Archive (1372 life histories found)
'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
'There they expected prisoners of war, and we had to persuade the Aussies that we were not'
Shortly after war broke out,I was again arrested or interned. We were sent to Lingfield racecourse,and from there to Liverpool,to embark on the troopship 'Dunera ' Below deck we were locked up,and the ship set sail-across the Atlantic,to Cape…
Tags: Australia, Bitish army, Burma, India, militray trianing, passport, prison camp
'My dad went to London, I to Letchworth, thus my family was torn further apart'
When my mother obtained visas for myself and dad,I was released from concentration camp with the proviso that I had to leave the country within a fortnight. We were only permitted to take the barest necessities. I crammed a kitbag full of things such…
Tags: England, Quakers, refugee house, visa, work permit
'In November 1938 arrest, jail, and concentration camp followed'
In 1938 my brother and sister had already left for England,but my father and I were arrested-they called it protective custody. In November 1938 arrest,jail,and concentration camp followed. When my father and I were arrested,we spent a few days at…
'... my parents decided there was no future in an academic career'
I stayed at school until 1935,when my parents decided there was no future in an academic career,and I was apprenticed to a wool merchant in Hamburg from 1935 to 1938. Thus started my working life. My payment per month was for the 1st year 19.00 RM…
'I was very much aware of being different. There were no Jews -or 'non-Aryans' as they were called- living in the country'
My Father returned in 1931or 1932 and bought the small estate in a village about half way between Hamburg and Lubeck. Our lives changed dramatically then I went to another secondary school in Bad Oldesloe where I was very much aware of being…
Tags: countrylife, Jewish, non-Aryan, non-Christian, non-religious
'During the funeral my brother and I played 'hide and seek' at the cemetery, much to my mothers' embarrassment, not that my mum was easily embarrassed!'
Up to my thirteenth year we lived in the city (Hamburg) in an apartment block. A seven room apartment,including one for the maid,bathroom and a separate toilet,kitchen,and walk in larder. There were two balconies,one at the front,the other at the…
Tags: banana plantation, funeral, grandmother, Hamburg, parents
'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
'Once on landing in Dhahran Saudi customs found a girlie magazine left behind by one of the passengers. They went berserk threatened to jail the whole crew and impound the aircraft '
As with most Arab countries any goods from Israel or any companies with a suspected Jewish connection were prohibited. These ranged from Outspan oranges, Cadburys chocolate to Ford cars. The problem was no one knew what companies were on the black…
Tags: alcohol, Bahrain, girlie magazine, laws, religion