Dad's teenage years
So we go into the 1930’s and things were much better, for us anyway. The Carriage Works had opened up and were busy, Father , Arthur and Alf went back , Fred went to K&J’s the printers and as said earlier I was at the Cronehills Central school, and it was my intension not to work at the Carriage Works I took the Commercial course ,and when I left school I got a job as office boy at Chance Bros. The glass works down Spon Lane, the first rung of the ladder for my ultimate success. But alas it was not to be. After about six months Father said the job was not suitable for me, and I was to go to the Carriage Works with the others. I think he had the best motives, and to be fair to him I started he the best department which did the fitting out of the interiors of the coaches, a clean job, we wore a white apron and a collar and tie. And when we were lads you were expected to have a clean apron on a Monday morning, sometimes sent home to get one if you lived near enough which most did in those days, but I soon settled in and was reasonably content, with my pocket money and my golf money my teenage were pretty good. Except for one thing, The political and the diplomatic scene was pretty dire and everyone expected that there would be a war, which there was in September 1939. Fred was called up very early in the war, Arthur and Alf were in reserved occupations, and I not quite old enough. I was not very happy with my job in the early part of the war, So I left the Carriage Works an got a job at Harris and Sheldons a firm of shop fitters in Birmingham, nobody would believe that a Hamilton was leaving. The word went round, ’young Hamilton is leaving, and when Father knew when I got home with my tool-box, the heavens opened up, I had committed the gravest sin. But time is a great healer, and I settled in to my new job very well making parts for aircraft, which was a reserved occupation, for now I was military age.
About this time A young lady from Stourbridge named Betty Billingham, did the same as me, left her job against her parents wishes, went to the Ministry of Labour in Birmingham and they sent her to Harris and Sheldons and that is where we met. Although quite young twenty two, I was put in charge of a section making disposable petrol tanks for spitfires fighter planes, really content. That was until I got home from work one teatime and Mother handed me a buff envelope with my calling up papers inside. Ha well I had had a good run, it did not bother me greatly everyone else of my age had gone, so be it. Next morning I had a lie in and got to work late, when I arrived the foreman came over pointing to his watch where have you been etc, and I handed him my calling up papers. He was not pleased saying I was not going in the xxxxxx army, and rushed of to the office to get someone to clear it with At the Labour exchange to cancel it. But it was not to be. I reported to Norton Barracks Worcester for training, and irrespective of my experience in industry, I was assessed to be a wireless operator driver in the Royal Artillery and I was posted to Whitby in Yorkshire for training
Showing posts with label Carriage Works. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carriage Works. Show all posts
Friday, 29 March 2013
A brush with Royalty
More from my father Joseph Sydney Hamilton
When we were young we were quite hard up as most people were who lived in the street, in spite of living in a very affluent middle class area, Birmingham Rd. and Beeches Rd., but we never went short thanks to our mother’s house keeping management, but we had to try and earn money even when we were quite young. One was taking dinners to the carriage works, our father always had his dinner took to the factory every day, and we had to take Uncle Joe’s and Uncle Ernie’s, in a basin ina wicker basket. Three baskets that meant two of us. I started when I was ten helped by Stan who was three years younger Uncle Joe lived down Trinity Rd. and I left school early Beeches Rd. and then Cronehills, run all the way to Uncle Joe’s run through Kenricks Park pick up Uncle Ernie’s Dinner down Roebuck St, then to our house pick up Father’s and we half run half walked to the works. If we were late or spilled the gravy, we were in trouble. To-day this would be considered child cruelty. One day taking the dinners I had my brush with Royalty. We had to pass the Albion ground to get to the works. And that year the Albion had won the cup, an when we approached the main entrance, men in bowler hats and police inspectors lined the pavement, and we barged through only to be pushed back has the Prince of Wales who later became the Duke of Windsor, came out and the men raised their bowler hats and cheered, and very nearly walked in to him. From there they went on to the Carriage Works for a conducted tour and father and uncles did not get their dinner till past two, their dinners were cold but could not blame us. We used to get a shilling a week for taking the dinners which mother had. One other thing we had to do was to fetch coal from the pit a Saturday morning, we had this big wooden trolley , home made which held as cwt of coal. it was quite awkward to cope with as well as the fact we had to pull it over the railway bridge. There were other lads fetching coal we left the trolleys at the bottom and we all helped to pull the trolleys over the bridge one at a time. When we unloaded we went back, to get coal for neighbours for money of course. And then when we were twelve we went golf caddying at Sandwell Park Golf Club
The rules were you had to be twelve before you could be a caddy till you were sixteen. The fee was one and sixpence a round (seven and a half pence in to-days money, sometimes you got a bit extra, mother had that and you got a penny back. We went Saturday and Sunday and evenings in the summer, that is after the dinner and coal run. When we started work we still went caddying but had sixpence back. As time went on into the thirty’s and more of us were working we came reasonably better off, than quite a lot, we were the first to have a car. Arthur bought a Austin Seven for twenty pounds in 1934,He got married about that time, and we had better cars which brother Alf used to drive and look after, A natural mechanic was Alfred. Mother had certain rules. When you started work at fourteen mother had your wages and gave you a shilling (5p). When you got to sixteen you kept your wages and paid board an looked after yourself, bought your own clothes etc. So life was not so bad compared with others
When we were young we were quite hard up as most people were who lived in the street, in spite of living in a very affluent middle class area, Birmingham Rd. and Beeches Rd., but we never went short thanks to our mother’s house keeping management, but we had to try and earn money even when we were quite young. One was taking dinners to the carriage works, our father always had his dinner took to the factory every day, and we had to take Uncle Joe’s and Uncle Ernie’s, in a basin ina wicker basket. Three baskets that meant two of us. I started when I was ten helped by Stan who was three years younger Uncle Joe lived down Trinity Rd. and I left school early Beeches Rd. and then Cronehills, run all the way to Uncle Joe’s run through Kenricks Park pick up Uncle Ernie’s Dinner down Roebuck St, then to our house pick up Father’s and we half run half walked to the works. If we were late or spilled the gravy, we were in trouble. To-day this would be considered child cruelty. One day taking the dinners I had my brush with Royalty. We had to pass the Albion ground to get to the works. And that year the Albion had won the cup, an when we approached the main entrance, men in bowler hats and police inspectors lined the pavement, and we barged through only to be pushed back has the Prince of Wales who later became the Duke of Windsor, came out and the men raised their bowler hats and cheered, and very nearly walked in to him. From there they went on to the Carriage Works for a conducted tour and father and uncles did not get their dinner till past two, their dinners were cold but could not blame us. We used to get a shilling a week for taking the dinners which mother had. One other thing we had to do was to fetch coal from the pit a Saturday morning, we had this big wooden trolley , home made which held as cwt of coal. it was quite awkward to cope with as well as the fact we had to pull it over the railway bridge. There were other lads fetching coal we left the trolleys at the bottom and we all helped to pull the trolleys over the bridge one at a time. When we unloaded we went back, to get coal for neighbours for money of course. And then when we were twelve we went golf caddying at Sandwell Park Golf Club
The rules were you had to be twelve before you could be a caddy till you were sixteen. The fee was one and sixpence a round (seven and a half pence in to-days money, sometimes you got a bit extra, mother had that and you got a penny back. We went Saturday and Sunday and evenings in the summer, that is after the dinner and coal run. When we started work we still went caddying but had sixpence back. As time went on into the thirty’s and more of us were working we came reasonably better off, than quite a lot, we were the first to have a car. Arthur bought a Austin Seven for twenty pounds in 1934,He got married about that time, and we had better cars which brother Alf used to drive and look after, A natural mechanic was Alfred. Mother had certain rules. When you started work at fourteen mother had your wages and gave you a shilling (5p). When you got to sixteen you kept your wages and paid board an looked after yourself, bought your own clothes etc. So life was not so bad compared with others
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