'At 30 years of age I finally started a career'

File: http://www.lifehistoriesarchive.com/Files/PLS08.pdf

Dublin Core

Title

'At 30 years of age I finally started a career'

Description

Peter remembers the beginning of his career on the Isle of Man.

Creator

Peter Layton

Publisher

Trinity College Dublin

Date

1950

Rights

This item is protected by original copyright

Access Rights

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Relation

Peter Layton

Is Part Of

Work and Employment

Type

Life Story

Spatial Coverage

Isle of Men

Temporal Coverage

1950s

Life Story Item Type Metadata

Text

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 started a career in the Laxey Woollen Mills in the Isle of Man (ᆪ4.50 a week) looking after the production. For a time went to Huddersfield as a loom-turner for a year,then went back to the Isle of Man-more pay this time. I obtained lodgings near the mill,which was in Laxey. It was on top of the cliffs above Laxey beach. The name was Fairy Cottage. My landlady was a Scots woman by name of Muirhead. Her husband was retired,and used to have a bus company in Scotland. Before retirement he sold his company to Scottish Motor Traction. Their daughter was living with them. I had a little room looking over the Irish Sea. I was well looked after,good food and a homely environment. I used my motor cycle to go to work. The local chemist,who lived nearby,let me keep it in his garage for a small consideration. My boss,also a Scot,lived in lodgings just above,on the other side of the Manx Electric Railway line. After a year I went to England for a year,working in Huddersfield in a large woollen mill,looking after a section of powerlooms. The work was in two shifts,so the looms never stopped. This was a very valuable experience for me. At that time I lodged with my brother,who had a house in Bradford,where he worked in a mill as a spinner. He was soon to emigrate to Australia with his wife and daughter under the ᆪ10 scheme. I bought a more modern bike,an ex WD Enfield 350cc. I got on very well at my work,and earned very good wages,when I was approached by my former boss in Laxey. The mill had been sold,and he wanted me back to look after things.

Sponsor

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

Research Coordinator/P.I.

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Senior Research Associate

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)

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