Archive (340 life histories found)

Following the successful launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union in 1957 authorities in the US were concerned that Soviet engineers were getting too far ahead of their counterparts in the US. One of the consequences of this was to focus on a change…

In 1973 Monica started playing golf. From then on we spent many happy hours together playing golf at Mulanje, Limbe, Blantyre or Zomba. By then our second daughter, Claire, our son Fergal, and our youngest child, Margaret (now better known as Mags)…

Back in Mulanje our attention turned towards Mulanje Club. One of our first visits to the Club was for a stage production of 'Hello Dolly' by the Club's Theatre Group. As we approached the Club the Clubhouse building looked particularly unimpressive…

We lived in Malawi from 1969 to 1975 and have fond memories of those years. We both enjoyed our work at the school. During school holidays we travelled considerable distances both inside and outside Malawi. For our first Christmas dinner in Malawi we…

In the Malawi that we lived in there was no freedom of expression. The two main arms of the media, the radio and the newspapers, were firmly under the control of the government. They churned out endless volumes of praise for the 'Wise leadership of…

Malawi became an independent state in July 1964. At that time there were about 20 secondary schools in the country, and only a few of them were offering courses up to secondary school certificate level. During our time at Providence there was…

We were called for interview to Gardiner Street in north Dublin in July 1969. There we met a man from Christians Abroad in London. He offered us the choice of Cameroon, Sierra Leone or Malawi. To help us decide he directed us next door to meet with a…

Shortly after returning from Kenya I met Monica. She introduced me to a new circle of friends and a range of new interests. Travelling in groups of six to ten we shared many enjoyable occasions, including memorable Saturday night sessions in the…

Then eventually we moved to Northern Ireland to a small place called Limavady in County Londonderry. Before we moved to N.Ireland people in England were saying 'are you mad going to N. Ireland where a war is going on?_ﾋﾝ So we started our lives…

My husband was very busy working as a Senior House Officer and Registrar day and night and sometimes night duties including the weekend calls. Everythign was so different in sixties and seventies than now. The standard of living and the salaries…