Anecdotes of another Oldleither

John Boyd now of Forres

Born 27/5/34 at Parkvale Place, Leith, I attended Leith Links Primary School then Leith Academy Secondary from August 1946 to July 1949.

I began work in James MacIntyre`s, Johns Lane delivering animal feed to farms and small holdings.  Left this and went to work with British Road Services at Marine Gardens, Portobello in the stores as pre-apprenticeship to being a motor mechanic, but became disenchanted with the idea.

Then began an engineering apprenticeship with Henry Robb Ltd on 14/8/50.  Worked in the platers` yard on maintenance with `Fat Bob`, then to the plumbers` shop to bore out flanges to fit pipes (thousands of them).  The chap next to me had a worse job than me, he drilled the bolt holes and and had done so for years.  I now realise this must have been John Stevenson (Wee Flavell - named after the Heart`s footballer of that time).

I again became disillusioned as I felt I was just being used as cheap labour.  However my luck changed, as I had previously put my name on a waiting list for an engineering apprenticeship with James Bertram & Son, Leith Walk.  They were willing to take me on and even count my time with Robbs.  I jumped at the chance and never regretted the decision.  I left Robbs on 26/1/1951 and started in Bertrams on 29/1 1951 and completed my apprenticeship with them and went off to the Merchant Navy for four years as an engineer.

I decided I could enjoy life better working ashore.  At that time you had to have served in the M.N. until you were 26 years old to avoid being called up for National Service.  However, not being that age yet, I had a plan that was not to say anything but at the end of my trip to sea, take my leave and get a job ashore.  (I did, in Brown Brothers of Rosebank). 

It would take the authorities about a year to catch up with me and by that time I would be in the clear.  Alas, they had been talking about scrapping National Service for years, but it seemed at this time it was imminent and behind the scenes they had a big dragnet to catch the professional students, malingerers, and yours truly.  In short I was drafted into the R.A.F. and the bottom dropped out of my wee world.

Did my time in the forces, got married, started a family and worked in various companies in Leith and Edinurgh.  Decided we would relocate to South Africa and did so in 1970, and lived in Capetown area for 28 years.  Returned to the U.K. and now live in Forres.

Post Script

Names John mentions elsewhere on the site:

Donald Carnie - I first met Donald at Leith Links School as he and his twin sister were both in my class.  At that time we all had squeaky voices.  It was only when I met him in Robbs I noticed he still had his, hence his nick name, Squeak. 

By the way, my father was a plumber and had a shop in Yardheads at Henderson Street behind Crabbies.  However he closed this in 1939 and began work in Henry Robbs until 1949 approx.  He did NOT like Dandy MacLean!  When my father died in 1953, I gave some of his plumber`s tools to Donald.  You said Donald died in his twenties?  This came as a shock to me as I was not aware of this.

Jackie Knowles - Jackie had a girl friend in my class at Leith Academy called Joyce Wilson who lived at the bottom of Restalrig Road.  I met up with Jackie in Bertram`s as he served an apprenticeship as a patternmaker there.  He married Joyce and they had four or five children.  Unfortunately, she died of M.S. as a young woman.  They lived near us at this time and I saw quite a lot of them.

Entertainment:

Assembly Rooms - where two got in for the price of one on a Wednesday on showing a coloured card (which we had handfulls of).  Alexanders Band! GREAT DAYS.

Capitol concerts on a Sunday night.  What a hoot!

Sing-a-long at the Capitol on a Wednesday night where the wee white ball bounced over the words on the screen.  Only get in if you had your gas mask. 

Remember the White Warden who frightened the life out of us, as did Fishy Eyes?  Both reported as seen on a regular basis during the blackout sending shivers down our spines.

Apprentices` Strike:

I remember attending a strike rally in the Odd Fellows Hall in Forrest Road and sat in the upstairs gallery surrounding the hall.  Two incidents come to mind, the first being an apprentice from Brown Brothers who kept jumping up and down saying that Sir William Brown, managing director of the company, says that we should do this and do that.  Sir William says that we should do this, etc.  After this he was shouted down and faced a barrage of orange peel and such like litter from the gallery; ashamed to say I was one of the perpetrators.

The second was that a very tall well dressed young man was standing at the rear in the gallery and the word went round that he was a press reporter (the press being specifically banned from the meeting).  Things took an ugly turn and it looked like he was about to be thrown into the hall from the gallery.  However some hurried shouts vouched that he was one of us and was in fact in his last week of his apprenticeship; lucky for him!

I could go on and on!

John Boyd

E-mail: johnboyd@globalnet.co.uk