding then alleged that he met Knowles in Spain and was told that Crabb was known by M.I.5. to have intentions of defecting to the U.S.S.R..

This would have been

embarrassing for the U.K.--- Crabb being an acknowledged war hero.

page202 Knowles suggested that M.I.5. set up the mission to the Ordzhonikidze specifically to murder Crabb, and supplied Crabb with a new diving partner ordered to kill him.

Binding stated that Knowles alleges that he

was ordered by M.I.5. to identify the body found as Crabb, when he knew that it was definitely not Crabb. Knowles went along with the deception.” Knowles also claimed that Commander Crabb had been shot a mile away from the Russian cruiser. In November, 2007, a retired Russian frogman by the name of Eduard Koltsov, claimed that he had cut Commander Crabb's throat when he caught him placing a mine on the hull of the Russian Cruiser. According to a B.B.C. News Report, Mr. Koltsov, who was 23 at the time said in a Russian Documentary that he wanted to tell the truth about the matter before his own death and went on to say that he was ordered to investigate when Commander Crabb was spotted in the water. He then showed the dagger he had used, and also showed a Red Star medal that he claimed was awarded to him for his bravery in disposing of a spy. It is highly unlikely that the British or Russian Government will ever reveal the truth about Commander page 203 Crabb, but what the truth may well be is contained in a book entitled 'Frogman Spy', written

by co-authors

M.G. and M.A. Welham, and published in 1990.

In the book the authors claim that Commander Crabb was captured by the Russians, taken to Moscow where he was held in prison, and then given the choice of remaining in prison or joining the Russian Navy to train Russian frogmen in underwater warfare. He chose the latter and was given the name Lev Lvovich Korablov. There is substantial evidence to this effect. After Commander Crabb disappeared, Pat Rose who was his sweetheart went to live with her brother and sister-in-law in France and whilst there she received a phone call from a family friend who said that he had a copy of a German newspaper showing two photographs of her with a caption that read “The beautiful blonde fiancee of Commander Crabb, the British frogman who disappeared when the Soviet warships visited Britain on a goodwill visit. She is also missing.” The caller brought the newspaper and showed it to Pat Rose and she saw that one photo was of her standing with her brother and sister-in-law, both of whom were wearing riding clothes. The other photo was page 204 of her sitting at the side of a swimming pool. Only two sets of the photos had been made, and since one

set was in the family album and Commander Crabb always carried the other set in his wallet, she wondered how the newspaper could have come by them. Another caller phoned Pat Rose and to let her know that Commander Crabb was alive and well and, as proof, that he had been instructed to remind her of a certain train journey to Portsmouth when Commander Crabb and she were alone in the compartment and he had a long look at the photos in his wallet. Two months after Commander Crabb disappeared

the

West German newspaper “Bild Zeitung” stated that a high ranking Russian official had informed them that Commander Crabb was in Moscow's Lefortowo Prison as prisoner 147 and that he had been offered a position in the Soviet secret service and that they wanted him to enter a special department of the Soviet navy for a period of ten years which was the length of the prison sentence he would receive for espionage. Further to this a secret service dossier was handed in to The Empire News addressed to Bernard

page 205

Hutton, an employee and author of the book entitled “The Fake Defector”. The dossier was shown to Sir Percy Sillitoe a former head of M.I.5, who confirmed that it was identical to one held by the British Authorities. It stated that that Commander Crabb was taken aboard the Russian cruiser and held prisoner in the ships' hospital. This was confirmed by Russian seamen in Sweden and Egypt. Bernard Hutton had received the dossier from an underground organisation in Eastern Europe and received information that Commander Crabb, under the name of Korablov, had been posted to the Russian naval base at Odessa and then to Sevastopol where he trained Russian frogmen in demolition and mine warfare. This was confirmed by an agent who kept in touch with Pat Rose, Commander Crabbs' sweetheart. Bernard Hutton also obtained a photograph of Lev Levovich Korablov as a First Lieutenant. It bore a striking resemblance to Commander Crabb. In 1968 Kenneth Elliot who worked for the firm of Lucas contacted Pat Rose and told her that he had recently been in Sevastopol on business and whilst there saw frogmen coming out of the sea and that his

page 206 Russian guide who was also his interpreter pointed to one of the frogmen saying “ Look , there is your famous Commander Crabb.” Kenneth Elliot stated that an opportunity later arose when he managed to speak to Commander Crabb for a short period and that he was asked by him to contact Pat Rose through Len Cole, landlord of The Nag's Head in London and give her proof that he was alive, by telling her about the scar on her head, the result of a car accident, and how her hair grew in a grey streak from the scar which was why he called her his 'Grey Witch' When Pat Rose eventually received the message she was convinced that it had come from Commander Crabb as only she and he knew of the nickname. In 1974 Pat Rose received information from her contact that Commander Crabb was to leave Russia to live in Italy. The Russians were allowing him to do so because of the invaluable service he had rendered. It was said that his release would be in 1976. Nothing more was heard until 1977 when Pat Rose received a letter from Bernard Hutton saying that he

had news that Commander Crabb had left Russia for Italy but had fallen ill in Dresden on his journey. Page 207 After spending six weeks in hospital there, where he was diagnosed as having stomach cancer he was sent to a sanitarium in Karlovy Vary in Czechoslovakia for treatment. In October 1977 Bernard Hutton received a report that Commander Crabb had was also being treated for mental illness and that he kept himself to himself and just sat staring into space. This was the last report that Pat Rose received from Bernard Hutton. He died soon afterwards. Pat Rose died in 1987 and that same year M.G. and J.A.Welham travelled to Czechoslovakia in a determined effort to find what had become of Commander Crabb. Previously in 1986 they had written to the state medical centre at Karlovy Vary inquiring as to the welfare of the Russian naval officer, Commander Lev Lvovich Korablov.

The letter was never answered.

However, a few months later they received a phone call from a man with a strong East European accent who said that he was part of an anti-Russian movement in Czechoslovakia and asked if they were seeking

information about a Russian naval officer called Korablov. He went on to say that if they were prepared

page 208 to go to Karlovy Vary, arrangements would be made for them to meet a woman who had known Commander Crabb in the sanitarium where he was a patient. The arrangements were that they had to go to the Gargarin

Colonnade each day at eleven o'clock where

the woman would contact them. The Colonnade was always busy, and on one such occasion as they sat on one of the seats sipping warm mineral water, a woman sat beside them and in broken English asked if they were British. The woman was their contact and she explained that she was Czechoslovakian and that when the Russians liberated them during the war she was given work at the sanatorium because she had medical experience and could speak Russian. She said that in 1977 a Russian patient who had internal medical problems was brought in. She recalled that he was polite which was unusual for Russians as they treated the Czechs as second class citizens. She said that he seemed to have lost the will to live and

sat for hours staring into the distant hills and seldom spoke.

However one day she heard him utter

something in English and as she could speak English, though not fluently, she engaged him in conversation. Page 209 He told her that he was really English and that he was the only diver who had served in the British navy and the Russian navy and to have been awarded medals from both. After a time she was moved to another part of the sanatorium, but in 1981 she was transferred back to the section and was surprised to find that he was still alive. During one of her last short conversations with him he told her that he had been captured by the Russians and made to serve in their navy. During that year she had to leave Karlovy Vary and said that at that time Commander Crabb didn't have long to live. Some time after returning to Britain Mike and Jackie Welham went to visit the grave in Milton Cemetery. They took note that the grave had been tended and that the headstone had been cleaned. Just before leaving they photographed the grave.

When they compared the photograph with one that they had from the past, Jackie noticed that the inscriptions were different.

Originally the

inscription read; IN EVER LOVING MEMORY OF MY SON COMMANDER CRABB AT REST AT LAST. page210 The new inscription read; IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY SON COMMANDER LIONEL CRABB RNVR GM OBE AT REST AT LAST. Upon enquiry the Welhams discovered that in 1981 Barrels of Portsmouth were commissioned to skim the face off the headstone, clean the stone and reinscribe it. The commission had been made a female cousin of Commander Crabb who took over the responsibility of tending the grave after his mother died. The Welhams were informed by the womans' son that she was contacted by an unnamed visitor, after which the headstone was re-inscribed. Usually a thirty year rule or a fifty year rule is applied to state secrets, but a one hundred year rule was applied in the case of the disappearance of Commander Crabb.

All the theories that have been put forward regarding his disappearance have centred around the theme of spying, but spying between countries has long been an accepted fact and wouldn't warrant the application of a one hundred year rule. What is more likely is that an assassination attempt

page 211 had been made on the lives of Bulganin and Kruschev and that was why a one hundred year rule was applied. Kruschev in particular was bad tempered and considered to be volatile, and it may have been feared by the Americans and likewise by the British that he was capable of starting a third world war. In fact he almost did so in 1962 when he authorised the establishment of a Russian missile base in Cuba. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 sparked off the first world war and no doubt the assassination of Bulganin and Kruschev, if proven, would have sparked off a third world war. If such an assassination had been planned it would have to have been done in such a way that there would be no proof.

This would have been possible by placing explosives under the cruiser where they wouldn't be found and then when the cruiser was in mid-Atlantic on its return voyage, blown up by remote control. In this way there would be no proof of what had happened. Had this been the plan then no doubt Commander Crabb, with his experience of underwater explosives, would have been chosen to do the job.

Since he and Syd

Knowles had inspected the hull of the Sister ship the page 212 Sverdlov, he would have known where to place the explosives. Such a venture would, of course, require careful planning and various options would have to be considered should anything go wrong. If Commander Crabb were to bee seen in the water by the Russians he would jettison the explosives. If captured he would have a story ready for the Russians, e.g. that he let himself be captured in order to defect. Once he had 'defected' he could then become a double agent in the hope that after a period of time the British government would find a way to bring him

back to Britain.

If this was, in fact, the case, it

would seem that he was abandoned. It would also seem that, as Lev Lvovich, Commander Crabb had formed an affinity with the Russians, and the Russians themselves must have had much respect for him and appreciated the training he gave to their frogmen since they saw fit to award him a medal. It seemed strange that someone contacted Commander Crabb's cousin after the period that Commander Crabb is thought to have died and she then had the headstone

page 213 renovated and re-inscribed. It is possible that the Russians, having the greatest respect for Commander Crabb, arranged to have his body

taken back to

Britain and exchanged for the body buried in his name in Milton cemetery. If this had been planned then the Russians , again out of respect, would have contacted Commander Crabb's cousin to let her know of their intention. This would have been subject to her swearing to strict secrecy, something that she would have readily agreed to. She would have known that her aunt, (Commander Crabbs'

mother) had the original wording inscribed because she wasn't sure that it was her son in the grave, and it would explain why, after so many years, the woman had the headstone re-inscribed with the proper detail. It would have given her much satisfaction and peace of mind knowing that her cousin, Commander Crabb was indeed 'AT REST AT LAST'

Unsung Hero David Morrison Bell, G.M. In 1962 when I made application to join the Masonic Lodge, it was on a cold November evening of

page 214 that year I made my way to be interviewed at 100 West Regent Street in Glasgow city centre. Apart from ante-rooms the impressive red sandstone building consisted of three halls;- The Grand Hall, on the ground floor, the mid hall, and the top hall, to which I was directed upon arrival. It was there that I first met David Bell who had also made application to join. We introduced ourselves and thus began a strong friendship that was to last till 1995 when David passed away.

At the time of joining David was a diver with The Clyde Navigation Trust and lived in Drumchapel, a large housing scheme in the west of Glasgow. David and I always sat together for a bite to eat after the lodge meetings and would exchange stories of our earlier lives. As a youngster David was badly treated by his over-strict father, and at the age of fifteen ran away to sea. He joined the Royal Navy and went on to become a Petty Officer. Whilst in the navy David met his wife-to-be, Martha.

Page 215 When on leave in June 1941, he and Martha were wed in Eastpark Church, Maryhill, Glasgow. During World War 2 David

was in five theatres of

war and at one period was assigned to The Bomb and Mine Disposal Team of divers at Gibraltar under the leadership of Commander Crabb. David never ever spoke of

any involvement he may

have had with Commander Crabb at the time of his disappearance, but spoke of his experience as a diver with the bomb and mine disposal unit at Gibraltar. In 1941 Italian frogmen began placing explosives on British and allied ships berthed in Gibraltar harbour and in 1942 Commander Crabb

was given the

post of Principal Bomb and Mine Disposal Officer at Gibraltar. He built up an underwater working party, one of whom being David Bell. At that time David was classed as Acting Petty Officer, having previously been reduced in rank from Petty Officer following an altercation with another officer, but he was later made up to his former rank. Unknown to the British at the time, the Italian frogmen were operating from an Italian tanker, the page 216 Olterra, which was berthed in the Spanish port of Algericas about four miles from Gibraltar. It later came to light that although the Olterra was interned with Spanish guards, the Italians managed to convert it into a depot ship for manned torpedoes.

The Olterra had originally been scuttled at the outbreak of war and then towed into Algericas where, under the guise of having to be repaired and its tanks cleaned out in readiness for it to sail when the war against the Allies was won, the Italians cut a watertight hatch with a top hinged door below the water line, large enough for the piloted torpedoes to pass through. Oil and petrol drums with double compartments were used to smuggle warheads aboard, and were fitted with dipsticks to fool any who may wish to make test. Once all the work was completed, the Italians could come and go on their torpedoes (or chariots as they called them), without being detected. It was the hazardous task of Commander Crabb and his team of divers to locate and remove explosives from British and Allied shipping, placed thereon by the Italian frogmen. One of the most daring of the Italian frogmen was Lieutenant Visintini who is reputed to page 217 have come up with the idea of converting the Olterra into a depot for the piloted torpedoes. The Wikipedia Encyclopedia reveals that the depot was set up in July 1942 and that same month twelve

frogmen sailed from the Olterra and sank four British ships in Gibraltar. In December 1942 six frogmen from the Olterra set out to attack three British warships. Two of the frogmen were killed by depth charge one of whom was Lieutenant Visintini. Their bodies were recovered and their swimfins were thereafter used by Commander Crabb and Syd Knowles. Two other frogmen from a second torpedo were captured. In May 1943 frogmen sank three British ships, and in August 1943 they sank another three ships . On this occasion a frogman was captured. In September 1943 the Italian Government signed an Armistice with the allies after which the British and Italian frogmen worked together. Upon reading in the Wikepedia encyclopedia about the Italian frogman Visitini and his companion being killed, it reminded that David had told me that although the Italian frogmen were, at that time page 218 enemies, they were respected for their bravery by the British frogmen, so much so that it was arranged for the two Italian frogmen to buried at sea under the

Italian flag. A man of the cloth was brought aboard to conduct the service after which the coffins were slid into the sea followed by the casting of a wreath. With regard to the capture of an Italian frogman in August 1943 after three ships had been sunk; at that time David Bell and Commander Crabb were in separate launches when they received a signal that an Italian frogman had been taken aboard the American ship Harrison Grey Otis after shouting for help. Both David and Commander Crabb headed for the American ship and as David had been nearer he arrived first. David took the Italian aboard the launch. There was little doubt that the Harrison Grey Otis had been mined so David decided to make search and had just entered the water when there was an explosion. A splinter went through the launch, killing a sentry who was standing guard over the Italian and a second splinter ripped through Davids' eyebrow.

Page 219 Had the splinter struck him elsewhere, he would probably have been killed.

The Italian frogman was taken ashore where he was questioned. He gave his name as Giannoli and said that when he and his companion were securing a warhead under the American ship something went wrong with their torpedo which shot up towards the surface taking his companion with it.

Thinking that his companion

must have been killed, he surfaced and sat on the rudder of the American ship for a long time, but because he was so cold he had to shout for help. The following day when David awoke he found that he was blind, but fortunately his sight began to return after five days. David and Commander Crabb were both awarded the George Medal on the same day. An extract from the records reads: “The London Gazette, Tuesday,25th. January, 1944. Central Chancery Of The Orders Of Knighthood. St. James' Palace, S.W.1. 25TH. January,1944.

Page 220

The King has been graciously pleased to approve the award of The George Medal to: Temporary Lieutenant Lionel Kenneth Crabb, R.N.V.R.., Acting Petty Officer David Morrison Bell,P/JX 14460, for gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty.” In 1958 my wife, Amy, and I went to see a film called The Silent Enemy. It told the story of Commander Crabb and the exploits of the British frogmen at Gibraltar. At the time I took it as an accurate account of what happened there, but many years later I was to learn from David that the story told in the film was anything but. It had, in fact, been almost totally fictionalised. David also spoke of his experiences as a diver on the river Clyde and of how he would sometimes find the bodies of people who had perhaps committed suicide or drowned accidentally or had been murdered.. He said that sometimes when trying to free a body from the mud an arm or a leg would come off. He also told me of a time when a car was seen in the water at Gourock and he was called on to dive to see if there were any occupants. On searching he could not see page 221

anyone but as the car was being lifted out of the water the lid of the boot flew open revealing the naked body of a woman. In 1958 David played an important part in the conviction of mass murderer Peter Manuel who had been accused of the murder a family in Burnside and a family in Uddingston. The police had information that Manuel had thrown two guns believed to have been used in the murders, into the river Clyde, one at the Kings Bridge, Rutherglen and the other at the Swing Bridge in the city centre. After failure to locate the guns by electromagnets David was sent for to search for them. He told me that he knew it would be hopeless to find the guns if he wore gloves and as he was used to going into the water without them, he searched in the darkness of the waters with his bare hands and managed to find both both guns. He reckoned that if a gun was thrown into the water it would sink with a floating motion rather than sink like a stone. An extract from the Glasgow Herald dated Friday,14th. February, 1958. reads; “A Beretta automatic believe to be the weapon used in the triple

page222 murder of the Smart family at Uddingston on New Years' morning was recovered from the river Clyde , near Kings Bridge, Glasgow Green, yesterday by Mr. David Bell, a Clyde Navigation Trust diver. Mr. Bell was also responsible for the recovery of a Webley revolver, thought to have been used in the murders, from the river near the Clyde Street suspension bridge. A newspaper photograph of the recovery of the gun carried the caption; “The dramatic scene aboard the divers' barge in the Clyde today as the gun is found. Diver Bell has just surfaced and handed the gun to Superintendent Henry Crawford, who is seen inspecting it. On his right is Ben Parsonage, of The Glasgow Humane Society, who has been helping the police. Others on the barge are ready to assist the diver out of his gear.” Peter Manuel was charged with eight murders, found guilty of seven and hanged at Barlinnie Prison, but is was said that the total number of those murdered by him may have been fifteen.

page223 In the mid eighties David and his wife Martha moved from Drumchapel Road to Highfield Drive in Kelvindale. Around 1992 Amy drew my attention to to a newspaper story that said that Davids' George medal had been stolen when his house was burgled, and the next time I paid him a visit he told me that he kept his George Medal in the top drawer of a chest of drawers along with his campaign medals and other personal belongings and that the burglar took the whole drawer with the contents. About eighteen months or so later David was diagnosed with cancer of the lower part of his body. By the time I heard of this he had been through major surgery and was back home. I went to see him and found that the cancer had spread to his leg. He was lying on a couch in the living room and his leg was heavily bandaged from thigh to foot. Despite having been through major surgery and obviously in much pain he tried to be cheerful and said “Its not all bad news, John.”

When I asked him what he meant he said; “I got me medals back.” ( He always said “me” for “my”) and then he asked Martha to fetch them. The medals were mounted page224 starting with the George Medal, then the 1939-45 Star, the Atlantic Star, the Italy Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939-45 War Medal. The medals had come up for auction and apparently when this happens a check is made to see if the awardee is still alive, and if so, contacted to find out if he has approved the sale. After I viewed the medals David told Martha that he needed to go to the toilet. Martha and I helped him to stand up and I asked if I could assist him to the toilet. He thanked me and then said that they would manage. It was pitiful to see David hobble behind Martha with both hands on her shoulders as she led him into the hallway which I knew housed a cupboard which, as the bathroom was upstairs, must have either been converted into a toilet or contained a commode. There was no way that David would have managed to go upstairs. When they returned I mentioned that Amy and I had gone to see the film “The Silent Enemy” in 1958 and that it had recently been shown on

television. David then said that prior to the film being made two men from the film studio who were carrying out research for the film paid him a visit to gain knowledge of the exploits of the British divers page225 at Gibraltar. They said that Lawrence Harvey was to be cast as Commander Crabb, Michael Craig as Syd Knowles and Sidney James as Chief Petty Officer Thorpe. David asked who would be playing his part and they replied that the rest of the cast hadn't been sorted out yet. David then suggested that there was no better person than himself to play his own part. One of the men replied that it would be utterly impossible, at which point David told them bluntly that they would get no information from him. When the film was released David and Martha went to see it. There was no mention what-so-ever of David despite the fact that he, like Commander Crabb had been awarded the George Medal. Martha recalled that when they came out of the cinema David said; “If that's what happened, I wasn't there.” Martha was really annoyed that there was no

mention of David in the film, so much so that she got in touch with the press and told them what happened. Martha showed me newspapers that she had kept. They ran the story with photographs of David and Martha and the same headline; “War Hero Snubbed.” page 226 David went on to point out the differences between what was shown in the film and what actually took place. In May 1943 a plane carrying Polish General Sikorski and seventeen others including his daughter, from the Middle East to Britain, crashed into the sea at Gibraltar. All on board perished. The General had being carrying important papers which had to be recovered with the bodies lest the papers be washed ashore. In the film“The Silent Enemy” Commander Crabb and his frogmen are shown in underwater combat with Italian frogmen when trying to retrieve the papers, and two Italian frogmen are killed. In actual fact the battle never took place. The British

divers retrieved the papers and the bodies

over a six-day period without an Italian frogman in

sight. It had been suspected that the Italian Frogmen had been coming from the Olterra and in the film Syd Knowles and Commander Crabb, dressed as Spanish merchant seamen, go over to Algeciras to investigate. Whilst there they find reason to believe that page 227 explosives are being smuggled aboard the Olterra. Thereafter they enter the water to investigate the Olterra. They find the hatch and swim through to discover a number of piloted torpedoes. Sometime later after returning to Gibraltar Commander Crabb and Syd Knowles sail across to Algericas in an Italian torpedo that Commander Crabb was said to have repaired. They then place a warhead under the Olterra but as they do so their torpedo surfaces and is seen by an Italian officer who sets off the siren alarm.

When

Commander Crabb and Syd Knowles hear the alarm, they swim clear and and as they do so the warhead explodes blowing the Olterra to smithereens. They then swim towards Gibralter. (Four miles away)

In actual fact it was Syd Knowles and a diver by the name of Morgan who crossed over to Algericas. They did not enter the water and find the secret compartment on the Olterra. The Olterra was never blown up. After the Italian Government signed the armistice in September 1943, the Olterra was towed into Gibraltar, where it was found that attempt had been made to destroy the torpedoes, but enough parts page 228 were recovered to build one. It was only then that Commander Crabb piloted a torpedo for the first time. David was right when, on commenting on the film, he said: “If that's what happened, I wasn't there.” Martha nursed David throughout his eighteen months of illness. She would not allow him to go into a hospice. Poignantly, David died on Remembrance Sunday, 1995. I attended his funeral at Maryhill. Two weeks after the funeral I received a phone call from Martha saying that David had expressed the wish that his ashes be scattered on the river Clyde at Greenock. She told me that a date had been arranged for his wish to be carried out and asked if I could attend.

On the appointed day I met up with Martha and her family at Greenock and, along with two of Davids' colleagues, boarded the tug-boat that David had operated from. We then sailed to an anchorage on the Clyde estuary where, after a brief service, Davids' son leaned over the side of the boat and emptied the oak box containing his fathers' ashes. He then threw the box and the lid into the water. The box sank but the lid floated with the brass page 229 plate upwards. Martha then cast a floral tribute in the form of an anchor. All in all, it was a very moving occasion. As to whether David was involved with Commander Crabb when he disappeared, I couldn't say for sure, but I have good reason to believe that he was. Commander Crabb had asked Syd Knowles if he would dive with him on the Ordzhonikidze, but for whatever reason Syd Knowles declined. It follows therefore that Commander Crabb would have wanted a replacement. David Bell would have been the obvious choice. An extract from page thirty of “Frogman Spy” reads: ”Crabb hated letter-writing, and even Pat Rose

confirmed that he never wrote to her even when he was away. Before he departed from London for the visit to Portsmouth, however, he wrote to Petty Officer David Bell a member of the Gibraltar team, though no relation of Leading Seaman Bell, saying how pleased he had been to meet up with him again.” Mike Welham, co-author of Frogman Spy, was a diver in the Royal Marines. He was acquainted with David and other divers. On page four of the book the co-authors write: page 230 “We telephoned an old friend whom we had not seen for some time, and after the usual pleasantries asked whether he had been in Portsmouth in 1956. He agreed guardedly that he had, but when we asked what knew about the about the Crabb affair, he clammed up. Though we pointed out that the whole incident was nearly thirty years in the past, he insisted that he could say nothing. His exact words were that if 'they' knew the source of the information, it would be 'more than my life's worth. The man we were talking to was no ordinary chap. He had been decorated for dealing

with bombs and mines while with the Naval and Diving Branch, therefore he was no coward.” Upon reading this I felt sure that it was David Bell that they phoned. I would never have asked David or Martha any direct questions about Commander Crabbs' disappearance, but when on a visit to see Martha after David died I spoke to her about David being mentioned in the Frogman Spy book and told her what it said on page four about the phone call. She said that she remembered the call and went on to say that after Commander Crabb disappeared two men from the Ministry of Defence called to see David and page 231 warned him to say nothing about the disappearance. She also said that prior to that, David had been refused permission to see the body that had been pulled water out of the water. Like Syd Knowles, David had seen Commander Crabb undressed on numerous occasions, and he would have been able to say whether or not the body was indeed that of Commander Crabb. I also told her that some people thought that Commander Crabb might have defected. She answered this by saying: “Definitely not, he was true blue.”

About two years after David Died, Martha moved to a bungalow in Obree Terrace in Prestwick to be near her son, David and her daughter, June, both of whom who lived in the area. In April 2003 I received a phone call from Marthas' son saying

that his Mother had died and that

she had left written instruction that I had to be informed of her death. Kenny McCalden, a Past Master of the lodge went with me to funeral at the new Ayrshire Crematorium. Marthas' daughter June wasn't present and only six were in attendance, one of whom was a chap called Bill who was a Past Master of an Ayrshire Lodge. Page 232 After the funeral Davids' son asked me if I ever spoke on the phone with his sister June. When I replied that I didn't and asked him why, he said that he “ didn't want June to know about his mother until everything was past” In 1996 I wrote the history of my lodge and, with Martha's approval, incorporated an article about Davids' association with Commander Crabb and their

award of The George Medal. When it was published, I gave a copy to Martha. Upon informing Davids' son that I had given his mother a copy of the lodge history and that it contained special mention of his father, he replied that he had come across it when going through his mothers things and passed it on to “Bill”. No doubt he had also come across his dads' medals. No doubt they would be sold, and no doubt they would be easier to sell the second time round. I am sure that when Martha left this world, like David, she took with her secrets about the disappearance of Commander Crabb.

page 233 Some time after Martha died I had occasion to read “Frogman Spy” yet again. One

of the characters

in the book was Maitland Pendock, who owned a furniture business in Portsmouth but it looked like the premises were being used in someway in connection with espionage. The premises had been frequented by

spies who came to be well known, among them, Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess, Donald MacLean, and Kim Philby. An extract from page fifty-five of the book reads: “A woman with a foreign accent, giving the name of Mrs. Anderson, called at Pendock's furniture office. She asked to see one of the principles and was shown into an inner office when she said that she had come to settle the Smith account.” More than likely the woman had come on behalf of Mr. Smith, (the American who had booked into the Sallyport Hotel with Commander Crabb) to pay for some service rendered in connection with the plan to dive on the Russian cruiser. After reading about the woman with the foreign accent, I wondered if the woman could possibly have been Martha Bell, using her maiden name and the Glaswegian dialect had been mistaken for a foreign page 234 accent. Upon checking I found that Martha's full maiden name was Martha Sanderson Dey. I firmly believe that the woman was Martha and that she used her middle name when settling the account. Bearing in mind that the extract doesn't say that the woman signed her name

as Mrs. Anderson but says that she gave her name as Mrs. Anderson, phonetically Mrs. Anderson sounds the same as Mrs. Sanderson. By this reasoning I am convinced that the woman was Martha Bell. The classification of the body pulled out of Chichester harbour as that of Commander Crabb was considered by the general public to have been a cover up. If indeed Commander Crabbs' body was brought back from the Sanatarium in Karlovy Vary and substituted for the

body buried in his name, then the cover up

could be looked upon as the perfect cover up for if the body were to be exhumed and D.N.A. tested, the results would of course show it to be the body of Commander Crabb. Maybe all will be revealed in 2057---- but only maybe.

page 235 Another Hero. Sergeant-Major William Robertson. V.C. Whilst researching the lodge history, I discovered that the lodge had another war hero, William Robertson who joined the lodge in 1895.

He was awarded the

Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria in 1900. He was born in Dumfries in 1865. At the time of joining the lodge he was a Sergeant-Major in the Gordon Highlanders, stationed at Maryhill barracks{now a shopping centre} To find out more about his award I went to the Mitchell Library. An extract from the Evening Citizen giving details of his investiture reads as follows:“The Queen, at Osborne yesterday, conferred the Victoria Cross on Lieutenant/Quartermaster William Robertson for Valour at the Battle of Elandslaagte. He has also been promoted from the ranks. He went up to the Palace in the full uniform of the Gordon Highlanders and was graciously received by the Queen. He stayed to lunch and afterwards returned to his battalion at Aldershot. page 236 William Robertsons' citation reads as follows:“On the 21st. of October, 1899, at the Battle of Elandslaagte, South Africa, during the final advance on the enemy position,Sergeant-Major Robertson led

each successive rush, exposing himself fearlessly to the enemy artillery and rifle fire to encourage the men. After the main position had been captured, he led a small party to seize the Boer camp. Though exposed to deadly crossfire from the enemy rifles, he gallantly held on to the captured position, and continued to encourage the men until he was dangerously wounded.” William Robertson also served in the Great War 1914-18, attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, was awarded the C.B.E., and had conferred on him, the French Legion d'Honneur. After the war he served as Recruiting Officer. He died in Edinburgh on the 6th. Of December, 1949. Communication with The Grand Lodge of Scotland resulted in his name taking its rightful place on the Roll of Scottish Freemasons awarded the Victoria Cross, held in the Grand Lodge Library in Edinburgh. page237 Jimmy and Roslyn Jimmy and Madge, Tom and Betty and Amy and I used to visit each others' house every two weeks and after a meal we would play cards. On one such occasion in

our house we sat round the table to play cards. Jimmy didn't want to play so he sat on an easy chair reading a newspaper. I remember that at one point when I spoke to him there was no reply. I looked and saw that his head was bent over.

I asked if he was o.k. There was still no

reply, so I went over to have a closer look and realised that he had taken a stroke. He managed to say that he needed the toilet, so I said that I would get the womenfolk out of the room and fetch him a basin, but he said that he would prefer to go to the toilet. Tom and I helped Jimmy to his feet, but he couldn't walk and to get him to the toilet meant carrying him up a flight of twelve stairs. I had been warned not to do any lifting after the trouble I had following my hernia operation so I asked a neighbour, Hugh Twaddle, for assistance.

Page 238 Hugh kindly came over and he and Tom lifted Jimmy on to a dining chair and managed to carry him up the stairs to the toilet.

In the meantime Amy had phoned for an ambulance was and a short time later Jimmy was taken to hospital. He got over the shock fairly well, but was left a bit less agile than he had been. This was not the case with his eldest daughter, Roslyn who suffered a stroke the following year. Roslyn and her husband John Torrance, who came from Dumfries, had been in the Police Force but resigned and took up residence in Dumfries. On returning home one day John found that Roslyn had collapsed and was lying unconscious behind the front door. At the age of 44, she had suffered a stroke which left her paralysed and unable to fend for herself. It has been a hard life for Roslyn and John since, but like Wallace Bean, in face of adversity, they have both retained their sense of humour and can still make others smile.

page 239

Changes in Jedburgh Avenue.

Over the period from 1990 to 1996 much change took place in Jedburgh Avenue. Robert and Lillian Wylie moved house to Greystone Avenue, Rutherglen as did Hugh and Lynn Twaddle. Bill and May Hamilton moved to Richmond Drive Rutherglen as did other neighbours, Malcolm and Ann Sharp. Ann Forrest went to live in Blairbeth Road, Burnside. Her husband Alex had died and her son Gordon had married.

Ann had been left living on her own and

felt that she should to move into a smaller house. James Yates our immediate neighbour

also moved house.

Despite the changes, the “Golden Girls” Amy, May and Ann, with the assistance of May's daughter Dot, who drove a car, continued to shop together and to go to the womens dancing together. Amy and I liked living in Jedburgh Avenue but when our neighbors moved things began to change. The people who moved into their houses seemed to be of a breed who cared about no one but themselves. Page 240 The houses on our side of the avenue didn't have driveways, whereas houses on the opposite side did.

The “Corrs” who moved into a house on the opposite side always park their car at our front garden, despite having a driveway. The couple who moved into Robert and Lillians' house had a car each and one of them always got parked at our front gate. As a result, whenever any of our family or friends came to visit us they had great difficulty in finding a place to park. A chap whom I only knew as Darren moved into Yates house next door and decided to knock down part of a wall to make a large archway between two rooms. He also started making structural changes in the kitchen. When he came home from work each evening he would start hammering and it would go on until near midnight. I felt that nine o'clock was a reasonable time to expect the hammering to stop. On three occasions I complained to him about the noise, saying that I realised that the work had to be done but expected the noise to stop around nine o'clock.

page 241

Each time I complained he was most apologetic but the noise continued into the late hours so I decided to fight fire with fire. I recorded rap music on to a tape and placed a loud speaker against the wall under our stair cupboard which was adjacent to the cupboard under the stairs in Darrens' house. I then packed foam rubber around the speaker so that when I played the tape we wouldn't hear it in our house. Whenever the hammering started, I would turn the volume up full blast and keep it like that until about fifteen minutes after the hammering stopped. I hoped upon hope that Darren would complain but he never did. However I think that he got the message, after four nights of this treatment the hammering stopped and was only carried out at the weekend and even then it never went beyond eight o'clock. At the time we lived in Jedburgh Avenue the bin-men used to collect the rubbish on a Friday morning, and leave two black bin-bags for the following weeks' rubbish. Each Thursday I would tie up the two bags of rubbish and place them outside the six-foot gate of our front garden, ready for collection on the Friday.

Page 242 There was an occasion just after the new couple moved into Robert and Lillians' house, when I went out on the Friday morning to get the bin-bags and saw that there was a bag of rubbish inside the gate. I called Amy and pointed out that there was something strange as I had put the two bags out as usual the night before, but there was one inside the gate. Amy noticed that the bag was open whereas I always tied the bags, so we went down the path to have a closer look. There were newspapers at the top of the bag, the “Telegraph” and “The Financial Times”, papers that we never ever bought and upon further scrutiny I saw, marked on the papers,“29 Jedburgh Avenue”, the address of the new couple. It was obvious that they had their newspapers delivered.

They must have looked over the wall and

thought that we weren't putting any rubbish out and then dumped one of their bags over the wall. I promptly heaved the bag back over. When cutting the hedge that separated the two front gardens I always trimmed it right across the top

but I took note that every time the newcomer cut the page 243 hedge he only cut it half-way across. After

time I got fed up with this and one day I was

in the front room when I heard the noise of the hedgecutter so I watched to see if the hedge would be cut right across. Again it was only cut it halfway so I went out to have a word with him. He was at the top of the garden, which was on a hill, and was brushing up the leaves. When I asked him why he didn't cut the hedge right across, he said, “I don't want to” and when I pointed out that I always cut the it right across he said, “so what?” I replied that anyone with any decency would be neighbourly and cut it right across. At this point he turned away and said something that I didn't hear properly and when I asked him to repeat it saying that I was a bit hard of hearing, he said, “that's your problem”. By this time I'd had enough and shouted the well-known Glasgow phrase; “Away ya bampot”. There was no response. This showed that his appearance reflected what he obviously was,-- a

mammys' boy.

However I decided never cut the the top

of the hedge again. Page 244 In having such self-centred neighbours Amy and I decided to sell our house and move elsewhere. While our house was up for sale Amy and I bought a new Sealy mattress in a bed store in Argyle Street. I wouldn't buy a Slumberland mattress because the Slumberland factories in Scotland had been closed down and all the work taken down to England. However when we bought the mattress we were given a questionnaire to complete asking why we had chosen Seally. The questionnaire which asked for name, address, date of birth and occupation, was also a competition. The winner was to receive repayment of the money spent on the purchase. I knew exactly what to write. I said that I was a retired mattress-maker and had been a supervisor in Slumberland. I think it took the trick. I won the competition. A representative from the store came to our house with a photographer who took a photograph of the presentation of the cheque for the amount spent on the purchase of the mattress. The photograph and the

details of my win were published in the monthly furniture trade magazine. I hope that the powers that be in Slumberland read it. Page 245 91 Calderwood Road. Amy and I sold our house in July, 1997 and moved into a semi-detached bungalow at 91 Calderwood Road, just around the corner of Richmond Drive where May and Bill Hamilton lived. When we left Jedburgh Avenue I had a big smile on my face. The not-so-nice neighbour had kept trimming the hedge half-way across but as I had stopped trimming the hedge on our side it was sky high. We bought the house in Calderwood Road from Mr. and Mrs. Stewart.

Mrs. Stewart had owned a

florist shop but had to give it up to look after her husband who was confined to a wheelchair following a stroke that left him paralysed. The Stewarts moved to a house in Dukes Road Burnside, which was more suitable as it was on level land whereas the house that they had left had a steep driveway and twelve steps up to the back door.

With their new house being on level ground Mrs. Stewart had a conservatory built to the rear so that Mr. Stewart could spend more time outside rather than being couped up in the house most of the time. Sadly, about a year after they moved Mrs. Stewart page 246 suffered a heart attack and died. Before buying the house in Calderwood Road, Amy and I had looked at five other properties in the Burnside area and had spent quite a sum on survey. The same surveyor was always used and despite putting in good bids we were never successful. The fourth one that we bid for was in Coldstream Drive. We never got it although we had put in the highest bid. We later learned that the couple who sold the house were splitting up because the man was an alcoholic and when they were offered cash in hand for their property, they readily accepted. When a fifth property came up for sale in Underwood Road, Amy and I went to see our solicitor to arrange a survey, and she phoned our usual surveyor. While on the phone she covered the mouthpiece and told us that Jim,{the surveyor} had already surveyed

the property for someone else and would give her all the relative information over the phone. The solicitor jotted it all down in shorthand and said that she would have it put to print for us. Since a survey had already been carried out on the property, Amy and thought that we would only have page 247 to pay a nominal fee for a copy of the report, but we were charged the same amount as for each previous survey. When the house at 91 Calderwood Road came up for sale, Amy and I went to view it.

When Mrs. Stewart

brought us in to show us around she introduced us to her husband and explained why they wanted to move. I said that we wouldn't be getting a survey done and asked if I could view the loft and the cellars. All the timbers were in good condition as was the rest of the property. There and then we offered a thousand pounds above the asking price and the Stewarts readily accepted. The garden area to the rear of the house had been badly neglected. It measured around 240 square yards an was surrounded with wild raspberries.

An eleven feet by ten feet concrete patio occupied the bottom left hand corner of the garden. The area in front of the patio was slabbed around an apple tree. To the right a lawn occupied the remaining two thirds of the garden. A twenty foot conifer stood in the centre of the lawn, a rowan tree at each bottom page 248 corner and a plum tree at the top right corner. Once Amy and I were settled in our new home I cleared away all the raspberry bushes. I was going to hire a chain-saw to cut down the apple tree and the conifer but Annette's husband Jim chopped them down with an axe. The other part of the garden, adjacent to the building, was on a slope so I set about making the whole garden into two levels. When the top part was levelled off it was two feet higher than the bottom part and required 234 slabs. Jim and his pal Davy put up six feet by six feet panelling as a safety measure between the two levels leaving a space for steps leading down from the top level to the lawn.

At the time of taking up residence at 91 Calderwood Road, a new school was being built on the other side about a hundred yards to the left. It was being built to replace Stonelaw High School to which Martin and Nicola had both graduated. When the new school was completed it meant that Martin and Nicola had further to travel, but on the other hand, it was convenient for them to come across to our house at lunchtime or after school. Page 249 Craigs' House in Guildford.

At the same time as Amy and I had been looking for another house, Craig had looking for a place of his own in the Guildford area. He had been working on “Concorde” since 1994 and was living in lodgings in Cranleigh. He eventually bought a two-roomed flat in a large mansion type house that had been converted into five flats and moved in on the 31st. of August 1997, the day that Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. Amy and I visited him in November and were impressed by the location of the house, situated a few

hundred yards from Guildford city centre overlooking a beauty spot next to the river Wey. However we were not so impressed when we entered the flat. It was badly in need of renovation. There was no floor-covering and while there was cooking facility, the only heating consisted of a small electric fire in the middle of the floor in the living room and a small fan heater. The only furniture that Craig had was a bed, a chair and a narrow table. On the up-side, the flat had great potential. Page 250 The living room, which had a breakfast bar and a pantry, was spacious, measuring around six and a half metres by five metres. It had a large mahogany fireplace and

two bay windows, one to the front and

one to the side. The one to the front had a beautiful view of the riverside. The bedroom, which also had a bay window, measured around five metres by five metres and was adjoined by a good sized bathroom and toilet.

Craig endured hard living conditions in the flat for some time but made substantial change, stage by stage, whenever his financial situation permitted. When he was younger Craig had watched me making curtains. He told Amy and I at one point that a lot of money was to be made in the area in the making of curtains and he wanted to give it a try. We bought him a sewing machine and soon he was making some extra cash. Whenever Craig was making home improvement, I went down to give him a hand. We rebuilt the breakfast bar, making extra worktop space and cupboards, put in a new cooker and moved the sink to below the window to page 251 the side of the bay window. Craig also had central heating installed and a washing machine and a fridge installed in the pantry area. Craig was never one for buying cheap. He has always had good taste and if he wanted to buy something that was expensive, he would wait until he had enough money to buy it rather than buy something similar but cheaper. This applied to wallpaper,

carpeting and furniture, all of which he bought in due course. The Tale of a Cats' Tail. Craig had three cats, one of which was the mother of the other two. The mother was called Bronte, and the others, Dylan and Austen. After a while Bronte disappeared and never came back. The other two looked alike and while Craig knew which was which others didn't. When Craig bought light fawn coloured carpeting for his living room and bedroom I was there to fit it. The cat called Austen had been missing for two days and as I was fitting the carpet in the bedroom, after having fitted the carpet in the living room, I heard Craig calling for me. Page 252 I knew that by the sound of his voice that something bad had happened. I hurried through to the living room and found Craig shielding his eyes with his hand. When I asked him what was wrong he said ”Austen's” back. I looked at the cat and saw that the fur had been stripped from its' tail.

What was left looked like a red parsnip and blood was trailed over the carpet. Craig then said, “what will I do?”, and while I felt pity for the cat I found myself saying “well for a start you can lift the cat off the carpet.” The cat was taken to the vet and the tail amputated, at a cost of 500 pounds. I t was just as well Craig had the cats insured. We couldn't figure out what had happened to the cat but we reckoned that it had been trapped by the tail somewhere and, in a desperate effort to free itself, the fur had been ripped off. On a visit to Craig one of his friends, a young woman named Joanna Harbottle, who has quite a sense of humour, upon seeing that the cat's tail had been amputated remarked;-

“Well at least we will be able

to tell which cat is which now.” page 253 Five Deaths, Two Marriages and a Birth. In April 1998 Amy received a phone call from Margaret in Canada saying that Amy's brother Robert had died and that the funeral would be in a weeks' time.

Amy was heartbroken and wanted to go over to be present at the funeral. This time finding the air fare wasn't a problem, we had some savings and on top of that Craig not only managed to get her a flight at a reduced rate but also arranged for her to be upgraded to first class. Amy was now the last surviving member of the Campbell family who moved to Shettleston from the slums of the Calton in 1935. Ian Campbell, a nephew of Amy, married in May 1999.

Amy and I attended the wedding along with

Annette, Linda and her boyfriend George. Also present were Ian's brothers, Alan, Hughie, Robert, Harry and one of his sisters, Lorraine, all of whom Amy and I hadn't seen for a long number of years. That same year Annette gave birth to her second child Michael, on the 18th. June and Linda re-married on the 9th. September. Her husband George Harper had page 254 lived with his mother and father in a five apartment house in Dumbarton Road.

His brother and two sisters

had married and had their own houses.

George had bought the house from the council upon his fathers' suggestion. It made sense, it meant that his mum and dad wouldn't have to pay rent anymore and George would have future security. On Christmas Eve May Hamilton's husband, Bill passed away following a heart attack and that same day we received news that my brother Tom had also suffered a heart attack. Four days later, after Amy and I had gone to bed, the phone rang and when Amy took the call I knew that someone was phoning to let us know that Tom had died. Once again I cursed the Christmas and New Year period. It had never meant much to me since my mother died in 1948, and it meant even less to me now. In the summer of 1999, Amy and I met Michelle Smith, the daughter of Danny and Moira who bought their house in Jedburgh Avenue at the time Amy and I did. She told us that her dad and mum had sold their house and had moved into a bungalow in Coldstream Drive, the next street down from Calderwood Road. Page 255 In the spring of 2000, Moira took ill and was taken into the Victoria Infirmary where, after about two

months, she passed away. Amy and I felt for Danny and went to visit him occasionally to give him a bit of company. Ann Forrest also passed away that same year. Like Moira, she was taken into the Victoria Infirmary but unlike Moira, she didn't die from an illness as such but was said to have died because she had lost the will to live. Ann had problems that she kept to herself and never discussed with Amy or May. She lived only for her family. Her son Gordon, his wife Shirley and their two young sons lived in Langlea estate in the Burnside area. Their marriage had been a happy one until Gordon started drinking and became an alcoholic. This led to a break-up of their marriage and Shirley moved to Nottingham with the younger son. The other son stayed with Gordon who became more reliant on drink. Time and again he would be seen coming out of Victoria wine shop with his booze.

Page 256

When Ann was taken into hospital there was an occasion when Amy and May had been to visit her.

Gordon

arrived shortly afterwards and demanded to know from the staff what was being done to help his mother. He became aggressive and began to threaten the nurses, at which point he was advised to leave. The doctors at the Victoria said that Ann was suffering from severe depression. It was thought that her depression was caused through Gordon's alcoholism and the break-up of the family. When Ann died Gordon inherited her house. He sold the house in Langlea and moved into his mother's house. He continued his drinking despite being responsible for the welfare of his son. Eventually Shirley took the second son to live with her in Nottingham. Gordon only lived in his mother's house for a few months before selling it and moving into a rented flat in Springhall. Three and a half years later he was found dead there.

At first it was thought that he had been

murdered because he lay in a pool of blood, but his liver had burst.

Page 257 Tragic Events The Concorde Crash On the 25th. July 2000 while Amy and I were watching the television it was reported that a Concorde had crashed and and as Craig had been working on Concorde Amy and I became concerned that he might have been on board. It came as a great relief when we heard that it was one of the French Concordes. Apparently one of the tyres had burst as the plane sped down the runway for take-off and part of the tyre crashed through the wing. Film showed the Concorde in flames as it crashed and it was reported that 109 people perished. The following month Concorde was withdrawn from service. The Tragedy of The Twin Towers Some dates stick in peoples' minds. The 11th.of September 2001, or 9/11 as it came to be called is one of them. On that particular day Craig had phoned me on his mobile phone. I been watching television but had switched the sound off when the phone rang. Craig had phoned from the waiting room of his dentist.

As we

spoke I was looking at the television and saw the first plane crashing into one of the twin towers. Page 258 I wasn't sure if it was real or part of a film, but felt that some thing was wrong and told Craig to hang on a minute as I thought that something strange was happening on the television. At that moment Craig had to go as his name had been called.

I turned the sound

on and as I did so the second plane crashed into the other tower. I watched in horror as I saw panic-stricken people hanging out of windows of the burning buildings and then the buildings collapse. Like the holocaust the killing of some three thousand people in the destruction of the twin towers is something that will never be forgotten or forgiven. Tragic News for Craig. When Craig started work in the airlines he of course made many new acquaintances. Among them was a young air hostess called Palma Ferri, and she and Craig became good friends. Palma was of Italian descent and although Amy or I never met her, we were fond of her. She used to phone Craig before he went to

live in England and if Amy or I answered the phone she would have a chat with us before speaking to Craig. She had such a lovely voice and friendly manner that page 259 Amy and I took to her right away. In November 2001 the woman who moved into our old house in Jedburgh Avenue came to our house with a letter for Craig. It had been delivered to our old address and the woman had opened it by mistake. I phoned Craig to let him know what had happened and he asked me to read the letter to him. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The letter was from Palmas' mother who had written to let Craig know that Palma had died from breast cancer. When Palma died she was only thirty-two years old. She had been married for three years and had a two year old daughter with the named Ellicia.

Personal Tragedy On the 17th. Of November 2001, Amy felt unwell and went to see Doctor Manchip at our local health centre. He told her that she had a recurrence of bronchitis.

He gave her antibiotics which seemed to help, but a week after she saw him I woke in the early hours of the morning to find that Amy wasn't in bed. I got out of bed and found her sitting in our front room with a page 260 cardigan draped over her shoulders. The sweat was pouring out of her and she had difficulty in breathing When I asked why she hadn't wakened me she said that she didn't want to disturb me. I phoned for the emergency doctor and when he examined her he said that she had classic signs of a heart attack. He phoned for an ambulance and Amy was taken to the Victoria Infirmary. Examination, which included a scan, showed that a heart valve wasn't functioning properly and that there was fluid in her lungs. The scan also showed that Amy had suffered a heart attack a week previously. When I asked Amy if Doctor Manchip had examined her she said that he hadn't and that he had told her that she was having another bout of bronchitis. Amy was in hospital for nine days and was discharged on the 3rd. Of December. Before leaving she was told that arrangement would be made for her to get

an angiogram, and when I asked the doctor when this would be I was merely told that there was a waiting list. All the family were in our house for dinner on Christmas Day as was our usual custom and Amy seemed page 261 to be a bit better but two days later she was so unwell that she had to go back into hospital. Due to the

fluid in her lungs, she was having

difficulty in breathing and had to be given oxygen. On the 4th. January, I received a phone call from the Infirmary saying that Amy was to be discharged, so I took her clothing up in the afternoon. I didn't feel that Amy was ready to come home. She was still weak and I overheard a nurse asking her if she was sure that she wanted to go home. When I asked Amy the same question pointing out that I didn't think she was well enough, she said “I want to go home.” I didn't want to go against Amy's wishes by insisting that she stay in hospital. As a precautionary measure I asked a staff nurse if Amy could have an oxygen cylinder at home, but she

said that it would be a fire hazard. I phoned for a taxi and brought Amy home. The 5th. of January brought the worst day of my life. The night previous Amy couldn't sleep, so we sat in the front room with the gas fire lit. It was a particularly cold winter. In the early hours of the morning Amy took a turn for the worse and said that page 262 she was going to die. I phoned the emergency services explaining the situation and said that a doctor was needed as soon as possible. I had just come off the phone when Amy collapsed on to the floor. I found myself screaming her name in anguish and rushed back to the phone to call for an ambulance.

After phoning I tried to resuscitate Amy

but as I did so, I knew within myself that she was gone and I cursed myself for not insisting that she stay in hospital. The ambulance arrived within about ten minutes or so and the medics set about trying to revive her and then said that they would be taking her to the Victoria. I phoned Linda to let her know that her mum had collapsed and was to be taken to the Victoria.

I went into the ambulance and all the way to the hospital watched the medic as he tried continuously to resuscitate Amy and I hoped upon hope that he would succeed where I had failed. Linda arrived at the Victoria and we waited in a room. After a while we were told that Amy had been declared dead. Before we left I went to see Amy and placed my page 263 hand against her cheek. She felt so cold and I kept my hand on her cheek for a time wishing that the heat from my hand could pass through. After we got home I phoned Ian Wilson, to let him know what had happened and after telling him that I had bad news I choked up and couldn't speak. When Ian asked me what the bad news

was I had to

take a deep breath before I could tell him that Amy had collapsed and died. I was overwhelmed by the number of sympathy cards that I received and likewise overwhelmed by the large number who attended Amy's funeral, among them Susan Steele an air hostess, and some of Craigs' friends

from the Guildford area whom Amy and I had come to know namely Jo Harbottle, Paula Evans and Chris Prout. After Amy died I found it extremely difficult to live without her and when I went to bed at night I hoped that when I went to sleep I wouldn't waken again, but after a time I realised that I wasn't being fair to my family who had suffered enough grief without having any more. I knew that I would just have to get on with life the same as anyone else in similar circumstance but I page 264 became very emotional. I could be in the house, or anywhere outside when I would

be overcome by an

overwhelming feeling of grief that would reduce me to tears. On the 25th. Of January a letter addressed to Amy arrived in the post. When I read it I was filled with mixed feelings of grief and anger. The letter was from the secretary of Doctor McAlpine in whose care Amy had been in the Victoria Infirmary. It said that arrangements had been made for Amy to go into the Royal Infirmary on the 4th. Of February to have an angiogram.

I phoned Doctor McAlpines' secretary and told her that Amy wouldn't be keeping the appointment, and when she asked why not,I said;- “Because she died three weeks ago, and was declared dead at the Victoria, it should be on record.” and then slammed the phone down. I phoned Annette to let her know what had happened and she told me about a 42 year old woman she knew who had been taken into the Victoria following a heart attack on the 14th. of January, and was given an angiogram exactly a week later. To me this seemed to be age discrimination so I page 265 wrote to the Greater Glasgow Health Council asking why a woman of 42 should get an angiogram within a week when the waiting period for my wife to have an angiogram, had she lived, would have been nine weeks from her first admission to hospital. I received a reply saying that the Greater Glasgow Health Board do not investigate individual complaints and that my letter had been passed on to a Mr. Robert Calderwood . My complaint was passed from one convenor to another and it was only after a great deal of

correspondence and my insistence for an independent review of my complaint that the date of the 1st. Of August was set for Annette and I to meet with Doctor McAlpine and Ms. A. Oliver, a Patient Affairs Manager, at Queens Park House in Langside Road. At the meeting Doctor McAlpine apologised for the letter being sent to Amy after her death and said that he had not been informed that she had died. He then tried to convince me that there wasn't an ageist policy in operation and priority for angiography is determined by clinical urgency. He also said that there are two types of heart page 266 attacks;- an incomplete heart attack, in which case the patient gets priority for an angiogram, and a complete heart attack in which case the patient is put on to a waiting list to have an angiogram. He then said that Amy had a complete heart attack. I was also told that it was unfortunate that three weeks of the waiting list are lost over the festive period due to the fact that the cardiac catheterisation laboratory is closed to all except for emergency cases. So the moral is; if anyone is going

to have a heart attack, they should avoid having it over the Christmas and New Year period and try to make sure that it is an incomplete heart attack. About a month after Amy died, George McGuinness who was a member of the lodge lost his wife Helen to cancer. The last thing that I wanted to do at that time was to go to a funeral, but George had attended Amy's funeral and it was only but right that I should attend Helen's funeral. Apart from that Amy and I had known Helen, her dad Hugh White, her mum Helen and her brother, Jim for a long number of years. page 267 A meal had been arranged for after the funeral and I sat with Ian Wilson and Kenny McCalden. After the meal George came over and spoke about Helen. He told us that on the day that Helen died in the house he had been speaking to one of his two sons when Helen tapped him on the shoulder and said, ”You're not listening to me George, I'm going away now.”, then she dropped down dead. When George told us this, my emotions got the better of me and I broke down and wept.

The following month I received a phone call from Sadie Keirnan who lived in Millerston. Sadie and her husband Michael who had two daughters and a son had been lifelong friends of Amy and myself. At the time Sadie phoned me her mother, father, husband and son, Jim had long since been dead Sadie had phoned to let me know that her daughter Annette had died in hospital from breast cancer. She went on to say that she had gone to visit Annette and as she approached Annette held out her hand and said, ”Hello mum” and then died. When Sadie told me of this, again I broke down and wept.

Page 268 Denver, Colorado. During the month of April 2002 I learned that Kenny McCalden and his cousin, Tam Bell, a member of Lodge Eaglesham, were going to Denver Colorado to visit their cousin Gordon Bell, a member of my lodge who had settled in Denver. Around 1990/91 Gordon won a round-the-world trip

in a competition and after visiting several countries, he arrived in America. In Denver he married a girl named Susan Gilmore and has lived there since. He affiliated to Highlands Masonic Lodge #86., Denver and in the year 2000. While on a home visit to see his mother he came up to the lodge with three members of the Lodge in Denver who had come to Scotland with him, namely Ken Connor, and two brothers, Kelly and Robert McCormick. In conversation with them I learned that Kellys' full name was Shannon Kelly McCormick, and that “Kelly” was a family name from away back. I was intrigued by this as I had a great grandmother called Mary whose maiden name was Kelly, and I felt that our two families may be connected. Page 269 Kellys' father and uncle started business as owners of a furniture store and were so successful that they expanded to own twelve stores. His father died when Kelly was only twelve years old and in later years his mother married a university professor.

Kellys' mother and step-father have a large luxurious house in Colorado and another in California They live in one or the other according to the seasons. In 2001 Craig had been awarded two free family trips to anywhere in the world by British Airways as a bonus for extra work he had done on Concorde and said that Amy and I could have them. With Amy being ill we never got around to using them. Our dream was to go to Vancouver and then take a train journey through the Grand Canyon, but it was not to be. With all the emotion I had experienced since Amy died, I felt that it might do me some good if I went away somewhere for a while but I didn't like the idea of going on my own, it might have made me feel worse. When I heard that Kenny McCalden and Tam Bell were going to Denver I asked if I could go with them. Page 270 Tams' pal Jim Murray, who is a Past-Master of Lodge St. Cuthbert No.41 also wanted to go out on the 12th. May.

so we all flew

Jim has kinfolk in Montana and

he planned to stay with us in Colorado until Kenny,

Tam and myself were to come home, and then travel on to Montana. When I told Craig that I was going to Denver, he asked me for the names of the others who were going. He then he got in touch with

a British Airways

manageress in New York that he knew through travelling there on Concorde, and she reserved special seating for us on the flight. We flew out on the 12th. Of May and upon arrival were met by were met at Denver Airport by Kelly who drove us to Gordon's house. Tam stayed at Gordon's house and Kelly accommodated Jim, Kenny and myself in his house in Arvada. Kelly lived there with his daughter who was also called Shannon. He was divorced but on good terms with his ex wife Michelle. The day after our arrival we set out early and Kelly took us to Gordon's house where we met his wife Susan and their one year old son Sam. Page 271 Sam had also been the name of Gordon's father and his grandfather.

Amy and I had known Gordon's grandparents, Sam and Nell since 1963 and in young Sam I could see resemblance of his great-grandfather. Just before lunch time Susan's dad and mum, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmour arrived and about an hour later we all went out together to go to a restaurant. I was walking with Susan's mum and in the course of conversation, she asked me about my family. When I told her that Amy had passed away in January, she immediately linked her arm in mine, like Amy used to do. To me this kind action said more than words. I knew that she sympathised with me and that this was her way of showing it. It was a nice gesture, and will always remember it. On one occasion I was introduced to some other Americans and one of them asked;- “How come you “Scaats” can understand us Americans, and we can't understand you?” I thought it was a stupid question. Why ask the question if he wasn't going to understand the answer as he claimed. I couldn't resist replying;-

page 272

“Because we “Scaats” are more intelligent than you Americans.” It was obvious that he understood the reply alright but he took it in good part and laughed with the others. That evening we went to a meeting in Highlands Lodge#86, and were very well received. On behalf of Kenny, Tam, Jim and myself, I presented the Master with an engraved quaich to mark the occasion of our visit and Jim presented him with a framed copy of the petition of Scotsman John Paul, the founder of the American Navy, who joined Jims' lodge on the 27th.

November, 1770.

We also went to Idaho Springs Lodge No26, and Nevada Lodge No.4. which is Colorados' oldest and only ghost town lodge. It was originally chartered in Kansas territory on October 15th. 1861. We came upon Idaho Springs Lodge quite by chance. We had set out early one morning in Kelly's people carrier to go up into the Rocky Mountains. We went up the Trail Ridge Road, which is the longest and highest continuous road in America. We drove into the Rocky Mountain National Park and after a while stopped to get to something to eat.

page 273 I happened to look along the road and noticed a large building. It was the Idaho Springs Lodge. A negro wearing cowboy boots, denims, a white shirt, a brown leather waistcoat and a black cowboy hat was standing at the entrance. We went along and I asked him if it would be alright to go in. He said;- “Are you guys masons?” When I replied that we were, he said “I am the Master, come away in.” We went inside and had a look round the main hall. It was very impressive. We then entered another hall where tables were set ready for a meal. On two sides of the hall there were cabinets displaying Masonic memorabilia. The wall at the far end of the hall was covered end to end with same size framed photographs of Past Masters, and in the centre of the wall, above the photographs, there was a large portrait of George Washington wearing Masonic Regalia. We had some photographs taken with the Master who seemed to enjoy our being there.

I suppose it was a

novelty for him to have some Scotsmen in his Lodge.

After we left the lodge we set out again and as we went further up into the mountains Kelly pointed page 274 We travelled on to Colorado Springs and walked through “The Garden Of The Gods,” a real beauty spot. It's easy to see how Colorado,{“colour red”}, got its name. Much of the rock there is reddish, in particular in The Garden Of The Gods where there are towers of rock with fantastic shapes. One formation is called “The Camels Kiss” and resembles camel heads with their lips touching. On the day we went up into the Rockies, it was sunny with a clear sky. We went up to 12,000 feet and when we got there the snowploughs and snow cutting machines were there.

On one stretch of road there was

a wall of snow about ten feet high. It looked like it had been sliced through with a massive blade. It was an experience that I will never forget. The following day Kelly took us on a prearranged visit to meet his mother and stepfather and the rest of the McCormick family at his mothers' house. His mother and stepfather had really gone out of

their way to make us feel welcome. As we approached the house we saw the Stars and Stripes and the Lion Rampant flying side by side. A large array of food and page 275 refreshment was laid out in a long covered porch adjoining the house. The house was massive and the interior was luxurious. Kelly introduced us to the other members of his family and when I met his sister Becky, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like looking at my niece Alison, and I became convinced that Kellys' family and my family were of the same descent. After we had eaten I remarked to Tam that I would like to see round the house.

He said that he would

too and then said that he was going to ask Richard {Kelly's stepfather} to show us round. Richard said that he didn't mind and off we went on the grand tour. Everything in the house was of the best that money could buy and not only the bedrooms, but every other room had an adjoining toilet The final room that Richard showed us was a large study. The walls were lined with cedar and cedar bookcases set about a yard apart were all around.

Tam remarked that there was only one thing missing in the study and when Richard asked him what it was, Tam said ;- “A Toilet.”

Richard

replied;-”You're wrong there.” and pulled on one of page 276 the bookcases which swung open revealing an adjoining toilet. I treasure the memory of my stay in Colorado and, who knows, maybe someday I will return. I also treasure a framed photo of Kelly and I taken in the Rockies and a Quaking Aspen leaf which has been stabilised in 24 carat gold. The photo was given to me by Kelly and the leaf was given to me by his sister Becky, knowing of my interest in Native American culture. The leaf now hangs on the wall of my living room. Native American Legend has it that in ages past The Great Spirit came down to see what he had done. All the trees and bushes bowed to him in reverence except for the Aspen which was so proud of its beauty that it remained erect. The Great Spirit therefore decreed that for evermore it must tremble. Two weeks after my return from Denver I received a package from Mike Nelson, a member of The Highlands

Lodge. It contained

four large framed copies of a

group photograph taken in Highlands Lodge. One copy was for myself and the others for Kenny, Tam and Jim. My copy is hung in my sitting room. It brings back fond memories. Page 277 Americans at Roslyn Chapel In the month of August Jim Murray and I met up, by arrangement, with quite a number of the members of Highlands Lodge and the Nevada Lodge who were on a bus tour of Britain with their womenfolk. The weather that day was glorious. Jim came up to my house by car and after a bite to eat we drove to meet the Americans at Roslyn Chapel, as arranged. After a conducted tour of the Chapel the Americans asked if they go to the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh. The driver of the bus knew the way to Edinburgh but didn't know where The Grand Lodge was and had to follow Jim's car. When we entered the Grand Lodge and explained that we had American Masons and their womenfolk with us, a member of

staff opened the door of the Grand

Temple so that the Americans could have a look around.

After they had seen round the Temple, we

took them

into the Grand Lodge museum which has a mass of Masonic Memorabilia from all over the world including America. The Americans seemed to enjoy the visit and Jim and I enjoyed meeting up with them again.

page 278 Another Hernia. In the early part of June that year I felt soreness in my left groin and upon examination found that I had another rupture. I hoped that it wouldn't bother me too much but it gradually got worse and I decided towards the end of the month to go to see the doctor and arrange to have an operation. When the doctor examined me he said that he would make arrangements for me to go into the Victoria. I said that would prefer to go into the Royal Infirmary and he said that it wouldn't be a problem. There was no way that I would go into the Victoria. Ann Forest had died there and her son Gordon had, rightly or wrongly, had been annoyed that the doctors couldn't tell him what was wrong with his

mother, other than she was suffering from severe depression. Moira Smith had died there and the doctors couldn't, or wouldn't tell Danny what was wrong with her and it was just before the end that he learned that she had a massive stomach tumor. I hadn't thought it right that Amy wasn't given an page 279 oxygen cylinder and also thought that it was sheer incompetence that Doctor McCallister hadn't been informed that Amy had died, in particular since Amy was officially declared dead by a doctor at the Victoria. Further to all that it had recently been reported in the news that an elderly cancer patient had wandered out of the Victoria and was killed when he fell over a wall. In any case all my medical history was at the Royal. My previous hernia operation had been done there and for years I had been attending the haematology unit and the renal clinic there on a regular basis. About two weeks after seeing the doctor I

received a letter from the Royal Infirmary saying that I had been placed on a waiting list for the hernia operation. Little did I think that I would wait a considerable period before getting it and that the wait would result in much pain and a longer stay in hospital than would have been if I had been operated on earlier.

Page 280 The Dreamcatcher. It was nine months before I got my hernia operation. If it had been done soon after I had gone to see my G.P. It could have been carried out by keyhole surgery. In the early stages a hernia can be pushed back in between the muscle and this being the case the operation can be done using keyhole surgery. After nine months my hernia had become trapped and keyhole surgery couldn't be undertaken so a four inch incision had to be made. This cause considerable pain. Had keyhole surgery been carried out earlier the pain would have been a lot less, and I would have been

out of hospital within a day. After the operation while a nurse was attaching a saline drip to my arm I told her that that I was going to be sick. She said that she wouldn't be long so I tried to hold back the sickness. Again I told her that I was going to be sick and again she said that she wouldn't be long.

page 281 By now I was losing the cool and again, but in a loud voice I said “Look, I am going to be sick.” This time she

took heed and hurried to get a cardboard bowl. As she was as she was handing it to me I couldn't

hold back any longer and the sickness came up. Much of it went over the bed but some went into the bowl. When I saw that it was dark brown I said to the nurse that I might have internal bleeding. Her response was;- “Not at all.” When the doctor came on his round, I told him what had happened and said that I thought that I might have internal bleeding. He said that I could be right

and had me taken back to the operating theatre where a camera was put down my throat into my stomach. It was discovered that I had three ulcers. I was prescribed two lots of antibiotics and was discharged three days later and told to continue taking the antibiotics till

the course was completed.

At home I began to have weird hallucinations and was having them day after day. Upon reading the pamphlets to see what the side effects of the antibiotics could be I realised that one lot of

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antibiotics was the cause of the problem. I phoned my local G. P. and explained the situation and he put me on to different medication. That evening Kenny McCalden came to see me. He had just come back from another visit to Denver and when he heard that I had been in hospital, he came to visit me and gave me a gift from America. Knowing of my interest in Native American culture his cousin Gordon had sent me over, of all things, a dream-catcher which he had bought in an Indian craft shop. Native Americans say that the dream-catcher lets

good dreams pass through but traps the bad dreams. When Kenny left I pinned the dream-catcher on the wall above the headboard of my bed. After that day I didn't have any more hallucinations, more than likely because my medication had been changed, but I felt it strange that a dreamcatcher arrived at my house when I had been having bad dreams, so who knows. One thing for sure,it will remain above the headboard.

page 283 The Seven Rowan Trees. Strange things do happen. I remember reading in the Sunday Post around 2002/03 about a man who had seven daughters He planted seven Rowan trees, one for each daughter with each having her own particular tree. One of the daughters died when she was only 35 years of age and shortly after her death her tree withered and died. After that as each daughter died her particular tree also died. The last surviving daughter suffered a stroke

which left her paralysed on the one side. Her tree was struck by lightning which split it down the middle causing one side to fall to the ground and when she eventually died, the remainder of her tree fell to the ground. I had previously been sceptical about such stories but upon reading about the seven rowan trees I thought back to when Mrs Stewart died. Shortly after her death I looked out of my kitchen window and found that one of my Rowan trees had come down into a neighbouring garden .

page 284 The Last of The Golden Girls. In the month of September 2003 I heard that May Hamilton hadn't been keeping well. I paid her a visit and she informed me that she had been diagnosed as having Diverticulitis. When she told me this I thought back to when Amy's mother had died when being operated on for the same thing. But I had hope for May. When Amy's mother was operated on, she was grossly

overweight, where-as May was slim and much progress had been made in the field of medicine since. About a week after I visited May, she went to stay for a while with her daughter June in West Kilbride. I met Dot,one of her other daughters, in November. She told me that her mother had been taken into hospital in West Kilbride and that she was in the intensive care unit suffering from septicaemia. A few days later May succumbed to her illness and sadly the last of “the Golden Girls” was gone.

page 285 Visit to St. Helier. I was glad that I went into hospital when I did as I had planned to go to The Channel Islands in October with nine other members of the lodge. We had been invited to go there by The Duke of Normandy Lodge No. 245 St. Helier. The trip was arranged and organised by a member of my own lodge, Ian Wilson junior, who had affiliated to Duke of Normandy Lodge after marrying and settling in Jersey

many years ago. All we had to pay for was the flight. We stayed at a four star hotel for four days, all of which was paid for by the host lodge, and were taken on trips around the island.

We couldn't have had better

hospitality. I thought of Amy a great deal while I was there. Amy and I had been on holiday in Jersey twice and my being there again brought back many memories. Amy and I loved it there and when we weren't in and about in St. Helier or wandering through Stanley Park, we would take the island bus to various places all around the Island. There are many interesting sights to see in Jersey, one of the most interesting page 286 being the German Hospital that was built into the rock by forced labour when the Germans occupied the Channel Islands

during

World War 2. Also of much interest was the Glass Chapel that contained the embalmed body of a young girl in a sarcophagus. It is said that her feet were cut off as a punishment for having a baby outwith marriage.

The taking of photographs inside the Glass Chapel was said to be unlucky but some people including myself did take photographs. I took three or four and after I finished another chap who was taking some snaps, stumbled and badly injured his ankle. When I got the negatives developed all the snaps I had taken while on holiday came out alright, except for the ones I had taken in the chapel. As for the German hospital it is an everlasting memorial of the German occupation. It has become a major tourist attraction with wide screen film being shown in one of the chambers of how life was under the domination of the Germans. The scenes towards the end of the film showing the sheer happiness of the islanders when the occupation ended are very moving. Page 287 As for the Masonic Temple in Jersey, the Germans took photographs of the interior before plundering it. They took all the furniture and Masonic memorabilia they could find and also cleared out the Masonic museum and library. It later came to light that everything that had been taken from the Temple was shipped to Berlin

where, with the use of the photographs that had been taken of the interior of the Temple, an anti-Masonic exhibition was set up. It also came to be known that an order had come from the German High Command to “liquidate all the property of the Freemasons Lodge in Jersey.” However the Freemasons were not the only order to be liquidated, other organisations such as The Salvation Army, The Boy Scouts and The Girl Guides were also liquidated. After the Masonic Temple had been cleared out, it was used as a liquour store and to house civilian wireless sets that had been confiscated. When the waended the Masons set about refurbishing the Temple and it is said that it now exceeds its former glory.

page 288 Last Passenger Flights of Concorde. We came back from Jersey on Saturday the 16th.of October and about a week later Craig phoned to say that Concorde was to be withdrawn from service and that the last flights would be on the 24th. of October.

One flight was scheduled to arrive back at Heathrow from New York. Another Concorde was to fly round the Bay of Biscay and back to Heathrow, and a third Concorde that Craig would be on was scheduled to arrive at Edinburgh at 12 Noon. All the family went to Edinburgh to witness the arrival and after the plane landed a Saltire was hung from the cockpit. Jim, George and I obtained passes to go on board once all the passenger had alighted and I went through to the cockpit where I met the Scottish pilot, Andy Baillie who stuck his hat on my head as Craig took photos. Andy was from a small village near Edinburgh and he made a low flight over it as he flew in to land. It was a really special day for him. His wife and daughter were waiting to meet him with his first born grandchild whom he had never seen. Page 289 Back Into Hospital. On the 12th. Of May,2004. I was doing some gardening when suddenly I didn't feel good, I had soreness on the right hand side of my back in the region of where I had received an injury in 1997.

I went into the house to rest and after lying down started to cough up blood. The following morning I was still bringing up blood every time I coughed, so I went to the local health centre where I saw a doctor who gave me a line to have an x-ray at the Royal Infirmary. At the Royal I only had to wait for 15 minutes to have the x-ray, after which I was told that the result would be sent to my G.P. within ten days. It happened that I had an appointment at the Haematology Department at the Royal on the 18th. of the month. When I went there and the doctor asked me how I had been I told him that I had been coughing up blood and was waiting for the result of the x-ray. He excused himself saying that he was going to consult his superior and when he came back he said that there was a bed available in ward six and advised me to be admitted. Page 290 I phoned Linda and Annette to let them know what had happened and after some tests had been carried out, including a scan it was found that there was a bloodclot in my right lung.

I was given the blood-thinning

drug Warfarin and was in hospital for eight days.

I

had to stay on Warfarin for six months and attend the royal regularly as an out-patient. The ward that I had been in had four beds. Of the other three patients Bill, who was 82 years of age, had a heart condition and suffered from severe gout. Another patient, Tony who was as Irish as the Blarney Stone had a lung problem, and the other patient, Sam Smith who was badly affected with Athritis had a chest problem that required him to go into hospital at times to be given a course of drugs that could only be administered by way of a drip inserted into his hand. Bill turned out to be a bit of a bore. He would strike up conversation with nurses, cleaners, porters, or any one he could and tell them all about his health problems and how his son came to be manager at Glasgow Airport. It got so that I could almost say word for word what he said to anyone who had the misfortune to be page 291 stuck with him, and sometimes I felt like saying;“I'll tell it this time Bill.” Tony was a red hot Celtic supporter and it so

happened that Celtic and Rangers were playing on the Sunday after I was admitted. Tony had been given permission to go home on Saturday evening so that he could go to the game on the Sunday and then come back in on the Monday when he would be

given tests to

ascertain if he could be discharged. It was routine for a nurse to come into the ward every day to take the patients blood pressure and mark the result on a chart. On Sunday a small African nurse who didn't have a great command of the English language, took my blood-pressure, but marked the result on Tonys' chart. Upon realising this she said;“Oh, I make mistake.” and then marked the result on my chart. Another mistake occurred with Sam Smith. Every morning at ten o'clock a nurse would give Sam medication. One morning in particular I was sitting with Sam at the time that his medication was due. The nurse never showed up and Sam thought that she might be running late. When she hadn't shown up by page 292 eleven o'clock Sam explained the situation to a nurse at the desk outside the ward. She checked a that she

had and it had been recorded that Sam had received his medication that morning. When Tony came back into hospital on Monday morning, I asked about him about the game, and felt sorry for him when he said that he didn't go because he felt too weak.

Despite having felt weak he was

still hoping that he would be discharged that day but when the doctor came on his round and picked up Tonys' chart he said;- “You won't be going home today, we'll have to do further checks on your blood pressure. I never said anything about the mistake that the nurse had made. I didn't want her to get into trouble although I thought that she could have made a note on Tonys' chart, explaining that she had made a mistake however he did get discharged on the Wednesday, by which time he was

looking and feeling better.

After he was discharged he attended the same clinic as I did and I used to see him there occasionally, but the last time that I saw him he told me that he had developed a tumour in his lung and that he was going to get laser treatment. Page

293

Within a couple of hours after Tony left hospital, a young man of about 25 years of age was brought in and given the bed that Tony had occupied. He had been brought in because he couldn't pass his urine, and a catheter was inserted into his bladder. He kept shaking all the time and I felt sorry for him. I engaged him in conversation and he volunteered that his mother owned The Crimson Bar public house at Bridgeton Cross. He also said that he was an alcoholic, and often

consumed two bottles of

vodka in a day. His girl friend came to see him that evening and I wondered what kind of life she would have with him. Before I left the hospital on the Thursday I had a talk with him saying that although we were strangers I was concerned not only for him but also for his girl-friend, and pointed out that it wasn't fair to her that he was drinking so much. I advised him to break away from his boozing buddies, so that he could give up drinking and and perhaps make a good life for him and his girl. He was level headed and seemed to realise that what I was saying made sense, and when I finished speaking he

page 294 thanked me and said that he would do his best to stop drinking. Just before I left hospital his girl arrived and when I went over to say my farewell, he introduced me and then said to her;- “I've promised John that I will stop drinking.”

Hopefully he did.

Sam Smith and I spent a lot of time in conversation with each other. He had been through the mill, having been in and out of hospital on numerous occasions.

On top of that his wife had cancer of the

throat which resulted in her voice box being removed. He told me about his son Gordon who is a psychic, and of how he first came to know that he was. I have always been sceptical about mediums but when Sam told me about his son being psychic I began to wonder. He said that a number of years ago his son came home after being out somewhere and Sam noticed that there was something strange about him. When he asked his son if there was something wrong he replied that he had just spoken with “Tam McConnell.”{this is a fictitious name as I don't remember the real one}.

Page 295 Sam then

said;-

”You know that Tam died.”

Gordon replied, ”Yes but nevertheless I spoke to him and he told me that shortly before he died he gave each member of his family, as a keepsake, a small metal plaque with a different inscription on each.” Sam went on to say that when he next met Tams' widow, he told her what Gordon had said. Tam's widow said that it was right enough that each family member had been given a metal plaque. She then asked Sam if it would be alright to come to his house to speak to Gordon and Sam readily agreed. When Tam's widow came to Sams' house she asked Gordon if he knew what any of the inscriptions were, and he not only told her what the inscriptions were but was able to tell her which member of the family got which particular plaque. Since then Gordon who is a barber has become quite famous as a medium and under the name of “The Psychic Barbour.” has a column in the Saturday Daily Record. He has also written books on the subject of mediumship. and I have seen him on television.

In one programme he is shown in an office high up in a skyscraper in New York talking to a woman who had `

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tried to contact her dead father through various mediums without success. Gordon said that he would try to make contact and after saying that he had done so he relayed all that her what her father was saying. At one point Gordon said that he couldn't relay any more as there had been a loud bang and then nothing. The woman told Gordon that everything that he had relayed to her was true and said that he had mentioned things that only she knew about. The woman then went on to say that her father had been murdered, and pointing out of the window to the building opposite , said that her father had been working in his office there when someone entered and shot him dead. She reckoned that the bang that Gordon heard was the sound of the gun being fired. What impresses me about Gordon is that he never charges anyone for a sitting.

The big question remains. Is there an afterlife? I would like to think that there is. There is someone I would very much hope to walk arm in arm with.

page 297 Bill Bryson. Numbered among my good friends was Bill Bryson who was a Pipe Major. Bill was a Past Master of Lodge Griffin Gartcosh. He served three terms as Master, amazingly with 41 years between the first and second term. He was prepared to serve a fourth term as Master and I felt honoured when he asked me to install him. Unfortunately he suffered illness and it was'nt to be. Bill and I had been friends since 1963 and in 2005 it was with much sadness that I heard that he had passed away at the age of 85. I knew that he had served in the forces during World War 2., but he never said much about his war experiences until one day in the early 1980s. We were sitting together after a lodge meeting and I had said to him that I was sick and tired of

hearing phrases like;- “ The Queen of England,” “Charles, the future king of England” etc. etc. I then went on to say that recently Amy and I had been watching a documentary on B.B.C.2, in which an English woman who was being interviewed said that she

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well remembered the day that England declared war on Germany. This annoyed me and I said to Amy;-”Listen to her.” Amys' response was;-”Watch your blood pressure.” The programme went on to show scenes of destruction that Germain Bombers had inflicted on “Britain”. All of the scenes were of areas of England and this annoyed me also. At a later part of the documentary the woman said;- ”I was overjoyed when I heard the news that England had won the war.” At this I flew off my chair and phoned the B.B.C. to complain.

The phone was answered by a female

receptionist. On complaining about the documentary I pointed out that people from other parts of Great Britain would be watching the programme and that many of them would have served in the forces, fought in the battlefields, perhaps had been wounded or had seen

comrades killed or wounded. I went on to say;- ”How do think these people will feel listening to someone ranting on about about England having won the war?” When I finished relating this to Bill he said:“Thanks for doing that John”, and when I asked him why, he said;- “I was one of those who were wounded.”

page 299 He went on to say that he had been in the H.L.I. and was at the D.Day invasions. He was wounded when a shell ripped across his stomach causing him to sink to his knees holding his guts in his hands. It took nine years for Bill to get over his ordeal and

when he was well enough he made a point of

going over to the continent every year to visit the graves of those who had been killed in action and paid tribute to them by playing laments on the bagpipes. A dutch family had befriended Bill and he always made a point of going to visit them.

They became so

fond of Bill that they asked him to be Godfather to their granddaughter. Her father, who spoke fluent English was present

at Bills' funeral. He payed a fine tribute to Bill from behind the pulpit. In words that would have melted the hardest of hearts he spoke as if he was talking to Bill and said that he was so sorry that he had been so badly wounded and thanked him for helping to liberate his country. He also thanked him for being a good friend to his family and ended by saying;“Goodbye, dear friend Bill.”

page 300 Further Humiliation. The statement about England having won the war was yet another example of the many insults and humiliation that Scots have had to put up with over the years. For a period of time before decimalisation the Scottish Pound was valued at 19/6d south of the border, and in more recent times an English member of parliament claimed that the English were subsidising the Scots. He was obviously ignorant of the vast amount of revenue going into the treasury from North Sea oil and gas and from whisky and other Scottish produce.

Tory parliamentarian Michael Ancram demonstrated his ignorance on television when he remarked;“Scotland has the same opportunities as the rest of England”. All this coming from a man who once held the seat of Berwickshire and East Lothian, and also Edinburgh South. Now-a-days some shopkeepers in England refuse to accept Scottish Banknotes despite the fact that English banknotes are accepted in Scotland without question.

Page 301 Several times in Guildford Scottish banknotes that I tendered were either questioned or refused and on one particular occasion when the Scottish banknote I tendered was refused I pointed out that the note said “sterling” on it and that sterling meant “British money.” The shop assistant then said that she couldn't accept it because some Scottish banknotes were forgeries. I replied that some English banknotes were also forgeries. She then said that she had a special pen that she drew across English banknotes to see if they

were forgeries. I suggested that she draw the pen across my Scottish banknote but she said that it didn't work on Scottish banknotes. On another occasion, when I was staying with Craig for a few days, I said to him one morning that I was going into Guildford for a couple of newspapers and he said to bring in some rolls. Knowing that there was a “Greggs Bakery” in Guildford and that Greggs main bakery and offices were in Rutherglen, I thought that to save any bother over

page 302 Scots currency I would go there for the rolls. When I entered the shop I found that the shop assistant was Chinese. I asked her for six crusty rolls. I felt that I was the foreigner when she said:“What you say?” Very slowly and distinctly I said “Six crusty rolls.” She responded with “Ah, six clusty lolls” I couldn't resist saying “That's light, six clusty lolls.”

She bagged the rolls and I gave her a

Scottish ten pound note. She evidently questioned its' validity. She turned it back and forth a few times, held it up to the light and then disappeared into the back shop. I remember thinking “Here we go again” After a time she returned and, without a word, put the ten pound note in the till and gave me my change. On another occasion I bought a pair of denims in an “Asda” store on the outskirts of Guildford. The assistant was from another country and didn't speak very good English.

Page 303 I gave her a Clydesdale twenty pound note and after giving it a thorough examination she took it to another assistant. While she was away I was annoyed that once again my money was being questioned, and again by a foreigner. When she returned she said “It is Scotteesh?” I felt so annoyed that I replied “Yes it is Scotteesh, and it is also Briteesh, it says “sterling” on it, sterling means Briteesh money.,

Lately Prince Charles is quoted of having said; “The things one does for England.” Is it any wonder that Scots get annoyed at such disregard for the other countries of the United Kingdom? Is it any wonder that they get annoyed when year after year, at the Remembrance Day parade at the London Cenotaph, the song “There will always be an England” gets played?

Is it any wonder that a parody

of this song was written. There Will always Be An England. There will always be an England, And England shall be free While Scots, and Welsh and Irish fight, For Englands' liberty. Page 304 Remembrance Day and the Poppy On Remembrance Day, at the Eleventh hour, I always stand in silent tribute to those who lost their lives in the cause of liberty. On one such occasion I was in Craigs' house and as I stood at the window just before eleven o'clock, I saw an elderly man walking along the bank of the river Wey. As is the custom in Guildford, the sound of a

cannon boomed out to mark the eleventh hour. The man stopped in his tracks and stood at attention with his fingers touching the red poppy on his lapel. I thought it a wonderful gesture, in particular since he was on his own with no one else about and it made me wonder how the red poppy came to be adopted as the emblem of Remembrance. Upon research I found that in 1915 a military surgeon, Major McCrae, who was so moved by the sight of the rows of crosses amid the red poppies in the graveyard in Flanders, sat down and wrote a poem entitled “In Flanders Fields”. When he finished writing he threw it away because it didn't fully express his feelings. A fellow officer who had witnessed this, picked page 305 it up and decided to send it to

British newspapers.

It was duly published by “Punch” I was quite moved when I read the poem and felt that it should be shared with others.

“In Flanders' Fields” In Flanders' fields the poppies grow

between the crosses row on row that mark our place; and in the sky the larks still bravely singing, fly, scarce heard amid the guns below. We are dead but short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow. We loved, and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders' fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high. If you break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, where poppies grow in Flanders' fields. An American woman, Moira Michael was so impressed with the poem that she decided to wear a red poppy to page 306 keep the faith, and in response to the poem, “In Flanders Fields”, she wrote a poem called “We Shall Keep The Faith.”

“We Shall Keep The Faith” Oh, you who sleep in Flanders' fields,

sleep sweet to rise anew. We caught the torch you threw, and holding it high we kept the faith of those who died. We cherish too, the poppy red that grows on fields where valour led. It seems to signal to the skies that blood of heroes never dies, but lends a lustre to the red of the flower that blooms above the dead In Flanders' fields. And now the torch and poppy red we wear in honour of our dead. Fear not that ye have died for nought, we have learned the lesson that ye taught in Flanders fields.

page 307 One of Miss Michaels' friends, a French woman with the surname of Guerin, conceived the idea of selling artificial poppies to raise money to help needy soldiers and their families.

In 1919, The British Legion was formed to foster the interests of ex-service personnel and their families, and Field/Marshal Earl Haig chose the red poppy to honour the dead and help the living. Since then the red poppy has been accepted as the emblem of Remembrance. Another poem that I would like to share with others is entitled “Just a Common Soldier”. It was published in a Canadian newspaper. “Just a Common Soldier” He was getting old and paunchy, his hair was falling fast, and he sat around the legion telling stories of the past, Of a war that he had fought in, and deeds that he had done, In his exploits with his buddies; heroes, every one. Tho' sometimes to his neighbours, his tales became a joke, all his legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke. Page 308 We'll hear his tales no longer, old Bill has passed away, and the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He'll not be mourned by many, just his family and his wife, for he lived an ordinary, quiet uneventful life. Held a job and raised a family, and quietly went his way. The world won't mark his passing, 'Tho a soldier died today. When rulers leave this

earth, their bodies lie in

State, while thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great. Papers tell their stories from times when they were young, but the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung. Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land, M.P.s breaking promises and conning fellowman?. Or the ordinary fellow who in times of war and strife, goes off to serve his country, in danger of his life? A politicians stipend and the style in which he lives, are often disproportionate to the service that he gives, while the ordinary soldier who offered up his all, is paid off with a medal or perhaps with none at all. Page 309 It's so easy to forget them, it was many years ago

the Old Bills went to battle, but we, for sure all know it was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys, that won for us the freedom that our country now enjoys. Should you find yourself in danger with enemies at hand, would you want a politician with his ever shifting stand? Or would you prefer a soldier who, sworn that he'll defend his home, his kin, his country, and fight until the end? He was just a common soldier, his ranks are growing thin. His passing should remind us we may need his like again, When countries are in conflict, it is the soldiers part,to clean up all the troubles that politicians start. If we can't do him honour while here and give him praise, at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days. Perhaps a simple headline in a paper that would say, “Our Country Is In Mourning, For A Soldier Died Today page 310

After a meeting of the lodge is ended, the members and visitors sit down for a bite to eat. Most times we talk among ourselves, but sometimes individuals are called on to entertain the company, and they will either sing or tell jokes. I always enjoyed singing and would readily oblige when asked, but there was an occasion, about two months after Amy died I was asked to entertain and I declined, simply because I didn't have the heart to sing and still don't. I know that if I tried to sing I would think of how I used to sing with Amy at the piano or organ, and then feel sentimental. In case I should again be asked to entertain at any future time I thought that instead of singing I would tell a story that I had composed entitled “The Two Poachers” or else do a recitation that I had memorised many years ago and have only recited twice since. The first time I recited it was the day after I became master of the lodge in December 1969. Amy and I had invited members of the lodge and their womenfolk to a party in our house in Castlemilk and it turned out to one of the best parties ever.

Page 311 Every one took it in turn to entertain and the highlight of the evening was when two past masters Jim Kerr and Stewart Andrew did a double act. They must have had it arranged in advance for they gave me a record that I was to start playing when they knocked on the door of the living room. When the knock came I started the record which played Hawaiian music and in came Jim and Stewart. They had stripped to their underwear and had strips of toilet paper tucked into their waistbands to resemble grass skirts and they waved their hands about Hawaiian fashion while swaying to the music. When my turn came to entertain I did the recitation entitled “The Masons' Word” which is in the Scots tongue. The Masons' Word. Tam Duff a worthy mason lang (long)had been afore he met his wifie, Jean. And always acting on the square, craft secrets he could keep wi' care. Young Jeannie though a helpmate good, possessed that

trait o' womanhood, Tae meddle wi' things that she'd nae richt tae, like page 312 Eve and the forbidden tree. And noo her mind was fairly set, frae Tam the masons' word tae get. Wi coaxin sweet and pressin' sair, she tried her best baith late and ere.(early) But Tam wis proof tae aw these wiles, (ploys)so Jeannie she got fractious wiles. This grieved poor Tam, for honest chiel,(child)he liked his wifie awfy weel. He didnae like tae quarrell wi' her, but still the word he daurnie gie (dare not give)her. If possible it could hae been tae get a mason made o' Jean, He willingly her fee would peyed, (payed)tae get peace at his ain fireside. When peace he found he couldnae get, upon a plan he hit. Wan nicht, ahint a curtain lecture he painted oot a gruesome picture how hanged he'd be if she should tell the secret he

wid noo reveal. Jeannie promised firm and true the thing wid never pass her mooth, page 313 So Tam whom she had pressed sae hard, gied her the word tae keep and guard. Jeannie wis a prood wife then, she kissed Tam ower and ower again, Their life, noo that the thing was done, wis like a second honeymoon, At nicht when he came in frae toil, his wifie met him wae a smile. The table spread and aw things nice, made hame a perfect paradise. But joy like this when here below wis only but a passing show, And so wis this as ye may judge. Yin nicht Tam had been at the ludge,(lodge) And when it closed wi yin or twa merr, doon tae the pub they did repair, Tae get a taste tae warm their whimes and hae a crack o' aulden times. They'ed jist called in and peyed their roon

(round)when rap-tap-tap played on the door. 'Twas opened and upon the scene there stood Tams' angry wifie Jean. “Yer there ya nasty drunken thing, get oot o' this page 314 an' hame ye ging. Wheesht (be quiet)Jeannie, ah'll be hame the noo, as soon as we get wir business through. “Yer business? Gey queer business yours that keeps ye here at sich like hoors,( such like hours) If hame(home) ye dinna (don't)come at wance (once)ye'll never get another chance, For by my faith if ah tell you, yer drinkin' days will soon be done” “Gang awa noo Jeannie, jist gang awa an' no affront me among them aw” “Affront ye?, weel ye ken yersel' it's hanged ye'll be for ah will tell. “tell whit?” “Tell whit?, the masons' word ya drunken tyke,(a coarse man) It's “salt-beef and mustard”, hang him when ye like The Two Poachers.

This is the story of two Masons who used to poach for salmon, and as poaching is against the principles of Freemasonry, I will not divulge their full names, however I can tell you for a time each of them came to be called by another name, other than their own. Page 315 In the first instance, this came about because of a phone call one of them received at his place of work. His wife had phoned him and when he answered the phone she said;

“Hello, is that you Bobby” and he

replied “Aye, it's me.” She then changed the tone of her voice and said; “Bobby dear, ah've somethin' tae tell ye” and he said; “Aye okay well, whit is it?” She replied; “ Ah'm pregnant, ye're gonny be a daddy, ah'm so excited ah jist had tae tell ye.” “Aye okay, well,” said Bobby. ”Right Bobby dear, ah'll see ye later,” she said. Bobby replied; “Aye okay well, ah'll see ye later” and then he said; “ oh, by the way, who's callin'?” It was then that he got called by another name. How the other one came to be called by another name was because of an armed robbery that took place in the city centre.

A man, armed with a sawn-off

shotgun held up the Abbey National. He was accompanied by a Rottweiler wearing a balaclava, and while he had taken the sensible precaution of putting a balaclava on the dog in case it would be recognised, he forgot to wear one page 316 himself. As a result the staff were able to give the police a detailed description of him. It so happened that the other Mason was in the city centre that day and he fitted the description given by the staff. He was duly arrested and taken to Stewart Street Police Station where he was questioned by the arresting officer. You know how, in the old days when a policeman was booking someone, he always flicked open his tunic pocket, took out a black notebook and pencil, dabbed the point of the pencil on his tongue, and then started to ask questions; well they still do that, the only difference being, now that the police force has been thoroughly modernised, the personnel have all been issued with ball-point pens, so the arresting officer flicked open his tunic pocket, took out his black notebook and ball-point pen, dabbed the

point of the pen on his tongue, and said “right ah'll hae yer initial and yer surname” The reply was; “Ah've done nothin' wrang, and ah'm no tellin Aye.” The policeman then said; “Ah'll say it again ah'll hae yer initial and yer surname” page 317 The chap stood in silent defiance whereupon the policeman raised his baton and struck him on the head. In much pain the chap exclaimed “Oh mah heid”. The policeman put his baton away, dabbed his pen on his tongue again, wrote something on his notebook and then said, “Right, O. Maheed, noo ah'll hae yer address” However the chap was released when the real culprit was apprehended, but the story got around and the name stuck. A few days after being released Omaheed decided to go poaching and thought that he would call on Bobby to see if he wanted to come along. On the way there he met Mason called Abe Goldstein who originally came from Aberdeen. As they stood talking a beggar approached them.

Omaheed knew right away that he was a beggar, he was wearing designer gear. Anyway the beggar touched Abe on the arm and said; “Can you spare me fifty pence?” Abe drew him a look and said; “Thirty pence? What do you want with twenty pence? There's ten pence, think yourself lucky”. After the beggar left, Omaheed said; “Whit did page 318 ye gie him money for? Dae ye know they beggars can rake in merr than a hunner pound a day. The only thing ah wid've gied him wid hae been a lesson in the Glesga Gaelic,” “How dae ye dae that?” asked Abe. “It's easy,” said Omaheed, “Ye jist grab a hodderum and heiderum.” After they parted Omaheed called at Bobbies house and asked him if he wanted to go poaching, but Bobby declined saying that he didn't feel like it. Omaheed went on his own, managed to catch some salmon, put them in a sack and headed back home. As he was passing Bobbies' house, Bobby came out and said; “Ah see ye caught some, ah wish ah'd went wi ye noo.” and then he said; “ Ye know how we always

split wir catch right doon the middle,? well ah'll tell ye whit, if ah can guess how many salmon are in the bag, will ye gie me hauf o' them?” Omaheed who had the ambition to be a lodge treasurer, replied; “If ye can guess how many salmon are in the bag, ah'll gie ye baith o' them,” whereupon Bobby, who was a lodge treasurer, held up an open hand and said; “Three.” page 319 Christmas and Hogmanay. Rutherglen Main Street is always well decorated over the festive season with a large Christmas tree set up near the town hall and a sponsorship is always run whereby people can sponsor a light on the tree for a loved one.

The money collected goes to St.

Andrew's Hospice and in return for their donations people receive a nice card for each light sponsored. Annette always sponsors a light for her Mum and gives me the card which reads;- “A light is shining on the Christmas Tree at Rutherglen for Amy McCormick. She also sponsors a light for Ann Forrest and one for May Hamilton, and so in a way The Golden Girls help to

brighten up Rutherglen just like they used to when they were here. As for myself, I always celebrate Christmas with my family. This is the way it has always been and it is the way Amy would like it to continue. Since Amy passed away Hogmanay and the start of a new year means absolutely nothing to me. I can't bear to hear “Auld Lang Syne” and I have come to treat Hogmanay like any other day.

The way I see it, for

me each new year begins my birthday. Page 320 Year 2006 The year 2006 brought yet more grief. My brother Eddie in Australia phoned to say that he had been diagnosed as having bowel cancer and that he would be going into hospital to have an operation. Within two weeks of the diagnosis he was operated on and while the operation on the bowel had been a success the cancer had spread into the liver and for this he would have to undergo chemotherapy. However he

was confident that he would overcome it

and that all would be well.

In April George's mother succumbed to her illness and I attended the funeral where I met some more of George's relatives. Among them was an uncle aged 85 years who had been married five times. He overheard me say that Craig was on holiday in Bermuda and said that he had been there the year previous when he played in international over-sixties hockey tournaments. At first I thought that he was joking, but it was true. He wore a prisoner-of-war badge on his lapel and when I asked him about it, he told me that he had been in Japan at the outbreak of war and was taken page 321 prisoner. He was held captive for the duration of the war and was fed a daily ration of a bowl of rice. He went on to say that the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the best thing that ever happened, for if the Americans had invaded Japan, then all the prisoners of war would have been slaughtered.

Nevertheless I let him know

that in my view the Americans could have demonstrated the power of the atomic bombs in less densely populated areas. I will never forget the horrific

scenes of the aftermath of the bombings that were shown on the cinema newsreel. The beginning of May brought better news. Craig received planning permission for a conservatory/ kitchen extension to his property in Guildford and both Martin and Nicola were hopeful of a place in university. Around the middle of May I noticed water marks on the wallpaper in my sitting room and wondered how they got there. Later I discovered water on the floor of the hall and upon opening the sitting room door saw water dripping from the ceiling. I thought that the best thing to do was to get page 322 Danny Smith, so I went to his house and explained the situation. Danny told me to put a bucket under the drip in the meantime and that he would round in half an hour.

When I got back home the water was

pouring from the ceiling so I had to get Danny to come round right away. He found that the large water tank in the loft had corroded and as a temporary measure he tied up the ballcock. The next day Danny and his son Daniel who is

also a plumber fitted a new length of pipe direct from the main supply thus bypassing the tank, something that should have been done when the central heating system was replaced. Over the years I have always done my own decorating but since I had being paying building insurance premiums to the same company over a 34 year period and never had submitted a claim, I decided to claim for the re-decoration of the walls and ceiling When Amy and I moved into our house in Calderwood Road in 1997, the artex on the ceiling of the sitting room looked like it had been dabbed on randomly and we didn't like it. After a while we decided to cover it up with page 323 plaster board, so we bought some eight by four boards, and with the help of Amy I screwed them through on to the joists in the loft, put up ceiling paper and fitted a new

ceiling rose.

When a representative from the insurance company came to inspect the damage in the sitting room, he asked me what type of ceiling it was and I told him that it was plaster-board on top of artex.

He then said that as artex contained asbestos it was a safety hazard and that the whole ceiling would have to be pulled down and replaced. In the meantime Margaret had phoned from Canada to say that her son Peter, his wife Kathy and daughter Laurel were coming to Scotland on the 24th. May for a three-week stay and asked if I could accommodate them. Two days later I received a phone call to say that the work on my sitting room would take eight days to complete, starting on the 24th. May, the same day as my relatives from Canada were due to arrive, so I had to postpone the starting date for the repairs to the 15th. Of June, the day after they were due to go back. page 324 Annette kindly arranged to use her car to pick me up and then go to meet Peter, Kathy and Laurel at the airport.

When I last saw Laurel in Canada thirteen

years previously she was only ten years old. She had now grown into an attractive young lady with a great personality, and everyone who met her liked her.

Kathy was a nurse and Peter worked in a hospital for the mentally ill. One day they spoke of the experiences they had with some of the patients and then went on to talk of some personal things that had happened outwith the hospitals. Kathy told me of a time a long number of years ago when her best friend asked her if she would like to go with her to her parents' house, but Kathy couldn't go. Kathy went on to say that her friend was one of seven of a family, and that when she arrived at her parents house it was late afternoon. All the curtains were drawn and she felt that there was something wrong. She was afraid to go into the house and went for a neighbour. She then decided to get the police and when they entered the house they found the whole family dead. Her father had killed page 325 her mother and the other six members of her family and then killed himself. Her youngest brother was found curled up in a cupboard in the kitchen, where evidently he had tried to hide. Kathy went on to say that two years later as she was reading a local newspaper in her home, she burst

into tears. When Peter asked her what was wrong, she couldn't speak, and could only point to the newspaper. She had just read that her best friend had been killed when she was knocked down by a car. When Peter, Kathy and Laurel were here they didn't stay with me all of the time. They hired a car and drove to Wales where Kathy had some ancestry. When they came back, they went to Paris for four days. They also spent time in Falkirk with some kinfolk. When they were here I took them to various places in Glasgow. Laurel had to see “The Barras”, she had heard

about it from her Gran. We also went

to The Peoples' Palace by bus and sat on the top deck, as downstairs was fairly crowded. As we came down the stair to alight I heard someone call my name. It was my sister-in-law Betty, page 326 my brother Tom's widow whom I hadn't seen since Tom's funeral but I could only speak to her briefly, as we were going off the bus. On another day we went to His Provands Lordship, the oldest house in Glasgow, and then to the Glasgow

Cathedral. When we came out of the Cathedral I showed them how at one time I was above Royalty, and explained that the last time I was hospitalised I was in ward six of the Royal Infirmary and my bed was next to a window directly above the statue of Queen Victoria. Laurel had heard of The Buchanan Galleries so we went there and spent the day in the city. I think we were in most of the shops that day and Kathy and Laurel were particularly impressed with Princes gate and and the St.Enoch Centre. On another day we went to the Transport Museum and from there to the Botanic Gardens. After coming out of the Botanic Gardens we went to some of the shops in Byers Road and then along Dumbarton Road to visit Linda and George. I really enjoyed having Peter, Kathy and Laurel here but their visit was marred by sadness. Three page 327 days before they were due to leave I received a phone call from my nephew Thomas, my brother Jimmy's son, to let me know that my brother Eddie had died.

None of the family were able to go to Australia for Eddies' funeral and all we could do was send flowers through Inter-flora,

but I am sure that Betty and

her family knew how we all felt about the loss of Eddie.

The biggest loss was, of course to his wife

Betty. The day after hearing that Eddie had died, I received a phone call from my brother Toms' son. Thomas telling me that his mother Betty, had passed away, and shortly afterwards I received the news that a long term friend, Andy Paterson had died. Andy Paterson was born in Inverness in 1923. His family moved from there to Dunfermline. He served in the Merchant Navy during World War Two, and on two occasions was on board ships that were torpedoed. His wife Dorothy{Dot} served in the W.R.N.S., and after they married they set up home in a large villa in Buchanan Drive, Cambuslang. After the war Andy became the production manager of a page 328 dry cleaning firm in Rutherglen. He joined my lodge in 1969 and became a very

enthusiastic member. He served as Master for the year 1977, and I felt privileged when he invited me to be an Installing Master. In the late eighties, with his son and three daughters all married, he and Dot decided to move to a smaller house. They sold the house in Buchanan Drive and bought a one bed-room semidetached bungalow in Melrose Avenue Rutherglen. It was situated at the top of a very steep garden and access was via two flights of stairs. In due course this proved to be a handicap. Andy was the most unfortunate person I have ever met. At the beginning of the 1990s he weighed around eighteen stones and his health began to deteriorate. He fell one day and broke his left shoulder blade, and after that he suffered misfortune time and time again . Dot worked part-time in Boots chemist in the city centre and one day in 1992 Andy received the sad news that she had collapsed and died on the bus as

page 329

she was on her way to work. It turned out that her Aorta had burst. Sometime after that Andy fell again and broke his other shoulder blade, and following on from that he slipped in the bath one day and banged his head with such force that he lost the sight of his right eye due to the retina having become detached. He began to suffer various ailments and it got to the stage where he could only walk with the aid of two walking sticks. There was no way that he could negotiate the stairs, so Ian Wilson used to pick me up in his car and then we would go for Andy to take him to lodge meetings. Ian had joined the lodge in 1952, but wasn't able to attend as often as he would have liked owing to the nature of his work which caused him be abroad a lot.

His last term of employment was in Saudi

Arabia. It ended in 1981, and since then has attended the lodge regularly. He was Master for the year 1987, and has become one of the most prominent members of the lodge. He has been a great friend to me over the years both within and outwith the lodge. On one occasion in 1997 we had taken Andy home

page 330 after a meeting, we and as we helped him up the garden stairs he missed his step and fell backwards. Ian had him by the arm and I was supporting him from the back, but he was too heavy to hold and all three of us went tumbling down the stairs. The small of my back hit the top of the steel gate at the bottom of the stairs and Ian sustained a hand injury. When we eventually got Andy into the house and into bed we found that he had a massive bruise on his thigh. By the time we got Andy settled down, it was three a.m. When I got home I managed to slip into bed without disturbing Amy, but some time later I let out a yell when I felt an excruciating stabbing pain in my back. Amy woke with a start and asked what was wrong. I explained what had happened with Andy, and how I hit my back on the gate. Still being in pain the next day, I went to the doctor who examined me and said that I had internal bleeding. He said that the only course of action was to take pain killers and let nature take its course.

page 331 It was six weeks before I eventually got back to normal. Through time Andy became housebound and I visited him on a weekly basis. He never ever complained and used to say in a jocular fashion; “You know, it's not easy being me”. He had a sense of humour and used to make play on words. On one occasion when he was in the Geriatric Unit of the Victoria Infirmary, where he had been taken after falling in his house, he said that the ward was called the Footballer ward, and when I asked him why, he said that it was full of Gerry Hattricks. On another occasion when I had visited him at home, Mrs McGarrigle who lived next door, and who was very helpful to him ,came in with a bucket in her hand with the intention of cleaning his windows. Mrs. McGarrigle who is quite tiny needed something to stand on to clean the windows and when she asked Andy if he had a small stool, he replied; “Yes, usually first thing in the morning”.

Andy kept falling in the house and sometimes lay on the floor until a home help arrived. It got to the page 332 stage where he was falling so often that he had to go into a nursing home for his own safety. While there he contracted cancer and it was sad to see him go to skin and bone. I found myself hoping that he would die because there was no way back for him, and I looked upon it as a blessing when he eventually passed away. Two days after I attended Andy's funeral, Linda, Annette and I attended the funeral of my sister-inlaw, Betty. Many of Tom and Bettys' neighbours and friends from the deaf and dumb club were present, and I was impressed by the service given by the priest who used the sign language as he spoke. When I mentioned this to my nephew Thomas, he informed me that the priest had approached his mother some years previously and asked her to teach him the sign language, which she did. After the funeral we all went to a pre-arranged buffet in “The Cottage Bar”.

After seventy years

here I was, back at Major Street where I had lived the first five years of my life.

Page 333 Twenty-two McCormicks were gathered there that day. Apart from Linda, Annette and myself, also present were Jimmy, Madge, their son Thomas, daughter Alison, Tom and Betty's daughter, Geraldene, and their three sons Thomas, John and Peter, each with their grown-up families. All in all, three generations of McCormicks were present and if there is a spirit world then maybe the three generations of McCormicks who lived in the single ends above Dorman's pub in the distant past were present also. FIN.