Archive (237 life histories found)
'When the siren went, I had to hurry there, irrespective of what time of day or night it was.'
At Glengormley, I was a member of the auxiliary fire service and one of the engine drivers. The fire station was at the top of Church Road and when the siren went, I had to hurry there, irrespective of what time of day or night it was.
Tags: Fire Brigade, sirens
In the height of the Northern Ireland troubles, such post offices were very vulnerable to attacks
The joys and satisfaction of having your own business far exceeds some of the few hazards that crossed my path when we had the confectionary and tobacconist shop at Glengormley, with the post office in the premises next door. In the height o the…
Tags: civil rights marches, gun point, robbery, shop
'If we, that is my wife Doreen and myself, hadn't enough to do, but my younger sister, Phyllis, wanted us to go into partnership with her and her boyfriend on a confectionary and newspaper shop.'
Of course next to the post office was our sweet shop, also a very busy place close to the public elementary school, we often worked long hours with never a dull moment. If we, that is my wife Doreen and myself, hadn't enough to do, but my younger…
'She discovered the poor woman had kept all her money underneath the mat in her hallway.'
The post office in Glengormley was a very busy place. Staff had to be fast and accustomed to handling cash, yet still finding time to listen to customers' queries and to be especially tolerant with ageing pensioners. A balance sheet was prepared at…
Tags: money, Post Office, staff
'The bank wanted compensation to move out, but all I could say was you've got the money and I HAVEN'T.'
Private houses were situated on either side of our Glengormley shop - all rented property, but the opportunity came to buy all three when one tenant left, and we scraped up all our resources together to achieve this. The empty property was let as a…
Tags: bank, Post Office, property, shops
'We also expanded our business by buying a run down confectionery and tobacconist shop in Glengormley.'
We also expanded our business by buying a run down confectionery and tobacconist shop in Glengormley. We gave up living in our rented semi detached home in Abbots Cross, Doagh Road, Whiteabbey, to use the rooms above the shop for living in. It was…
'It was a godsend for me, no worries about delivery or quality, my headaches were gone, literally'
About 1976 there was a bad flooding of the mill. A lot of destruction,and it never really recovered from it. As the girls had finished school,I looked for another job. They were looking for a technician at the Art College in Belfast,(part of the…
'At 30 years of age I finally started a career'
After I qualified,I obtained my first job. One of our lecturers told me of a job in the Isle of Man. I applied and my first job as weaving manager April1948,for the Manx Tweed Manufacturing Co. they had pedal looms .At 30 years of age I finally…
'There was no electricity in the cottage, and Mr Short was very keen to see that we did not turn the oil lamps too high so as not to crack the chimney of the lamp'
I chose to take advantage of a vocational training course in woollen and worsted manufacture,which was to be in Galashiels at the Scottish Woollen Technical College. We were a motley crew,all ex army and it was hard work to cram a 3 years course into…
Tags: cottage, dance evenings, Scotland, vocational training
'Well mate, it's like this, if you see a vehicle coming towards you, whichever side of the road he's on, it's better to get on the other side'
After I retired from active flying, I became involved with a company in San Francisco that were producing an interactive DVD to teach aviation English. ICAO had become concerned that the level of English from pilots who were not native speakers was…
Tags: Kazakhstan, language, pilot training