'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'

'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'

Peter remembers his three years in Scotland training at a woollen and worsted manufacturing company.

Peter Layton

Trinity College Dublin

1946

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Peter Layton

Work and Employment

Life Story

Scotland

1940s

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 one year.When I was first in Scotland,I was in digs with Mrs Short,who had a cottage in Gattonside,near Galashiels,just across the Tweed from Melrose. Another student,Ex army officer,on the same course as I lodged there as well. Mrs Short was a retired cook from the Earl Haigh household,her husband a retired postman. 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 .As we did to have a lot of studying to do,as well as writing,we found it rather difficult. Our breakfast porridge had to be soaked overnight,and of course it had to be salty. The first opportunity we got,and we went to other lodgings in Galashiels proper,much to Mrs Shorts dismay .Later on in winter,we all managed to lodge at the Co-operative convalescent home right beside the river Tweed,which had no patients during the winter. There everybody had their own little room,and the staff were very helpful. They had little dance evenings,and we were entertained to Scottish dancing,the only one I can remember was the 'Gay Gordons '. We also joined the college hockey and Badminton teams. So it was not all studying only.I also bought an old motorbike,on which I did a lot of travelling,An old Ariel circa 1920,with total loss lubrication,I went to London a few times,and the driving sprocket used to come off regularly. I had to walk back the road to find the sprocket,refit it and go another hundred or so miles until it came off again. But I got there. Whatever happened to the bike? I can't remember.

Irish Research Council for Arts,Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)