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1958
George meets Dorothy Robertson and she gives him away Winchin
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2nd girlfriend.
It was at Doak’s Dancing in Falkirk.
Dorothy was the daughter of the head Health Inspector at Bo’ness Council.
Bo’ness was about 6 miles east Falkirk was 4 miles east of Bonnybridge. Dorothy
worked in a bank in Edinburgh. She decided that I was too fast for her – I
think. Her mate, Christine told me, at Doak’s that Dorothy didn’t want to see
me again. I was livid. Imagine anyone doing that to me!!!
She was my first real girlfriend,
after leaving school. It only lasted about 7 months or so in 1958.
I was sorely hurt. But then
again, what could you expect from a Bo’ness girl! The A-hole of the world,
according to mates.. My dad was born there!! I then gravitated to the
coalfields of West Lothian, ‘where they ate their young’, as the expression we
used identified the locals. They were all miners. They worked hard, fought
hard, went with hard girls and didn’t take prisoners! Or so we non-miners
thought! That’s where I met my next love – Mabel. More of that later.
I had sort of a girlfriend, my
first real redheaded encounter, at the school camp at the Trossachs School Camp
at Aberfoyle, when at Bonnybridge Primary School. I was age 11 going on 12. I
wrote her a letter that I gave to the lassie Barron, across the road at
Gateside. She was at Denny High and she knew the girl at Denny whom I had met
at the school camp, although I never met her at high School. Maw got the letter
after Mrs Barron found it on her daughter. It was a red-hot love letter – from
memory and from my parent’s reaction along the lines of ‘we’re sacrificing for
you so that you can go with girls – at your age !!!’ Randy young man they might
have thought, or maybe even ‘chip of the old block’, as dad was a bit of a lad
before he married. Not a chance was there general tenor. It was ‘George, get on
your bike and stop thinking of girls as we expect more of you as the
academically gifted of the family’. Well that might have been right, but as my
school reports states and my daughters said many years ago, ‘Dad, you should
burn that’ They were less than respectful of their academic parent’s ventures
at school! Ah well women will be women!’ This was before going to Denny High
School after successfully completing the Scottish Eleven plus exam, that
decided whether you were brainy enough to do academic work or go to junior
Technical School like my brothers, Billy and John. Recently Ellie told me that when maw was
pregnant with me and Dad was not happy at this new mouth to feed, she prayed
that I’d be brainy so that I would show Dad that he shouldn’t have worried
about me being born.
1958
July onwards
George meets another redhead
Winchin
3rd girlfriend -
almost
My cousin Merryl worked at
Woolies in Falkirk. I used to go there on my lunch break from Tech. Merryl
introduced me to a redheaded girl there. Although I talked with her and bought
her small presents. I was too shy to ask her out. So that came to nothing. I
can’t remember her name, but she came from California village on the road to
Bathgate. I think it must have been in the summer time as I can remember
walking up from the Teach to see her a Woolies, near the steeple, during my
hour lunchtime.
About this time I had met Dorothy
Robertson, from Bo’ness, at Doak’s dancing next to the Falkirk Bus Station.
Dorothy’s Dad was one of Bo’ness Town Council’s Senior Management, either the
Town Clerk or Chief Health Officer.
Dorothy sent her mate, Christine to Doak’s one Friday or Saturday night
to tell me it was all of. I was livid and threatened to let her know what I
thought of her, not being honest enough to tell me to my face. Christine, who
fancied me, let me take her home to Bo’ness in wee Harris’s car. Both Christine
and Dorothy worked in the bank of Scotland in Edinburgh. Tam Harris was the
chauffer, paid his petrol money to hurl us about. I think he needed us more
than we needed him. It was to our mutual advantage, but wee Harris was such a
braggart, you tried to keep him hidden!
At the same time I used to fancy
cousin Frances Slade, who was at Falkirk Tech later after I had been there.
Frances was born about 1945?? I think it was Frances’s first year at this new
Tech as it was mine after me coming from a couple of years at Burnbank Foundry
training centre. So this would be 1959-60.
But by this time I was serious about Ellie.
1959
May 59
George meets Mabel Montgomery
3nd girlfriend-definitely.
Met Mabel in May, she was just nearing 15 year old, born 16 July 1945, she was
beautiful, slim, pert and as redheaded as they come. Classy dresser. Her Mum,
Mabel, was like my Maw, gentle, kind and loving. Her dad, a miner, was like my
dad, a Stove fitter, hard, tough and protective, especially from an older
bloke,16 years, out with his 14 3/4 year-old youngest child. I remember meeting
her folks at the Whitburn Gala Day in June?? A month before her 15th birthday.
If I remember, I met her at Whitburn Miner’s Welfare dancing after dancing with
her mate, Joy Renick or Renwick or Rensomething? I don’t think her mate
approved of me because I remember her being very protective of Mabel. But then
I didn’t know that Mabel was only 14 and a bit. Any decent mate would be
protective I remember I used to sing ‘
She was only Sixteen’ to her. Yet she wasn’t 16 ??? when I met Ellie. Ellie was
19 in Aug 1959 when I met her. GEO - Must check why I would be singing that at
that time?? Or was I?
1959
Late 59, possibly Nov
Mabel gives George away
Disaster
After about 7 months, Mabel
chucks me up. She wanted to have a good time and not have a steady boyfriend.
She literally broke my heart. But as they say, more fish in the sea!
1959-60
Late 59
George meets Eleanor Crayton Polland
Winchin
4th girlfriend. As a
young bloke I was 17, and in late 1959 met another redhead, Eleanor [Ellen]
Polland at Whitburn dancing, after being thrown up by my little redheaded
girlfriend. Mabel was only 14 and a bit. Her birthday was in July. I think I
met her about May that year in 1959. Ellie born 1940 was 19 when I met her
i.e. after Aug 1959. So my romance with Mabel was a short affair, about 7
months.
Ellie, as I later christened
Eleanor, as my pet name for this lovely slim, pert, savvy, and intelligent
‘older woman’. Tam Harris, ‘bright eyes as my brother, Billy nicknamed him, was
dancing past me and Eleanor on the first night, when I took her up for ladies
choice!!, not the other way around, and wee Harris, who gave us lifts to the
various dance halls - charging off course, said, ‘ you know she’s 19’, to which
I replied, ‘off course I know’, which I didn’t, ‘ that’s what makes her so
sophisticated!’. Eleanor was pleased as I realised later she was very shy and
wee Harris embarrassed her, but it was made easier for here by my grandiose
statement. I meant it; she was sophisticated, as well as brainy and beautiful.
Plus she thought I was something special. She then invited herself to a
birthday or Xmas party that we blokes, Don Alexander, my best mate and a few of
the Bonnybridge boys were talking about when we were dancing around. She was
also embarrassed at being so forward, which I was pleased she had asked as she
was lovely company. At that time ‘bright eyes’ took a van full of us young
blokes to the coalfields dancing. There was a bloke, a railway signaller, who
came from Banknock, winchin a girl from Armadale, Don going with a girl from
Whitburn and Gordon Beattie winchin Bette Hendry from Whitburn, plus occasional
‘liftees’ who joined us from time to time. We were a convivial bunch of horny
young blokes, wanting what young blokes wanted – girls! Don’ my best mate was
wee Harris’s cousin. Don and I had been mates for years. Always looking to make
a quid to feed our insatiable need to get amongst ‘the talent’, we really did
burn the candle at both ends and then
some. Dad used to chide me for my late nights and early morning starts. But I
never missed a day at work. Or for that matter a session at tech. or more
importantly a session with a girl.
Don and I went on holidays to
Dundee, Aberdeen, once as cadets in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. I
think that was when we were 14, in June /July time 1957 and then again the following year when
we were 15, staying with Don’s auntie and her husband who owned a boarding
house in Dundee. They were lovely people and we bought a bunch of flowers for
his aunt. Dad was furious that I had
joined the Army Cadets. I couldn’t see why the fuss. It’s only many years later
when in Australia and talking with Maw, that Maw told me that Dad’s two older
brothers were Prisoners of War in Germany in World War One. Dad’s saying was
that, ‘when a war came the cadets became a part of the army’. Whether true or
not, I didn’t mind. Anything had to be better than poverty stricken post WW2
Scotland. How stupid youth is!
Don and I had a wee business
sawing up old planks of timber and splitting it and tying into bundles of
firewood kindling. Wee sawed the timber in Don’s mum and dad’s back lobby in
the house. Scott, Don’s youger sibling wanted to saw. We had been warned how
dangerous circular saws were. Scott, adamant that he was safe and only about 12
years old near cut of his thumb. It still sickens me today how stupid don and I
werwe in givbing into the pleas and tantrums of Scott. He never ever got to saw
again as our venture more ofr less collapsed after that. We had been going
great guns, taking bogie loads around gatesisde Avenue selling door to door to
the oldies who didn’ have the wherewithal to get the timber as we could. More
to the point, Don’s cousin, wee Harris started to horn into the business and
basically wanted to take over.
Beside that I was selling coal
and timber logs fro my Uncle Frank Slade. It was hard heavy navvy work and
Frank didn’t exactly like parting with his money. Aunt Mary saw to that. I was
also doing Sunday papers for auld Wattie Gray, the newsagent at the Toll.
Whilst Wattie paid only about 7
shillings and 6 pence for a mornings work, I got extra for getting down to his
shop just after 6am to help split the papers up for the other paper laddies to
deliver. I think I got about 2 shillings and 6 pence for this extra work as
well as about 10 bob from tips from the mainly auld age pensioners on my run.
The Hoi Polloi were pretty stingy and never tipped at all or gave very little.
At that time especially when I started my apprenticeship in July 1958, I was
earning as much on my Sunday paper run as I was for my weeks wages at the
Chattan Work as an apprentice Steel fabricator/ Welder. Maw sorely needed the
money as dad was more sick and off work than well and at work. Plus because the
foundries around were on many occasions working 2 days on one week and then 3
days off the nest week the men were getting a full pay one wee\k a fortnight
and unemployment ‘Bru’[ Bureau of Employment] money for the second week. What
with what older Brother, Billie earned as an apprentice Turner and Fitter at
Rollo’s and myself, it helped mum a bit. But dear auld maw gave us back more
than we ever contributed. Maw was a stoic. Loving us allequally and grateful
for our contributions, no matter how much. When younger Brother, Jock, started
work, also at Rollo’s we bought Maw a gas heated washing machine with a wringer
and then later a ‘Rolls’ electric washing
machine. Maw deserved every bit of support and kindness going. As her kids we
knew from an early age that she was doing it tough, but she never complained.
And she had much to complain about. Dad drank and smoked as much of the money
he could get his hands on. Life was harder for maw than for us kids. Maw saw to
our needs.
My thoughts on where I stood in
Scotland were simple – migrate! From an early age of 11 that’s all I ever
wanted to do. I couldn’t see any future in 3 days one week and 2 days the next,
like my dad from ever I can remember. And when I finished my time and had
already had my papers, along with Ellie, to migrate, the talk in the Chattan
was just that! No way Hose! Aussie here I come. It would have broken maw’s
heart if she had known my feelings from such an early age, as it did when Ellie
and I said our goodbyes in December 1963. “I’ll never see you again, George’
Och, ye will Maw, I’ll get back’, as maw bawled her eyes out in her hallway at
15 gateside Ave. And to the day she died, I never ever told maw of my 11 year
old vow to escape that poverty. It would have hurt her deeply to have thought
that she, somehow, was the one that had failed her kids, instead of blaming the
economic times. But to her benefit, when dad died in 1971, Maw migrated in 1972
ans as she would tell everyone who’d listen, ‘these are the best years of my
life’. A sad indictment on British economic life and the hardships that Maw had
endured since she was a wee lassie and her 60 years in Scotland, that vgave her
30 ‘best years’ in Australia. Ellie and I migrating paid Maw back for her love.
Ellie didn’t want to get serious;
as she wanted to migrate I wanted to migrate. I said, ‘I’ll come with you’. My
fate was sealed – for the better. At first Ellie wanted to join her mates,
Janet Allen and ??? in Canada or the USA where her older
sister, Jeanette was. But when we got
serious, I didn’t want to go to the cold climes and after listening to my Dad,
who had went to Canada in 1928, stayed a few years until the depression bi it
and returned to Scotland circa 1931. We explored South Africa – no thanks with
its Apartheid, the USA – no thanks because I didn’t like the Yanks, New Zealand
became our choice because it had a social service close to Britains, but
eventually came to NSW as it took NZ until we were actually getting our
medical, to respond to our initial inquiry about April 1963. Australia was very
quick, only a few months after our inquiry and we were on the Fairsky through
the Mediterranean, down the Suez, into the Indian Ocean and hit Freemantle,
Port Adelaide, Port Melbourne and round d the corner into beautiful Sydney
Harbour. Stunning at daybreak that morning of the 13 Jan 1964 after leaving
Southampton on 12 Dec 1963. We didn’t know it but Ellie’s seasickness was our
first daughter Lisa, born Aug 1964. We certainly were wasting no time when I
look back on our ventures together. We got jobs easy as Aussie was very short
of skilled labour. GEO WRITE ABOUT THIS
1962
Middle
George takes Ellie to meet Maw
Family
Took Ellie to meet Maw and Dad.
Sometime after that Maw had her bunions done. Dear old Maw was in a lot of
pain. Dad tried his best, but not well enough to do so. Poor bugger, I feel for
him and could cry at the plight of both.
1962
Middle?
Maw bunions done
Health
And Ellie came down to stay for a
week or so to help as Maw was sleeping down in the lounge trying to take the weight of off her
de-bunioned feet by not having to use the stairs up and down to the bedroom
that Dad and her usually shared. Dad by this time was pretty bad with his
emphysema what with all of his past smoking and drinking. So we four boys,
Billy, me, John and Boarder Jimmy Hutchison [ honorary brother]had to go to
work, dad tried to make breakfast for all us. Ellie said that I got Dad to stop
doing the breakfasts and that she made the sandwiches, with all of our dislikes
and likes and I made the porridge. Ellie reckons because she worked in the
school that she could get school holidays off, so it might have been August
-September!
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