John Donkin
John Donkin
John Donkin
In his own words............
In his own words............
It was about this time that I started a “paper round” for the local tobacconist on Dewsbury Road, the wages were pitiful even at that time but as things were very tight money wise it was the only way of earning a few shillings a week pocket money. I wasn't very tall at the time, and weighed very little even when wet through as I quite often was whilst delivering morning and evening newspapers in the Harlech Road area, so it was a weary job especially so in the wintertime. I had to be up quite early as the College of Commerce is or was at that time situated right in the city centre, a good twenty minute ride on the tram the number 9 as I remember. The route I had wasn't so bad as most of the deliveries were closely grouped, there was one exception however this was a man called Dobson, he lived on the other side of Cross Flats Park a good quarter of a mile from all the other addresses. I used to mutter all the way across the park about this one delivery, it seemed so out of place as there was another newsagents quite close by, that Mr Dobson could have made use of, but no, he preferred the shop that was furthest from his home for some reason or other.
It was about this time that I started a “paper round” for the local tobacconist on Dewsbury Road, the wages were pitiful even at that time but as things were very tight money wise it was the only way of earning a few shillings a week pocket money. I wasn't very tall at the time, and weighed very little even when wet through as I quite often was whilst delivering morning and evening newspapers in the Harlech Road area, so it was a weary job especially so in the wintertime. I had to be up quite early as the College of Commerce is or was at that time situated right in the city centre, a good twenty minute ride on the tram the number 9 as I remember. The route I had wasn't so bad as most of the deliveries were closely grouped, there was one exception however this was a man called Dobson, he lived on the other side of Cross Flats Park a good quarter of a mile from all the other addresses. I used to mutter all the way across the park about this one delivery, it seemed so out of place as there was another newsagents quite close by, that Mr Dobson could have made use of, but no, he preferred the shop that was furthest from his home for some reason or other.
I was still interested in horses at this time and used to check the racing results from the previous days racing every morning before setting off on my rounds, and if there were any articles about the jockeys who were riding at this time I used to swallow them whole! I heard an appeal on the radio one evening by the then champion jockey Gordon Richards, later Sir Gordon Richards who after a glorious career where he won every big race in England and quite a few on the continent, went on to become an equally famous trainer of racehorses. He was appealing for funds for a charity, the name of which I have long forgotten, and on the spur of the moment I decided to write to him at the same time as I sent my donation of half-a-crown, asking him how to get started in racing. After several weeks I received a reply to my note from the chairman of the charity in question, thanking me for my donation and saying that he had forwarded my note to Mr. Richards. Another few weeks went by and along came a letter for me from the famous man himself, he too thanked me for my donation and offered the information that young lads of my age and weight were always in demand at Newmarket, the centre of the flat racing world and that the best thing I could do would be to write to any one of the well known trainers in this area, as even if they had no vacancies at the time I could always be put onto a waiting list.
I was still interested in horses at this time and used to check the racing results from the previous days racing every morning before setting off on my rounds, and if there were any articles about the jockeys who were riding at this time I used to swallow them whole! I heard an appeal on the radio one evening by the then champion jockey Gordon Richards, later Sir Gordon Richards who after a glorious career where he won every big race in England and quite a few on the continent, went on to become an equally famous trainer of racehorses. He was appealing for funds for a charity, the name of which I have long forgotten, and on the spur of the moment I decided to write to him at the same time as I sent my donation of half-a-crown, asking him how to get started in racing. After several weeks I received a reply to my note from the chairman of the charity in question, thanking me for my donation and saying that he had forwarded my note to Mr. Richards. Another few weeks went by and along came a letter for me from the famous man himself, he too thanked me for my donation and offered the information that young lads of my age and weight were always in demand at Newmarket, the centre of the flat racing world and that the best thing I could do would be to write to any one of the well known trainers in this area, as even if they had no vacancies at the time I could always be put onto a waiting list.
This information wasn't of much help to me as I didn't know the address of any trainers at Newmarket and certainly didn't know how to go about getting this information, so the idea was shelved for the time being. Not long afterwards I was delivering the evening paper to my client on the other side of the park, playing Hell inwardly as usual about the stupidity of this last call every day and was halfway down the garden path ready to race for home, when the front door was pulled open and Mr Dobson shouted. “Eh, you shorty”. My heart dropped right down into my shoes, I thought he must have heard all the things I,d been muttering on my way up the garden path and now I was in for a piece of his mind, probably with a complaint to the newsagent to boot. My fears were however unfounded, as when I went back he said ”Have you ever thought of being a jockey?” “I,ve never thought about anything else” I said.” Why?” “Well my brothers in racing and he,s always told me to look out for lightweights like you, tell us where you live and I,ll come over and have a word with your parents”. I went home walking on air! I,d already ridden every big winner in England before I got to the other side of the park!.
This information wasn't of much help to me as I didn't know the address of any trainers at Newmarket and certainly didn't know how to go about getting this information, so the idea was shelved for the time being. Not long afterwards I was delivering the evening paper to my client on the other side of the park, playing Hell inwardly as usual about the stupidity of this last call every day and was halfway down the garden path ready to race for home, when the front door was pulled open and Mr Dobson shouted. “Eh, you shorty”. My heart dropped right down into my shoes, I thought he must have heard all the things I,d been muttering on my way up the garden path and now I was in for a piece of his mind, probably with a complaint to the newsagent to boot. My fears were however unfounded, as when I went back he said ”Have you ever thought of being a jockey?” “I,ve never thought about anything else” I said.” Why?” “Well my brothers in racing and he,s always told me to look out for lightweights like you, tell us where you live and I,ll come over and have a word with your parents”. I went home walking on air! I,d already ridden every big winner in England before I got to the other side of the park!.
Before many days had gone by Mr. Dobson who,s Christian name turned out to be Wesley, he was never known as anything other than Wes, turned up to talk to my parents, mostly Mam of course as although John had married my mother and we had one more little brother in the family, we three never regarded him as a dad. More like Roger the lodger, I suppose. Wes told my mother that he was a scout for several trainers and that they were always on the lookout for bright lads, that looked as if they would be on the light side, I was 14 years old by now but weighed under six stone. By comparison most of my classmates were on the 8st7lbs to 9st mark at this time. He said that he had recently had an enquiry from one of the stables at Newmarket run by a very famous trainer that had made a name for himself in France before the war. His name was Willy Pratt and at the time he trained at Bury Lodge, on the Bury Road on the way out of the town of Newmarket.
Before many days had gone by Mr. Dobson who,s Christian name turned out to be Wesley, he was never known as anything other than Wes, turned up to talk to my parents, mostly Mam of course as although John had married my mother and we had one more little brother in the family, we three never regarded him as a dad. More like Roger the lodger, I suppose. Wes told my mother that he was a scout for several trainers and that they were always on the lookout for bright lads, that looked as if they would be on the light side, I was 14 years old by now but weighed under six stone. By comparison most of my classmates were on the 8st7lbs to 9st mark at this time. He said that he had recently had an enquiry from one of the stables at Newmarket run by a very famous trainer that had made a name for himself in France before the war. His name was Willy Pratt and at the time he trained at Bury Lodge, on the Bury Road on the way out of the town of Newmarket.
I was over school leaving age now and most of the lads I had been to school with were already working as apprentices at some trade or other, there was no shortage of jobs at this time as the war in Europe was drawing to an end and the manpower that had been involved in the fighting was still under arms. This was how I came to enter the “Racing Game”, a couple of weeks later I had said goodbye to my schoolmates at the College of Commerce and at the height of the worst winter in memory I took the train from Leeds City station south to Newmarket. This journey would usually have taken a few hours, but because of the heavy snowfalls at the time England was to all intents and purposes divided into two halves, the train did get through eventually but I remember it was late evening when I was met at the station in Newmarket by one of the lads that lived in at Pratts at that time.
I was over school leaving age now and most of the lads I had been to school with were already working as apprentices at some trade or other, there was no shortage of jobs at this time as the war in Europe was drawing to an end and the manpower that had been involved in the fighting was still under arms. This was how I came to enter the “Racing Game”, a couple of weeks later I had said goodbye to my schoolmates at the College of Commerce and at the height of the worst winter in memory I took the train from Leeds City station south to Newmarket. This journey would usually have taken a few hours, but because of the heavy snowfalls at the time England was to all intents and purposes divided into two halves, the train did get through eventually but I remember it was late evening when I was met at the station in Newmarket by one of the lads that lived in at Pratts at that time.
It was dark, it was snowing a blizzard, the wind howled like a thousand banshees,I was cold, frozen to the marrow would be a better expression - the trains in England at the time had very little heating due to the shortages of fuel because of the war - my suitcase felt like a huge lump of lead, the snow was up to my knees and we walked all the way from the station to the stables at Bury Road. The lad who had been sent to fetch me was just as fed up as I was about the whole situation, he himself was from Hull, with the nickname of “Cods” this being short for cods-head, anyone joining a stable that was unlucky enough to come from a fishing port was always called either “Cods-head” or “Fishy”. He told me that I was a replacement for a boy that unfortunately a few weeks previously had been kicked in the head after being thrown from his horse! He had died shortly afterwards at the local hospital. “Cods” description of the accident made me feel even colder, “There he is see, lying on the ground only winded like. Somebody shouted to him to get on his feet again whilst others shouted stay down kid until he's (the horse) away, kid lifts his head up to have a look see how close the horse is to him and bang, he kicked his head off!”
It was dark, it was snowing a blizzard, the wind howled like a thousand banshees,I was cold, frozen to the marrow would be a better expression - the trains in England at the time had very little heating due to the shortages of fuel because of the war - my suitcase felt like a huge lump of lead, the snow was up to my knees and we walked all the way from the station to the stables at Bury Road. The lad who had been sent to fetch me was just as fed up as I was about the whole situation, he himself was from Hull, with the nickname of “Cods” this being short for cods-head, anyone joining a stable that was unlucky enough to come from a fishing port was always called either “Cods-head” or “Fishy”. He told me that I was a replacement for a boy that unfortunately a few weeks previously had been kicked in the head after being thrown from his horse! He had died shortly afterwards at the local hospital. “Cods” description of the accident made me feel even colder, “There he is see, lying on the ground only winded like. Somebody shouted to him to get on his feet again whilst others shouted stay down kid until he's (the horse) away, kid lifts his head up to have a look see how close the horse is to him and bang, he kicked his head off!”
This welcome to Newmarket certainly didn't do anything to lessen my feelings of being in the dumps any that evening. After a while “Cods” said”This is it” and we entered the drive to Bury Lodge. The place was a hive of activity even at, for me at least this late hour.”Cods” explained that this was the tail end of evening stables, the horses were being put right for the night, fed, watered and bedded down. All the apprentices lived in, there was a common living room over one end of the stables and two bed cubicles were placed over the horses boxes, these ran from one end to the other and had two truckle beds and a shared chest of drawers. This was to be my home for the time being. I remember thinking to my self “I wonder what it,s like to be in Borstal?”
This welcome to Newmarket certainly didn't do anything to lessen my feelings of being in the dumps any that evening. After a while “Cods” said”This is it” and we entered the drive to Bury Lodge. The place was a hive of activity even at, for me at least this late hour.”Cods” explained that this was the tail end of evening stables, the horses were being put right for the night, fed, watered and bedded down. All the apprentices lived in, there was a common living room over one end of the stables and two bed cubicles were placed over the horses boxes, these ran from one end to the other and had two truckle beds and a shared chest of drawers. This was to be my home for the time being. I remember thinking to my self “I wonder what it,s like to be in Borstal?”
I was starving of course, after a journey of nearly 11 hours without food or drink and looking forward to something to eat. “Cods” took me round to the lady who lived in as landlady responsible to seeing to the needs of the lads, Mrs Swan as I remember, the lads were by this time assembled around the huge kitchen table all famished as usual! The meal was fried sprats! This was a fish I had never been acquainted with, to me they looked just like the minnows we,d caught as kids down in the local streams in Yeadon, I managed to get a couple down along with a lot of bread to appease my hunger but to say that the meal was a disappointment would be an understatement. This was a time with no T.V. no portable radios, no record players, spare time if there ever was such a thing was spent playing cards,reading or writing, I crawled into my icy bed with only one blanket and no heating of any description as soon as the meal was over. Even taking of my clothes to put on my pyjamas prior to getting into bed was an ordeal, I was shivering like a leaf when “Cods”, who it turned out was to be my room mate, burst in. “”What yer tekken yer clothes off for kid?” “Yer must be daft. We all puts us pyjamas on over t,other clothes else wi,d die a cold before morning!” I could see what he meant, so I hurriedly got back into my shirt and pants and donned the pyjamas over everything else! It was a great help. I fell asleep eventually on a sodden pillow,and I,m sure this must have been one of the most miserable nights of my life, I may have had some that were worse later in life but at this early age it was a nightmare.
I was starving of course, after a journey of nearly 11 hours without food or drink and looking forward to something to eat. “Cods” took me round to the lady who lived in as landlady responsible to seeing to the needs of the lads, Mrs Swan as I remember, the lads were by this time assembled around the huge kitchen table all famished as usual! The meal was fried sprats! This was a fish I had never been acquainted with, to me they looked just like the minnows we,d caught as kids down in the local streams in Yeadon, I managed to get a couple down along with a lot of bread to appease my hunger but to say that the meal was a disappointment would be an understatement. This was a time with no T.V. no portable radios, no record players, spare time if there ever was such a thing was spent playing cards,reading or writing, I crawled into my icy bed with only one blanket and no heating of any description as soon as the meal was over. Even taking of my clothes to put on my pyjamas prior to getting into bed was an ordeal, I was shivering like a leaf when “Cods”, who it turned out was to be my room mate, burst in. “”What yer tekken yer clothes off for kid?” “Yer must be daft. We all puts us pyjamas on over t,other clothes else wi,d die a cold before morning!” I could see what he meant, so I hurriedly got back into my shirt and pants and donned the pyjamas over everything else! It was a great help. I fell asleep eventually on a sodden pillow,and I,m sure this must have been one of the most miserable nights of my life, I may have had some that were worse later in life but at this early age it was a nightmare.
Time for another story I think to cheer you all up after hearing this latest tale of woe. This too is a viking story (it must be because I,ve lived in Denmark for so long!)
Time for another story I think to cheer you all up after hearing this latest tale of woe. This too is a viking story (it must be because I,ve lived in Denmark for so long!)
In olden days all vikings irrespective of where they came from were called norsemen, the people who were being raped and murdered didn,t care whether they were from Denmark,Sweden or Norway they just wished they were all somewhere else. One of these norsemen was going on an expedition to England on a cheap pillaging trip and he asked his wife, who was unfortunately blind, if there was anything she would like him to bring back for her. The only thing she wanted was a new kitchen sink! Off the norseman goes and he was so busy raping and pillaging with an occasional murder thrown in, that he quite forgot about the kitchen sink until he was climbing into his longboat just before leaving. At the same time he saw an old hod floating in the sea just by the side of his boat and thought to himself ,I can give her that, as she,s blind anyway she wont know the difference. He was met on the beach on his return by his wife and she immediately asked him if he had remembered the sink, oh yes my dear he said here it is, he gave her the old hod and off she went greatly pleased.
In olden days all vikings irrespective of where they came from were called norsemen, the people who were being raped and murdered didn,t care whether they were from Denmark,Sweden or Norway they just wished they were all somewhere else. One of these norsemen was going on an expedition to England on a cheap pillaging trip and he asked his wife, who was unfortunately blind, if there was anything she would like him to bring back for her. The only thing she wanted was a new kitchen sink! Off the norseman goes and he was so busy raping and pillaging with an occasional murder thrown in, that he quite forgot about the kitchen sink until he was climbing into his longboat just before leaving. At the same time he saw an old hod floating in the sea just by the side of his boat and thought to himself ,I can give her that, as she,s blind anyway she wont know the difference. He was met on the beach on his return by his wife and she immediately asked him if he had remembered the sink, oh yes my dear he said here it is, he gave her the old hod and off she went greatly pleased.
The moral of this story is of course “That a hod is as good as a sink to a blind norse!”
The moral of this story is of course “That a hod is as good as a sink to a blind norse!”
I;m quite certain that not many Danes will appreciate this story at all, but it may help if I say that a hod, is a three cornered wooden box on a pole that bricklayers labourers used on building sites to move quantities of bricks from ground level up onto the scaffolding where work was in progress, and that there is an old English saying that goes” A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse!”
I;m quite certain that not many Danes will appreciate this story at all, but it may help if I say that a hod, is a three cornered wooden box on a pole that bricklayers labourers used on building sites to move quantities of bricks from ground level up onto the scaffolding where work was in progress, and that there is an old English saying that goes” A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse!”
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER THREE
Its such a long time ago that I find it difficult to recollect my first few days at the stables of W. Pratt. It was all so new to me, I,d never had a full time job before,and the fact that I was working amongst horses at long last should have been enough to make my heart light indeed, but unfortunately I was ragged unmercifully by the other lads in the yard, even by “Cods” who I,d hoped would be my pal. This wasn't because he disliked me in any way, but in racing stables the youngest apprentice is always given the shitty end of the stick as they say, and “Cods” was grateful to me for putting in an appearance so that he was no longer the low man on the totem-pole. They certainly kept me busy, when I wasn't fetching and carrying for someone in the yard I was always at the beck and call of the butler, yes Mr Pratt had a butler along with a few other helpers around the house, to do what ever odd jobs that wanted doing at the time.
Its such a long time ago that I find it difficult to recollect my first few days at the stables of W. Pratt. It was all so new to me, I,d never had a full time job before,and the fact that I was working amongst horses at long last should have been enough to make my heart light indeed, but unfortunately I was ragged unmercifully by the other lads in the yard, even by “Cods” who I,d hoped would be my pal. This wasn't because he disliked me in any way, but in racing stables the youngest apprentice is always given the shitty end of the stick as they say, and “Cods” was grateful to me for putting in an appearance so that he was no longer the low man on the totem-pole. They certainly kept me busy, when I wasn't fetching and carrying for someone in the yard I was always at the beck and call of the butler, yes Mr Pratt had a butler along with a few other helpers around the house, to do what ever odd jobs that wanted doing at the time.
For a lightweight fourteen year old it was heavy going and as the days went by I became more and more homesick, letters from home helped a little but I got more and more fed up as time passed and even though I loved the horses, this was the year that they had Tite Street and Whiteway in the yard, and I,d got really attached to old Billy as I called him,Bilbao was his racing name. I was glad that I was only on trial for the first month, and that I hadn't burnt my boats behind me by signing on as an apprentice on arrival. The final straw for me was the initiation ceremony the other apprentices inflicted upon me after I had been led out on to the heath by one of the older lads, the horse in question always went quietly when being led if someone was on his back, it made no matter that I was a raw apprentice that had never been in the saddle before, the horse just liked the feeling of someone on his back.
For a lightweight fourteen year old it was heavy going and as the days went by I became more and more homesick, letters from home helped a little but I got more and more fed up as time passed and even though I loved the horses, this was the year that they had Tite Street and Whiteway in the yard, and I,d got really attached to old Billy as I called him,Bilbao was his racing name. I was glad that I was only on trial for the first month, and that I hadn't burnt my boats behind me by signing on as an apprentice on arrival. The final straw for me was the initiation ceremony the other apprentices inflicted upon me after I had been led out on to the heath by one of the older lads, the horse in question always went quietly when being led if someone was on his back, it made no matter that I was a raw apprentice that had never been in the saddle before, the horse just liked the feeling of someone on his back.
I must have given the other lads the impression that I was getting a bit too big for my boots as I was having an easy time of it whilst the other first year lads were all back in the yard “mucking out”, what ever it was I don't know but it ended with my being de-bagged after evening stables and having my sexual organs (such as they were) greased with Stockholm tar. Stockholm tar is used to grease horses hooves and the smell of it is quite strong added to the fact that it is extremely irritating to the skin, I was most upset to say the least. I tried with the aid of soap and cold water to wash it off but it was an impossible task, and the more I scrubbed the more painful it became I spent another miserable night with a wet pillow, this incident was for me the last straw and when my months trial period ran out a few days later I refused to stay on and was duly sent back to where I came from. Was I ever glad to see dirty old Leeds again?
I must have given the other lads the impression that I was getting a bit too big for my boots as I was having an easy time of it whilst the other first year lads were all back in the yard “mucking out”, what ever it was I don't know but it ended with my being de-bagged after evening stables and having my sexual organs (such as they were) greased with Stockholm tar. Stockholm tar is used to grease horses hooves and the smell of it is quite strong added to the fact that it is extremely irritating to the skin, I was most upset to say the least. I tried with the aid of soap and cold water to wash it off but it was an impossible task, and the more I scrubbed the more painful it became I spent another miserable night with a wet pillow, this incident was for me the last straw and when my months trial period ran out a few days later I refused to stay on and was duly sent back to where I came from. Was I ever glad to see dirty old Leeds again?
I now had a problem, if racing wasn't to be my job, what was I going to do with the rest of my life? Fortunately for me Wes Dobson had already heard from Newmarket that I hadn't wanted to stay on and when he met me a few days later and I told him the reasons for my coming home again, he told me that his own brother “Johnny Dobson” was working at a training stable not very far from Leeds at the time and he asked if I would be prepared to give it another go at Wetherby, with a trainer called P.J.Vasey. I,d never heard of either the town or the trainer but as his own brother was employed there, had been with Vasey for several years, and thinking I could always walk home if things were too bad as Wetherby is only fourteen miles from Leeds I decided to try again. This time my mother went with me to see what sort of a place she was entrusting her baby to, we had a chat with Mr. Vasey and the outcome was that I would work a three month trial period if things worked out to our mutual satisfaction I would be signed on as an indentured apprentice, with all that this entailed for the next five years. I was to live in digs along with some of the other lads from the yard, Mr Vasey would provide me with clothing when necessary and my wages the first year would be 2/6d, a week, rising to 25/- per week at the end of my time!My board would be paid for by Mr Vasey, the rate at this time was 30/- per week, by comparison the married men, who are called board wage-men that work in the yard were earning 6 pounds a week, for a seven day week of between 64 and 70 hours. Yes these were some of the good old days.
I now had a problem, if racing wasn't to be my job, what was I going to do with the rest of my life? Fortunately for me Wes Dobson had already heard from Newmarket that I hadn't wanted to stay on and when he met me a few days later and I told him the reasons for my coming home again, he told me that his own brother “Johnny Dobson” was working at a training stable not very far from Leeds at the time and he asked if I would be prepared to give it another go at Wetherby, with a trainer called P.J.Vasey. I,d never heard of either the town or the trainer but as his own brother was employed there, had been with Vasey for several years, and thinking I could always walk home if things were too bad as Wetherby is only fourteen miles from Leeds I decided to try again. This time my mother went with me to see what sort of a place she was entrusting her baby to, we had a chat with Mr. Vasey and the outcome was that I would work a three month trial period if things worked out to our mutual satisfaction I would be signed on as an indentured apprentice, with all that this entailed for the next five years. I was to live in digs along with some of the other lads from the yard, Mr Vasey would provide me with clothing when necessary and my wages the first year would be 2/6d, a week, rising to 25/- per week at the end of my time!My board would be paid for by Mr Vasey, the rate at this time was 30/- per week, by comparison the married men, who are called board wage-men that work in the yard were earning 6 pounds a week, for a seven day week of between 64 and 70 hours. Yes these were some of the good old days.
Looking at old photographs today of the Vasey employees from that time I'm inclined to say that they were a very rough,tough bunch of customers and on the photos I still have they look something of a robber band, but they had hearts of gold and were one and all hooked on horses. They ate slept and dreamt horses, they all smelt like horses and a lot of them ate like horses but they were a lovely bunch of lads, looking back I think that the happiest four years of my youth were the years that I spent as a young lad in Wetherby. Mr Vasey himself, the Guvnor as he was always called, was at this time a lodger himself, he was living close to the stables on Boston Road with Miss Foster and her ageing invalid mother. He lived here at this time as his wife and two daughters were all officers in the W:R:A:C., and although the war in Europe was drawing to an end the government had not at this time starting de-mobilisation. I too lived on Boston Road with an old lady named Mrs Wilson, I shared digs with two other lads employed in the yard, an apprentice a couple of years older than I was,Roy Bellin was his name and he was for some unknown reason very proud of the fact that he came from Wooley Colliery!
Looking at old photographs today of the Vasey employees from that time I'm inclined to say that they were a very rough,tough bunch of customers and on the photos I still have they look something of a robber band, but they had hearts of gold and were one and all hooked on horses. They ate slept and dreamt horses, they all smelt like horses and a lot of them ate like horses but they were a lovely bunch of lads, looking back I think that the happiest four years of my youth were the years that I spent as a young lad in Wetherby. Mr Vasey himself, the Guvnor as he was always called, was at this time a lodger himself, he was living close to the stables on Boston Road with Miss Foster and her ageing invalid mother. He lived here at this time as his wife and two daughters were all officers in the W:R:A:C., and although the war in Europe was drawing to an end the government had not at this time starting de-mobilisation. I too lived on Boston Road with an old lady named Mrs Wilson, I shared digs with two other lads employed in the yard, an apprentice a couple of years older than I was,Roy Bellin was his name and he was for some unknown reason very proud of the fact that he came from Wooley Colliery!
The other lad was a board wage man a good few years older than we were by the name of Jackie Mochrie, and as the name implies he was from north of the border, Bonnie Scotland I don't think he ever told me where from. I was of course youngest apprentice or at least aspiring apprentice at this time, so once again it was the “shitty end of the stick” for John, I was at every ones beck and call but the four weeks I had had at Willy Pratts stood me in good stead now, as I knew at least a lot of the names of the pieces of equipment, surcingles and standing and running martingales were standard things now, and a lot of the leg-pulling fizzled out as I had already been through the mill and knew some of the answers. The week that I started at Vaseys was the same week that Albert Cooper the trainer moved out of the small yard at the back of Vasey,s stables to start training at Doncaster, I just managed to say “Hello” to Chalky, Darkie and Flash, the three apprentices before they left, Vaseys apprentices were at this time,Snowy Humphries, Kenny Perry,Gordon Mook,Eric Walton,Roy Bellin, Roy “Porky” Twibey, Roy “Selby” Hampshire and yours truly. With three Roy,s in the yard nicknames were a necessity, Porky was so named as he was a little chubby chap, Selby was called this as he originated from the town of Selby, luckily for me there were no other John,s at this time so I was called “The Kid” for the first couple of weeks but was soon known as Johnny to all and sundry.
The other lad was a board wage man a good few years older than we were by the name of Jackie Mochrie, and as the name implies he was from north of the border, Bonnie Scotland I don't think he ever told me where from. I was of course youngest apprentice or at least aspiring apprentice at this time, so once again it was the “shitty end of the stick” for John, I was at every ones beck and call but the four weeks I had had at Willy Pratts stood me in good stead now, as I knew at least a lot of the names of the pieces of equipment, surcingles and standing and running martingales were standard things now, and a lot of the leg-pulling fizzled out as I had already been through the mill and knew some of the answers. The week that I started at Vaseys was the same week that Albert Cooper the trainer moved out of the small yard at the back of Vasey,s stables to start training at Doncaster, I just managed to say “Hello” to Chalky, Darkie and Flash, the three apprentices before they left, Vaseys apprentices were at this time,Snowy Humphries, Kenny Perry,Gordon Mook,Eric Walton,Roy Bellin, Roy “Porky” Twibey, Roy “Selby” Hampshire and yours truly. With three Roy,s in the yard nicknames were a necessity, Porky was so named as he was a little chubby chap, Selby was called this as he originated from the town of Selby, luckily for me there were no other John,s at this time so I was called “The Kid” for the first couple of weeks but was soon known as Johnny to all and sundry.
The rest of the staff were Nobby Clarke he was head lad, he would be in his late fifties I suppose, Harold Mallorie he was travelling head lad,Tommy Buckle,Laurie Nightingale,Johnny Dobson,Jackie Mochrie, Don Foster, Freddy Leonard, Tommy Millar, Dave Johnson,Freddie Topham, and Ernie Mott.
The rest of the staff were Nobby Clarke he was head lad, he would be in his late fifties I suppose, Harold Mallorie he was travelling head lad,Tommy Buckle,Laurie Nightingale,Johnny Dobson,Jackie Mochrie, Don Foster, Freddy Leonard, Tommy Millar, Dave Johnson,Freddie Topham, and Ernie Mott.
Ernie,s name wasn't Mott at all but I never heard him called anything else during the time I knew him, the other lads had christened him Mott as he liked to talk of the old days when he had served an apprenticeship with the famous lady trainer of the times, Miss Nora Wilmott!
Ernie,s name wasn't Mott at all but I never heard him called anything else during the time I knew him, the other lads had christened him Mott as he liked to talk of the old days when he had served an apprenticeship with the famous lady trainer of the times, Miss Nora Wilmott!
It wasn't long before I was given a horse to “do” his name was Count Yutoi he was no great racehorse but he was ideal for a beginner like me as he was of a very placid nature, I learnt to muck out, feed, fill hay-nets, groom,water and generally see to the well being of the horse. After several weeks of working at the yard the Guvnor said to Harold,”You can take Johnny on the lunging rein tomorrow Harold, see if you can get him to bump saddle before the end of the week”. I had difficulty sleeping that night I lay awake for a long time just thinking of what was to happen the next day, but I must have fallen asleep at some time or other as Roy had to
It wasn't long before I was given a horse to “do” his name was Count Yutoi he was no great racehorse but he was ideal for a beginner like me as he was of a very placid nature, I learnt to muck out, feed, fill hay-nets, groom,water and generally see to the well being of the horse. After several weeks of working at the yard the Guvnor said to Harold,”You can take Johnny on the lunging rein tomorrow Harold, see if you can get him to bump saddle before the end of the week”. I had difficulty sleeping that night I lay awake for a long time just thinking of what was to happen the next day, but I must have fallen asleep at some time or other as Roy had to
shake me out of my dreams next morning.
shake me out of my dreams next morning.
Photo right: The now derelict yard.
Photo right: The now derelict yard.
After the others had left the yard, Harold put the tack on Count Yutoi and I was boosted into the saddle and we followed the first lot as it,s called across the paddock, across the Great North Road and into the Grange Park, where the gallops were located. The great thing about the Grange as we called the gallops for short, was the fact that they were totally enclosed. Bounded on one side by the river and by a 10 foot high stone wall running along the length of the gallops parallel to the Great North Road, at the far end of the gallops was the Grange it's self. At the time it had been taken over by the War Department and at the end closest to the town there was a German prisoner of war camp. This meant that when anyone was thrown off and the horse got away without his rider, there was very little chance of the horse getting out onto the main road. Usually the horses were caught again after a few minutes, horses are sociable animals and they very often just had a gallop for a few minutes before coming back to see what the others were doing. My first day on the gallops was spent on the lunging rein, being lunged in circles on a rather steep slope as Harold said,”Any silly bugger can sit on a horse on a lunge rein just going round in circles on the flat. Learning how to bump saddle whilst staying put on the down gradient and then adjusting to the climb on the other side made you think about what you were about”. He was right. It wasn't easy but after a while I began to get the hang of things and and it wasn't very long before I was riding out on my own on a mare called “Dana Din”, she was the horse that all the apprentices started their riding careers on and she was as good as gold, I don't remember the name of the owner but he must have been a bit of a philanthropist as old “Dana” was never entered in anything other than apprentice races and all the lads in the yard had their first ride in public on her. During my years with Vasey I can never ever remember her even being placed in any of her races but it didn't seem to bother the owner she was kept on year after year, without ever contributing towards her own keep, he must have either been a very patient fellow or have had enough money so as not to bother about the expense incurred. Harold, the travelling head-lad was a real pal to me, no matter what stupid question I asked he had always time to explain the why,s and where for of what was going on and he really knew his job, and after a few months I was doing my two and riding out both lots along with all the others. For the uninitiated I have to add, the expression doing your two means that two horses are entrusted to your care entirely, with regard to grooming, mucking out, feeding etc, and depending on the temperament of the horse usually for riding out too. This isn't always the case though as some times an apprentice is allowed to look after an expensive horse but because of the risks involved he will not be allowed to ride “his” own horse on the gallops due to inexperience. Riding out both lots means that I was allowed to ride out to the gallops twice during the course of the morning, first lot leaving the yard at eight o,clock sharp,second lot leaving at sometime between ten fifteen and ten forty five, the string was always walked from the yard across the main road to the park, where we trotted for a few miles around the outer edges of the training area to warm the horses up before the real work began. Horses that were not yet fit were only cantered at a moderate pace, any horse that was in training for a race was first cantered to warm up and then
After the others had left the yard, Harold put the tack on Count Yutoi and I was boosted into the saddle and we followed the first lot as it,s called across the paddock, across the Great North Road and into the Grange Park, where the gallops were located. The great thing about the Grange as we called the gallops for short, was the fact that they were totally enclosed. Bounded on one side by the river and by a 10 foot high stone wall running along the length of the gallops parallel to the Great North Road, at the far end of the gallops was the Grange it's self. At the time it had been taken over by the War Department and at the end closest to the town there was a German prisoner of war camp. This meant that when anyone was thrown off and the horse got away without his rider, there was very little chance of the horse getting out onto the main road. Usually the horses were caught again after a few minutes, horses are sociable animals and they very often just had a gallop for a few minutes before coming back to see what the others were doing. My first day on the gallops was spent on the lunging rein, being lunged in circles on a rather steep slope as Harold said,”Any silly bugger can sit on a horse on a lunge rein just going round in circles on the flat. Learning how to bump saddle whilst staying put on the down gradient and then adjusting to the climb on the other side made you think about what you were about”. He was right. It wasn't easy but after a while I began to get the hang of things and and it wasn't very long before I was riding out on my own on a mare called “Dana Din”, she was the horse that all the apprentices started their riding careers on and she was as good as gold, I don't remember the name of the owner but he must have been a bit of a philanthropist as old “Dana” was never entered in anything other than apprentice races and all the lads in the yard had their first ride in public on her. During my years with Vasey I can never ever remember her even being placed in any of her races but it didn't seem to bother the owner she was kept on year after year, without ever contributing towards her own keep, he must have either been a very patient fellow or have had enough money so as not to bother about the expense incurred. Harold, the travelling head-lad was a real pal to me, no matter what stupid question I asked he had always time to explain the why,s and where for of what was going on and he really knew his job, and after a few months I was doing my two and riding out both lots along with all the others. For the uninitiated I have to add, the expression doing your two means that two horses are entrusted to your care entirely, with regard to grooming, mucking out, feeding etc, and depending on the temperament of the horse usually for riding out too. This isn't always the case though as some times an apprentice is allowed to look after an expensive horse but because of the risks involved he will not be allowed to ride “his” own horse on the gallops due to inexperience. Riding out both lots means that I was allowed to ride out to the gallops twice during the course of the morning, first lot leaving the yard at eight o,clock sharp,second lot leaving at sometime between ten fifteen and ten forty five, the string was always walked from the yard across the main road to the park, where we trotted for a few miles around the outer edges of the training area to warm the horses up before the real work began. Horses that were not yet fit were only cantered at a moderate pace, any horse that was in training for a race was first cantered to warm up and then
taken over by the stable jockey, or one of the older lads to do gallops, riding work, is the term they use here.
taken over by the stable jockey, or one of the older lads to do gallops, riding work, is the term they use here.
Photo right: The Manchester November Handicap. November 22, 1947
Photo right: The Manchester November Handicap. November 22, 1947
It takes quite a while before a new apprentice is allowed to ride work as the trainer has always to bear in mind the fact that the horses in his care are not his own property, and that an owner that loses a horse in an accident would not be pleased to hear that his potential Derby winner had had to be put down after a mishap whilst being ridden by an inexperienced youth, apart from the fact that it isn't always the horse that comes off worst in this sort of encounter. Many's the time Mr. Vasey has had to pick up the phone to tell some parent that unfortunately his or her son had been involved in an accident on the gallops and could now be visited at either Leeds Infirmary or Harrogate Hospital, there were many broken bones during my time at Wetherby but although I was thrown many times,and Harold always said”You cant call yourself a jockey before you've been off 100 times” I seemed to bear a charmed life with regard to broken limbs.
It takes quite a while before a new apprentice is allowed to ride work as the trainer has always to bear in mind the fact that the horses in his care are not his own property, and that an owner that loses a horse in an accident would not be pleased to hear that his potential Derby winner had had to be put down after a mishap whilst being ridden by an inexperienced youth, apart from the fact that it isn't always the horse that comes off worst in this sort of encounter. Many's the time Mr. Vasey has had to pick up the phone to tell some parent that unfortunately his or her son had been involved in an accident on the gallops and could now be visited at either Leeds Infirmary or Harrogate Hospital, there were many broken bones during my time at Wetherby but although I was thrown many times,and Harold always said”You cant call yourself a jockey before you've been off 100 times” I seemed to bear a charmed life with regard to broken limbs.
I was of course thrown off loads of times but always came off scot-free with regard to broken bones, I had sprains and bruises yes, and I was very often seen limping round the town sometimes with a bandaged wrist or one arm in a sling but luckily not in plaster of Paris. Others were not so lucky, I remember Philip Simpson having a very bad fall one winter whilst preparing to cross the Leeds road, it was of course a Monday morning, the lads always laid odds on who would be first off on Monday mornings, Mondays were bad days for getting thrown or falling off as the horses were not taken out on Sundays and being on full rations they were in full fettle on Mondays. The smallest excuse was valid, a lorry that backfired, a blackbird that flew out of a hedge, a piece of newspaper blowing down the road those horses could use anything at all as a reason for whipping round, rearing, fly-jumping, bucking or any other form of equine devilment. On the day of Phillip's accident there was ice on the road just outside the five barred gate and the horse in front of Phillip's mount happened to slip, he didn't go down but the noise and the sound of his hooves scraping on the tarmacadam frightened Phillips horse too, as he was in between the gateposts he couldn't get away to either side so his answer to this was to rear. Unfortunately he was now out on the icy patch and as he reared up both hind legs slipped out from under him and he fell heavily with poor Phillip under him, unluckily for Phillip the weight of the horse and the frozen ground combined to give him two broken legs and he was on crutches for the next six months.
I was of course thrown off loads of times but always came off scot-free with regard to broken bones, I had sprains and bruises yes, and I was very often seen limping round the town sometimes with a bandaged wrist or one arm in a sling but luckily not in plaster of Paris. Others were not so lucky, I remember Philip Simpson having a very bad fall one winter whilst preparing to cross the Leeds road, it was of course a Monday morning, the lads always laid odds on who would be first off on Monday mornings, Mondays were bad days for getting thrown or falling off as the horses were not taken out on Sundays and being on full rations they were in full fettle on Mondays. The smallest excuse was valid, a lorry that backfired, a blackbird that flew out of a hedge, a piece of newspaper blowing down the road those horses could use anything at all as a reason for whipping round, rearing, fly-jumping, bucking or any other form of equine devilment. On the day of Phillip's accident there was ice on the road just outside the five barred gate and the horse in front of Phillip's mount happened to slip, he didn't go down but the noise and the sound of his hooves scraping on the tarmacadam frightened Phillips horse too, as he was in between the gateposts he couldn't get away to either side so his answer to this was to rear. Unfortunately he was now out on the icy patch and as he reared up both hind legs slipped out from under him and he fell heavily with poor Phillip under him, unluckily for Phillip the weight of the horse and the frozen ground combined to give him two broken legs and he was on crutches for the next six months.
Photo right: The write-up for the November Handicap
Photo right: The write-up for the November Handicap
We had many such episodes and the ambulance service was kept quite busy at times taking Vasey,s injured to the nearest hospital or up to the local doctors surgery on the main square in Wetherby, I have woken up quite a few times after a fall, in Dr. Lodges surgery lying on a stretcher in the hallway with a thick head and found doctor Lodge bending over me with his pencil torch shining in my eyes as he diagnosed, light concussion again John. Keep to your bed for the rest of the day here's a couple of Asprins for the headache, get the Guvnor to ring to me tomorrow if your not feeling fully fit you might need an x-ray for hairline fracture of the skull! There was never much sympathy to be had from either the doctor or the Guvnor, but as a rule I was allowed to miss evening stables after a fall of this nature, this didn't go down very well with the other lads as someone had to do my horses for me in the evening. I remember Eric said one morning,”He's doing it on purpose, this little sod knows that as long as he lands on his head, he,ll come to no harm, I'm fed up of doing his bloody horses in the evenings,you,d better sit tight today Johnny because I,m going to the pictures tonight and I don't want to come late.!” It was also typical that if there was an incident on the way out to the gallops, the Guvnor would always ask if the horse was O.K. before asking how the rider had come out of it. They used to tell a story about me in Wetherby many years ago,it wasn't true but its funny never the less, it went like this. I had been unlucky again on the way to the gallops landing on my head as usual and had been carted off to doctor Lodge, the Guvnor could see that he was short of a horse in the string when the others arrived at the gallops, “Where,s Johnny?” he asked.”Thrown off on the way over Guvnor”,was the reply.”What about the horse?”.”O.K. Guvnor,no damage”,”What about Johnny is he hurt?””No chance Guvnor, he landed on his head again so he,s O.K. too!”
We had many such episodes and the ambulance service was kept quite busy at times taking Vasey,s injured to the nearest hospital or up to the local doctors surgery on the main square in Wetherby, I have woken up quite a few times after a fall, in Dr. Lodges surgery lying on a stretcher in the hallway with a thick head and found doctor Lodge bending over me with his pencil torch shining in my eyes as he diagnosed, light concussion again John. Keep to your bed for the rest of the day here's a couple of Asprins for the headache, get the Guvnor to ring to me tomorrow if your not feeling fully fit you might need an x-ray for hairline fracture of the skull! There was never much sympathy to be had from either the doctor or the Guvnor, but as a rule I was allowed to miss evening stables after a fall of this nature, this didn't go down very well with the other lads as someone had to do my horses for me in the evening. I remember Eric said one morning,”He's doing it on purpose, this little sod knows that as long as he lands on his head, he,ll come to no harm, I'm fed up of doing his bloody horses in the evenings,you,d better sit tight today Johnny because I,m going to the pictures tonight and I don't want to come late.!” It was also typical that if there was an incident on the way out to the gallops, the Guvnor would always ask if the horse was O.K. before asking how the rider had come out of it. They used to tell a story about me in Wetherby many years ago,it wasn't true but its funny never the less, it went like this. I had been unlucky again on the way to the gallops landing on my head as usual and had been carted off to doctor Lodge, the Guvnor could see that he was short of a horse in the string when the others arrived at the gallops, “Where,s Johnny?” he asked.”Thrown off on the way over Guvnor”,was the reply.”What about the horse?”.”O.K. Guvnor,no damage”,”What about Johnny is he hurt?””No chance Guvnor, he landed on his head again so he,s O.K. too!”
About six months later I had an accident only a few yards from where Phillip was badly injured,it happened on a Saturday morning,my mother had asked Mr.Vasey if it would be all right if I had my yearly holiday,All seven days of it,at the same time as the rest of the family ,so we could all have a week at Morecambe together. The Guvnor begrudgingly said O.K. he didn't hold with his staff having holidays at all during the flat racing season, but we hadn't many horses entered during that week so I was granted permission as long as I rode out first lot on the Saturday morning before I left. We were all riding two year old's that morning, these horses had been broken in in the spring and were now just getting accustomed to what racing was all about, they were of course a very nervous lot and it took nothing at all to set them all alight. We had just crossed the road from the paddock on the corner of the great north road and were all going into a ploughed field on the other side of the road to trot for a while to quieten them down, a ploughed field is heavy going and soon tires a horse so that he,s not going to act the fool so readily. An oil tanker came around the corner just as we entered the field and whilst revving up again to pick up speed the motor backfired with a bang that would have woken the dead! That did it.
About six months later I had an accident only a few yards from where Phillip was badly injured,it happened on a Saturday morning,my mother had asked Mr.Vasey if it would be all right if I had my yearly holiday,All seven days of it,at the same time as the rest of the family ,so we could all have a week at Morecambe together. The Guvnor begrudgingly said O.K. he didn't hold with his staff having holidays at all during the flat racing season, but we hadn't many horses entered during that week so I was granted permission as long as I rode out first lot on the Saturday morning before I left. We were all riding two year old's that morning, these horses had been broken in in the spring and were now just getting accustomed to what racing was all about, they were of course a very nervous lot and it took nothing at all to set them all alight. We had just crossed the road from the paddock on the corner of the great north road and were all going into a ploughed field on the other side of the road to trot for a while to quieten them down, a ploughed field is heavy going and soon tires a horse so that he,s not going to act the fool so readily. An oil tanker came around the corner just as we entered the field and whilst revving up again to pick up speed the motor backfired with a bang that would have woken the dead! That did it.
Horses and jockeys were going in all directions, all panicking or pretending to because of the noise, I was riding a yearling called Captain Cavalier who was very jumpy at the best of times. He reared up and fell backwards with me underneath him, at the same time entangling his forelegs in the reins so he couldn't get up again, he just kept rolling backwards and forwards with me underneath him,he squashed me into the ground three times before I eventually got clear. Because we were in a ploughed field I had no broken bones, but the imprint of my body was pressed into the earth's surface for a depth of several inches. I remember Eric saying,”Well you made a good impression today Johnny! Don't let anybody disturb that imprint,we can get the tailor to make him a new suit whilst he,s on holiday!” Two hours later every bone in my body was aching, I,d arranged to meet the family at twelve o,clock at the railway station, on the bus things gradually got worse and I reached the station only minutes before the train was due to leave dragging my weary body into the compartment only seconds before the train left. Most of my weeks holiday was spent in bed, or sitting quietly in a comfortable armchair by the fire, I was black and blue from top to toe, by the end of the week the bruises were turning yellow and I was close to being able to walk normally again. Everybody said when I got back that I was a lucky lad, just fancy being granted a weeks holiday with his family at the height of the season, some people had all the luck!
Horses and jockeys were going in all directions, all panicking or pretending to because of the noise, I was riding a yearling called Captain Cavalier who was very jumpy at the best of times. He reared up and fell backwards with me underneath him, at the same time entangling his forelegs in the reins so he couldn't get up again, he just kept rolling backwards and forwards with me underneath him,he squashed me into the ground three times before I eventually got clear. Because we were in a ploughed field I had no broken bones, but the imprint of my body was pressed into the earth's surface for a depth of several inches. I remember Eric saying,”Well you made a good impression today Johnny! Don't let anybody disturb that imprint,we can get the tailor to make him a new suit whilst he,s on holiday!” Two hours later every bone in my body was aching, I,d arranged to meet the family at twelve o,clock at the railway station, on the bus things gradually got worse and I reached the station only minutes before the train was due to leave dragging my weary body into the compartment only seconds before the train left. Most of my weeks holiday was spent in bed, or sitting quietly in a comfortable armchair by the fire, I was black and blue from top to toe, by the end of the week the bruises were turning yellow and I was close to being able to walk normally again. Everybody said when I got back that I was a lucky lad, just fancy being granted a weeks holiday with his family at the height of the season, some people had all the luck!
If the accident had happened at any other time I would have had a week in bed in Wetherby and still have had all my weeks holiday to the good, I didn't think I was at all lucky - but looking back on this incident I'm inclined to agree with them, getting off with bruises when Phillip collected two broken legs was I suppose luck indeed.
If the accident had happened at any other time I would have had a week in bed in Wetherby and still have had all my weeks holiday to the good, I didn't think I was at all lucky - but looking back on this incident I'm inclined to agree with them, getting off with bruises when Phillip collected two broken legs was I suppose luck indeed.
There were two trainers in the north of England that were renowned for having many apprentices, Percy Vasey was one of them and the other was Ernie Davey. Years later it dawned on me why this was, a board wage man was paid at the rate of something around five to six pounds a week at the time, whilst an apprentice was paid five shillings a week after his first year,ten shillings a week in his third year with increments of five shillings per year until in his last year he was earning one pound five shillings a week. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to work out that a second year apprentice doing exactly the same amount of work as a fully paid stable lad, as well as being on call at all hours of the day, was a far better paying proposition than the fully paid hands. Twelve second year lads were equal to the same wages as a fully paid board wage man, with an owner paying something over ten pounds a week for having his horse in training the profits were much higher than they would otherwise have been. We had forty horses in the yard at this time at ten pounds a week,gives us four hundred pounds, eight apprentices at an average of fifteen shillings a week and eight fully paid lads at six pounds, gives us fifty four pounds outlay for wages, the Guvnor paid for all the feed of course for forty horses, and they could eat the heads off if they were allowed to, but farriers bills and visits from the vet were always billed separately. Another reason for taking on a large number of apprentices was the fact that if any of them showed any promise and were allowed to ride races, the fee for a ride at this time was five pounds per race,of which sum fifty percent went to the boys trainer, whilst the other fifty percent was put into an account to be paid out at the end of his apprenticeship. It was no wonder that trainers were always on the lookout for likely lads!
There were two trainers in the north of England that were renowned for having many apprentices, Percy Vasey was one of them and the other was Ernie Davey. Years later it dawned on me why this was, a board wage man was paid at the rate of something around five to six pounds a week at the time, whilst an apprentice was paid five shillings a week after his first year,ten shillings a week in his third year with increments of five shillings per year until in his last year he was earning one pound five shillings a week. You don't have to be a mathematical genius to work out that a second year apprentice doing exactly the same amount of work as a fully paid stable lad, as well as being on call at all hours of the day, was a far better paying proposition than the fully paid hands. Twelve second year lads were equal to the same wages as a fully paid board wage man, with an owner paying something over ten pounds a week for having his horse in training the profits were much higher than they would otherwise have been. We had forty horses in the yard at this time at ten pounds a week,gives us four hundred pounds, eight apprentices at an average of fifteen shillings a week and eight fully paid lads at six pounds, gives us fifty four pounds outlay for wages, the Guvnor paid for all the feed of course for forty horses, and they could eat the heads off if they were allowed to, but farriers bills and visits from the vet were always billed separately. Another reason for taking on a large number of apprentices was the fact that if any of them showed any promise and were allowed to ride races, the fee for a ride at this time was five pounds per race,of which sum fifty percent went to the boys trainer, whilst the other fifty percent was put into an account to be paid out at the end of his apprenticeship. It was no wonder that trainers were always on the lookout for likely lads!
I wasn't dissatisfied at Vasey's although the work was hard most of the time, bales of hay and straw had to be distributed throughout the yard every day of the week, supplying the hay and straw was the work of the apprentices and when I started at the stables a bale of tightly compressed hay weighed more than I did! Notwithstanding even I was expected to pull my weight and carry my share of the bales from the hay loft down to the yard to where they were wanted. This was accomplished by two of the other lads lifting a bale onto my back whilst I bent over, once it was on my back I had to stagger down the hayloft steps, with no hand rail I might add, and take it to where ever it was needed. Water for the horses was distributed in wooden buckets, they were quite heavy when empty but filled to the brim they were a nearly impossible task for a lightweight like me, especially so as I had to have a bucket on each side to balance the load. The other lads used to kid me by saying,”It gets easier after a while Johnny, in a few weeks time when your knuckles graze the ground when you,re standing upright you,ll hardly notice the weight at all!” I remember one lady owner saying”Oh those poor little boys how do they do it? They look just like so many ants staggering along carrying those great loads.”
I wasn't dissatisfied at Vasey's although the work was hard most of the time, bales of hay and straw had to be distributed throughout the yard every day of the week, supplying the hay and straw was the work of the apprentices and when I started at the stables a bale of tightly compressed hay weighed more than I did! Notwithstanding even I was expected to pull my weight and carry my share of the bales from the hay loft down to the yard to where they were wanted. This was accomplished by two of the other lads lifting a bale onto my back whilst I bent over, once it was on my back I had to stagger down the hayloft steps, with no hand rail I might add, and take it to where ever it was needed. Water for the horses was distributed in wooden buckets, they were quite heavy when empty but filled to the brim they were a nearly impossible task for a lightweight like me, especially so as I had to have a bucket on each side to balance the load. The other lads used to kid me by saying,”It gets easier after a while Johnny, in a few weeks time when your knuckles graze the ground when you,re standing upright you,ll hardly notice the weight at all!” I remember one lady owner saying”Oh those poor little boys how do they do it? They look just like so many ants staggering along carrying those great loads.”
This may sound as if life in the stables was unreasonable but it did get easier as time went by, it was all hard work but by and large Vaseys was a happy yard, one of the things I had an aversion to was the chaff machine. Chaff is chopped hay used in the horses feed to supplement the corn given in the morning and evening, a horse that is not in work, getting ready for a race that is, was given more chaff and less corn. A horse that was nearly fit got very little chaff and consequently more solid corn to build him up and compensate for the hard work he was doing on the training gallops every morning.
This may sound as if life in the stables was unreasonable but it did get easier as time went by, it was all hard work but by and large Vaseys was a happy yard, one of the things I had an aversion to was the chaff machine. Chaff is chopped hay used in the horses feed to supplement the corn given in the morning and evening, a horse that is not in work, getting ready for a race that is, was given more chaff and less corn. A horse that was nearly fit got very little chaff and consequently more solid corn to build him up and compensate for the hard work he was doing on the training gallops every morning.
The chaff machine is composed of a chute into which hay is fed,at the end of the chute is a large hand wheel with blades attached as the wheel is set in motion the blades rotate and pass the end of the chute cutting the hay into predetermined lengths, usually about half an inch long. This may seem an easy job but if you've ever tried it you know that its an arm breaking exercise, the older lads could swing the wheel for quite a long time, the first time I tried it I couldn't even force the blade through the hay in order to make the first cut. Of course there is a knack to this as there is with most things connected with any trade, the feeder must first feed the hay through the chute at an easy rate when starting and as the lad swinging the wheel gets into his stride gradually increase the amount of hay coming through, once the wheel is rotating the centrifugal force helps to keep the wheel turning. The lads used to hold contests as to who could cut most chaff in the shortest time or who could keep the chaff cutter going longest, it certainly helped to build up some muscle on those scrawny arms of mine during my first months in Wetherby.
The chaff machine is composed of a chute into which hay is fed,at the end of the chute is a large hand wheel with blades attached as the wheel is set in motion the blades rotate and pass the end of the chute cutting the hay into predetermined lengths, usually about half an inch long. This may seem an easy job but if you've ever tried it you know that its an arm breaking exercise, the older lads could swing the wheel for quite a long time, the first time I tried it I couldn't even force the blade through the hay in order to make the first cut. Of course there is a knack to this as there is with most things connected with any trade, the feeder must first feed the hay through the chute at an easy rate when starting and as the lad swinging the wheel gets into his stride gradually increase the amount of hay coming through, once the wheel is rotating the centrifugal force helps to keep the wheel turning. The lads used to hold contests as to who could cut most chaff in the shortest time or who could keep the chaff cutter going longest, it certainly helped to build up some muscle on those scrawny arms of mine during my first months in Wetherby.
There was always a lot of good natured ragging in the yard but outwardly we were always of one voice and we were patriotic toward the Guvnor and the well being of the yard to a man. The names I mentioned earlier were the names of the employees when I started at Vasey,s but through the years faces and names changed quite a bit, I have several photos from around this time and looking at them I can see quite a few faces that weren't in the yard when I started, Laurie Newman,George Sunman, Bert Rodgers,”Fishy” Nichols,”Sparrow” Povall, Joe Hunt, Ginger Weatherall to name but a few. Quite a few apprentices or would be apprentices put in an appearance during these years but very few of them stuck it out, truth to tell most of them left after a short trial period, a few of them left for weight reasons,”Fishy” from Fleetwood was one of these - the fresh air and regular meals certainly agreed with him! When he,d put on a stone (14 pounds) within a month of arriving in the yard the Guvnor rang to his parents in Fleetwood, they were publicans and kept the”Ship Inn” at the time and asked them to come and take him home again as he could see no future for their son in a racing stable.
There was always a lot of good natured ragging in the yard but outwardly we were always of one voice and we were patriotic toward the Guvnor and the well being of the yard to a man. The names I mentioned earlier were the names of the employees when I started at Vasey,s but through the years faces and names changed quite a bit, I have several photos from around this time and looking at them I can see quite a few faces that weren't in the yard when I started, Laurie Newman,George Sunman, Bert Rodgers,”Fishy” Nichols,”Sparrow” Povall, Joe Hunt, Ginger Weatherall to name but a few. Quite a few apprentices or would be apprentices put in an appearance during these years but very few of them stuck it out, truth to tell most of them left after a short trial period, a few of them left for weight reasons,”Fishy” from Fleetwood was one of these - the fresh air and regular meals certainly agreed with him! When he,d put on a stone (14 pounds) within a month of arriving in the yard the Guvnor rang to his parents in Fleetwood, they were publicans and kept the”Ship Inn” at the time and asked them to come and take him home again as he could see no future for their son in a racing stable.
“Sparrow” Povall from Birkenhead arrived about a year after I did and stuck it out finishing his apprenticeship and going on to ride quite a few winners mostly in the north of England, before having rather a bad accident where he got caught in the steel cable of the starting gate we used in the Grange Park, the cable caught him across the throat and very nearly decapitated him. By the time he was fit to ride again the owners and trainers he had been engaged by had made other arrangements and “Sparrow” faded from the scene, taking a job in Birkenhead as a van driver for a firm of carpet suppliers before dying from cancer at a very early age.
“Sparrow” Povall from Birkenhead arrived about a year after I did and stuck it out finishing his apprenticeship and going on to ride quite a few winners mostly in the north of England, before having rather a bad accident where he got caught in the steel cable of the starting gate we used in the Grange Park, the cable caught him across the throat and very nearly decapitated him. By the time he was fit to ride again the owners and trainers he had been engaged by had made other arrangements and “Sparrow” faded from the scene, taking a job in Birkenhead as a van driver for a firm of carpet suppliers before dying from cancer at a very early age.
The reason I know this is not because I kept in touch with “Sparrow” over the years but because he had a short burst of fame some years later when one of the larger Sunday newspapers engaged him to write a series of articles about inside racing! He did this with a vengeance,I must say, his disclosures were an eye opener for the man in the street,and the Jockey Club too for that matter, the whole of the racing fraternity in England were on tenterhooks waiting for the next instalment every Sunday in fear of being mentioned by him as being involved in something shady! He certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons as the saying goes.
The reason I know this is not because I kept in touch with “Sparrow” over the years but because he had a short burst of fame some years later when one of the larger Sunday newspapers engaged him to write a series of articles about inside racing! He did this with a vengeance,I must say, his disclosures were an eye opener for the man in the street,and the Jockey Club too for that matter, the whole of the racing fraternity in England were on tenterhooks waiting for the next instalment every Sunday in fear of being mentioned by him as being involved in something shady! He certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons as the saying goes.
One of the other apprentices during my time was a lad called Ted Shewan, he hailed from York, but I lost touch with him after leaving Wetherby and was later told that he had died at a very early age, truth to tell I don't think he even finished his apprenticeship. There was a great deal of rivalry between Ted and I as we were the same weight and if there was a chance of a ride in an apprentice race or if one of our horses was entered with a very low weight, it was a fight with no holds barred to be the one selected to ride in the race. About this time a trainer called Jim Russel who trained at Mabelthorpe on the sands, (when the tide was out of course), had his trainers license revoked due to one of the horses from his yard having run badly in a race,it was later found to have been got at. Doped to the layman. In those days there was no excuse, a horse that had been doped was the trainers responsibility, even if he was out of the country at the time the event took place,he was always held fully responsible and as a result lost his license. Jim Russel had several apprentices,he was like Ernie Davey and the Guvnor making quite a bit on the side by giving his boys rides whenever the opportunity occurred. His lads had to have their indentures transferred to other trainers if they were to continue in the racing game, this was how we came to acquire three new lads in the middle of the racing season. The lads were Alan Taylor from Speke just outside Liverpool and a pair of twins by the name of Challoner, the twins soon left again however as they were both putting on weight rapidly,but Alan stayed on and although he was a couple of pounds heavier than Ted and I the competition was even more intense.
One of the other apprentices during my time was a lad called Ted Shewan, he hailed from York, but I lost touch with him after leaving Wetherby and was later told that he had died at a very early age, truth to tell I don't think he even finished his apprenticeship. There was a great deal of rivalry between Ted and I as we were the same weight and if there was a chance of a ride in an apprentice race or if one of our horses was entered with a very low weight, it was a fight with no holds barred to be the one selected to ride in the race. About this time a trainer called Jim Russel who trained at Mabelthorpe on the sands, (when the tide was out of course), had his trainers license revoked due to one of the horses from his yard having run badly in a race,it was later found to have been got at. Doped to the layman. In those days there was no excuse, a horse that had been doped was the trainers responsibility, even if he was out of the country at the time the event took place,he was always held fully responsible and as a result lost his license. Jim Russel had several apprentices,he was like Ernie Davey and the Guvnor making quite a bit on the side by giving his boys rides whenever the opportunity occurred. His lads had to have their indentures transferred to other trainers if they were to continue in the racing game, this was how we came to acquire three new lads in the middle of the racing season. The lads were Alan Taylor from Speke just outside Liverpool and a pair of twins by the name of Challoner, the twins soon left again however as they were both putting on weight rapidly,but Alan stayed on and although he was a couple of pounds heavier than Ted and I the competition was even more intense.
Luckily for us Alan put on weight faster than we did so that after a few months he was quite a bit heavier than we were and the pressure was reduced somewhat. Alan left Wetherby after a while to ride in South Africa, I don't remember the name of the trainer he went out to but I do remember the name of the town where he lived it was Pietermaritzburg, it would be interesting to know what became of him, who knows he may still be in South Africa living the life of Riley!
Luckily for us Alan put on weight faster than we did so that after a few months he was quite a bit heavier than we were and the pressure was reduced somewhat. Alan left Wetherby after a while to ride in South Africa, I don't remember the name of the trainer he went out to but I do remember the name of the town where he lived it was Pietermaritzburg, it would be interesting to know what became of him, who knows he may still be in South Africa living the life of Riley!
The time simply flew past, and on the whole I was extremely happy, I was more or less broke all the time, who wouldn't be on five shillings a week?,But we were kept very busy even during our free periods. The routine at the yard was as follows, up at 6.30 in order to be in the yard at 7.00,two horses had to be mucked out and the first horse to be exercised had to be saddled up and ready to go by 8.00.At 8.00 o'clock the shout was “Pull out!”and we were all thrown into the saddle for the first exercise period which was usually between one and a half to two hours depending on what time of year it was. During the winter periods we trotted on the side of the main roads in a long string around the Wetherby area, out to Boston Spa and back again using what was then the Great North Road going out and coming back! This could be a hair raising experience even at the best of times. The traffic was intense as anything going north or south in those days had to go through the village of Wetherby, most of the drivers were regulars though and reduced speed accordingly when passing the string, but roadwork in the wintertime certainly gave us some very bad moments I can tell you. After first lot, it was back to the yard unsaddle and do the horse you'd ridden,”do” being the term used to cover brushing the horse down, swabbing out his nostrils,dock, hooves etc and leaving him comfortable before drinking a well earned cup of tea. After the tea, it was saddle up once more and out with the second lot, these were usually the roughs and scruffs as they were called, horses not in hard training due to illness or injury or newcomers to the yard, so second lot wasn't usually as hard work as first lot and we were normally back in the yard by 12 o'clock. Once again “do” your horse, then both horses were fed,given a full bucket of water and a filled hay-net to chew on and left to their own devices for the afternoon. Saddle and bridle etc had now to be cleaned, and if there was any danger of coughing in the yard dis-infected too before we were allowed to go to dinner, not everyone was allowed to go to dinner though, as the youngest apprentice had the odd jobs at the Guvnors to do,cleaning and polishing the shoes he,d worn on the gallops that morning,running all the errands for the Guvnor such as collecting the things ordered from the local butcher,baker or candlestickmaker. .Any” tack”,bridles,surcingles,girths etc that were in need of repair had to be taken to the local saddler for repair and this was also the task of the youngest apprentice, if anyone had been kind enough to leave the Guvnor a brace of pheasants after a shoot, these too, after a suitable hanging period would have to be plucked and drawn. The jobs were many and varied I can tell you, after dinner we were supposed to have an off duty period until evening stables at four o'clock when the horses were groomed, fed and put right for the night, but in the summertime it was the two youngest apprentices job to fill a bran sack,these sacks were about 2 meters long, with fresh dandelions to be put through the chaff machine in the evening and added to the horses feed as a little extra perk. Filling that bran sack was a tedious task, especially so as the Guvnor always roared as we left the yard”Nothing from the side of the roads, we don't want any tar,gravel,dust or exhaust fumes on any of those dandelions!Fresh plants from the other side of the hedges only.”
The time simply flew past, and on the whole I was extremely happy, I was more or less broke all the time, who wouldn't be on five shillings a week?,But we were kept very busy even during our free periods. The routine at the yard was as follows, up at 6.30 in order to be in the yard at 7.00,two horses had to be mucked out and the first horse to be exercised had to be saddled up and ready to go by 8.00.At 8.00 o'clock the shout was “Pull out!”and we were all thrown into the saddle for the first exercise period which was usually between one and a half to two hours depending on what time of year it was. During the winter periods we trotted on the side of the main roads in a long string around the Wetherby area, out to Boston Spa and back again using what was then the Great North Road going out and coming back! This could be a hair raising experience even at the best of times. The traffic was intense as anything going north or south in those days had to go through the village of Wetherby, most of the drivers were regulars though and reduced speed accordingly when passing the string, but roadwork in the wintertime certainly gave us some very bad moments I can tell you. After first lot, it was back to the yard unsaddle and do the horse you'd ridden,”do” being the term used to cover brushing the horse down, swabbing out his nostrils,dock, hooves etc and leaving him comfortable before drinking a well earned cup of tea. After the tea, it was saddle up once more and out with the second lot, these were usually the roughs and scruffs as they were called, horses not in hard training due to illness or injury or newcomers to the yard, so second lot wasn't usually as hard work as first lot and we were normally back in the yard by 12 o'clock. Once again “do” your horse, then both horses were fed,given a full bucket of water and a filled hay-net to chew on and left to their own devices for the afternoon. Saddle and bridle etc had now to be cleaned, and if there was any danger of coughing in the yard dis-infected too before we were allowed to go to dinner, not everyone was allowed to go to dinner though, as the youngest apprentice had the odd jobs at the Guvnors to do,cleaning and polishing the shoes he,d worn on the gallops that morning,running all the errands for the Guvnor such as collecting the things ordered from the local butcher,baker or candlestickmaker. .Any” tack”,bridles,surcingles,girths etc that were in need of repair had to be taken to the local saddler for repair and this was also the task of the youngest apprentice, if anyone had been kind enough to leave the Guvnor a brace of pheasants after a shoot, these too, after a suitable hanging period would have to be plucked and drawn. The jobs were many and varied I can tell you, after dinner we were supposed to have an off duty period until evening stables at four o'clock when the horses were groomed, fed and put right for the night, but in the summertime it was the two youngest apprentices job to fill a bran sack,these sacks were about 2 meters long, with fresh dandelions to be put through the chaff machine in the evening and added to the horses feed as a little extra perk. Filling that bran sack was a tedious task, especially so as the Guvnor always roared as we left the yard”Nothing from the side of the roads, we don't want any tar,gravel,dust or exhaust fumes on any of those dandelions!Fresh plants from the other side of the hedges only.”
Even in the evenings it wasn't always we could call our time our own as like as not the Guvnor would want someone to give a hand with some extra little job, weeding the drive perhaps or going to the “New Inn” for a dozen large bottles of the beer he was so fond of or even to turn out as a gun-bearer when he went rook shooting in the evenings, there always seemed to be something over and above what one would expect to run into in a job like this. Looking back I suppose it was a blessing in disguise really as having no money,the T.V hadn't yet come on the scene at this time and being too young at the time to go “birding”,looking for suitable female companionship to the uninitiated, it might have been a case of the devil finding work for idle hands if I had had more free time.
Even in the evenings it wasn't always we could call our time our own as like as not the Guvnor would want someone to give a hand with some extra little job, weeding the drive perhaps or going to the “New Inn” for a dozen large bottles of the beer he was so fond of or even to turn out as a gun-bearer when he went rook shooting in the evenings, there always seemed to be something over and above what one would expect to run into in a job like this. Looking back I suppose it was a blessing in disguise really as having no money,the T.V hadn't yet come on the scene at this time and being too young at the time to go “birding”,looking for suitable female companionship to the uninitiated, it might have been a case of the devil finding work for idle hands if I had had more free time.
Money as I said earlier was always a problem but luckily for me I found a comparatively easy way of supplementing my income as follows. Just inside the main gate to the Grange Park where we trained the horses the War Department had established a P.O.W. camp, at the time this was filled to overflowing with German prisoners of war, we rode through the camp every morning on the way to the gallops. One day I noticed that the prisoner that had the billet duty for that day was on his way to the rubbish tip with the ashes from the stove in one bucket and the empty bottles from the evenings drinking in another bucket, he threw the bottles onto the tip and covered them with the ashes .
Money as I said earlier was always a problem but luckily for me I found a comparatively easy way of supplementing my income as follows. Just inside the main gate to the Grange Park where we trained the horses the War Department had established a P.O.W. camp, at the time this was filled to overflowing with German prisoners of war, we rode through the camp every morning on the way to the gallops. One day I noticed that the prisoner that had the billet duty for that day was on his way to the rubbish tip with the ashes from the stove in one bucket and the empty bottles from the evenings drinking in another bucket, he threw the bottles onto the tip and covered them with the ashes .
Thinking about this later I thought to myself”How many years have they been doing that?” The thing was that I knew there was a one penny deposit on every bottle. But the prisoners were quite well paid they all worked for local farmers and were short of nothing,so they were obviously not bothered about recovering their deposits. They were allowed the run of the town and could attend any of the functions such as the local cinema, the Saturday night dance at the Town Hall or go into the local pubs. The only trouble here was the fact that the locals, many of whom had just returned from fighting a very bitter war, many of them with scars to prove it and many who had lost sons and husbands during the war, saw red when seeing German prisoners of war ordering pints all round,and there were regular incidents in the village in the evenings. This being the case quite a few of the Germans preferred to stay in the camp in the evenings in order to stay out of trouble but not wanting to forfeit the beer, they bought a crate of beer at a time and took it back to the camp with them to drink in the course of the evening. This state of affairs had apparently existed for years so I was convinced that there must be a fortune in empty bottles concealed under the ashes in the rubbish tip, the next time I had an afternoon off I collected a bran sack and borrowed a trowel from the Guvnors gardening tools and took myself off to the P.O.W. camp. No one paid any attention to me as they were used to the apprentices going through the camp at all hours of the day, treading divots into place on the gallops was another of the jobs that the apprentices were supposed to do so there were no queries.
Thinking about this later I thought to myself”How many years have they been doing that?” The thing was that I knew there was a one penny deposit on every bottle. But the prisoners were quite well paid they all worked for local farmers and were short of nothing,so they were obviously not bothered about recovering their deposits. They were allowed the run of the town and could attend any of the functions such as the local cinema, the Saturday night dance at the Town Hall or go into the local pubs. The only trouble here was the fact that the locals, many of whom had just returned from fighting a very bitter war, many of them with scars to prove it and many who had lost sons and husbands during the war, saw red when seeing German prisoners of war ordering pints all round,and there were regular incidents in the village in the evenings. This being the case quite a few of the Germans preferred to stay in the camp in the evenings in order to stay out of trouble but not wanting to forfeit the beer, they bought a crate of beer at a time and took it back to the camp with them to drink in the course of the evening. This state of affairs had apparently existed for years so I was convinced that there must be a fortune in empty bottles concealed under the ashes in the rubbish tip, the next time I had an afternoon off I collected a bran sack and borrowed a trowel from the Guvnors gardening tools and took myself off to the P.O.W. camp. No one paid any attention to me as they were used to the apprentices going through the camp at all hours of the day, treading divots into place on the gallops was another of the jobs that the apprentices were supposed to do so there were no queries.
That tip was a little goldmine, with very little effort I had within a very short time more bottles than I could carry, my limit was about a third of a sack full, the problem now was getting them back to my digs, at the time I was living with Granny Wilson on the Boston Road and the house lies just outside the Park gates, a few bunches of dandelions between the bottles to stop them clinking and I was home and dried. They had to be washed and cleaned of course but this was no problem and by going to one pub on Mondays and another on Tuesdays and so on through the week no one queried the sudden glut of bottles in the village, this went on for several weeks and certainly made a big difference to my finances at the time, from five shillings a week I was suddenly in command of very often five shillings a day. The world was my oyster during this period. All good things must come to an end however and after a few weeks of surreptitious digging the tip over from one end to the other ,gradually getting deeper and deeper as the days passed. I had to face the fact that there were no more bottles to be had and unfortunately there was no chance of a fresh supply as it was around this time the government started sending the German prisoners of war back to what was left of “Der Faderland”, even to this day an empty beer bottle lying around is still an attraction to me.
That tip was a little goldmine, with very little effort I had within a very short time more bottles than I could carry, my limit was about a third of a sack full, the problem now was getting them back to my digs, at the time I was living with Granny Wilson on the Boston Road and the house lies just outside the Park gates, a few bunches of dandelions between the bottles to stop them clinking and I was home and dried. They had to be washed and cleaned of course but this was no problem and by going to one pub on Mondays and another on Tuesdays and so on through the week no one queried the sudden glut of bottles in the village, this went on for several weeks and certainly made a big difference to my finances at the time, from five shillings a week I was suddenly in command of very often five shillings a day. The world was my oyster during this period. All good things must come to an end however and after a few weeks of surreptitious digging the tip over from one end to the other ,gradually getting deeper and deeper as the days passed. I had to face the fact that there were no more bottles to be had and unfortunately there was no chance of a fresh supply as it was around this time the government started sending the German prisoners of war back to what was left of “Der Faderland”, even to this day an empty beer bottle lying around is still an attraction to me.
I was riding out on a regular basis now and getting thrown off more and more infrequently, sometimes weeks went by before I had to bite the dust, but I always bore in mind the words Harold Mallorie uttered after I picked myself up one day after having been thrown twice within a few minutes.”Don't worry about it Johnny, even Gordon Richards gets thrown now and again, and you can't call yourself a jockey before you've been thrown off 100 times anyway!”His words were a great comfort to me in the early part of my time in Wetherby. Harold was a real character,he was quite tall and weighed at a guess around 11 stone, he could ride of course but very rarely did so due to his weight, if he rode at all it was usually in the wintertime when we had hurdlers and chasers in training, these are older horses used to carrying anything up to 12stone 7 pounds in races and having to jump over obstacles at the same time, so Harold's 11 stone didn't bother them at all. It would be quite a different matter throwing him up onto a a yearling or a backward 2 year old, within a very short time they would all have developed swaybacks and be looking like a bunch of camels with Harold sitting between the humps!. He was a very kind person never too busy to explain why a thing had to be done a certain way or why a horse reacted as it did, he was a real nags-man,and taught me the ropes with rare good humour. Unfortunately he was a weekend drinker and when he was in his cups, he developed a very foul mouth even in mixed company and I think he must have been thrown out of every pub in Wetherby at some time or other due to his bad language when drunk. Apart from his weekends he was a great prize for the yard as the head lad at the time was in bad health at this time and it was actually Harold that ran things most of the time, Nobby, yes his second name was Clarke - had asthma and the dust from the corn, hay and horses played havoc with his health, he went home from work one evening and never came back as he committed suicide by putting his head in the gas oven whilst the rest of the family weren't at home. Poor Nobby, a tragic end, the second death I had been in close contact with in my short time in racing, there were to be many more over the years.
I was riding out on a regular basis now and getting thrown off more and more infrequently, sometimes weeks went by before I had to bite the dust, but I always bore in mind the words Harold Mallorie uttered after I picked myself up one day after having been thrown twice within a few minutes.”Don't worry about it Johnny, even Gordon Richards gets thrown now and again, and you can't call yourself a jockey before you've been thrown off 100 times anyway!”His words were a great comfort to me in the early part of my time in Wetherby. Harold was a real character,he was quite tall and weighed at a guess around 11 stone, he could ride of course but very rarely did so due to his weight, if he rode at all it was usually in the wintertime when we had hurdlers and chasers in training, these are older horses used to carrying anything up to 12stone 7 pounds in races and having to jump over obstacles at the same time, so Harold's 11 stone didn't bother them at all. It would be quite a different matter throwing him up onto a a yearling or a backward 2 year old, within a very short time they would all have developed swaybacks and be looking like a bunch of camels with Harold sitting between the humps!. He was a very kind person never too busy to explain why a thing had to be done a certain way or why a horse reacted as it did, he was a real nags-man,and taught me the ropes with rare good humour. Unfortunately he was a weekend drinker and when he was in his cups, he developed a very foul mouth even in mixed company and I think he must have been thrown out of every pub in Wetherby at some time or other due to his bad language when drunk. Apart from his weekends he was a great prize for the yard as the head lad at the time was in bad health at this time and it was actually Harold that ran things most of the time, Nobby, yes his second name was Clarke - had asthma and the dust from the corn, hay and horses played havoc with his health, he went home from work one evening and never came back as he committed suicide by putting his head in the gas oven whilst the rest of the family weren't at home. Poor Nobby, a tragic end, the second death I had been in close contact with in my short time in racing, there were to be many more over the years.
After Nobby's death we were short of a head lad for a while but this was no problem as long as Harold was sober, he doubled as head lad and travelling head lad for quite a while and everybody pitched in and helped out as the need arose. The biggest owner at this time was a lady by the name of Mrs. Fanny Senior and she had between ten to thirty horses in the yard at any given time,starting on the left hand side of the yard I can remember,TRIMBUSH a stayer, he won the Doncaster Cup and several other cup races, SERINGHI a sprinter the old grey gelding,he was blind in one eye but a lovely old gentleman. Quite a few of the apprentices had their first ride in public on this old horse and he used to win quite a few races in the course of the season. DR BARTOLO came next, PRINCE NEPTUNE, COUNT YUTOI, NESITA; DARDENELLA and perhaps the most famous of them all REGRET who won the Manchester November Handicap on the last day of flat racing. I,ve still got the cuttings from the newspaper from this race probably because this was the first time I ever had a win of any size.
After Nobby's death we were short of a head lad for a while but this was no problem as long as Harold was sober, he doubled as head lad and travelling head lad for quite a while and everybody pitched in and helped out as the need arose. The biggest owner at this time was a lady by the name of Mrs. Fanny Senior and she had between ten to thirty horses in the yard at any given time,starting on the left hand side of the yard I can remember,TRIMBUSH a stayer, he won the Doncaster Cup and several other cup races, SERINGHI a sprinter the old grey gelding,he was blind in one eye but a lovely old gentleman. Quite a few of the apprentices had their first ride in public on this old horse and he used to win quite a few races in the course of the season. DR BARTOLO came next, PRINCE NEPTUNE, COUNT YUTOI, NESITA; DARDENELLA and perhaps the most famous of them all REGRET who won the Manchester November Handicap on the last day of flat racing. I,ve still got the cuttings from the newspaper from this race probably because this was the first time I ever had a win of any size.
Jockeys and apprentices are forbidden by the laws of the Jockey Club from placing bets on any race, and if caught in the act are banned from racing, I can quite see why this is so, but everyone in the game knows that everybody concerned without exception has a bet now and then when they think they are on a good thing. Alas good things have a knack of forgetting what they are about quite often and as John Porter, the man that trained The Tetrach said “In all my years in racing I have only known of three racing certainties, and two of these were beaten!”
Jockeys and apprentices are forbidden by the laws of the Jockey Club from placing bets on any race, and if caught in the act are banned from racing, I can quite see why this is so, but everyone in the game knows that everybody concerned without exception has a bet now and then when they think they are on a good thing. Alas good things have a knack of forgetting what they are about quite often and as John Porter, the man that trained The Tetrach said “In all my years in racing I have only known of three racing certainties, and two of these were beaten!”
On the day the Manchester Handicap was to be run we had two runners at this meeting, SEASHELL in the chase and REGRET in the big one, the odds against SEASHELL were ten to one probably because he,d never won a race over fences and also because Eric Walton who was to ride him was just starting his career as a jump jockey and he too had never won a race over the big ones as they say.
On the day the Manchester Handicap was to be run we had two runners at this meeting, SEASHELL in the chase and REGRET in the big one, the odds against SEASHELL were ten to one probably because he,d never won a race over fences and also because Eric Walton who was to ride him was just starting his career as a jump jockey and he too had never won a race over the big ones as they say.
REGRET was in with an extremely low weight, just over six stones if I remember rightly and unfortunately none of the apprentices in the yard at the time could make the weight, we were all at least six or seven pounds too heavy for the ride. The Guvnor found a little boy called Jimmy Walker with one of the other trainers and borrowed him for the day, the horse started at sixty six to one and in a downpour that had to be seen to be believed with the mud up to the horses hocks he romped home by several lengths! SEASHELL did equally well and won the Chase just as easily, giving Eric his first winner over fences if I'm not mistaken, it was a double victory for Eric as REGRET was one of the two horses he did at Vaseys at the time.
REGRET was in with an extremely low weight, just over six stones if I remember rightly and unfortunately none of the apprentices in the yard at the time could make the weight, we were all at least six or seven pounds too heavy for the ride. The Guvnor found a little boy called Jimmy Walker with one of the other trainers and borrowed him for the day, the horse started at sixty six to one and in a downpour that had to be seen to be believed with the mud up to the horses hocks he romped home by several lengths! SEASHELL did equally well and won the Chase just as easily, giving Eric his first winner over fences if I'm not mistaken, it was a double victory for Eric as REGRET was one of the two horses he did at Vaseys at the time.
It was certainly a day to remember for Eric. Before the races I had asked Jackie McKay who was working for the local bookmaker at the time to put me two shillings each way on both our runners at Manchester with a one shilling double to round off, the money involved was from my bottle fund of course. When the news came in that both Vaseys entries had been successful the town went wild as most of the town had had a little flutter on the big race, the local bookie was quite close to bankruptcy after these two races as he hadn't laid off the large amount on his books,probably thinking he was onto a good thing. I spent all that evening reckoning the bet over and over again, the double alone would bring in thirty three pounds plus the stake money returned and the two each way bets would be worth about seventeen pounds also with the original stakes returned, I was in for a win of just over 50 pounds! Think of it 200 weeks wages at one go! At my normal rate of five shillings a week at that time.
It was certainly a day to remember for Eric. Before the races I had asked Jackie McKay who was working for the local bookmaker at the time to put me two shillings each way on both our runners at Manchester with a one shilling double to round off, the money involved was from my bottle fund of course. When the news came in that both Vaseys entries had been successful the town went wild as most of the town had had a little flutter on the big race, the local bookie was quite close to bankruptcy after these two races as he hadn't laid off the large amount on his books,probably thinking he was onto a good thing. I spent all that evening reckoning the bet over and over again, the double alone would bring in thirty three pounds plus the stake money returned and the two each way bets would be worth about seventeen pounds also with the original stakes returned, I was in for a win of just over 50 pounds! Think of it 200 weeks wages at one go! At my normal rate of five shillings a week at that time.
Alas, Alas never count your chickens before they have hatched, I was in for a disappointment. I met my runner,Jackie,next day and he had as was usual the small brown envelope in which winnings were delivered for me.T o my dismay the figures on the envelope were very different from the figures that had been constantly running through my head during the night. “Twelve pounds where,s the rest of it Jack?” Jack,s reply was,”The bookie has lost so much money in the town due to both Regret and SEASHELL winning, that he has had to put a limit on the payout!”My first reaction was,”What a bloody swindle”. Then as Jack said shortly afterwards,”I would keep quiet if I were you kid,first of all your still under age”.At the time one had to be eighteen or older to place a bet at all.”Added to this is the fact that jockey,s or apprentices aren't allowed to bet at all. So no fuss O.K?”
Alas, Alas never count your chickens before they have hatched, I was in for a disappointment. I met my runner,Jackie,next day and he had as was usual the small brown envelope in which winnings were delivered for me.T o my dismay the figures on the envelope were very different from the figures that had been constantly running through my head during the night. “Twelve pounds where,s the rest of it Jack?” Jack,s reply was,”The bookie has lost so much money in the town due to both Regret and SEASHELL winning, that he has had to put a limit on the payout!”My first reaction was,”What a bloody swindle”. Then as Jack said shortly afterwards,”I would keep quiet if I were you kid,first of all your still under age”.At the time one had to be eighteen or older to place a bet at all.”Added to this is the fact that jockey,s or apprentices aren't allowed to bet at all. So no fuss O.K?”
At the time twelve pounds was a lot of money, my stepfather was earning under six pounds a week for a fifty hour week and I was on five shillings a week with all found, so I had to swallow my disappointment and accept things as they were. There were two bookmakers in Wetherby at that time - Do I need to say that from that day I patronized the other fellow?
At the time twelve pounds was a lot of money, my stepfather was earning under six pounds a week for a fifty hour week and I was on five shillings a week with all found, so I had to swallow my disappointment and accept things as they were. There were two bookmakers in Wetherby at that time - Do I need to say that from that day I patronized the other fellow?
As I said earlier our head lad Nobby was no more and we were making do until The Guvnor found a suitable replacement,being a head-lad in a racing stable is a very skilled job indeed a good head-lad can make or break a trainer and the really top class people very seldom leave a yard when first they are established.
As I said earlier our head lad Nobby was no more and we were making do until The Guvnor found a suitable replacement,being a head-lad in a racing stable is a very skilled job indeed a good head-lad can make or break a trainer and the really top class people very seldom leave a yard when first they are established.
Mrsminutes.”Don't worry about it Johnny, even Gordon Richards gets thrown now and again, and you can't call yourself a jockey before you've been thrown off 100 times anyway!”His words were a great comfort to me in the early part of my time in Wetherby. Harold was a real character,he was quite tall and weighed at a guess around 11 stone, he could ride of course but very rarely did so due to his weight, if he rode at all it was usually in the wintertime when we had hurdlers and chasers in training, these are older horses used to carrying anything up to 12stone 7 pounds in races and having to jump over obstacles at the same time, so Harold's 11 stone didn't bother them at all. It would be quite a different matter throwing him up onto a a yearling or a backward 2 year old, within a very short time they would all have developed swaybacks and be looking like a bunch of camels with Harold sitting between the humps!. He was a very kind person never too busy to explain why a thing had to be done a certain way or why a horse reacted as it did, he was a real nags-man,and taught me the ropes with rare good humour. Unfortunately he was a weekend drinker and when he was in his cups, he developed a very foul mouth even in mixed company and I think he must have been thrown out of every pub in Wetherby at some time or other due to his bad language when drunk. Apart from his weekends he was a great prize for the yard as the head lad at the time was in bad health at this time and it was actually Harold that ran things most of the time, Nobby, yes his second name was Clarke - had asthma and the dust from the corn, hay and horses played havoc with his health, he went home from work one evening and never came back as he committed suicide by putting his head in the gas oven whilst the rest of the family weren't at home. Poor Nobby, a tragic end, the second death I had been in close contact with in my short time in racing, there were to be many more over the years.
Mrsminutes.”Don't worry about it Johnny, even Gordon Richards gets thrown now and again, and you can't call yourself a jockey before you've been thrown off 100 times anyway!”His words were a great comfort to me in the early part of my time in Wetherby. Harold was a real character,he was quite tall and weighed at a guess around 11 stone, he could ride of course but very rarely did so due to his weight, if he rode at all it was usually in the wintertime when we had hurdlers and chasers in training, these are older horses used to carrying anything up to 12stone 7 pounds in races and having to jump over obstacles at the same time, so Harold's 11 stone didn't bother them at all. It would be quite a different matter throwing him up onto a a yearling or a backward 2 year old, within a very short time they would all have developed swaybacks and be looking like a bunch of camels with Harold sitting between the humps!. He was a very kind person never too busy to explain why a thing had to be done a certain way or why a horse reacted as it did, he was a real nags-man,and taught me the ropes with rare good humour. Unfortunately he was a weekend drinker and when he was in his cups, he developed a very foul mouth even in mixed company and I think he must have been thrown out of every pub in Wetherby at some time or other due to his bad language when drunk. Apart from his weekends he was a great prize for the yard as the head lad at the time was in bad health at this time and it was actually Harold that ran things most of the time, Nobby, yes his second name was Clarke - had asthma and the dust from the corn, hay and horses played havoc with his health, he went home from work one evening and never came back as he committed suicide by putting his head in the gas oven whilst the rest of the family weren't at home. Poor Nobby, a tragic end, the second death I had been in close contact with in my short time in racing, there were to be many more over the years.
After Nobby's death we were short of a head lad for a while but this was no problem as long as Harold was sober, he doubled as head lad and travelling head lad for quite a while and everybody pitched in and helped out as the need arose. The biggest owner at this time was a lady by the name of Mrs. Fanny Senior and she had between ten to thirty horses in the yard at any given time,starting on the left hand side of the yard I can remember,TRIMBUSH a stayer, he won the Doncaster Cup and several other cup races, SERINGHI a sprinter the old grey gelding,he was blind in one eye but a lovely old gentleman. Quite a few of the apprentices had their first ride in public on this old horse and he used to win quite a few races in the course of the season. DR BARTOLO came next, PRINCE NEPTUNE, COUNT YUTOI, NESITA; DARDENELLA and perhaps the most famous of them all REGRET who won the Manchester November Handicap on the last day of flat racing. I,ve still got the cuttings from the newspaper from this race probably because this was the first time I ever had a win of any size.
After Nobby's death we were short of a head lad for a while but this was no problem as long as Harold was sober, he doubled as head lad and travelling head lad for quite a while and everybody pitched in and helped out as the need arose. The biggest owner at this time was a lady by the name of Mrs. Fanny Senior and she had between ten to thirty horses in the yard at any given time,starting on the left hand side of the yard I can remember,TRIMBUSH a stayer, he won the Doncaster Cup and several other cup races, SERINGHI a sprinter the old grey gelding,he was blind in one eye but a lovely old gentleman. Quite a few of the apprentices had their first ride in public on this old horse and he used to win quite a few races in the course of the season. DR BARTOLO came next, PRINCE NEPTUNE, COUNT YUTOI, NESITA; DARDENELLA and perhaps the most famous of them all REGRET who won the Manchester November Handicap on the last day of flat racing. I,ve still got the cuttings from the newspaper from this race probably because this was the first time I ever had a win of any size.
Jockeys and apprentices are forbidden by the laws of the Jockey Club from placing bets on any race, and if caught in the act are banned from racing, I can quite see why this is so, but everyone in the game knows that everybody concerned without exception has a bet now and then when they think they are on a good thing. Alas good things have a knack of forgetting what they are about quite often and as John Porter, the man that trained The Tetrach said “In all my years in racing I have only known of three racing certainties, and two of these were beaten!”
Jockeys and apprentices are forbidden by the laws of the Jockey Club from placing bets on any race, and if caught in the act are banned from racing, I can quite see why this is so, but everyone in the game knows that everybody concerned without exception has a bet now and then when they think they are on a good thing. Alas good things have a knack of forgetting what they are about quite often and as John Porter, the man that trained The Tetrach said “In all my years in racing I have only known of three racing certainties, and two of these were beaten!”
On the day the Manchester Handicap was to be run we had two runners at this meeting, SEASHELL in the chase and REGRET in the big one, the odds against SEASHELL were ten to one probably because he,d never won a race over fences and also because Eric Walton who was to ride him was just starting his career as a jump jockey and he too had never won a race over the big ones as they say.
On the day the Manchester Handicap was to be run we had two runners at this meeting, SEASHELL in the chase and REGRET in the big one, the odds against SEASHELL were ten to one probably because he,d never won a race over fences and also because Eric Walton who was to ride him was just starting his career as a jump jockey and he too had never won a race over the big ones as they say.
REGRET was in with an extremely low weight, just over six stones if I remember rightly and unfortunately none of the apprentices in the yard at the time could make the weight, we were all at Fanny Senior our major owner at the time, in name only I may add, as the horses were really owned by two brothers, Dave and Harry Goodman, but they were turf accountants (bookies) and by the rules of racing not allowed to own racehorses, let alone race them, came along one day and told the Guvnor that she had connections to someone who she thought might be suitable.
REGRET was in with an extremely low weight, just over six stones if I remember rightly and unfortunately none of the apprentices in the yard at the time could make the weight, we were all at Fanny Senior our major owner at the time, in name only I may add, as the horses were really owned by two brothers, Dave and Harry Goodman, but they were turf accountants (bookies) and by the rules of racing not allowed to own racehorses, let alone race them, came along one day and told the Guvnor that she had connections to someone who she thought might be suitable.
Onto the scene came Bert (Bandy) Rogers, he was engaged as head-lad, Ive no idea of his age at the time but for me he seemed as old as Methusela,with a face like a wrinkled walnut and the bandiest legs in England,the legs were not a result of his profession however he told me years later that this was a result of having ricketts as a child, if or when my family ever read these lines and the photographs still exist I can tell you that Bandy is the person first in line in the photo which shows us going through the Grange Park gates on the way to morning exercise. He is leading a horse called “Sealed Orders” and I am number two in the string on “Captain Chevalier”. Bandy knew all the tricks of the trade especially the dirty ones!
Onto the scene came Bert (Bandy) Rogers, he was engaged as head-lad, Ive no idea of his age at the time but for me he seemed as old as Methusela,with a face like a wrinkled walnut and the bandiest legs in England,the legs were not a result of his profession however he told me years later that this was a result of having ricketts as a child, if or when my family ever read these lines and the photographs still exist I can tell you that Bandy is the person first in line in the photo which shows us going through the Grange Park gates on the way to morning exercise. He is leading a horse called “Sealed Orders” and I am number two in the string on “Captain Chevalier”. Bandy knew all the tricks of the trade especially the dirty ones!
He had been quite well known in the south of England before coming up to us and the reason he left the south was never very clear, the older lads said that it had become just a little too warm for him down there and he appreciated the cooler weather in Yorkshire. Because of the good season we had experienced the year before owners were now,if not flocking to Vaseys at least making enquiries,and a great many new owners put in an appearance at this time. This resulted in the biggest intake of yearlings that we had ever experienced and the Guvnor had to rent stabling all over the town to accommodate the newcomers, yearlings were Bandy,s speciality. His boast was tacked - backed - ridden away in one week!This meant that a horse that had never been handled before,never had a saddle on its back, or a bit in its mouth was broken in and going out to exercise within a week! It could be done too but not with every yearling in the yard as horses like people can have very different natures and quite a few of the new horses didn't take at all kindly to being subjected to the indignity of having a bit forced into their mouths, let alone having tack strapped onto their backs for the first time. We used to call this part of the year Rodeo time at Vasey,s and for the onlookers it was quite a sight, to see all the young horses when they suddenly took it into their heads to buck,fly jump,whip round or drop a shoulder. There was never a morning that went by without someone being dumped and if one horse played up they all followed suit, at times it looked like as if there had been a battle, something like the remnants of “The Charge of the Light Brigade”someone once said.
He had been quite well known in the south of England before coming up to us and the reason he left the south was never very clear, the older lads said that it had become just a little too warm for him down there and he appreciated the cooler weather in Yorkshire. Because of the good season we had experienced the year before owners were now,if not flocking to Vaseys at least making enquiries,and a great many new owners put in an appearance at this time. This resulted in the biggest intake of yearlings that we had ever experienced and the Guvnor had to rent stabling all over the town to accommodate the newcomers, yearlings were Bandy,s speciality. His boast was tacked - backed - ridden away in one week!This meant that a horse that had never been handled before,never had a saddle on its back, or a bit in its mouth was broken in and going out to exercise within a week! It could be done too but not with every yearling in the yard as horses like people can have very different natures and quite a few of the new horses didn't take at all kindly to being subjected to the indignity of having a bit forced into their mouths, let alone having tack strapped onto their backs for the first time. We used to call this part of the year Rodeo time at Vasey,s and for the onlookers it was quite a sight, to see all the young horses when they suddenly took it into their heads to buck,fly jump,whip round or drop a shoulder. There was never a morning that went by without someone being dumped and if one horse played up they all followed suit, at times it looked like as if there had been a battle, something like the remnants of “The Charge of the Light Brigade”someone once said.
Bandy,s methods weren't always gentle but they did get results, and during his reign at Vasey,s the yard had more winners than at any other time in the Guvnors racing career. The yard had been having a really good run of luck for quite a long time but unfortunately this was not to continue,and sad to say I was indirectly responsible. In the bunch of yearlings we were breaking in was a large colt by Weymouth at the time he didn't have a name but later on he was named Wayton, because of his size he was backward when compared to the other yearlings in the yard, it took quite a while before he filled out and could coordinate all his actions. This being the case he was'nt put into serious training and he was sent out usually with the second lot, some days if we were hard pressed he waited until after the second lot had returned from the gallops and he was then taken out for an hour on his own in the paddock behind the stables. He didn't belong to anyone at the time by this I mean he wasn't a horse that was looked after by the same lad everyday,he was what we called a spare, whoever was finished with his own horses first could start on him and as the other lads finished they all, gave a hand with the spares so that we could get off home for dinner.
Bandy,s methods weren't always gentle but they did get results, and during his reign at Vasey,s the yard had more winners than at any other time in the Guvnors racing career. The yard had been having a really good run of luck for quite a long time but unfortunately this was not to continue,and sad to say I was indirectly responsible. In the bunch of yearlings we were breaking in was a large colt by Weymouth at the time he didn't have a name but later on he was named Wayton, because of his size he was backward when compared to the other yearlings in the yard, it took quite a while before he filled out and could coordinate all his actions. This being the case he was'nt put into serious training and he was sent out usually with the second lot, some days if we were hard pressed he waited until after the second lot had returned from the gallops and he was then taken out for an hour on his own in the paddock behind the stables. He didn't belong to anyone at the time by this I mean he wasn't a horse that was looked after by the same lad everyday,he was what we called a spare, whoever was finished with his own horses first could start on him and as the other lads finished they all, gave a hand with the spares so that we could get off home for dinner.
One day I had been given a leg up on him and been told to take him round the paddock for half an hour whilst the others got his box mucked out and saw to his dinnertime feed and hay-net, this was O.K. by me as he was usually quite a docile type and the bigger the horse the easier they are to stay on. I hadn't been in the paddock for more than a few minutes when a passing tanker backfired with a large bang on the other side of the hedge just as it came level with us. That was it!He whipped round like lightning and I flew out of the side door and landed with a jolt but still sitting up in the grass some feet away. The colt took off for the yard,he knew it was getting towards dinnertime I suppose. He couldn't get back into the yard as the five barred gate was closed so he trotted around in between the two dutch barns calling to the other horses in the yard and generally making a nuisance of himself. Bandy hearing all the commotion opened the back gate and went out to catch him and bring him into his own box, he got quite close to the colt and was just reaching out to take a hold of the bridle when quick as a flash the colt turns around and kicks out with both his hindlegs catching Bandy in the ribs with both hooves. He went down as if he,d been shot without a sound, I don't suppose he could draw breathe at all for a while, by this time others were on the scene and they picked Bandy up and bore him into the saddle room whilst someone ran over to the adjoining farm to get them to ring for the ambulance. Bandy had several broken ribs and was admitted to Harrogate Hospital where he lay for several weeks,on his return he went on a convalescent holiday for a few weeks so we didn't see anything of him for nearly two months all told. During the two months he was away the yard didn't have one winner!
One day I had been given a leg up on him and been told to take him round the paddock for half an hour whilst the others got his box mucked out and saw to his dinnertime feed and hay-net, this was O.K. by me as he was usually quite a docile type and the bigger the horse the easier they are to stay on. I hadn't been in the paddock for more than a few minutes when a passing tanker backfired with a large bang on the other side of the hedge just as it came level with us. That was it!He whipped round like lightning and I flew out of the side door and landed with a jolt but still sitting up in the grass some feet away. The colt took off for the yard,he knew it was getting towards dinnertime I suppose. He couldn't get back into the yard as the five barred gate was closed so he trotted around in between the two dutch barns calling to the other horses in the yard and generally making a nuisance of himself. Bandy hearing all the commotion opened the back gate and went out to catch him and bring him into his own box, he got quite close to the colt and was just reaching out to take a hold of the bridle when quick as a flash the colt turns around and kicks out with both his hindlegs catching Bandy in the ribs with both hooves. He went down as if he,d been shot without a sound, I don't suppose he could draw breathe at all for a while, by this time others were on the scene and they picked Bandy up and bore him into the saddle room whilst someone ran over to the adjoining farm to get them to ring for the ambulance. Bandy had several broken ribs and was admitted to Harrogate Hospital where he lay for several weeks,on his return he went on a convalescent holiday for a few weeks so we didn't see anything of him for nearly two months all told. During the two months he was away the yard didn't have one winner!
The Guvnor mentioned to Bandy when he got back that he thought it quite odd that the run of winners had dried up the minute Bandy wasn't at work,”Oh I don't think its strange at all Guvnor” said Bandy.”You see I always give them a little something with their feed in the evenings just before they run!”The Guvnor was horrified of course “What do you mean - a little something?”he bellowed seeing his license fading away in the distance.”Oh its just some vitamins I get from a friend of mine who happens to be a chemist”, says Bandy “It helps to keep them on their toes!” The Guvnor blew a gasket and gave Bandy a ferocious bollocking ,”If I ever hear of you giving one of my horses anything at all with out it being on my orders , you will be looking for another job, you stupid bugger you could get us all warned off with your bloody vitamins”. We did have winners along the way but never as many as during the time we had Bandy as head lad, I've often wondered what was in the white powder he sprinkled over the evening feed of the horses due to run during that week, he always said it was a form of glucose but I'm not so sure, they certainly ran a lot faster when they had had some of Bandy,s glucose!
The Guvnor mentioned to Bandy when he got back that he thought it quite odd that the run of winners had dried up the minute Bandy wasn't at work,”Oh I don't think its strange at all Guvnor” said Bandy.”You see I always give them a little something with their feed in the evenings just before they run!”The Guvnor was horrified of course “What do you mean - a little something?”he bellowed seeing his license fading away in the distance.”Oh its just some vitamins I get from a friend of mine who happens to be a chemist”, says Bandy “It helps to keep them on their toes!” The Guvnor blew a gasket and gave Bandy a ferocious bollocking ,”If I ever hear of you giving one of my horses anything at all with out it being on my orders , you will be looking for another job, you stupid bugger you could get us all warned off with your bloody vitamins”. We did have winners along the way but never as many as during the time we had Bandy as head lad, I've often wondered what was in the white powder he sprinkled over the evening feed of the horses due to run during that week, he always said it was a form of glucose but I'm not so sure, they certainly ran a lot faster when they had had some of Bandy,s glucose!
Around this time I was looking after two horses a filly called Hyjorama and a colt called Episil, they were both in training and were entered at various meetings so that if things went according to plan I would now be going to different meetings, having the lead up as it,s called in racing circles. This I was looking forward to as a day at the races made a pleasant break in the routine of training, stable duties and all the odd jobs that went with being employed in a racing stable. I was now considered proficient enough to ride work along with the older lads and my colt “Episil” went very well for me on the home gallops. He usually managed to hold his own in the mixed gallops and could finish with something in reserve, still on the bit as they say. I went to several meetings in the north of England with “Episil” where he always ran well down the field, never finishing last but always in the last three or four past the post, the jockeys who rode him were usually very upset when they came back after riding Ep as I called him. They really used some bad language at times calling him a right dog,useless bastard,no bloody interest,waste of time etc. I remember Cyril Rowley coming back to unsaddle after riding him,Cyril had tears in his eyes when he got off him,he said to the Guvnor ”Don't you ever ask me to ride this bugger again Mr Vasey, he,s the biggest rogue I,ve ever ridden, he just doesn't want to know”. Harry Jamieson and Ginger Dyson said the same thing when they had the ride on him, after a while he had quite a reputation for breaking jockeys hearts, but for me he was as ever just old sweet “Ep” we got on really well together. A few weeks after Cyril Rowley had ridden him, the Guvnor came into my box one evening and said that he was thinking of taking out an apprentice jockeys licence for me as he had noticed that “Ep” always went very well for me on the home gallops, and “Ep,s” owner was getting very fed up with the expense of keeping “Ep” in training. He didn't think he was getting value for money invested I suppose. As a last resort they had entered him in an apprentice race at Pontefract in a months time and if he still went well for me I would be given the ride!
Around this time I was looking after two horses a filly called Hyjorama and a colt called Episil, they were both in training and were entered at various meetings so that if things went according to plan I would now be going to different meetings, having the lead up as it,s called in racing circles. This I was looking forward to as a day at the races made a pleasant break in the routine of training, stable duties and all the odd jobs that went with being employed in a racing stable. I was now considered proficient enough to ride work along with the older lads and my colt “Episil” went very well for me on the home gallops. He usually managed to hold his own in the mixed gallops and could finish with something in reserve, still on the bit as they say. I went to several meetings in the north of England with “Episil” where he always ran well down the field, never finishing last but always in the last three or four past the post, the jockeys who rode him were usually very upset when they came back after riding Ep as I called him. They really used some bad language at times calling him a right dog,useless bastard,no bloody interest,waste of time etc. I remember Cyril Rowley coming back to unsaddle after riding him,Cyril had tears in his eyes when he got off him,he said to the Guvnor ”Don't you ever ask me to ride this bugger again Mr Vasey, he,s the biggest rogue I,ve ever ridden, he just doesn't want to know”. Harry Jamieson and Ginger Dyson said the same thing when they had the ride on him, after a while he had quite a reputation for breaking jockeys hearts, but for me he was as ever just old sweet “Ep” we got on really well together. A few weeks after Cyril Rowley had ridden him, the Guvnor came into my box one evening and said that he was thinking of taking out an apprentice jockeys licence for me as he had noticed that “Ep” always went very well for me on the home gallops, and “Ep,s” owner was getting very fed up with the expense of keeping “Ep” in training. He didn't think he was getting value for money invested I suppose. As a last resort they had entered him in an apprentice race at Pontefract in a months time and if he still went well for me I would be given the ride!
Oh happy day! At last a chance to don colours and be the centre of attraction on a racecourse, I thought my heart would burst before the big day arrived, I spent hours telling “Ep” how things would be on the day,I had always looked after him well but with the prospect of riding him on the course he really got the VIP treatment I can tell you. The week before he was due to run I heard the Guvnor and Bandy discussing “Episil”s future and Bandy said,”It sometimes helps to geld a colt like him, if we castrate him it might make him shape up!”I was horrified at the thought, putting myself in his place I suppose and to tell the truth he did while away the summer afternoons sometimes by masturbating himself to a climax, I had a hard time getting him cleaned up and presentable for the Guvnors evening inspection quite often during the hot summer days,I can tell you. The fact that I was to have my first ride in public went round the yard like wildfire and it wasn't long before the ripples spread outside the yard, everybody who was interested in the racing game, and there were a lot of them in Wetherby had heard the news and I was the centre of a good deal of leg-pulling in the village at the time. Standing in the queue at the local cinema a few evenings later, one of the local girls I don't remember which one came up to me and said that she thought that it was a shame? When I asked her what it was that was such a shame she said that Don, one of the older lads in the yard had told her that if the horse I was to ride the following week didn't win or at least show some promise, they were going to castrate me!The whole queue doubled up with laughter,”You silly cow” one of the lads said”its not the jockey their going to castrate, it,s the bloody horse!.” What had happened of course was that Don had said to her was”If that thing Johnny rides next week doesn't show some promise they are going to castrate him!” He meant the horse of course - not the jockey. For a long time after this the wags around the town had a great time pulling my leg about how worried all the girls in the village had been when they heard the news.
Oh happy day! At last a chance to don colours and be the centre of attraction on a racecourse, I thought my heart would burst before the big day arrived, I spent hours telling “Ep” how things would be on the day,I had always looked after him well but with the prospect of riding him on the course he really got the VIP treatment I can tell you. The week before he was due to run I heard the Guvnor and Bandy discussing “Episil”s future and Bandy said,”It sometimes helps to geld a colt like him, if we castrate him it might make him shape up!”I was horrified at the thought, putting myself in his place I suppose and to tell the truth he did while away the summer afternoons sometimes by masturbating himself to a climax, I had a hard time getting him cleaned up and presentable for the Guvnors evening inspection quite often during the hot summer days,I can tell you. The fact that I was to have my first ride in public went round the yard like wildfire and it wasn't long before the ripples spread outside the yard, everybody who was interested in the racing game, and there were a lot of them in Wetherby had heard the news and I was the centre of a good deal of leg-pulling in the village at the time. Standing in the queue at the local cinema a few evenings later, one of the local girls I don't remember which one came up to me and said that she thought that it was a shame? When I asked her what it was that was such a shame she said that Don, one of the older lads in the yard had told her that if the horse I was to ride the following week didn't win or at least show some promise, they were going to castrate me!The whole queue doubled up with laughter,”You silly cow” one of the lads said”its not the jockey their going to castrate, it,s the bloody horse!.” What had happened of course was that Don had said to her was”If that thing Johnny rides next week doesn't show some promise they are going to castrate him!” He meant the horse of course - not the jockey. For a long time after this the wags around the town had a great time pulling my leg about how worried all the girls in the village had been when they heard the news.
Eventually the great day dawned, and off we went to Pontefract Racecourse. Usually I would have had to travel in the horse-box to the meeting with Episil, but as I was riding him I wouldn't be able to lead him up to the course too, so Harold Mallorie the travelling head-lad took him to the meeting whilst I was allowed to ride in the Guvnors new car. A huge Humber Hawk, bronze in colour and still smelling very much of new car, this must have been one of the first cars off the production line when they started making cars again after the war effort,I suppose. It was all very grand and I must admit I felt very nervous in these surroundings for the first time. Apprentice races are nearly always the first race of the day, the old hands say its to put the kids out of their misery as quickly as possible, so that they don't sit around in the weighing room all afternoon getting the shakes. It was my good fortune that day that we had several runners, so the stable jockey Harry Blackshaw was also in the weighing room that day and the Guvnor asked him to keep an eye on me and show me the ropes. The first thing was to find a valet? Harry said to me” In this game, especially if you,ve got several rides in the course of an afternoon there simply isn't time to dress yourself,fill the weight cloth,change your silks,find a smaller / bigger saddle etc, etc,etc. The races are run at half hourly intervals and there simply isn't time to hang about, so everybody has a valet to look after him,you have to pay him for his trouble of course,and most valets make a very good living indeed as at the moment the charge for valetting is a pound a time, they all have their own jockeys that they work for and they are responsible for the jockeys personal gear. I, ll see if the lad that usually valets me has time for you”. Luckily for me the lad in question had time to see to me too and when he heard it was my first ride he said”Well kid when your in the big-time, don't forget who showed you the ropes on the first day will you?”He gave me a pair of ladies nylon stockings, with huge holes in them I might add?,a pair of riding britches in white silk,with numerous patches, a pair of boots which were at least a couple of sizes too large for me,a white silk muffler and a big safety pin. To say I was disorientated would be an understatement.
Eventually the great day dawned, and off we went to Pontefract Racecourse. Usually I would have had to travel in the horse-box to the meeting with Episil, but as I was riding him I wouldn't be able to lead him up to the course too, so Harold Mallorie the travelling head-lad took him to the meeting whilst I was allowed to ride in the Guvnors new car. A huge Humber Hawk, bronze in colour and still smelling very much of new car, this must have been one of the first cars off the production line when they started making cars again after the war effort,I suppose. It was all very grand and I must admit I felt very nervous in these surroundings for the first time. Apprentice races are nearly always the first race of the day, the old hands say its to put the kids out of their misery as quickly as possible, so that they don't sit around in the weighing room all afternoon getting the shakes. It was my good fortune that day that we had several runners, so the stable jockey Harry Blackshaw was also in the weighing room that day and the Guvnor asked him to keep an eye on me and show me the ropes. The first thing was to find a valet? Harry said to me” In this game, especially if you,ve got several rides in the course of an afternoon there simply isn't time to dress yourself,fill the weight cloth,change your silks,find a smaller / bigger saddle etc, etc,etc. The races are run at half hourly intervals and there simply isn't time to hang about, so everybody has a valet to look after him,you have to pay him for his trouble of course,and most valets make a very good living indeed as at the moment the charge for valetting is a pound a time, they all have their own jockeys that they work for and they are responsible for the jockeys personal gear. I, ll see if the lad that usually valets me has time for you”. Luckily for me the lad in question had time to see to me too and when he heard it was my first ride he said”Well kid when your in the big-time, don't forget who showed you the ropes on the first day will you?”He gave me a pair of ladies nylon stockings, with huge holes in them I might add?,a pair of riding britches in white silk,with numerous patches, a pair of boots which were at least a couple of sizes too large for me,a white silk muffler and a big safety pin. To say I was disorientated would be an understatement.
The stockings were put on to make it easier to force ones feet into the soft riding boots, usually if they were made to measure they were of goatskin or something similar and fitted very tightly, but as I said before mine were somebody elses old cast offs and I had no trouble at all getting into them,when the valet saw how loose they were he said,”Wait a minute kid I've got yesterdays Sporting Life here?”He filled out the toes with newspaper and wrapped the rest of the paper around my calves to fill out some of the surplus room there!”Your beginning to look like the real thing kid”he grinned”and if you happen to get thrown off, you,ll have something to read when they come down to fetch you back in the shooting brake. OK?”He found me a saddle,and a weight cloth and we did a quick turn on the scales to see how close to the weight I was, as I weighed at the time about 6 stone 5pounds quite a lot of lead was required in the weight cloth to get any where near the 7 stone 5 pounds that Episil had been allotted that day,eventually everything was in order and the weight cloth,number cloth and saddle were collected by the Guvnor and he went off to saddle up Episil. It wasn't long before the call “Jockeys Out” was given and all the budding hopefuls trooped out of the weighing room and made their way into the parade ring, the owner of the horse wasn't present so there was just the Guvnor and I in the ring. “Are you nervous John?” he said to me” Its a big day for you,. One never forgets ones first ride in public, even after all these years,I can still remember mine?” I was quite surprised as the Guvnor was quite a big man and must have weighed at least 13 to 14 stone at the time and I had never ever seen him on a horse during the time I had worked for him. He must have seen the look on my face as he went on to say.”I haven't always been this heavy you know, when I was out East I rode in amateur races in Singapore when I was younger”. His instructions regarding how the horse was to be ridden were short and to the point.”You know the horse better than anyone John and he always goes well, for you at home, we will be very well pleased if you can get him to show any interest in the proceedings at all. Good luck, we haven't a penny on him as he,s disappointed us all too often, do what you can with him”.
The stockings were put on to make it easier to force ones feet into the soft riding boots, usually if they were made to measure they were of goatskin or something similar and fitted very tightly, but as I said before mine were somebody elses old cast offs and I had no trouble at all getting into them,when the valet saw how loose they were he said,”Wait a minute kid I've got yesterdays Sporting Life here?”He filled out the toes with newspaper and wrapped the rest of the paper around my calves to fill out some of the surplus room there!”Your beginning to look like the real thing kid”he grinned”and if you happen to get thrown off, you,ll have something to read when they come down to fetch you back in the shooting brake. OK?”He found me a saddle,and a weight cloth and we did a quick turn on the scales to see how close to the weight I was, as I weighed at the time about 6 stone 5pounds quite a lot of lead was required in the weight cloth to get any where near the 7 stone 5 pounds that Episil had been allotted that day,eventually everything was in order and the weight cloth,number cloth and saddle were collected by the Guvnor and he went off to saddle up Episil. It wasn't long before the call “Jockeys Out” was given and all the budding hopefuls trooped out of the weighing room and made their way into the parade ring, the owner of the horse wasn't present so there was just the Guvnor and I in the ring. “Are you nervous John?” he said to me” Its a big day for you,. One never forgets ones first ride in public, even after all these years,I can still remember mine?” I was quite surprised as the Guvnor was quite a big man and must have weighed at least 13 to 14 stone at the time and I had never ever seen him on a horse during the time I had worked for him. He must have seen the look on my face as he went on to say.”I haven't always been this heavy you know, when I was out East I rode in amateur races in Singapore when I was younger”. His instructions regarding how the horse was to be ridden were short and to the point.”You know the horse better than anyone John and he always goes well, for you at home, we will be very well pleased if you can get him to show any interest in the proceedings at all. Good luck, we haven't a penny on him as he,s disappointed us all too often, do what you can with him”.
A minute or two later I was on board and Harold was leading me down to the course, on the way down I said by way of conversation to Harold ”He,s not trying today Harold,they haven,t backed him”. Harold burst out laughing and said,”Oh thanks for telling me Gordon (the champion jockey in England at the time was Gordon Richards), its a good job you said that as I had intended drawing my life savings out of Barclays Bank and putting the lot on him to win! You are a silly little bugger Johnny, nobody in his right mind would back this useless sod, mark my words, he,s one of the ones that ends up as cats meat if he,s lucky”.By this time we were on the course, so after saying this, he took the leading rein off “Ep” and we were on our own cantering down to the start,most horses when on a racecourse are extremely keyed up,dancing around and raring to go sweating a little even before the race just with the excitement of knowing that they are in competition.
A minute or two later I was on board and Harold was leading me down to the course, on the way down I said by way of conversation to Harold ”He,s not trying today Harold,they haven,t backed him”. Harold burst out laughing and said,”Oh thanks for telling me Gordon (the champion jockey in England at the time was Gordon Richards), its a good job you said that as I had intended drawing my life savings out of Barclays Bank and putting the lot on him to win! You are a silly little bugger Johnny, nobody in his right mind would back this useless sod, mark my words, he,s one of the ones that ends up as cats meat if he,s lucky”.By this time we were on the course, so after saying this, he took the leading rein off “Ep” and we were on our own cantering down to the start,most horses when on a racecourse are extremely keyed up,dancing around and raring to go sweating a little even before the race just with the excitement of knowing that they are in competition.
Not so with “Ep”he was as cool as the proverbial cucumber, racing didn't bother him one bit, and this was when I first began to have my doubts about him he was a different horse altogether from the horse I was used to riding at home. We lined up after the starters orders, in those days there were no starting stalls, the barrier was a series of tightly drawn rubber ropes with a frame at each side of the course and when the starter pressed a pedal down on his platform the barrier was propelled upwards and away from the line up. After a little milling around and complaints from the more experienced apprentices the starter was satisfied and with cries from all and sundry we were off! The date was May the 11th and the year was 1949 the race was named the Knottingley Apprentice Handicap run over one mile for the sum of 138 pounds, looking back on the old form book from this year I can see that of the 15 kids that took part in this melee the only names which may ring a bell for anyone connected with racing are, Joe Mercer, A. Robertson and T Eyre.”Ep” jumped off with the rest of them well enough,I suppose he didn't want to be left behind all on his own,but whereas the rest of the field were fighting for position and making a race of it,”Ep” just lolled along at his own pace,he didn't want to be alone but he certainly wasn't interested in making an effort to get in front! To say I was disappointed was an understatement,I tried everything I could think of to wake his ideas up but all to no avail, we trailed along at the back of the field just keeping in the race,he wasn't last but it wouldn't have bothered him one bit if he had been just as long as he could see the other horses he was happy. Luckily for me quite a few of the early leaders blew up from doing too much too early and they were overtaken by the rest of the field so that in the straight, which isn't very far at Pontefract only about two furlongs as far as I remember, they lost ground rapidly, and without even trying “Ep” was able to overtake three or four of the other runners.
Not so with “Ep”he was as cool as the proverbial cucumber, racing didn't bother him one bit, and this was when I first began to have my doubts about him he was a different horse altogether from the horse I was used to riding at home. We lined up after the starters orders, in those days there were no starting stalls, the barrier was a series of tightly drawn rubber ropes with a frame at each side of the course and when the starter pressed a pedal down on his platform the barrier was propelled upwards and away from the line up. After a little milling around and complaints from the more experienced apprentices the starter was satisfied and with cries from all and sundry we were off! The date was May the 11th and the year was 1949 the race was named the Knottingley Apprentice Handicap run over one mile for the sum of 138 pounds, looking back on the old form book from this year I can see that of the 15 kids that took part in this melee the only names which may ring a bell for anyone connected with racing are, Joe Mercer, A. Robertson and T Eyre.”Ep” jumped off with the rest of them well enough,I suppose he didn't want to be left behind all on his own,but whereas the rest of the field were fighting for position and making a race of it,”Ep” just lolled along at his own pace,he didn't want to be alone but he certainly wasn't interested in making an effort to get in front! To say I was disappointed was an understatement,I tried everything I could think of to wake his ideas up but all to no avail, we trailed along at the back of the field just keeping in the race,he wasn't last but it wouldn't have bothered him one bit if he had been just as long as he could see the other horses he was happy. Luckily for me quite a few of the early leaders blew up from doing too much too early and they were overtaken by the rest of the field so that in the straight, which isn't very far at Pontefract only about two furlongs as far as I remember, they lost ground rapidly, and without even trying “Ep” was able to overtake three or four of the other runners.
The Guvnor and Harold were waiting to unsaddle when I got back into the paddock and the Guvnor was kind enough to say “Well at least you weren't last John, but I'm afraid this young fellow my lad is in for a rude awakening when we get home again”.He was referring of course to the threat of castration that had been hanging over “Episil,s” head for the last few weeks, and sad to say this is exactly what happened a week or so after this race,the vet came around,took him out into the back paddock put a nosebag filled with hay and ether on him and when he tumbled to the ground proceeded to emasculate him. Poor old “Ep”, he was really off his feed for a while until the wounds healed, but he soon picked up again and grew as fat as a pig,I don't remember how many times he ran after castration but the operation hadn't helped one bit on his outlook on life,he still went his own sweet way,I don't know what became of him later on,in all probability Harolds prophecy about becoming cats-meat may have come to pass. I do remember that after the operation they brought his testicles back in a bucket and put them on to boil in the tack-room,the lads said they tasted very like pigs hearts and that I should try eating some, it,ll do you the world of good Johnny it really puts lead in your pencil,you know! I didn't try it and as far as I can recall the stable cats got most of it for which they seemed very grateful.
The Guvnor and Harold were waiting to unsaddle when I got back into the paddock and the Guvnor was kind enough to say “Well at least you weren't last John, but I'm afraid this young fellow my lad is in for a rude awakening when we get home again”.He was referring of course to the threat of castration that had been hanging over “Episil,s” head for the last few weeks, and sad to say this is exactly what happened a week or so after this race,the vet came around,took him out into the back paddock put a nosebag filled with hay and ether on him and when he tumbled to the ground proceeded to emasculate him. Poor old “Ep”, he was really off his feed for a while until the wounds healed, but he soon picked up again and grew as fat as a pig,I don't remember how many times he ran after castration but the operation hadn't helped one bit on his outlook on life,he still went his own sweet way,I don't know what became of him later on,in all probability Harolds prophecy about becoming cats-meat may have come to pass. I do remember that after the operation they brought his testicles back in a bucket and put them on to boil in the tack-room,the lads said they tasted very like pigs hearts and that I should try eating some, it,ll do you the world of good Johnny it really puts lead in your pencil,you know! I didn't try it and as far as I can recall the stable cats got most of it for which they seemed very grateful.
I was greatly disappointed that things hadn't gone better for me on the racecourse and one thing that rankled me was the fact that after the races I wasn't invited to ride home with the Guvnor in his fine new car, I was relegated to the horse box again and went back to Wetherby with Harold and the other runners.
I was greatly disappointed that things hadn't gone better for me on the racecourse and one thing that rankled me was the fact that after the races I wasn't invited to ride home with the Guvnor in his fine new car, I was relegated to the horse box again and went back to Wetherby with Harold and the other runners.
Harold of course pulled my leg unmercifully all the way home,”You,ll have made a lot of enemies today Johnny all the local people in Wetherby were counting on you winning,I bet they,ll all be round in the morning asking for their money back!”Nobody ever did though but Harold had a great time kidding me about what he would have done in my place, but it was all in good fun and I was soon back in my usual humour. Eric and Gordon the two oldest apprentices who were getting most of the rides at the time helped to put me in a better frame of mind when they said,”Don't let it bother you kid, everybody in racing knows what a dog he is so don't let it get you down. At least you got the fee for riding him so look on the bright side,we,d ride him every day if we got five guineas a time for it!”
Harold of course pulled my leg unmercifully all the way home,”You,ll have made a lot of enemies today Johnny all the local people in Wetherby were counting on you winning,I bet they,ll all be round in the morning asking for their money back!”Nobody ever did though but Harold had a great time kidding me about what he would have done in my place, but it was all in good fun and I was soon back in my usual humour. Eric and Gordon the two oldest apprentices who were getting most of the rides at the time helped to put me in a better frame of mind when they said,”Don't let it bother you kid, everybody in racing knows what a dog he is so don't let it get you down. At least you got the fee for riding him so look on the bright side,we,d ride him every day if we got five guineas a time for it!”
Until they mentioned the riding fee I hadn't even thought about money but it was true enough,even though the Guvnor was entitled to half of the fee of five guineas, there was still two pounds twelve and sixpence to be credited to my account as far as I could see. I found out later that this wasn't quite so as the pound fee for the valet came out of my half of the riding fee leaving me with only one pound twelve and sixpence for my trouble,even so it was a great way to make a few bob extra and I really looked forward to the day when with luck I would be riding regularly,in my opinion it was money for old rope,fancy getting paid for riding racehorses,I really ought to be paying the owners for giving me the chance I suppose!
Until they mentioned the riding fee I hadn't even thought about money but it was true enough,even though the Guvnor was entitled to half of the fee of five guineas, there was still two pounds twelve and sixpence to be credited to my account as far as I could see. I found out later that this wasn't quite so as the pound fee for the valet came out of my half of the riding fee leaving me with only one pound twelve and sixpence for my trouble,even so it was a great way to make a few bob extra and I really looked forward to the day when with luck I would be riding regularly,in my opinion it was money for old rope,fancy getting paid for riding racehorses,I really ought to be paying the owners for giving me the chance I suppose!
At this time I was still lodging with old Mrs. Wilson (Granny) on Boston Road along with Roy Bellin and Jackie Mochrie but as one of the older lads,Snowie Humphries by name had just finished his time,without making much of a show of it on the racecourses I may add,he had decided to give racing the go bye and went home to Stockton I think to try his luck at something else.
At this time I was still lodging with old Mrs. Wilson (Granny) on Boston Road along with Roy Bellin and Jackie Mochrie but as one of the older lads,Snowie Humphries by name had just finished his time,without making much of a show of it on the racecourses I may add,he had decided to give racing the go bye and went home to Stockton I think to try his luck at something else.
Snowy had without a doubt the best digs in Wetherby at this time, he lived down Horsefair with Jack and Edna Patrick and was treated more or less as the son of the house as Jack and Edna had never had children of their own. Jack Patrick had at the time a thriving plumbers business and they were doing very well indeed,the main reason they took in one of the Vasey apprentices as a lodger was not because of the money involved but was in fact due to Jack working long hours,the lodger was intended as company for Edna on the long dark winter evenings. As soon as I heard that Snowie would be leaving I went round to see Mrs Patrick to ask if she was intending taking in another lodger, I was told that they had been thinking of giving it a rest for a while but that she would have a word with her husband.
Snowy had without a doubt the best digs in Wetherby at this time, he lived down Horsefair with Jack and Edna Patrick and was treated more or less as the son of the house as Jack and Edna had never had children of their own. Jack Patrick had at the time a thriving plumbers business and they were doing very well indeed,the main reason they took in one of the Vasey apprentices as a lodger was not because of the money involved but was in fact due to Jack working long hours,the lodger was intended as company for Edna on the long dark winter evenings. As soon as I heard that Snowie would be leaving I went round to see Mrs Patrick to ask if she was intending taking in another lodger, I was told that they had been thinking of giving it a rest for a while but that she would have a word with her husband.
The end result was that I went to live at Jack and Ednas and stayed with them until I was called up to do my National Service two years later. I soon settled in and always felt very much at home at number 7 Horsefair Edna was a great cook,I had a bedroom to myself instead of sharing with two others I was really living it up,and as several of the other apprentices had asked to be released from their indentures due to weight problems,Porky Twibey and Selby Hampshire were two of these, I suddenly found myself being the oldest apprentice in the yard!Oh happy day,this meant that if I behaved myself and kept out of trouble there would be a good chance of my riding the lower weights for Vaseys owners whenever an apprentice was required,at the time there were only two other apprentices in the yard and they were,Ted Shewan and Sparrow Povall,so things were really looking up!
The end result was that I went to live at Jack and Ednas and stayed with them until I was called up to do my National Service two years later. I soon settled in and always felt very much at home at number 7 Horsefair Edna was a great cook,I had a bedroom to myself instead of sharing with two others I was really living it up,and as several of the other apprentices had asked to be released from their indentures due to weight problems,Porky Twibey and Selby Hampshire were two of these, I suddenly found myself being the oldest apprentice in the yard!Oh happy day,this meant that if I behaved myself and kept out of trouble there would be a good chance of my riding the lower weights for Vaseys owners whenever an apprentice was required,at the time there were only two other apprentices in the yard and they were,Ted Shewan and Sparrow Povall,so things were really looking up!
Unfortunately things worked out very differently indeed, the best laid plans of mice and men,as Robbie Burns said.
Unfortunately things worked out very differently indeed, the best laid plans of mice and men,as Robbie Burns said.
I had only been living with the Patricks for a few weeks when I developed stomach pains one evening and decided to have an early night in the hope that things would have improved by next morning.
I had only been living with the Patricks for a few weeks when I developed stomach pains one evening and decided to have an early night in the hope that things would have improved by next morning.
I crawled into bed feeling very poorly indeed and the next thing I recall is waking up in a hospital bed at the Leeds General Infirmary with a line of steel clips across my stomach. I had been admitted with an acute appendicitis in the middle of the night, what had happened was that as Jack and Edna were preparing to go to bed Edna had heard me muttering in my sleep and decided to look in on me before retiring. She found me in a muck-sweat,delirious to boot and not being able to come into contact with me she rang the local M.D and asked him to come and take a look at me,his diagnosis was appendicitis and he rang for the ambulance right away.
I crawled into bed feeling very poorly indeed and the next thing I recall is waking up in a hospital bed at the Leeds General Infirmary with a line of steel clips across my stomach. I had been admitted with an acute appendicitis in the middle of the night, what had happened was that as Jack and Edna were preparing to go to bed Edna had heard me muttering in my sleep and decided to look in on me before retiring. She found me in a muck-sweat,delirious to boot and not being able to come into contact with me she rang the local M.D and asked him to come and take a look at me,his diagnosis was appendicitis and he rang for the ambulance right away.
This little incident put me out of action for quite some time and just at the time where I should have been making my mark on the racing scene, bad timing to say the least. When I did get back it was only to find that the rides that had been available for an apprentice had been ridden by my rival Ted Shewan the only good thing about it was the fact that for one there had been very few opportunities for rides at all whilst I had been away and two that none of the horses that Ted had ridden had been placed. So it was back to work with a vengeance,I had quite a hard time of it when I first got back as the water buckets alone that had to be carried in the course of the day were enough to make me groan aloud, I found it was better to carry two at a time so that the weight balanced out when I had a bucket in each hand and the strain on my stomach muscles wasn't so lopsided and after a couple of weeks I was back to normal I'm happy to say. Time for another story.
This little incident put me out of action for quite some time and just at the time where I should have been making my mark on the racing scene, bad timing to say the least. When I did get back it was only to find that the rides that had been available for an apprentice had been ridden by my rival Ted Shewan the only good thing about it was the fact that for one there had been very few opportunities for rides at all whilst I had been away and two that none of the horses that Ted had ridden had been placed. So it was back to work with a vengeance,I had quite a hard time of it when I first got back as the water buckets alone that had to be carried in the course of the day were enough to make me groan aloud, I found it was better to carry two at a time so that the weight balanced out when I had a bucket in each hand and the strain on my stomach muscles wasn't so lopsided and after a couple of weeks I was back to normal I'm happy to say. Time for another story.
This one is about cars too. A man driving up the motorway doing around 100 m.p.h. looks at his rear mirror and sees something preparing to overtake him but cant quite make out what it is. As this thing tears past him he is amazed to see that it is a huge chicken but what is more amazing is the fact that the chicken has three legs! He puts on a bit more speed and keeps following the chicken until it turns off the motorway and eventually turns into a farm yard. Getting out of his car the man meets the owner of the farm and asks”Did you just see a chicken tear across your yard?”” No “said the farmer “Why?” “Well first of all it could run like the clappers, but apart from that it had three legs!””Oh if it had three legs” said the farmer”then it,s one of our because all our chickens have three legs””Oh really, tell me why do you breed chickens with three legs?”Well on this farm there are three of us you see ,my wife, my daughter and myself and we all prefer a chicken leg to anything else so over the years we have specialised in this type”” That,s very interesting” said the driver” tell me do they taste nice?” “I dont know “said the farmer”We haven,t caught any of them yet!”
This one is about cars too. A man driving up the motorway doing around 100 m.p.h. looks at his rear mirror and sees something preparing to overtake him but cant quite make out what it is. As this thing tears past him he is amazed to see that it is a huge chicken but what is more amazing is the fact that the chicken has three legs! He puts on a bit more speed and keeps following the chicken until it turns off the motorway and eventually turns into a farm yard. Getting out of his car the man meets the owner of the farm and asks”Did you just see a chicken tear across your yard?”” No “said the farmer “Why?” “Well first of all it could run like the clappers, but apart from that it had three legs!””Oh if it had three legs” said the farmer”then it,s one of our because all our chickens have three legs””Oh really, tell me why do you breed chickens with three legs?”Well on this farm there are three of us you see ,my wife, my daughter and myself and we all prefer a chicken leg to anything else so over the years we have specialised in this type”” That,s very interesting” said the driver” tell me do they taste nice?” “I dont know “said the farmer”We haven,t caught any of them yet!”
Chapter Four
Chapter Four
I soon got into the routine again and a couple of months after I got back the Guvnor told me that he had been approached by a local trainer named Duffy, he was training in the Hotel Brunswicks yard at the time, had asked to borrow me to ride one of his horses in a six furlong sprint at Wolverhampton week later. I could hardly believe my ears, but it was true enough, the horse Pretty Stella was owned by a Wolverhampton business man called Wilcox and he wanted her to run at his home meeting. I dashed home that evening to look up Pretty Stella in the form book and found that she had run only twice before, and had finished last in both her previous races. Things didn’t look too promising I must admit, but at least I was getting paid and would be having a day off work to boot so I was quite happy about the situation, especially so as even if she finished tailed off there could hardly be any recriminations as she had always finished last anyway.
I soon got into the routine again and a couple of months after I got back the Guvnor told me that he had been approached by a local trainer named Duffy, he was training in the Hotel Brunswicks yard at the time, had asked to borrow me to ride one of his horses in a six furlong sprint at Wolverhampton week later. I could hardly believe my ears, but it was true enough, the horse Pretty Stella was owned by a Wolverhampton business man called Wilcox and he wanted her to run at his home meeting. I dashed home that evening to look up Pretty Stella in the form book and found that she had run only twice before, and had finished last in both her previous races. Things didn’t look too promising I must admit, but at least I was getting paid and would be having a day off work to boot so I was quite happy about the situation, especially so as even if she finished tailed off there could hardly be any recriminations as she had always finished last anyway.
I was told to be at the Brunswick Hotel at seven in the morning on the day of the race which I did only to be met by Mr Duffy with the words” Can you just do her up and put the knee boots on her before Miles gets here?” He was very busy looking after the other horses in the yard, and I found out shortly afterwards that he was alone whilst looking after eight horses every day. He employed no staff at all at this time! Miles Dawson the horsebox driver arrived shortly afterwards and I was told to take Stella out and box her up, when this was done I expected to be told to get into Mr Duffy, s car to be taken to the races in style, but oh no, Mr Duffy had no car at this time, so whilst he rode up front with Miles I was relegated to sitting in the back of the box with Stella! All the way to Wolverhampton I kept wondering,” Who is going to lead Stella up? If I’m riding her and Duffy is saddling her up and attending to the owner, who is going to bring Stella up to the course?”
I was told to be at the Brunswick Hotel at seven in the morning on the day of the race which I did only to be met by Mr Duffy with the words” Can you just do her up and put the knee boots on her before Miles gets here?” He was very busy looking after the other horses in the yard, and I found out shortly afterwards that he was alone whilst looking after eight horses every day. He employed no staff at all at this time! Miles Dawson the horsebox driver arrived shortly afterwards and I was told to take Stella out and box her up, when this was done I expected to be told to get into Mr Duffy, s car to be taken to the races in style, but oh no, Mr Duffy had no car at this time, so whilst he rode up front with Miles I was relegated to sitting in the back of the box with Stella! All the way to Wolverhampton I kept wondering,” Who is going to lead Stella up? If I’m riding her and Duffy is saddling her up and attending to the owner, who is going to bring Stella up to the course?”
As soon as we arrived at Wolverhampton and I had un-boxed Stella and put her into the box in the racecourse yard that we had been allocated in the I asked Mr Duffy who was to bring her up to the course later on that afternoon,” Oh that’s no problem Johnny “ he said ”There’s always someone around who will take a spare lead up on for a pound”. And there was, Duffy put his head around the door to the stable lads canteen and said” Is there anybody who’s got the time for a spare lead up in the three o’clock?” Straight away there was one lad that said” I, ll take it I’ve got one in the first but we’ve also a runner in the last, so I’ve got plenty of time”. Another way to make a bob or two on the side I thought, the small trainers with a minimum of staff would always be looking for someone to give them a hand at a meeting, I must bear this in mind.
As soon as we arrived at Wolverhampton and I had un-boxed Stella and put her into the box in the racecourse yard that we had been allocated in the I asked Mr Duffy who was to bring her up to the course later on that afternoon,” Oh that’s no problem Johnny “ he said ”There’s always someone around who will take a spare lead up on for a pound”. And there was, Duffy put his head around the door to the stable lads canteen and said” Is there anybody who’s got the time for a spare lead up in the three o’clock?” Straight away there was one lad that said” I, ll take it I’ve got one in the first but we’ve also a runner in the last, so I’ve got plenty of time”. Another way to make a bob or two on the side I thought, the small trainers with a minimum of staff would always be looking for someone to give them a hand at a meeting, I must bear this in mind.
Mr Duffy gave me the bag with the owners silks, they were very wishy washy as I remember it, lemon with mauve sleeves and black and white quartered cap, and of I went to the course to get changed, I was stopped at the gate on the way in by the attendant who asked me where I thought I was going! My reply was,” I, ve a ride in the three o’clock if that’s OK by you? Do you want to see my license?” ”Sorry Sir I didn’t realise you were one of the jockeys” he said” Will it do any good?” ”I don’t think so, “I said” Save your money this thing usually comes in last”.”Thanks for the tip anyway” was his reply ”What's it called, so Ill know not to back it?”I told him “Pretty Stella”.
Mr Duffy gave me the bag with the owners silks, they were very wishy washy as I remember it, lemon with mauve sleeves and black and white quartered cap, and of I went to the course to get changed, I was stopped at the gate on the way in by the attendant who asked me where I thought I was going! My reply was,” I, ve a ride in the three o’clock if that’s OK by you? Do you want to see my license?” ”Sorry Sir I didn’t realise you were one of the jockeys” he said” Will it do any good?” ”I don’t think so, “I said” Save your money this thing usually comes in last”.”Thanks for the tip anyway” was his reply ”What's it called, so Ill know not to back it?”I told him “Pretty Stella”.
On arrival in the weighing room I was lucky enough to run into W.Evans who was stable jockey for Willie Pratt, fortunately he recognised me from my time in Newmarket and was kind enough to get his usual valet to do for me too. So within minutes I was fixed up and by the time Mr Duffy put in an appearance I had already weighed out and all I had to do was hand over the saddle and the number cloth to him, fifteen minutes later the call went out “Jockeys Up” and all the jockeys riding in the 3 o’clock trooped out into the parade ring. Mr Wilcox turned out to be a chubby little man with a very pleasing manner who,s only comment to me was” Do your best for me lad, I'm not expecting wonders but its nice to show my colours her at my home meeting, O.K?”A couple of minutes later I was thrown up onto Stella's back and led out onto the course, Stella was an easy ride, she didn’t pull at all and we cantered nice and steadily down to the start, we lined up with the others behind the tapes and in no time at all we were on the way back. Another glance at the form book tells me that on this occasion I was really in first class company, the name of the race was The Rugeley Seller for two year olds, run over 6 furlongs for a prize of 287 pounds. England’s champion jockey at the time, Gordon later Sir Gordon Richards rode in this race along with such names as Kenny Gethin, who won it on Yogi beating Gordon Richards a short head, Doug Smith, Ephie Smith and W.H.Carr were some of the names that may ring a bell for anyone who has followed the racing scene. Stella got off well and we were up with the leaders for about four furlongs but after the marker Stella lost impetus and she was a very tired animal indeed by the time we passed the finishing post. She just didn’t get the trip, six furlongs was too far for her, unfortunately there are no races under five furlongs in England so her prospects were not too bright. Bill Evans had said to me before the race ”Watch out when pulling up at the end of the race kid, there’s a bloody great viaduct across the end of the course and if you don’t pull up in time you’ll find yourself running into a brick wall!” He needn’t have worried Stella was so tired she was down to a walk two strides past the winning post, all the other runners ran on and some had difficulty stopping at all but not Stella. Much to my surprise Duffy and Mr Wilcox were waiting for me just inside the gate leading from the course to the unsaddling area,” Well done lad, well done” called Mr Wilcox, I looked over my shoulder because I was sure he must have been talking to someone else, but no it was me he meant, ”Thank you Sir” I said, ”She runs at Birmingham in a months time” continued Mr Wilcox” I want you to ride her again”. I was flabbergasted! In the same breathe he said ”It will be a bit further next time, seven furlongs, the longer trip will probably suit her much better!”
On arrival in the weighing room I was lucky enough to run into W.Evans who was stable jockey for Willie Pratt, fortunately he recognised me from my time in Newmarket and was kind enough to get his usual valet to do for me too. So within minutes I was fixed up and by the time Mr Duffy put in an appearance I had already weighed out and all I had to do was hand over the saddle and the number cloth to him, fifteen minutes later the call went out “Jockeys Up” and all the jockeys riding in the 3 o’clock trooped out into the parade ring. Mr Wilcox turned out to be a chubby little man with a very pleasing manner who,s only comment to me was” Do your best for me lad, I'm not expecting wonders but its nice to show my colours her at my home meeting, O.K?”A couple of minutes later I was thrown up onto Stella's back and led out onto the course, Stella was an easy ride, she didn’t pull at all and we cantered nice and steadily down to the start, we lined up with the others behind the tapes and in no time at all we were on the way back. Another glance at the form book tells me that on this occasion I was really in first class company, the name of the race was The Rugeley Seller for two year olds, run over 6 furlongs for a prize of 287 pounds. England’s champion jockey at the time, Gordon later Sir Gordon Richards rode in this race along with such names as Kenny Gethin, who won it on Yogi beating Gordon Richards a short head, Doug Smith, Ephie Smith and W.H.Carr were some of the names that may ring a bell for anyone who has followed the racing scene. Stella got off well and we were up with the leaders for about four furlongs but after the marker Stella lost impetus and she was a very tired animal indeed by the time we passed the finishing post. She just didn’t get the trip, six furlongs was too far for her, unfortunately there are no races under five furlongs in England so her prospects were not too bright. Bill Evans had said to me before the race ”Watch out when pulling up at the end of the race kid, there’s a bloody great viaduct across the end of the course and if you don’t pull up in time you’ll find yourself running into a brick wall!” He needn’t have worried Stella was so tired she was down to a walk two strides past the winning post, all the other runners ran on and some had difficulty stopping at all but not Stella. Much to my surprise Duffy and Mr Wilcox were waiting for me just inside the gate leading from the course to the unsaddling area,” Well done lad, well done” called Mr Wilcox, I looked over my shoulder because I was sure he must have been talking to someone else, but no it was me he meant, ”Thank you Sir” I said, ”She runs at Birmingham in a months time” continued Mr Wilcox” I want you to ride her again”. I was flabbergasted! In the same breathe he said ”It will be a bit further next time, seven furlongs, the longer trip will probably suit her much better!”
I kept my mouth shut about Stella's ability to race over seven furlongs as I didn’t want to lose the chance of another ride, but in my eyes there would be no way whatsoever of Stella not running last, perhaps even being tailed off in a race of this length. I took my time after the race, getting changed in a leisurely manner as I knew that if I got down to the racecourse yard early I would be put to work doing Stella up and getting her ready for the trip back to Wetherby, and after all I was the jockey today not the stable boy! A rude awakening was in store for me, as when I got back to the yard the lad who had taken the spare lead up had done just that, taken her up to the course and back then left her to her own devices, I was back to square one again as Stella had to be properly done up before she could be boxed for the trip home!
I kept my mouth shut about Stella's ability to race over seven furlongs as I didn’t want to lose the chance of another ride, but in my eyes there would be no way whatsoever of Stella not running last, perhaps even being tailed off in a race of this length. I took my time after the race, getting changed in a leisurely manner as I knew that if I got down to the racecourse yard early I would be put to work doing Stella up and getting her ready for the trip back to Wetherby, and after all I was the jockey today not the stable boy! A rude awakening was in store for me, as when I got back to the yard the lad who had taken the spare lead up had done just that, taken her up to the course and back then left her to her own devices, I was back to square one again as Stella had to be properly done up before she could be boxed for the trip home!
I did Stella up and made her comfortable and about an hour later we were boxed up and on the way home, only difference being that there were now two horses in the box and the other horse was to be off loaded in Boston Spa at Tommy Sheddens yard. I think that what had happened was that one of Sheddens owners had bought the winner of the selling race and was having him taken back to be trained at Boston Spa, whatever the reason, I now had company for the trip home. The next month past very quickly indeed and eventually the day that Stella was to run at Birmingham came around, Tuesday the first of November, she was entered in the Coombe Plate,a seven-furlong seller.
I did Stella up and made her comfortable and about an hour later we were boxed up and on the way home, only difference being that there were now two horses in the box and the other horse was to be off loaded in Boston Spa at Tommy Sheddens yard. I think that what had happened was that one of Sheddens owners had bought the winner of the selling race and was having him taken back to be trained at Boston Spa, whatever the reason, I now had company for the trip home. The next month past very quickly indeed and eventually the day that Stella was to run at Birmingham came around, Tuesday the first of November, she was entered in the Coombe Plate,a seven-furlong seller.
As Birmingham was quite a journey from Wetherby Mr. Duffy had decided to take his runner down to Birmingham the day before the race this suited me just fine, as it meant that I would be away from the yard for two days instead of the usual one day, a working day of anything up to sixteen hours when racing was not unusual. So going down the day before was just up my street. We arrived at the racecourse yard in the middle of the afternoon. Much to my surprise I found that Birmingham racecourse was in a residential area on the outskirts of the town, there were semi-detached houses on both sides of the street right down to the gates into the racecourse yard.
As Birmingham was quite a journey from Wetherby Mr. Duffy had decided to take his runner down to Birmingham the day before the race this suited me just fine, as it meant that I would be away from the yard for two days instead of the usual one day, a working day of anything up to sixteen hours when racing was not unusual. So going down the day before was just up my street. We arrived at the racecourse yard in the middle of the afternoon. Much to my surprise I found that Birmingham racecourse was in a residential area on the outskirts of the town, there were semi-detached houses on both sides of the street right down to the gates into the racecourse yard.
Most of the racecourses I had seen in England were in the countryside or at least a good way out of town, I found out later that this wasn’t so unusual at all, as most racecourses were originally out in the wilds, but as the towns grew bigger and the developers moved in, the housing estates got closer and closer and eventually surrounded the courses.
Most of the racecourses I had seen in England were in the countryside or at least a good way out of town, I found out later that this wasn’t so unusual at all, as most racecourses were originally out in the wilds, but as the towns grew bigger and the developers moved in, the housing estates got closer and closer and eventually surrounded the courses.
Our first setback was the fact that there was no where to sleep! The hostel at the yard was fully booked, Mr Duffy hadn’t taken this into account as that in normal circumstances we would have come on the day and returned to Wetherby after the races. Through the good services of one of the gate-men we were told to go a little bit further down the street to one of the semi-detached houses, this turned out to be his sister house, these people had never taken in lodgers before but the thought of making a couple of quid on the side appealed to the sister and her husband and Duffy and I wound up sharing a double bed in the best bedroom, whilst the couple who lived in the house made do with the box-room for the night.
Our first setback was the fact that there was no where to sleep! The hostel at the yard was fully booked, Mr Duffy hadn’t taken this into account as that in normal circumstances we would have come on the day and returned to Wetherby after the races. Through the good services of one of the gate-men we were told to go a little bit further down the street to one of the semi-detached houses, this turned out to be his sister house, these people had never taken in lodgers before but the thought of making a couple of quid on the side appealed to the sister and her husband and Duffy and I wound up sharing a double bed in the best bedroom, whilst the couple who lived in the house made do with the box-room for the night.
Next morning we were provided with an enormous breakfast, and I remember the lady of the house saying after I had eaten a plateful of bacon and eggs,followed by numerous slices of toast,”I thought jockeys didn't eat a lot? That they had to watch their weight?””He's eating as if he thinks this might be his last meal!”Duffy explained to her that as I was a real lightweight,I would normally have just had some dry toast and a cup of tea,but as I only weighed seven stones and the filly I was to ride had to carry eight stones it would be an advantage today if I weighed a bit more than I usually did, as this would mean less dead weight for the horse to carry. A jockey weighing eight stones is a better bet than a jockey weighing seven stones riding with a stone of lead in his weight cloth,the jockey of eight stones can move his weight around and distribute it in a better way,some jockeys even get off their mounts down at the starting gate just to ease the weight off the horses back for a while,whilst the horse that carries a lot of dead weight is carrying that weight all the time.”So if there, s any more toast left missus you,d better give it to him,today we'd like him to be a bit on the heavy side!”
Next morning we were provided with an enormous breakfast, and I remember the lady of the house saying after I had eaten a plateful of bacon and eggs,followed by numerous slices of toast,”I thought jockeys didn't eat a lot? That they had to watch their weight?””He's eating as if he thinks this might be his last meal!”Duffy explained to her that as I was a real lightweight,I would normally have just had some dry toast and a cup of tea,but as I only weighed seven stones and the filly I was to ride had to carry eight stones it would be an advantage today if I weighed a bit more than I usually did, as this would mean less dead weight for the horse to carry. A jockey weighing eight stones is a better bet than a jockey weighing seven stones riding with a stone of lead in his weight cloth,the jockey of eight stones can move his weight around and distribute it in a better way,some jockeys even get off their mounts down at the starting gate just to ease the weight off the horses back for a while,whilst the horse that carries a lot of dead weight is carrying that weight all the time.”So if there, s any more toast left missus you,d better give it to him,today we'd like him to be a bit on the heavy side!”
The Coombe plate was a disaster for Stella, as per usual she flew along with the leaders for the first four furlongs, but that was it, just over halfway and she was staggering along with no breathe left, I daredn't ease up on her as if I,d given her half a chance she would have stopped altogether so I tried as hard as I could to keep her going although it was just as hard work for me as it was for her. She dropped rapidly back through the field and was soon at the back of the pack,a couple of hundred yards from the winning post we were all but last,with just one horse behind us,it turned out to be Tommy Gosling on a thing that was about the same calibre as Stella.”Come on kid “ Tommy said “I,ll race you for last place!” and he did,he gave his mount a couple of cracks of the whip and crossed the line about half a length in front of me.
The Coombe plate was a disaster for Stella, as per usual she flew along with the leaders for the first four furlongs, but that was it, just over halfway and she was staggering along with no breathe left, I daredn't ease up on her as if I,d given her half a chance she would have stopped altogether so I tried as hard as I could to keep her going although it was just as hard work for me as it was for her. She dropped rapidly back through the field and was soon at the back of the pack,a couple of hundred yards from the winning post we were all but last,with just one horse behind us,it turned out to be Tommy Gosling on a thing that was about the same calibre as Stella.”Come on kid “ Tommy said “I,ll race you for last place!” and he did,he gave his mount a couple of cracks of the whip and crossed the line about half a length in front of me.
Back at the paddock there were very long faces indeed, Mr Wilcox asked why she had run so badly and I said that seven furlongs was too much of a trip for her, and that in my opinion she would be better suited over five furlongs. There were no further comments and I was allowed to go back to the weighing room to change. A couple of hours later we were boxing up ready to leave for home once again we had one of Tommy Sheddens runners with us for the trip home, I can,t remember the name of the lad from Sheddens but I,m sure he will remember this day for the rest of his life. As dusk fell we pulled out of the yard and set course for Wetherby, the box was driven by a chap called Miles Dawson, we usually travelled with Arthur Warrington but Arthur had other engagements this day. After settling down for the trip home Shedden,s lad and I curled up in each corner of the box and tried to doze off to while away the many hours before we were back home again. It soon got dark and we must have been successful in nodding off, as the next thing I heard was a deafening crash and the horse box stopped so suddenly that we were both thrown forward by the impetus and then back to where we started on the rebound. The horses were subjected to the same treatment,but being considerably heavier they were thrown backwards and forwards with a lot more force than we were. So much force in fact that they wound up sitting in their stalls as if begging for tit-bits. Both head collar chains snapped and to say they were upset was to put it mildly.”Put the light on Johnny” said Sheddens lad,”Lets see what,s happened. I flicked the switch for the bulkhead fitting but to no avail everything was quite dead,by this time both horses were on their feet again,with no help from us,and we climbed down onto the road to see what had happened.
Back at the paddock there were very long faces indeed, Mr Wilcox asked why she had run so badly and I said that seven furlongs was too much of a trip for her, and that in my opinion she would be better suited over five furlongs. There were no further comments and I was allowed to go back to the weighing room to change. A couple of hours later we were boxing up ready to leave for home once again we had one of Tommy Sheddens runners with us for the trip home, I can,t remember the name of the lad from Sheddens but I,m sure he will remember this day for the rest of his life. As dusk fell we pulled out of the yard and set course for Wetherby, the box was driven by a chap called Miles Dawson, we usually travelled with Arthur Warrington but Arthur had other engagements this day. After settling down for the trip home Shedden,s lad and I curled up in each corner of the box and tried to doze off to while away the many hours before we were back home again. It soon got dark and we must have been successful in nodding off, as the next thing I heard was a deafening crash and the horse box stopped so suddenly that we were both thrown forward by the impetus and then back to where we started on the rebound. The horses were subjected to the same treatment,but being considerably heavier they were thrown backwards and forwards with a lot more force than we were. So much force in fact that they wound up sitting in their stalls as if begging for tit-bits. Both head collar chains snapped and to say they were upset was to put it mildly.”Put the light on Johnny” said Sheddens lad,”Lets see what,s happened. I flicked the switch for the bulkhead fitting but to no avail everything was quite dead,by this time both horses were on their feet again,with no help from us,and we climbed down onto the road to see what had happened.
Fortunately there wasn't very much traffic and after getting down from the box we found ourselves on a dual carriage way which ran through a new housing estate. Going round to the front of the box I found that the front of the horse box was no longer with us! The cab had disintegrated, both front wheels had disappeared under the main body of the box, and the motor was several yards behind us having been forced out of its mountings and pushed under the box,before coming out at the rear. Mr Duffy and Miles Dawson were both stretched out on the grass verge,both of them obviously still alive as they were both alternatively moaning about their injuries and swearing about the damage. The worst injury was to Duffy who had broken an arm,Miles the driver had by some miracle got off very lightly indeed with minor cuts and bruises.
Fortunately there wasn't very much traffic and after getting down from the box we found ourselves on a dual carriage way which ran through a new housing estate. Going round to the front of the box I found that the front of the horse box was no longer with us! The cab had disintegrated, both front wheels had disappeared under the main body of the box, and the motor was several yards behind us having been forced out of its mountings and pushed under the box,before coming out at the rear. Mr Duffy and Miles Dawson were both stretched out on the grass verge,both of them obviously still alive as they were both alternatively moaning about their injuries and swearing about the damage. The worst injury was to Duffy who had broken an arm,Miles the driver had by some miracle got off very lightly indeed with minor cuts and bruises.
Things got a bit chaotic at this time as the people living in the houses close by had heard the sound of the crash and several people came running to the scene to give assistance, it was all well meant of course but never have I heard so many different opinions on how to treat victims of a road accident, if it hadn't been so serious I would have thought it was a good laugh. I've often smiled to my self over this incident in later years. It was by now quite dark and getting colder by the minute,before both victims were carted off to hospital, Miles had the foresight to ring to Arthur Warrington the other independent box-driver to ask if he could come and pick up two horses for transport back to Wetherby. Several hours later Arthur came along and the horses were taken out of the ruined box and loaded into the new box for transport back to their respective stables.
Things got a bit chaotic at this time as the people living in the houses close by had heard the sound of the crash and several people came running to the scene to give assistance, it was all well meant of course but never have I heard so many different opinions on how to treat victims of a road accident, if it hadn't been so serious I would have thought it was a good laugh. I've often smiled to my self over this incident in later years. It was by now quite dark and getting colder by the minute,before both victims were carted off to hospital, Miles had the foresight to ring to Arthur Warrington the other independent box-driver to ask if he could come and pick up two horses for transport back to Wetherby. Several hours later Arthur came along and the horses were taken out of the ruined box and loaded into the new box for transport back to their respective stables.
Sheddens lad and I had taken it in turns to sit in the kitchens of various council houses drinking endless cups of tea provided by the kindly residents, doing half an hour in the box soothing the horses and half an hour getting warm again. Very few of the locals had ever seen a horse at close quarters before so practically the whole estate gathered to see the horses changing boxes, luckily for us we were at a part of the road where there were street lamps and a broad grass verge so everything went very smoothly indeed,in a few minutes we were on the way north.
Sheddens lad and I had taken it in turns to sit in the kitchens of various council houses drinking endless cups of tea provided by the kindly residents, doing half an hour in the box soothing the horses and half an hour getting warm again. Very few of the locals had ever seen a horse at close quarters before so practically the whole estate gathered to see the horses changing boxes, luckily for us we were at a part of the road where there were street lamps and a broad grass verge so everything went very smoothly indeed,in a few minutes we were on the way north.
The last thing Duffy said to me as they put him into the ambulance was,”Johnny, when you get back to the Brunswick, you,ll have to feed and water the other horses in the yard as they have had no attention today at all. I,ll ring to Mr Vasey from the hospital and make arrangements for tomorrow but tonight you,ll be on your own!”
The last thing Duffy said to me as they put him into the ambulance was,”Johnny, when you get back to the Brunswick, you,ll have to feed and water the other horses in the yard as they have had no attention today at all. I,ll ring to Mr Vasey from the hospital and make arrangements for tomorrow but tonight you,ll be on your own!”
Talk about the end of a perfect day! I got to Wetherby about one o,clock in the morning after having dropped Sheddens horse off in Boston Spa, before I took Stella out of the box I had to find where the light switches were for the yard,I spent several minutes playing blind man's buff feeling my way around walls trying to find a means of illuminating the place. Eventually I found the right switch and when the lights came on every horse in the yard rushed to their stable door,whinnying and calling to each other all impatient to be fed,it was Bedlam!
Talk about the end of a perfect day! I got to Wetherby about one o,clock in the morning after having dropped Sheddens horse off in Boston Spa, before I took Stella out of the box I had to find where the light switches were for the yard,I spent several minutes playing blind man's buff feeling my way around walls trying to find a means of illuminating the place. Eventually I found the right switch and when the lights came on every horse in the yard rushed to their stable door,whinnying and calling to each other all impatient to be fed,it was Bedlam!
The Brunswick Arms lies in the centre of Wetherby by the cattle market, on a residential street, bedroom lights were turned on at several houses and people leaned out to see what all the commotion was about, but on seeing the box outside they knew that we were just a bit late getting back, and everyone turned in again. I put Stella into her loose box and started the rounds, eight strange horses with Lord knows how many quirks had to be fed and watered, I didn't know them and they certainly didn't know me .I thought to myself,”They,ll probably find me in small pieces in the morning,bitten to bits by some mad stallion!”
The Brunswick Arms lies in the centre of Wetherby by the cattle market, on a residential street, bedroom lights were turned on at several houses and people leaned out to see what all the commotion was about, but on seeing the box outside they knew that we were just a bit late getting back, and everyone turned in again. I put Stella into her loose box and started the rounds, eight strange horses with Lord knows how many quirks had to be fed and watered, I didn't know them and they certainly didn't know me .I thought to myself,”They,ll probably find me in small pieces in the morning,bitten to bits by some mad stallion!”
Truth to tell though, the horses were all so thirsty and hungry that not one of them stopped to think I was a new face, all they were interested in was water,corn and hay for the night,an hour later I could trudge home to my digs,and fall into bed. Being a jockey wasn't all beer and skittles was my last thought as I drifted off to sleep.
Truth to tell though, the horses were all so thirsty and hungry that not one of them stopped to think I was a new face, all they were interested in was water,corn and hay for the night,an hour later I could trudge home to my digs,and fall into bed. Being a jockey wasn't all beer and skittles was my last thought as I drifted off to sleep.
Next day at work everyone had heard about the accident and I had to give a first hand account of what had happened. The cause of the accident was that Miles hadn't seen a trailer parked on the side of the road until it was too late to brake,truth to tell the police found no skid marks from the brakes at all at the scene of the accident. This would mean that we were doing about fifty miles an hour when we ran into the trailer,it was a huge thing loaded with concrete span sections for building purposes,a thing of that weight isn't easy to move at any time,so poor old Miles's box was a total wreck,I never heard the outcome of the investigation,but Miles was soon to be seen driving around in a new horse box so I took it that the insurance company had covered his losses.
Next day at work everyone had heard about the accident and I had to give a first hand account of what had happened. The cause of the accident was that Miles hadn't seen a trailer parked on the side of the road until it was too late to brake,truth to tell the police found no skid marks from the brakes at all at the scene of the accident. This would mean that we were doing about fifty miles an hour when we ran into the trailer,it was a huge thing loaded with concrete span sections for building purposes,a thing of that weight isn't easy to move at any time,so poor old Miles's box was a total wreck,I never heard the outcome of the investigation,but Miles was soon to be seen driving around in a new horse box so I took it that the insurance company had covered his losses.
Talking to Harold a couple of days later he said to me “You, d better watch out Johnny, these things always come in threes! You got off lightly in the box smash you might not be so lucky next time you know” Unwittingly Harold was to be the cause of my next narrow escape. At Vasey,s it was the custom when opening a new bale of hay to roll the wire strands that held the hay in the shape of a bale, into a ball, and pitch them into a corner outside the hay loft, when ever the the heap of wire became about three feet high the Guvnor detailed Harold to get rid of it. This was done by borrowing a horse and cart from Websters at the farm next door to the yard, forking the baling wire into the cart and transporting it over to the park where it was forked off the cart and into the river! In our day and age this seems incongruous I know but at the time people just didn't know any better, it was a tradition, and as the baling wire was malleable it very soon rusted away and after a normal winter there was never a trace of baling wire to be seen on the river bed.
Talking to Harold a couple of days later he said to me “You, d better watch out Johnny, these things always come in threes! You got off lightly in the box smash you might not be so lucky next time you know” Unwittingly Harold was to be the cause of my next narrow escape. At Vasey,s it was the custom when opening a new bale of hay to roll the wire strands that held the hay in the shape of a bale, into a ball, and pitch them into a corner outside the hay loft, when ever the the heap of wire became about three feet high the Guvnor detailed Harold to get rid of it. This was done by borrowing a horse and cart from Websters at the farm next door to the yard, forking the baling wire into the cart and transporting it over to the park where it was forked off the cart and into the river! In our day and age this seems incongruous I know but at the time people just didn't know any better, it was a tradition, and as the baling wire was malleable it very soon rusted away and after a normal winter there was never a trace of baling wire to be seen on the river bed.
On the day in question Sparrow Povall and I were told to help Harold getting rid of the baling wire whilst the rest of the yard did the noon feed. We jumped at the chance of course, as forking old baling wire into the river was a much easier task than slaving round the yard with wooden buckets filled to the brim with water. It took only a few minutes to fill the cart and Harold said “O.K lads hop up ont cart, and we,ll be off”, when we arrived at the place where we usually forked the wire into the river bed Harold turned the horse and cart and began to back the cart towards the edge of the river bank. I might add here that the river bed here lies about twenty to twenty five feet lower down and that the drop here was nearly sheer,it was intended that Harold would back as close to the edge as possible and that Sparrow and I would then fork off the wire. Unfortunately when Harold took hold of the old mares head to check her,the rein to the bit broke and he had no further control over her,and she backed steadily despite all his efforts to stop her, until the the two wheels of the cart dropped over the edge of the river bank. The weight of the cart was so great that the poor old mare hadn't a chance,she struggled greatly when she suddenly felt the dead weight pulling her backwards against her will. Harold screamed at us”Jump - Jump she,s going over”.This was easier said than done as Sparrow and I had made ourselves comfortable on the way over to the park and were now in great difficulty first of all trying to get free from the baling wire and next to clamber over the high sides of the cart. I freed my feet and took a dive over the side,just as the mare was lifted off her hooves and was thrown backwards down the slope, as she fell the cart went to one side of one of the trees embedded in the river bank and both cart shafts broke like match sticks.I remember thinking that this was a blessing as at least the cart wouldn't pull her down below the surface and cause her to drown in the river,her troubles were not however over at this stage. The broken shaft which had come to resemble a lance struck her between her hind legs with great force and inflicted a horrible wound, we found afterwards that the shaft had removed most of her vagina, penetrated her rectum and gone into the muscles of her hind leg.
On the day in question Sparrow Povall and I were told to help Harold getting rid of the baling wire whilst the rest of the yard did the noon feed. We jumped at the chance of course, as forking old baling wire into the river was a much easier task than slaving round the yard with wooden buckets filled to the brim with water. It took only a few minutes to fill the cart and Harold said “O.K lads hop up ont cart, and we,ll be off”, when we arrived at the place where we usually forked the wire into the river bed Harold turned the horse and cart and began to back the cart towards the edge of the river bank. I might add here that the river bed here lies about twenty to twenty five feet lower down and that the drop here was nearly sheer,it was intended that Harold would back as close to the edge as possible and that Sparrow and I would then fork off the wire. Unfortunately when Harold took hold of the old mares head to check her,the rein to the bit broke and he had no further control over her,and she backed steadily despite all his efforts to stop her, until the the two wheels of the cart dropped over the edge of the river bank. The weight of the cart was so great that the poor old mare hadn't a chance,she struggled greatly when she suddenly felt the dead weight pulling her backwards against her will. Harold screamed at us”Jump - Jump she,s going over”.This was easier said than done as Sparrow and I had made ourselves comfortable on the way over to the park and were now in great difficulty first of all trying to get free from the baling wire and next to clamber over the high sides of the cart. I freed my feet and took a dive over the side,just as the mare was lifted off her hooves and was thrown backwards down the slope, as she fell the cart went to one side of one of the trees embedded in the river bank and both cart shafts broke like match sticks.I remember thinking that this was a blessing as at least the cart wouldn't pull her down below the surface and cause her to drown in the river,her troubles were not however over at this stage. The broken shaft which had come to resemble a lance struck her between her hind legs with great force and inflicted a horrible wound, we found afterwards that the shaft had removed most of her vagina, penetrated her rectum and gone into the muscles of her hind leg.
She wound up on all four legs with the rest of her harness still hanging around her holding the two broken shafts standing in the fast running river bed, even from where we stood we could see the river changing colour from the amount of blood she was loosing. Sparrow had jumped from the other side of the cart and was unhurt, Harold was playing hell about old harness and it not being looked after,”I dont know whether we want a vet or the knackers man in this case “ he said “but we,d better get back to the farm and tell them what's happened just as fast as we can”.Later that day we heard that they had had to go down to Wetherby, over the bridge and down the other river bank to get hold of the old mare at all. I went over to the farm in the evening to ask what had happened and the farm manager said I could go and have a look at her in her stall, the wound she had was really terrible but the vet had said he would give her a chance and after dusting the whole area with sulfa powder, he left nature to take its course. I,m glad to say that she did eventually recover and went to work again after a few months sick leave. When Harold saw her after her recovery I remember him saying,”I've never thought that the female sexual organ was very pretty Johnny, but the old mare,s is worst than most. You were lucky once again my lad, I wonder what the third thing will be?”
She wound up on all four legs with the rest of her harness still hanging around her holding the two broken shafts standing in the fast running river bed, even from where we stood we could see the river changing colour from the amount of blood she was loosing. Sparrow had jumped from the other side of the cart and was unhurt, Harold was playing hell about old harness and it not being looked after,”I dont know whether we want a vet or the knackers man in this case “ he said “but we,d better get back to the farm and tell them what's happened just as fast as we can”.Later that day we heard that they had had to go down to Wetherby, over the bridge and down the other river bank to get hold of the old mare at all. I went over to the farm in the evening to ask what had happened and the farm manager said I could go and have a look at her in her stall, the wound she had was really terrible but the vet had said he would give her a chance and after dusting the whole area with sulfa powder, he left nature to take its course. I,m glad to say that she did eventually recover and went to work again after a few months sick leave. When Harold saw her after her recovery I remember him saying,”I've never thought that the female sexual organ was very pretty Johnny, but the old mare,s is worst than most. You were lucky once again my lad, I wonder what the third thing will be?”
It wasn't long before we found out! We had at this time a yearling filly, which at the time hadn't been named, her nick-name was however”Pissing Ginny”,this being due to the fact that she was what is known as wingey, always on her toes swishing her tail and more often than not squirting out short bursts of urine as she went along. I remember Bandy saying to me when she arrived from the yearling sales,”We,re going to have trouble with this bugger Johnny,she,s a chip off the old block”.He was referring to the fact that she was from the Nasrullah strain, many of the horses sired by this stallion were a bit queer in the head and had to be handled with great care if they were ever to appear on a racecourse, the colts were every bit as bad as the fillies, I might add. Bandy always said,”Watch your step with anything at all that starts with an “N” Johnny, they,re more trouble than they,re worth.”He meant that most owners like to make up a name for a horse that reflects it,s heritage,usually a combination of some of the letters in the sire,s and the dams names,and that anything with an “N” as the first letter in its name had a good chance of being from the Nearco or the Nasrullah lines.
It wasn't long before we found out! We had at this time a yearling filly, which at the time hadn't been named, her nick-name was however”Pissing Ginny”,this being due to the fact that she was what is known as wingey, always on her toes swishing her tail and more often than not squirting out short bursts of urine as she went along. I remember Bandy saying to me when she arrived from the yearling sales,”We,re going to have trouble with this bugger Johnny,she,s a chip off the old block”.He was referring to the fact that she was from the Nasrullah strain, many of the horses sired by this stallion were a bit queer in the head and had to be handled with great care if they were ever to appear on a racecourse, the colts were every bit as bad as the fillies, I might add. Bandy always said,”Watch your step with anything at all that starts with an “N” Johnny, they,re more trouble than they,re worth.”He meant that most owners like to make up a name for a horse that reflects it,s heritage,usually a combination of some of the letters in the sire,s and the dams names,and that anything with an “N” as the first letter in its name had a good chance of being from the Nearco or the Nasrullah lines.
He was only too right in the case of “Pissing Ginny”. Because she was so difficult to handle and a very rough ride, very, very skittish and apt to whip round and bolt at the slightest provocation,she got rid of everybody in the yard at the time at some time or other, and there were always long faces if anyone was told,”You,re on Ginny today” as more often than not this mount meant there was a good chance of being thrown,with the added insult to injury of having to walk for most of the exercise period. Jockeys prefer to ride! After everybody in the yard had had a chance on Ginny, with not very good results I,m afraid, she was taken over by a lad called Don Foster and was trained quietly on her own away from all the other horses in the string as she had a very disturbing influence on the other yearlings. So she went off on her own and was gradually introduced to different gaits and Don had her cantering along on her own after a while and she seemed to be settling down to the routine. After several weeks the Guvnor said to Bandy “I think it, s about time we tried that filly in a fast canter along with some of the others to see if it's worth the trouble of keeping her on”Bandy,s reply was “That,ll be a bit of a job Guvnor, she wont go near another horse,we,re going to have to trick her into it”.The plan was that Ginny was to go off on her own as usual,then whilst she was cantering on her own up the main gallop,the rest of the horses in the trial would come from behind at a fast pace and just sweep her along with them! Robert Burns said”The best laid plans of mice and men!”, and that's how things turned out here!
He was only too right in the case of “Pissing Ginny”. Because she was so difficult to handle and a very rough ride, very, very skittish and apt to whip round and bolt at the slightest provocation,she got rid of everybody in the yard at the time at some time or other, and there were always long faces if anyone was told,”You,re on Ginny today” as more often than not this mount meant there was a good chance of being thrown,with the added insult to injury of having to walk for most of the exercise period. Jockeys prefer to ride! After everybody in the yard had had a chance on Ginny, with not very good results I,m afraid, she was taken over by a lad called Don Foster and was trained quietly on her own away from all the other horses in the string as she had a very disturbing influence on the other yearlings. So she went off on her own and was gradually introduced to different gaits and Don had her cantering along on her own after a while and she seemed to be settling down to the routine. After several weeks the Guvnor said to Bandy “I think it, s about time we tried that filly in a fast canter along with some of the others to see if it's worth the trouble of keeping her on”Bandy,s reply was “That,ll be a bit of a job Guvnor, she wont go near another horse,we,re going to have to trick her into it”.The plan was that Ginny was to go off on her own as usual,then whilst she was cantering on her own up the main gallop,the rest of the horses in the trial would come from behind at a fast pace and just sweep her along with them! Robert Burns said”The best laid plans of mice and men!”, and that's how things turned out here!
Don the lad that was caring for Ginny at the time,I'm actually still in touch with Don after over 50 years believe it or not, had been exercising her on her own, he was heavier than the rest of us being much bigger boned and he was already around the ten stone mark, and had tried his hand at riding over hurdles even then. He wasn't able to take part in the trial due to his weight, and about a week before the said trial I was told that I was to ride Ginny that week to get used to her and to get her used to me. I wasn't at all happy about the arrangement but nothing could be done about it as an order from the Guvnor was law in the yard, and that was that. I rode Ginny all week and truth to tell we got on very well together and by the end of the week I was feeling much happier about the situation. The day of Ginny,s trial dawned and off we all went,instructions from the Guvnor were”Nice and easy Johnny don't rush her,get her onto the middle of the main gallop,just a light canter and when I can see you are on your way, I,ll give the others the signal to jump off and catch you up.”
Don the lad that was caring for Ginny at the time,I'm actually still in touch with Don after over 50 years believe it or not, had been exercising her on her own, he was heavier than the rest of us being much bigger boned and he was already around the ten stone mark, and had tried his hand at riding over hurdles even then. He wasn't able to take part in the trial due to his weight, and about a week before the said trial I was told that I was to ride Ginny that week to get used to her and to get her used to me. I wasn't at all happy about the arrangement but nothing could be done about it as an order from the Guvnor was law in the yard, and that was that. I rode Ginny all week and truth to tell we got on very well together and by the end of the week I was feeling much happier about the situation. The day of Ginny,s trial dawned and off we all went,instructions from the Guvnor were”Nice and easy Johnny don't rush her,get her onto the middle of the main gallop,just a light canter and when I can see you are on your way, I,ll give the others the signal to jump off and catch you up.”
I got Ginny nicely on the way, the Guvnor waved the others on and they came thundering round the cricket pitch turn as it was called,the idea was that two horses would come up on the left and two horses would come up on the right and that in this way Ginny would be sandwiched in between the others and just have to go along with them! The only trouble was that Ginny didn't like the idea at all and that as the others began to close up she just wanted to get out of their way,she simply flew, she was frightened out of her wits. Unfortunately she was so frightened that she took no heed whatsoever as to where she was going and that in spite of all my efforts to keep her on an even course up the middle of the gallop she hung to the right and after about twenty yards or so was getting dangerously close to the huge hawthorn hedge that separated the gallops from the high stone wall that surrounded the whole park. As I had no control over her at all I dropped my hands on her to give her her head in the hope that she would have the sense to see what she was about,she couldn't have cared less. Seconds later we were into the hawthorn thicket and thundering along on the wrong side of the hedge.
I got Ginny nicely on the way, the Guvnor waved the others on and they came thundering round the cricket pitch turn as it was called,the idea was that two horses would come up on the left and two horses would come up on the right and that in this way Ginny would be sandwiched in between the others and just have to go along with them! The only trouble was that Ginny didn't like the idea at all and that as the others began to close up she just wanted to get out of their way,she simply flew, she was frightened out of her wits. Unfortunately she was so frightened that she took no heed whatsoever as to where she was going and that in spite of all my efforts to keep her on an even course up the middle of the gallop she hung to the right and after about twenty yards or so was getting dangerously close to the huge hawthorn hedge that separated the gallops from the high stone wall that surrounded the whole park. As I had no control over her at all I dropped my hands on her to give her her head in the hope that she would have the sense to see what she was about,she couldn't have cared less. Seconds later we were into the hawthorn thicket and thundering along on the wrong side of the hedge.
During the early part of the war, when the army had been based at Wetherby the War Office authorities had decreed that there was to be an assault course at the camp, the said course was made between the high wall surrounding the park and the hawthorn hedge Ginny and I had just plunged through!
During the early part of the war, when the army had been based at Wetherby the War Office authorities had decreed that there was to be an assault course at the camp, the said course was made between the high wall surrounding the park and the hawthorn hedge Ginny and I had just plunged through!
The course consisted of rolls of barbed wire, deep ditches, sets of poles set low so that one had to crawl under them, all manner of obstacles,of every shape and size - Ginny and I were now in the centre of the course going at a good pace,I don't think to this day that Ginny even saw most of the things on the course,she didn't try to avoid anything at all. She just kept hanging to the right and we were getting very, very close to the wall now,much too close for comfort and I must say that at this moment the thought of baling out was uppermost in my mind. Harold had always said to me”Never try to get off a horse in motion Johnny,stick with it. Some of the worst accidents happen because jockeys try to bale out in difficult situations, even if your going over the edge of a cliff sit tight and hope for the best.” I sat tight.
The course consisted of rolls of barbed wire, deep ditches, sets of poles set low so that one had to crawl under them, all manner of obstacles,of every shape and size - Ginny and I were now in the centre of the course going at a good pace,I don't think to this day that Ginny even saw most of the things on the course,she didn't try to avoid anything at all. She just kept hanging to the right and we were getting very, very close to the wall now,much too close for comfort and I must say that at this moment the thought of baling out was uppermost in my mind. Harold had always said to me”Never try to get off a horse in motion Johnny,stick with it. Some of the worst accidents happen because jockeys try to bale out in difficult situations, even if your going over the edge of a cliff sit tight and hope for the best.” I sat tight.
By this time we were getting towards the end of the assault course and I was beginning to be a bit more hopeful about getting through alive, when to my horror I saw that the last obstacle was a row of sawn off tree stumps all pointing my way like a row of bayonets, there was something like two feet between the stumps and right until the last moment I had a hope that Ginny would by some miracle be able to squeeze through between two of them. I actually thought she had succeeded as we met the last obstacle,but unfortunately there was not enough room and one of the stumps ran into her chest. She stopped dead. Skewered like a butterfly on a pin. I didn't.The last thing I remember before darkness took me was flying through the air and the ground rushing up to meet me.
By this time we were getting towards the end of the assault course and I was beginning to be a bit more hopeful about getting through alive, when to my horror I saw that the last obstacle was a row of sawn off tree stumps all pointing my way like a row of bayonets, there was something like two feet between the stumps and right until the last moment I had a hope that Ginny would by some miracle be able to squeeze through between two of them. I actually thought she had succeeded as we met the last obstacle,but unfortunately there was not enough room and one of the stumps ran into her chest. She stopped dead. Skewered like a butterfly on a pin. I didn't.The last thing I remember before darkness took me was flying through the air and the ground rushing up to meet me.
I woke up about an hour later, as usual on the table at Doctor Lodges, very woozy indeed to find the good doctor shining his pen light into my eyes and asking me if I could remember anything of what had happened? I told him about my wild ride through the assault course, and asked what happened to, Ginny.?He knew nothing at all about the event other than that I had been brought in ( as usual ) after landing on my head,shortly afterwards the Guvnor turned up to see how I was,and finding me awake he ran me back to my digs,and said you better take the rest of the day off Johnny,take a couple of aspirins and go to bed. I felt so rough I took his advice and didn't wake up until later that evening,my landlady had been up to look at me a few times in the course of the afternoon to see how I was,as she was quite worried at my sleeping so long,but by six that evening I was my old self again.
I woke up about an hour later, as usual on the table at Doctor Lodges, very woozy indeed to find the good doctor shining his pen light into my eyes and asking me if I could remember anything of what had happened? I told him about my wild ride through the assault course, and asked what happened to, Ginny.?He knew nothing at all about the event other than that I had been brought in ( as usual ) after landing on my head,shortly afterwards the Guvnor turned up to see how I was,and finding me awake he ran me back to my digs,and said you better take the rest of the day off Johnny,take a couple of aspirins and go to bed. I felt so rough I took his advice and didn't wake up until later that evening,my landlady had been up to look at me a few times in the course of the afternoon to see how I was,as she was quite worried at my sleeping so long,but by six that evening I was my old self again.
After evening stables the Guvnor called to see how I was and brought with him a five pound note from the owner of Ginny. I was very surprised as I was expecting to get the bollocking of a life time, Ginny had been put down soon after the accident,the hole in her chest wall was so deep the vet could get his whole arm into it I was told by the other lads the next day. The Guvnor said to me,”We were lucky all round there Johnny. I had just rung the owner a couple of days ago to tell him that I was afraid he had wasted his money when he bought this filly,as in my opinion she would never train at all and would either have to be put down or go to stud. If I had had the choice of an accident happening to any horse in the yard and had to pick which animal I most wanted to get rid of, it would have been this filly. This is very seldom the case in racing my boy,the accidents always happen to the best animal in the yard and at the worst possible time,it,s called Murphy,s Law. Now the owner can draw the insurance,which is considerably more than he bought her for so he has made a nice profit,he,s cleared up his outstanding account so I'm happy and you came out of it with just a few bruises and a sore head. He wishes you all the best in your future career and sends you the five pounds as compensation for the bruises.”
After evening stables the Guvnor called to see how I was and brought with him a five pound note from the owner of Ginny. I was very surprised as I was expecting to get the bollocking of a life time, Ginny had been put down soon after the accident,the hole in her chest wall was so deep the vet could get his whole arm into it I was told by the other lads the next day. The Guvnor said to me,”We were lucky all round there Johnny. I had just rung the owner a couple of days ago to tell him that I was afraid he had wasted his money when he bought this filly,as in my opinion she would never train at all and would either have to be put down or go to stud. If I had had the choice of an accident happening to any horse in the yard and had to pick which animal I most wanted to get rid of, it would have been this filly. This is very seldom the case in racing my boy,the accidents always happen to the best animal in the yard and at the worst possible time,it,s called Murphy,s Law. Now the owner can draw the insurance,which is considerably more than he bought her for so he has made a nice profit,he,s cleared up his outstanding account so I'm happy and you came out of it with just a few bruises and a sore head. He wishes you all the best in your future career and sends you the five pounds as compensation for the bruises.”
I was quite happy with the situation everyone with the exception of Ginny came out of it very well, poor Ginny.I was sworn to secrecy regarding my present of five pounds -a fortune for me in those days - as the other lads in the yard might start getting ideas if the news got out! They called me “Killer” in the village for a couple of weeks, but people soon forgot about this incident and life went on as before. Harold met me in the yard next morning and said”Well that's it for this time Johnny,now you've had your three timer. Things should be O.K from now on. Unfortunately for me this wasn't to be the case! Here,s another story.
I was quite happy with the situation everyone with the exception of Ginny came out of it very well, poor Ginny.I was sworn to secrecy regarding my present of five pounds -a fortune for me in those days - as the other lads in the yard might start getting ideas if the news got out! They called me “Killer” in the village for a couple of weeks, but people soon forgot about this incident and life went on as before. Harold met me in the yard next morning and said”Well that's it for this time Johnny,now you've had your three timer. Things should be O.K from now on. Unfortunately for me this wasn't to be the case! Here,s another story.
A car salesman was showing a range of new cars to a prospective customer and the customer who was quite an old man kept saying when being told the top speed of the car”Well that,s not very fast, I can run as fast as that myself. Show me something with a bit of speed!” After listening to this for quite a while the salesman, after telling the old man that the top speed of the model he was being shown was 200 m.p.h. and getting the same comment from the old man said.” If you can run as fast as this car I,ll make you a present of it!” A test was arranged for the following morning and the old man turned up with running shorts, knobbly knees and Reebok trainers, the salesman started the car and was very surprised to find that the old man was keeping pace with him even after getting into third gear on the dual carriageway. This really worried the salesman so he threw the car into fourth gear and really put his foot down, to his relief he found that he couldn't see the old man in his rear mirror any more so breathing a sigh of relief he went back to see what had happened to the old man. He found him lying in a heap by the side of the road, his eyes were closed,his shorts and tee shirt were in tatters and he had grazes on most of his body. “What happened, what happened speak to me” said the salesman”are you alright?” The old man opened one eye and said”Bloody Hell! Have you ever had one of your shoes explode when you were running at 100 m.p.h.?”
A car salesman was showing a range of new cars to a prospective customer and the customer who was quite an old man kept saying when being told the top speed of the car”Well that,s not very fast, I can run as fast as that myself. Show me something with a bit of speed!” After listening to this for quite a while the salesman, after telling the old man that the top speed of the model he was being shown was 200 m.p.h. and getting the same comment from the old man said.” If you can run as fast as this car I,ll make you a present of it!” A test was arranged for the following morning and the old man turned up with running shorts, knobbly knees and Reebok trainers, the salesman started the car and was very surprised to find that the old man was keeping pace with him even after getting into third gear on the dual carriageway. This really worried the salesman so he threw the car into fourth gear and really put his foot down, to his relief he found that he couldn't see the old man in his rear mirror any more so breathing a sigh of relief he went back to see what had happened to the old man. He found him lying in a heap by the side of the road, his eyes were closed,his shorts and tee shirt were in tatters and he had grazes on most of his body. “What happened, what happened speak to me” said the salesman”are you alright?” The old man opened one eye and said”Bloody Hell! Have you ever had one of your shoes explode when you were running at 100 m.p.h.?”
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
After a few weeks had gone by in the normal way and I had fully recovered from landing on my head once again, one of the other apprentices came along and said he would be leaving us at the end of the next month as he,with the Guvnors permission had applied for a job in South Africa!The job had been advertised in the Sporting Life and Alan,his second name was Taylor,had asked the Guvnor if he would have anything against him applying for the job,especially so when he could see that the rides that would be available to him at Vaseys would be few and far between.The Guvnor gave the O.K. and after a few weeks Alan was taken on,his next stop would be Pieter Maritzburg in South Africa.Alan and I had never been very close as he knocked about mostly with the lads he lodged with,Phillip Simpson,Gordon Mook,Roy Hampshire amongst others but as he was leaving he said to me,”I,ll drop you a line when I get over there Johnny,just to let you know how I go on.You can tell the others how things go O.K?” I must have looked a little surprised as he continued,”At least if I write to you I know that for one, you can read - and second that I have a good chance of getting a reply as you are one of the ones that can write!”
After a few weeks had gone by in the normal way and I had fully recovered from landing on my head once again, one of the other apprentices came along and said he would be leaving us at the end of the next month as he,with the Guvnors permission had applied for a job in South Africa!The job had been advertised in the Sporting Life and Alan,his second name was Taylor,had asked the Guvnor if he would have anything against him applying for the job,especially so when he could see that the rides that would be available to him at Vaseys would be few and far between.The Guvnor gave the O.K. and after a few weeks Alan was taken on,his next stop would be Pieter Maritzburg in South Africa.Alan and I had never been very close as he knocked about mostly with the lads he lodged with,Phillip Simpson,Gordon Mook,Roy Hampshire amongst others but as he was leaving he said to me,”I,ll drop you a line when I get over there Johnny,just to let you know how I go on.You can tell the others how things go O.K?” I must have looked a little surprised as he continued,”At least if I write to you I know that for one, you can read - and second that I have a good chance of getting a reply as you are one of the ones that can write!”
What he said was in a sense quite true as not everyone in the yard had had more than a rudimentary education, the only literature available at the yard was usually The Sporting Life,and some of them were sadly lacking in the three R,s department.Alan went off and truth to tell I did get a short note from him,from his home adress in Speke,outside Liverpool to say that the boat he was to sail on had been delayed and that he would be at home in Speke for the next fortnight,and to tell the others that if Vasey,s had any runners at Haydock Park or Aintree,(the two racecourses nearest Liverpool) he would see them at the races.
What he said was in a sense quite true as not everyone in the yard had had more than a rudimentary education, the only literature available at the yard was usually The Sporting Life,and some of them were sadly lacking in the three R,s department.Alan went off and truth to tell I did get a short note from him,from his home adress in Speke,outside Liverpool to say that the boat he was to sail on had been delayed and that he would be at home in Speke for the next fortnight,and to tell the others that if Vasey,s had any runners at Haydock Park or Aintree,(the two racecourses nearest Liverpool) he would see them at the races.
The day after I got this letter I was thrown whilst at exercise and for once I didn,t land on my head but was unfortunate enough to be kicked on the ankle as the horse galloped off ,and with a badly swollen and bruised ankle as a result.This put me on the sick-list for a while as I was no use to anyone in the condition I was in,the damage looked worse than it was but I was sent to the Leeds Infirmary for ex-rays,which showed no broken bones however,and with the Guvnors permission I was allowed to go home to stay with my family for a few days until I was fully recovered.Allowing me to stay at home under my convalesence was a perk for the Guvnor as he wouldn,t have to pay Mr & Mrs Patrick my board money for the time I spent in Leeds with my family,at the time this was thirty shillings a week,which by rights I suppose should have gone to my mother ,we just didn,t think about it at the time,and Mam was quite satisfied to have me home for a few days even though it was another mouth to feed.
The day after I got this letter I was thrown whilst at exercise and for once I didn,t land on my head but was unfortunate enough to be kicked on the ankle as the horse galloped off ,and with a badly swollen and bruised ankle as a result.This put me on the sick-list for a while as I was no use to anyone in the condition I was in,the damage looked worse than it was but I was sent to the Leeds Infirmary for ex-rays,which showed no broken bones however,and with the Guvnors permission I was allowed to go home to stay with my family for a few days until I was fully recovered.Allowing me to stay at home under my convalesence was a perk for the Guvnor as he wouldn,t have to pay Mr & Mrs Patrick my board money for the time I spent in Leeds with my family,at the time this was thirty shillings a week,which by rights I suppose should have gone to my mother ,we just didn,t think about it at the time,and Mam was quite satisfied to have me home for a few days even though it was another mouth to feed.
The ankle improved rapidly and I was soon up and about again,I made a visit to our local doctor,Dr Donnelly an irishman need I add? to ask how long he thought I should be on sick. He was a real gentleman and a racing fanatic,most of my time in his surgery was used going through the card for the next days racing and his examination of my ankle took very little time at all.When I asked him how long it would be before my ankle would be back to normal,his reply was” How long would you like it to take John?Is another week alright?”This was of course O.K by me and we agreed that I would come and see him again a week later with the provision that if during the week I heard anything from the yard,what he called a hot tip!,I was to drop a note into his letterboxwith the information. Everyone in england is interested in a hot tip from the horses mouth it seems - even people closely connected with the racing scene are very wary of a hot tip, but the man in the street thinks that even the lowliest stable boy,who probably saw his first horse only days ago is to be relied on to pass on this sort of information at a price. In truth it isn,t even certain that the person who owns the horse is in the know when the horse is off,and many a trainer has led in a winner he never thought had a chance on the day, racing isn,t so cut and dried as many people think.I went home and was thoroughly bored after reading the card for the days racing,and checking the results from the previous day.There wasn,t an awful lot to do to pass the time except read or listen to the radio,but after a couple of days I had the brilliant idea of taking a trip to Liverpool to Speke to say a final farewell to Alan,I had his address so I scribbled a few hasty words explaining my situation and asking if it would be O.K to pop over and see him.Two days later his postcard arrived,O.K come any time with instructions of what bus to get to Speke and how to get from the bus to his home.No sooner said than done I took the train next day and arrived at Alan,s parents place at lunchtime,I met his whole family,three sisters as I remember and his mam and dad.His Dad who was a stevedore showed me the tobacco he smoked,gathered at the docks,,from the tobacco bales imported from all over the world,the loose leaves which fell out of the bales were gathered up and twisted into the form of a rope.With a sharp knife it was possible to cut through the rope producing firstclass tobacco which when rubbed in between the palms of ones hands was as good as anything to be had in the shops at the time.
The ankle improved rapidly and I was soon up and about again,I made a visit to our local doctor,Dr Donnelly an irishman need I add? to ask how long he thought I should be on sick. He was a real gentleman and a racing fanatic,most of my time in his surgery was used going through the card for the next days racing and his examination of my ankle took very little time at all.When I asked him how long it would be before my ankle would be back to normal,his reply was” How long would you like it to take John?Is another week alright?”This was of course O.K by me and we agreed that I would come and see him again a week later with the provision that if during the week I heard anything from the yard,what he called a hot tip!,I was to drop a note into his letterboxwith the information. Everyone in england is interested in a hot tip from the horses mouth it seems - even people closely connected with the racing scene are very wary of a hot tip, but the man in the street thinks that even the lowliest stable boy,who probably saw his first horse only days ago is to be relied on to pass on this sort of information at a price. In truth it isn,t even certain that the person who owns the horse is in the know when the horse is off,and many a trainer has led in a winner he never thought had a chance on the day, racing isn,t so cut and dried as many people think.I went home and was thoroughly bored after reading the card for the days racing,and checking the results from the previous day.There wasn,t an awful lot to do to pass the time except read or listen to the radio,but after a couple of days I had the brilliant idea of taking a trip to Liverpool to Speke to say a final farewell to Alan,I had his address so I scribbled a few hasty words explaining my situation and asking if it would be O.K to pop over and see him.Two days later his postcard arrived,O.K come any time with instructions of what bus to get to Speke and how to get from the bus to his home.No sooner said than done I took the train next day and arrived at Alan,s parents place at lunchtime,I met his whole family,three sisters as I remember and his mam and dad.His Dad who was a stevedore showed me the tobacco he smoked,gathered at the docks,,from the tobacco bales imported from all over the world,the loose leaves which fell out of the bales were gathered up and twisted into the form of a rope.With a sharp knife it was possible to cut through the rope producing firstclass tobacco which when rubbed in between the palms of ones hands was as good as anything to be had in the shops at the time.
The time flew and before I knew were I was I had to rush to say goodbye and get back to the station before my train left, it was quite an enjoyable way to have passed the day but from that day to this I have never heard a word from Alan or his family,I often wonder how things turned out for him in South Africa.
The time flew and before I knew were I was I had to rush to say goodbye and get back to the station before my train left, it was quite an enjoyable way to have passed the day but from that day to this I have never heard a word from Alan or his family,I often wonder how things turned out for him in South Africa.
Shortly after this I returned to my daily duties at the yard in Wetherby, carefully putting it on a bit thick and limping whenever I remembered my disability so as not to be pressed into service too hard right from the word go,truth to tell I was feeling a bit under the weather the first day I got back and decided to take a couple of asprins and have an early night the first night after my return.I crawled into bed in the little back bedroom at number seven Horsefair in Wetherby and woke up ten days later in the General Infirmary in Leeds?
Shortly after this I returned to my daily duties at the yard in Wetherby, carefully putting it on a bit thick and limping whenever I remembered my disability so as not to be pressed into service too hard right from the word go,truth to tell I was feeling a bit under the weather the first day I got back and decided to take a couple of asprins and have an early night the first night after my return.I crawled into bed in the little back bedroom at number seven Horsefair in Wetherby and woke up ten days later in the General Infirmary in Leeds?
I remember waking up and looking up at the ceiling - right over the middle of my bed there was a beam that ran across the ceiling in the same direction as the bed lay, but when I looked up I could see two beams running parallel to each other even when shutting one eye there were still two beams,I had of course no idea of where I was or why.The only thing that registered with me were the two beams and a splitting headache together with an awful smell of something that was hard to describe,something I had never smelt before and had no wish to smell again.
I remember waking up and looking up at the ceiling - right over the middle of my bed there was a beam that ran across the ceiling in the same direction as the bed lay, but when I looked up I could see two beams running parallel to each other even when shutting one eye there were still two beams,I had of course no idea of where I was or why.The only thing that registered with me were the two beams and a splitting headache together with an awful smell of something that was hard to describe,something I had never smelt before and had no wish to smell again.
The next time I was conscious I saw my mother sitting by the side of my cot, it was a cot,not an ordinary hospital bed,it had very high sides and was totally enclosed in wire netting?Mam asked how I was feeling and when I replied that I had a rotten headache she just burst into tears but with one huge smile lighting up her face. She told me some time afterwards that she had been sitting by my bedside for the last ten days trying to come into contact with me,so that when I did eventually answer one of her questions with a lucid answer she just broke down from the relief in tension.
The next time I was conscious I saw my mother sitting by the side of my cot, it was a cot,not an ordinary hospital bed,it had very high sides and was totally enclosed in wire netting?Mam asked how I was feeling and when I replied that I had a rotten headache she just burst into tears but with one huge smile lighting up her face. She told me some time afterwards that she had been sitting by my bedside for the last ten days trying to come into contact with me,so that when I did eventually answer one of her questions with a lucid answer she just broke down from the relief in tension.
What had happened was as follows. I went to bed with a headache Later the same evening Mrs Patrick had looked in to see if there was anything I wanted before she and her husband went to bed. She found me rigid in bed with just the back of my head resting on the pillow and my heels resting on the mattress,the rest of my body didnt touch the bed at all,once again an emergency call to the ambulance service and I was on the way to the Infirmary once more!
What had happened was as follows. I went to bed with a headache Later the same evening Mrs Patrick had looked in to see if there was anything I wanted before she and her husband went to bed. She found me rigid in bed with just the back of my head resting on the pillow and my heels resting on the mattress,the rest of my body didnt touch the bed at all,once again an emergency call to the ambulance service and I was on the way to the Infirmary once more!
The diagnose was Meningitis.Inflammation of the covering of the brain, at this time there was no known cure for this disease and when Mam looked it up in the huge medical book she always looked at when one of us was ill she could read. “There is no cure for this malady and the unfortunate victim usually dies within a few days of the disease being diagnosed,the few cases that are on record where a victim has recovered from this illness all tell of permanent brain damage as a result,with the unfortunate patient spending the rest of life in a mental institution.” To say that she was upset by what she read was an understatement but luckily for me a man called Flemming had recently discovered the beneficial effects of penicillin,I was the first patient to be treated at Leeds Infirmary for Meningitis where penicillin was prescribed. At the time no one knew very much about penicillin as it was a new discovery so everything was tried,I was lucky I had my penicillin injected,I dont know what the dosage was,but I do remember that I was injected every three hours around the clock.Left arm,right arm,left buttock,right buttock and the night nurse used to hiss in my ear through the night,”Where this time John?”.I was of course after two weeks of this,the first ten days unconscious,looking like a well worn dartboard and the bruising on my body was extensive to say the least.Happily for me the penicillin had effect and after a while the treatment was tapered off,and a month after being admitted I was declared fit for fight once again.I mentioned waking up to an awful smell earlier.This was due to the fact that the man in the next bed to me was also being treated with penicillin,but unfortunately for him he had to breathe his medication into his lungs.He was an old miner and had due to his job contracted silicosis,his dose of penicillin was put into a glass holder connected to an oxygen bottle and the penicillin was atomized so his treatment consisted of breathing in this mixture.The stench was unbelievable and everyone that came by said,”Ugh,what a pong!”,the old boy,s reply was always”If yer think its bad out there yer ort to try being on this end!”.He was quite cheerful in spite of everything, and although there was no hope of recovery, his doctor had already made this clear to him on his rounds by saying to his students in quite a loud voice.”Mr?,I forget the name,theres no hope, it,s silicosis,72,should by rights have been dead years ago after the sort of life he,s had.We just try to keep him as comfortable as possible.Deaf too”. Before coming over to my cot with the chicken wire,”A very violent young man this, therefor the wire netting, our star patient at the moment I might add,I think we were lucky here as the brain damage seems to be minimal!”
The diagnose was Meningitis.Inflammation of the covering of the brain, at this time there was no known cure for this disease and when Mam looked it up in the huge medical book she always looked at when one of us was ill she could read. “There is no cure for this malady and the unfortunate victim usually dies within a few days of the disease being diagnosed,the few cases that are on record where a victim has recovered from this illness all tell of permanent brain damage as a result,with the unfortunate patient spending the rest of life in a mental institution.” To say that she was upset by what she read was an understatement but luckily for me a man called Flemming had recently discovered the beneficial effects of penicillin,I was the first patient to be treated at Leeds Infirmary for Meningitis where penicillin was prescribed. At the time no one knew very much about penicillin as it was a new discovery so everything was tried,I was lucky I had my penicillin injected,I dont know what the dosage was,but I do remember that I was injected every three hours around the clock.Left arm,right arm,left buttock,right buttock and the night nurse used to hiss in my ear through the night,”Where this time John?”.I was of course after two weeks of this,the first ten days unconscious,looking like a well worn dartboard and the bruising on my body was extensive to say the least.Happily for me the penicillin had effect and after a while the treatment was tapered off,and a month after being admitted I was declared fit for fight once again.I mentioned waking up to an awful smell earlier.This was due to the fact that the man in the next bed to me was also being treated with penicillin,but unfortunately for him he had to breathe his medication into his lungs.He was an old miner and had due to his job contracted silicosis,his dose of penicillin was put into a glass holder connected to an oxygen bottle and the penicillin was atomized so his treatment consisted of breathing in this mixture.The stench was unbelievable and everyone that came by said,”Ugh,what a pong!”,the old boy,s reply was always”If yer think its bad out there yer ort to try being on this end!”.He was quite cheerful in spite of everything, and although there was no hope of recovery, his doctor had already made this clear to him on his rounds by saying to his students in quite a loud voice.”Mr?,I forget the name,theres no hope, it,s silicosis,72,should by rights have been dead years ago after the sort of life he,s had.We just try to keep him as comfortable as possible.Deaf too”. Before coming over to my cot with the chicken wire,”A very violent young man this, therefor the wire netting, our star patient at the moment I might add,I think we were lucky here as the brain damage seems to be minimal!”
After rounds the old boy in the next bed wheezed to me,”He doesn,t believe in beating about the bush yon bugger does he?, Am not that deaf!””Brain damage! Ad like to damage his bloody brain for him. We had a foreman down ower pit once,he wor, just like him,shame he fell under a line a, full tubs,got run over yer know. Funny things happen dahn pit John. A wish a could have had yon bugger,(the doctor), on my shift.” I got gradually better as the days went by but my friend in the next bed deteriorated rapidly and a few days later,I shed a tear for him when I awoke and found his bed empty.
After rounds the old boy in the next bed wheezed to me,”He doesn,t believe in beating about the bush yon bugger does he?, Am not that deaf!””Brain damage! Ad like to damage his bloody brain for him. We had a foreman down ower pit once,he wor, just like him,shame he fell under a line a, full tubs,got run over yer know. Funny things happen dahn pit John. A wish a could have had yon bugger,(the doctor), on my shift.” I got gradually better as the days went by but my friend in the next bed deteriorated rapidly and a few days later,I shed a tear for him when I awoke and found his bed empty.
The closest patient on my left hand side was a young fellow from Harrogate I remember,he was a farmers son and had been shot at close quarters right between the shoulderblades by his brother whilst they were out shooting. The hole in his back had to be seen to be believed, a real crater,he asked me one day how big the hole was as he had no chance of seeing the wound for himself.I had to tell him that it was about the size of a quarter pound Tate and Lyles syrup tin in size,he was quite surprised as although he found it painful it wasn,t unbearable even when he was having his dressings changed,he was still there when Mam came to collect me for a long reconvalescence at home,but he was well on the way to recovery.As far as I remember I was hospialized for about a month,which considering the seriousness of my complaint was quite a record at that time.
The closest patient on my left hand side was a young fellow from Harrogate I remember,he was a farmers son and had been shot at close quarters right between the shoulderblades by his brother whilst they were out shooting. The hole in his back had to be seen to be believed, a real crater,he asked me one day how big the hole was as he had no chance of seeing the wound for himself.I had to tell him that it was about the size of a quarter pound Tate and Lyles syrup tin in size,he was quite surprised as although he found it painful it wasn,t unbearable even when he was having his dressings changed,he was still there when Mam came to collect me for a long reconvalescence at home,but he was well on the way to recovery.As far as I remember I was hospialized for about a month,which considering the seriousness of my complaint was quite a record at that time.
I was told at the time that the there are two types of meningitis one caused by a germ and the other by a blow to the head, considering the way I had treated my head I was quite prepared to believe that my complaint was due to a fall.,but I was told by the doctor that my type was from a germ and that I,d probably picked it up on the train from Liverpool when I went to see Alan Taylor off. This theory was based on the fact that they had had several cases at other hospitals in the north with a common factor of either having been to Liverpool or actually being resident in Liverpool - a narrow escape. Thank you Mr. Flemming.
I was told at the time that the there are two types of meningitis one caused by a germ and the other by a blow to the head, considering the way I had treated my head I was quite prepared to believe that my complaint was due to a fall.,but I was told by the doctor that my type was from a germ and that I,d probably picked it up on the train from Liverpool when I went to see Alan Taylor off. This theory was based on the fact that they had had several cases at other hospitals in the north with a common factor of either having been to Liverpool or actually being resident in Liverpool - a narrow escape. Thank you Mr. Flemming.
I was as weak as a kitten when I got back to Wetherby of course and had to start the hardening process all over again,I dont remember having more falls than usual after getting back,but this may have been due to Bandy taking pity on me and giving me the easy rides,at least until I got back into form.
I was as weak as a kitten when I got back to Wetherby of course and had to start the hardening process all over again,I dont remember having more falls than usual after getting back,but this may have been due to Bandy taking pity on me and giving me the easy rides,at least until I got back into form.
All the mishaps I had during these years happened at the worst possible times,a case of Murphy,s Law I suppose,just when I should have been getting a chance to become known as a coming apprentice outside the boundaries of Wetherby,Spofforth and Boston Spa I usually wound up on my back between hospital sheets.
All the mishaps I had during these years happened at the worst possible times,a case of Murphy,s Law I suppose,just when I should have been getting a chance to become known as a coming apprentice outside the boundaries of Wetherby,Spofforth and Boston Spa I usually wound up on my back between hospital sheets.
Lots of young kids in racing ,some of them with talent to spare never make anything of themselves,and this is not from any fault of there own.Racing is a very chancy game,even a well known jockey can be out on his ear within a very short time if he is unlucky enough to be out of the game with an injury or an illness for any length of time,when it comes to jockeys,you have to be at the right spot at the right time and bloody lucky with it too! I knew two jockeys who became quite well off ,early in their careers where things didn,t work out as expected,Stanley Middleton, nicknamed “The Gardener” (this was due to a radio programme in england on gardening having a Mr Middleton who gave advice and garden hints,once a week during the late thirties and early fourties),was a leading apprentice,went on to ride abroad and did quite well for himself. He came to Vasey,s whilst I was employed there and was engaged as stable jockey whilst riding freelance for any other stable when not required to ride for one of Vasey,s owners.. At the time we were having a good season and he did very well indeed but unfortunately our run of luck ran out shortly afterwardsthere was coughing in the yard,new owners that preferred other jockeys, then Stan had a long losing run and people lost confidence in his ability. Within a very short time he had to find other means of earning a living,he wound up as a furniture salesman at the big department store of Lewiss on the Headrow in Leeds,I happen to know this as my wife Tove had a danish girl friend employed here who we used to go in and see whenever we were on holiday on England.During one of these random visits I caught sight of Stan,I hadn,t seen him for years,and he told me his story,I always popped up to the top floor of the store when in Leeds just to say hello and chew the fat a little about the game when we were part of it.
Lots of young kids in racing ,some of them with talent to spare never make anything of themselves,and this is not from any fault of there own.Racing is a very chancy game,even a well known jockey can be out on his ear within a very short time if he is unlucky enough to be out of the game with an injury or an illness for any length of time,when it comes to jockeys,you have to be at the right spot at the right time and bloody lucky with it too! I knew two jockeys who became quite well off ,early in their careers where things didn,t work out as expected,Stanley Middleton, nicknamed “The Gardener” (this was due to a radio programme in england on gardening having a Mr Middleton who gave advice and garden hints,once a week during the late thirties and early fourties),was a leading apprentice,went on to ride abroad and did quite well for himself. He came to Vasey,s whilst I was employed there and was engaged as stable jockey whilst riding freelance for any other stable when not required to ride for one of Vasey,s owners.. At the time we were having a good season and he did very well indeed but unfortunately our run of luck ran out shortly afterwardsthere was coughing in the yard,new owners that preferred other jockeys, then Stan had a long losing run and people lost confidence in his ability. Within a very short time he had to find other means of earning a living,he wound up as a furniture salesman at the big department store of Lewiss on the Headrow in Leeds,I happen to know this as my wife Tove had a danish girl friend employed here who we used to go in and see whenever we were on holiday on England.During one of these random visits I caught sight of Stan,I hadn,t seen him for years,and he told me his story,I always popped up to the top floor of the store when in Leeds just to say hello and chew the fat a little about the game when we were part of it.
Another unlucky lad was Phillip Povall from Birkenhead nicknamed “Sparrow”I related his story earlier.Poor Sparrow,he got his nickname because of his extremely light weight and the fact that when in the saddle he had a hunched up forward seat,he was a little pigeon chested too so that in fact he really did look like a small bird perched up there.Harold used to say to him”Talk to the horse all the time Sparrow,let him know you are up there cos I,m sure he cant feel there is anybody on his back,you,re likely to scare the life out of him if you suddenly open your mouth!He thinks he,s out on his own!”Riding at such a light weight had its advantages at that time in England as the lowest weight carried in a handicap race at the time was six stones, not many people were available at this weight so Sparrow was in demand,his big problem was always holding his horse on the way to the start, if the horse pulled at all it was usually “Goodbye Sparrow”,he said himself he was always more confident on racecourses that were enclosed at both ends!If a horse took off with him on a circular tour he could make several circuits before regaining control of his mount,two things stick in my mind about Sparrow.On the gallops one morning a very hard mouthed animal called Cement City bolted with him and Eric Walton,the oldest apprentice at the time shouted to him as he flew past,”If you cant stop him before you get into the village Sparrow,bring us a Sporting Life back with you!”The other thing was something he himself told in his accounts in the Sunday Express years later, he told of delaying the start of the Grand National by about twenty minutes,he wasn,t even in the race as he never rode over either hurdles or fences,but in the race previous to the Grand National Sparrow,s mount had as so many times before,”pissed off” with him and it took twenty extra minutes to catch Sparrow and get him to the start.This was the year that about a third of the field in the National fell at the first fence,everybody blamed Sparrow as the whole field had been kept waiting getting more and more keyed up due to the late start,so that when they did eventually start the race every horse in the race was really on its toes and caution was thrown to the winds with many falls as a result.!Poor Sparrow.
Another unlucky lad was Phillip Povall from Birkenhead nicknamed “Sparrow”I related his story earlier.Poor Sparrow,he got his nickname because of his extremely light weight and the fact that when in the saddle he had a hunched up forward seat,he was a little pigeon chested too so that in fact he really did look like a small bird perched up there.Harold used to say to him”Talk to the horse all the time Sparrow,let him know you are up there cos I,m sure he cant feel there is anybody on his back,you,re likely to scare the life out of him if you suddenly open your mouth!He thinks he,s out on his own!”Riding at such a light weight had its advantages at that time in England as the lowest weight carried in a handicap race at the time was six stones, not many people were available at this weight so Sparrow was in demand,his big problem was always holding his horse on the way to the start, if the horse pulled at all it was usually “Goodbye Sparrow”,he said himself he was always more confident on racecourses that were enclosed at both ends!If a horse took off with him on a circular tour he could make several circuits before regaining control of his mount,two things stick in my mind about Sparrow.On the gallops one morning a very hard mouthed animal called Cement City bolted with him and Eric Walton,the oldest apprentice at the time shouted to him as he flew past,”If you cant stop him before you get into the village Sparrow,bring us a Sporting Life back with you!”The other thing was something he himself told in his accounts in the Sunday Express years later, he told of delaying the start of the Grand National by about twenty minutes,he wasn,t even in the race as he never rode over either hurdles or fences,but in the race previous to the Grand National Sparrow,s mount had as so many times before,”pissed off” with him and it took twenty extra minutes to catch Sparrow and get him to the start.This was the year that about a third of the field in the National fell at the first fence,everybody blamed Sparrow as the whole field had been kept waiting getting more and more keyed up due to the late start,so that when they did eventually start the race every horse in the race was really on its toes and caution was thrown to the winds with many falls as a result.!Poor Sparrow.
So as I said a little earlier, racing and making a living at it at least in the early days is a very dicey affair, after all my setbacks I was determined that this season was the season where I had to make my effort,time was running out,my weight was increasing,not at an alarming rate but it was creeping up, and at the back of my mind there was the nagging thought.“What about National Service?”.I was an indentured apprentice so that even if required to go into the Armed Forces for a period of two years ,I could have put off the fateful day until I had finished my apprenticeship,but to what purpose?If I was to be too big for race riding I could always continue in the proffesion as a stable-man, work-jockey but the rewards here were pitiful compared with the champagne and caviar existence that all young newcomers to racing have at the back of their minds when starting out.
So as I said a little earlier, racing and making a living at it at least in the early days is a very dicey affair, after all my setbacks I was determined that this season was the season where I had to make my effort,time was running out,my weight was increasing,not at an alarming rate but it was creeping up, and at the back of my mind there was the nagging thought.“What about National Service?”.I was an indentured apprentice so that even if required to go into the Armed Forces for a period of two years ,I could have put off the fateful day until I had finished my apprenticeship,but to what purpose?If I was to be too big for race riding I could always continue in the proffesion as a stable-man, work-jockey but the rewards here were pitiful compared with the champagne and caviar existence that all young newcomers to racing have at the back of their minds when starting out.
A while after getting back into the swing of things the Guvnor came into my box one evening and said,”How are you feeling John? Got over your last bout have you?” I said of course that I was quite fit again and feeling fine.”Thats good, next week we are taking on a new owner,he,s had his horses with Albert Cooper at Doncaster until now.He hasn,t had a winner for a while so he,s a bit dissatisfied, he,s sending us a horse called “Turkmain”,as a sort of experiment,to see what we can make of him. He,s entered in a race at Pontefract next week and I,m thinking of letting him run just to see what sort of a horse he is,as a matter of fact the race is on your birthday,11 th July so it will be a day out for you and a few extra shekels.O.K?”
A while after getting back into the swing of things the Guvnor came into my box one evening and said,”How are you feeling John? Got over your last bout have you?” I said of course that I was quite fit again and feeling fine.”Thats good, next week we are taking on a new owner,he,s had his horses with Albert Cooper at Doncaster until now.He hasn,t had a winner for a while so he,s a bit dissatisfied, he,s sending us a horse called “Turkmain”,as a sort of experiment,to see what we can make of him. He,s entered in a race at Pontefract next week and I,m thinking of letting him run just to see what sort of a horse he is,as a matter of fact the race is on your birthday,11 th July so it will be a day out for you and a few extra shekels.O.K?”
O.K! Was putting it mildly. This is it,this is it was all I could think,my big chance at last,I can just see the Headlines - Leeds boy,rides 20-1 winner - Birthday winner for Leeds boy,I was once again walking on air,the world was my oyster once again.
O.K! Was putting it mildly. This is it,this is it was all I could think,my big chance at last,I can just see the Headlines - Leeds boy,rides 20-1 winner - Birthday winner for Leeds boy,I was once again walking on air,the world was my oyster once again.
“Turkmain” turned up a couple of days later. He was quite a disappointment,at least the way he looked,he was one of the few horses I,ve ever seen in racing with a hogged-mane,every other horse in the yard had a normal long haired flowing mane but for some reason his was hogged,clipped down to short bristles,he had,nt even a forelock betwen his ears.He looked very much like a convict or a new recruit in the army,fortunately he was well muscled and very ameniable,no vices whatever and we really took to each other.I gave him tit-bits and talked to him for ages telling him all the good things that were going to happen to me all because of the fact that he and I were going to win at Pontefract next week.
“Turkmain” turned up a couple of days later. He was quite a disappointment,at least the way he looked,he was one of the few horses I,ve ever seen in racing with a hogged-mane,every other horse in the yard had a normal long haired flowing mane but for some reason his was hogged,clipped down to short bristles,he had,nt even a forelock betwen his ears.He looked very much like a convict or a new recruit in the army,fortunately he was well muscled and very ameniable,no vices whatever and we really took to each other.I gave him tit-bits and talked to him for ages telling him all the good things that were going to happen to me all because of the fact that he and I were going to win at Pontefract next week.
The day of the race dawned fine and sunny a really beautiful day,Harold was in charge as usual,Turkmain being our only runner that day he was on his own,we were soon at Pontefract and Harold and I did Turkmain up prior to his being let down in his box for an hour before the race.We left him to his own devices and Harold and I went over the hill to the racecourse,on the way to the weighing room Harold said,in a serious voice”There,s something worrying me Johnny about this horse”.”Whats that Harold?””How the bloody Hell are you going to stay on him,when he,s got no mane?He was refering to the fact that sometimes in a tight sqeeze the fact that your mount has a mane can be a comforting thought,at least you have something to hold on to!Theres not much handhold in a handful of bristles as short as those of Turkmains.
The day of the race dawned fine and sunny a really beautiful day,Harold was in charge as usual,Turkmain being our only runner that day he was on his own,we were soon at Pontefract and Harold and I did Turkmain up prior to his being let down in his box for an hour before the race.We left him to his own devices and Harold and I went over the hill to the racecourse,on the way to the weighing room Harold said,in a serious voice”There,s something worrying me Johnny about this horse”.”Whats that Harold?””How the bloody Hell are you going to stay on him,when he,s got no mane?He was refering to the fact that sometimes in a tight sqeeze the fact that your mount has a mane can be a comforting thought,at least you have something to hold on to!Theres not much handhold in a handful of bristles as short as those of Turkmains.
I was soon ready for action and having the usual valet who looked after Vasey,s lads helped a lot,I was sure that I looked every inch the part although I was rigged out in what had usually been discarded by the older jockeys as not being quite up to standard.The Guvnor was waiting in the paddock,all alone,no owner in sight,and he said as soon as he saw me,”Take things nice and easy today John.We just want him to have a run to see how he shapes up,try to tuck him in behind the leaders and let him make a bit of a show in the straight if he still has anything left.What ever happens we dont want him placed.” I was of course extremly disapointed,I had been expecting my big chance for over a week now - only to be told at the last minute”NO GO!””Dont look so glum John”said the Guvnor,my disapointment must have shown on my face.”If he,s any good at all you will get to ride him again and next time,who knows it may well be you can win on him?”
I was soon ready for action and having the usual valet who looked after Vasey,s lads helped a lot,I was sure that I looked every inch the part although I was rigged out in what had usually been discarded by the older jockeys as not being quite up to standard.The Guvnor was waiting in the paddock,all alone,no owner in sight,and he said as soon as he saw me,”Take things nice and easy today John.We just want him to have a run to see how he shapes up,try to tuck him in behind the leaders and let him make a bit of a show in the straight if he still has anything left.What ever happens we dont want him placed.” I was of course extremly disapointed,I had been expecting my big chance for over a week now - only to be told at the last minute”NO GO!””Dont look so glum John”said the Guvnor,my disapointment must have shown on my face.”If he,s any good at all you will get to ride him again and next time,who knows it may well be you can win on him?”
On the way down to the track Harold asked”What did the Guvnor say?”I said “No go”.”Show them teeth Sambo” said Harold,”Dont let ,em get you down,every dog will have his day Johnny.It just is,nt your day today,bugger ,em. At least you,re getting paid for it”.A few minutes later we were down at the starting gate,as there were only eight runners in the race the roll was quickly called and we lined up ready for the” off”.Turkmain behaved himself perfectly and after a little shuffling around with the more experienced apprentices calling out”No Sir,No Sir,not before Sir”whilst trying for a better position,we were sent on our way.Turkmain got off to a very good start,probably because we were both very relaxed,a horse can always feel the mood of his rider through the reins and saddle,especially so in the case of a racing saddle as they are usually so thin the jockey feels as if there is nothing in between the horse,s back and his bum.The good start would usually have been just the thing but today of all days I had instructions to sit in behind and cover him up,after a couple of furlongs with us still in the lead and still no challengers,I took a peek to see what the others were doing and to my horror found that we were in the lead by about four or five lengths!This just wasn,t my day.
On the way down to the track Harold asked”What did the Guvnor say?”I said “No go”.”Show them teeth Sambo” said Harold,”Dont let ,em get you down,every dog will have his day Johnny.It just is,nt your day today,bugger ,em. At least you,re getting paid for it”.A few minutes later we were down at the starting gate,as there were only eight runners in the race the roll was quickly called and we lined up ready for the” off”.Turkmain behaved himself perfectly and after a little shuffling around with the more experienced apprentices calling out”No Sir,No Sir,not before Sir”whilst trying for a better position,we were sent on our way.Turkmain got off to a very good start,probably because we were both very relaxed,a horse can always feel the mood of his rider through the reins and saddle,especially so in the case of a racing saddle as they are usually so thin the jockey feels as if there is nothing in between the horse,s back and his bum.The good start would usually have been just the thing but today of all days I had instructions to sit in behind and cover him up,after a couple of furlongs with us still in the lead and still no challengers,I took a peek to see what the others were doing and to my horror found that we were in the lead by about four or five lengths!This just wasn,t my day.
Obviously all the others in the race had had similar instructions from their various guvnors and it didn,t look as if anyone was about to put on the pressure and come to my rescue.I tried taking more hold of The Turk to tell him he could take it easy but the more I tried to take him up,the better he went,he was having great fun acting the part of a worldbeater!The run in at Pontefract is about two furlongs and at the turn we were still in the lead and still on the rails with The Turk going like a train,I was really worried now,but help was on hand,it was time for the lads who were interested in making a show,to put in their effort,and with heads down and hands and heels flailing three of the others in the race overtook us in the last few strides and we came past the post as fourth,as per orders.
Obviously all the others in the race had had similar instructions from their various guvnors and it didn,t look as if anyone was about to put on the pressure and come to my rescue.I tried taking more hold of The Turk to tell him he could take it easy but the more I tried to take him up,the better he went,he was having great fun acting the part of a worldbeater!The run in at Pontefract is about two furlongs and at the turn we were still in the lead and still on the rails with The Turk going like a train,I was really worried now,but help was on hand,it was time for the lads who were interested in making a show,to put in their effort,and with heads down and hands and heels flailing three of the others in the race overtook us in the last few strides and we came past the post as fourth,as per orders.
Coming back into the paddock I was met by Harold and the Guvnor,the Guvnor not looking at all pleased,he said nothing at all until I had pulled off the saddle and we were walking back to the weighing room to weigh in.As soon as we were alone he said”You stupid little so and so,(the guvnor seldom swore) you,ve taken years off my life today,if you ever do a thing like that again you,ll not get another ride in this yard as long as I,m a trainer!” I was most upset and very near to tears but I wasn,t allowed to give any explanation as we were nearing the weighing room and there was quite a crowd around the unsaddling enclosure where the first three past the post were taking off their saddles.His parting shot was”Get changed and meet me over in the car-park as soon as you,ve finished”.I was to say the least very down in the dumps,this looked as if it might be the end of my only chance of ever making a career on the turf.I hurriedly changed into my own clothes and shortly afterwards I met the Govenor in the car-park.”I,ve spoken to Harold”he said”he can manage Turkmain on his own,so you can come back with me.Get in.”
Coming back into the paddock I was met by Harold and the Guvnor,the Guvnor not looking at all pleased,he said nothing at all until I had pulled off the saddle and we were walking back to the weighing room to weigh in.As soon as we were alone he said”You stupid little so and so,(the guvnor seldom swore) you,ve taken years off my life today,if you ever do a thing like that again you,ll not get another ride in this yard as long as I,m a trainer!” I was most upset and very near to tears but I wasn,t allowed to give any explanation as we were nearing the weighing room and there was quite a crowd around the unsaddling enclosure where the first three past the post were taking off their saddles.His parting shot was”Get changed and meet me over in the car-park as soon as you,ve finished”.I was to say the least very down in the dumps,this looked as if it might be the end of my only chance of ever making a career on the turf.I hurriedly changed into my own clothes and shortly afterwards I met the Govenor in the car-park.”I,ve spoken to Harold”he said”he can manage Turkmain on his own,so you can come back with me.Get in.”
The Guvnor said very little until we were well on the way home,”Well young man”he said eventually”what have you got to say for yourself?”I recounted my version of what had happened along with the fact that I was sure that everybody in the race had had the same instructions as I had,”It wouldn,t look good Guvnor if I,d stood out in front pulling his head off would it?Every pair of glasses in the stand would be focussed on the leading horse,all I could do was sit still and wait for the others to come on,I,m sorry that I upset you but it wasn,t intentional”.After a few minutes thought the Guvnor said”O.K John explanation accepted,during the race I thought you were trying to steal a march on me and ride a winner all on your own and that would never do.If there are going to be winners in this yard I want to be the first to know about them.If ever this sort of thing should occur again,I mean where the horse is just having a run to see how he goes,try to get off to a little worse start,so you dont end out in front making all the running.My heart can,t stand this sort of thing very often,alright?”.We were soon back in Wetherby and my near winner became a thing of the past.
The Guvnor said very little until we were well on the way home,”Well young man”he said eventually”what have you got to say for yourself?”I recounted my version of what had happened along with the fact that I was sure that everybody in the race had had the same instructions as I had,”It wouldn,t look good Guvnor if I,d stood out in front pulling his head off would it?Every pair of glasses in the stand would be focussed on the leading horse,all I could do was sit still and wait for the others to come on,I,m sorry that I upset you but it wasn,t intentional”.After a few minutes thought the Guvnor said”O.K John explanation accepted,during the race I thought you were trying to steal a march on me and ride a winner all on your own and that would never do.If there are going to be winners in this yard I want to be the first to know about them.If ever this sort of thing should occur again,I mean where the horse is just having a run to see how he goes,try to get off to a little worse start,so you dont end out in front making all the running.My heart can,t stand this sort of thing very often,alright?”.We were soon back in Wetherby and my near winner became a thing of the past.
I didn,t get the ride on Turkmain next time he ran,my rival Ted Shewan rode him.I think it was at York which was Ted,s hometown and the Guvnor,s reason for this,he told me,was the fact that it would be a nice thing for him to ride his first winner on his own home course.On the evening of the race I grabbed the evening paper to see how they gone on and was not disapointed to see that Turkmain,backed down to second favourite from 20 to 1had been placed fourth,I think someone lost quite a lot of money that day,I was quite relieved that I hadn,t been on his back on the day.
I didn,t get the ride on Turkmain next time he ran,my rival Ted Shewan rode him.I think it was at York which was Ted,s hometown and the Guvnor,s reason for this,he told me,was the fact that it would be a nice thing for him to ride his first winner on his own home course.On the evening of the race I grabbed the evening paper to see how they gone on and was not disapointed to see that Turkmain,backed down to second favourite from 20 to 1had been placed fourth,I think someone lost quite a lot of money that day,I was quite relieved that I hadn,t been on his back on the day.
Things at the yard went on much as usual and the flat racing season was drawing to an end when the Guvnor said to me one morning,”Mr. Duffy rang last night he wants you to ride Pretty Stella at Manchester next week,I,ve said its O.K.” I was greatly pleased, not because I had any hopes of Stella winning anything at all,she was hopeless.Harold said of her”Av seen things on the sands at Redcar that could run faster than she can!”But the fact that I got a day off away from the yard and half fee,two pounds ten for riding her was something to look forward to.
Things at the yard went on much as usual and the flat racing season was drawing to an end when the Guvnor said to me one morning,”Mr. Duffy rang last night he wants you to ride Pretty Stella at Manchester next week,I,ve said its O.K.” I was greatly pleased, not because I had any hopes of Stella winning anything at all,she was hopeless.Harold said of her”Av seen things on the sands at Redcar that could run faster than she can!”But the fact that I got a day off away from the yard and half fee,two pounds ten for riding her was something to look forward to.
About a week later we left early in the morning from the Brunswick Arms where Duffy was training at the time and arrived bright and early at the racecourse stables at Manchester.I had got Stella ready for the trip, putting on bandages and boots so she couldnt damage herself on the journey,whilst Mr Duffy collected the racing box and all the other things that would be needed that day .On arrival at Manchester Stella was let down in her box with a muzzle on for a couple of hours whilst we went into the racecourse canteen for a bite to eat,during our meal Duffy left for a while to meet with Mr Wilcox,the owner.When he got back he said “I,m afraid I,ve a disapointment for you John,I,ve just spoken to Mr Wilcox and he tells me that he has asked Jack Egan to ride Pretty Stella this afternoon.”
About a week later we left early in the morning from the Brunswick Arms where Duffy was training at the time and arrived bright and early at the racecourse stables at Manchester.I had got Stella ready for the trip, putting on bandages and boots so she couldnt damage herself on the journey,whilst Mr Duffy collected the racing box and all the other things that would be needed that day .On arrival at Manchester Stella was let down in her box with a muzzle on for a couple of hours whilst we went into the racecourse canteen for a bite to eat,during our meal Duffy left for a while to meet with Mr Wilcox,the owner.When he got back he said “I,m afraid I,ve a disapointment for you John,I,ve just spoken to Mr Wilcox and he tells me that he has asked Jack Egan to ride Pretty Stella this afternoon.”
From being on top of the world to having your teeth kicked in is only a very small step isn,t it?I was crushed.But worse was to come! “I want you to lead her up to the course for me John, that way I wont have to run about looking for someone who wants a spare leadup O.K?”A spare leadup at this time was worth a pound, so I could see where all this was leading,not only had I been jocked off,but he was expecting me to lead his horse up to the course for nothing!”OK, Mr Duffy”I said I,ll bring her up to the course for you,”Can I have the lead up money now,I,m short of cigs, I,d like to buy a packet whilst we are in the canteen.”Duffy,s face dropped”Well -well, yes alright I suppose that,s O.K then”very reluctantly his hand dipped into his trouser pocket and eventually found an extremely grubby one pound note which he reluctantly handed over.
From being on top of the world to having your teeth kicked in is only a very small step isn,t it?I was crushed.But worse was to come! “I want you to lead her up to the course for me John, that way I wont have to run about looking for someone who wants a spare leadup O.K?”A spare leadup at this time was worth a pound, so I could see where all this was leading,not only had I been jocked off,but he was expecting me to lead his horse up to the course for nothing!”OK, Mr Duffy”I said I,ll bring her up to the course for you,”Can I have the lead up money now,I,m short of cigs, I,d like to buy a packet whilst we are in the canteen.”Duffy,s face dropped”Well -well, yes alright I suppose that,s O.K then”very reluctantly his hand dipped into his trouser pocket and eventually found an extremely grubby one pound note which he reluctantly handed over.
A couple of hours later I had Stella ready in the paddock and Jack Egan one of the coming apprentices at that time, he was later to become champion jockey in Denmark during some of the years he rode in Copenhagen,was thrown into the saddle and I led Stella down to the course.”What's she like? Any good is she?”said Jack.”Bloody useless”I said”I,ve ridden her a couple of times and she always finishes well down. I,ll bet you my leadup money,a quid,that she,s last.””Jockeys aren,t allowed to bet”said Jack,”,but there's no way she can be last in this bunch,I know at least two of them that will be behind her”said Jack”Your on for a pound!”
A couple of hours later I had Stella ready in the paddock and Jack Egan one of the coming apprentices at that time, he was later to become champion jockey in Denmark during some of the years he rode in Copenhagen,was thrown into the saddle and I led Stella down to the course.”What's she like? Any good is she?”said Jack.”Bloody useless”I said”I,ve ridden her a couple of times and she always finishes well down. I,ll bet you my leadup money,a quid,that she,s last.””Jockeys aren,t allowed to bet”said Jack,”,but there's no way she can be last in this bunch,I know at least two of them that will be behind her”said Jack”Your on for a pound!”
A couple of minutes later the Woodlands Nursery Handicap was under way, the record shows that there were 25 runners in the race,it was won by a horse called Brideford,trained and owned by Mr Hartigan and ridden by an apprentice R.Bradley,and guess who came in last?You were right first time Pretty Stella ridden by J.Egan!That was the easiest pound I ever won in my life but also the hardest to get,it was 25 years before Jackie Egan paid me off, but that as they say is another story.
A couple of minutes later the Woodlands Nursery Handicap was under way, the record shows that there were 25 runners in the race,it was won by a horse called Brideford,trained and owned by Mr Hartigan and ridden by an apprentice R.Bradley,and guess who came in last?You were right first time Pretty Stella ridden by J.Egan!That was the easiest pound I ever won in my life but also the hardest to get,it was 25 years before Jackie Egan paid me off, but that as they say is another story.
On arrival at Wetherby in the late evening I was met by some of the lads in the yard,”How did you go on? Was she last again?I said “well she was certainly last again but today it didn,t bother me half as much.”I then told them the story of my day at Manchester, the first of many visits to this racecourse.
On arrival at Wetherby in the late evening I was met by some of the lads in the yard,”How did you go on? Was she last again?I said “well she was certainly last again but today it didn,t bother me half as much.”I then told them the story of my day at Manchester, the first of many visits to this racecourse.
As I said earlier the racing season for us, was drawing to a close, we had very few runners during the winter months as Vasey,s yard concentrated mostly on flat racing and only a few horses were kept in serious training in the winter months.I remember most of my winters in Wetherby as either being cold,very cold or bloody awful,whatever training that was done after the first falls of snow was mostly trotting on the side of the roads,roadwork as they called it.Riding on the edge of the road in a triangle which went to Collingham - Boston Spa –Wetherby in the early mornings in all weathers in half light has got to be experienced to be believed.At that time all traffic on route to northern england came through Wetherby as this was “The Great North Road”!,there was barely room for two cars to pass each other on the bridge over the river on the way into Wetherby,but it was still “The Great North Road” and the traffic was heavy for most of the daylight hours.Many mornings we were enveloped in thick fog,we wore no warning lights of any description and accidents did happen. These were the good old days, before racing was organized,no crash helmets,no protective clothing,no goggles,believe me the racing lads have something to be thankful for today,racing can be a dicey business at the best of times but in those days we were all thankful for getting home in one piece after trotting on tarmacadam surfaces for about twelve miles in these conditions.
As I said earlier the racing season for us, was drawing to a close, we had very few runners during the winter months as Vasey,s yard concentrated mostly on flat racing and only a few horses were kept in serious training in the winter months.I remember most of my winters in Wetherby as either being cold,very cold or bloody awful,whatever training that was done after the first falls of snow was mostly trotting on the side of the roads,roadwork as they called it.Riding on the edge of the road in a triangle which went to Collingham - Boston Spa –Wetherby in the early mornings in all weathers in half light has got to be experienced to be believed.At that time all traffic on route to northern england came through Wetherby as this was “The Great North Road”!,there was barely room for two cars to pass each other on the bridge over the river on the way into Wetherby,but it was still “The Great North Road” and the traffic was heavy for most of the daylight hours.Many mornings we were enveloped in thick fog,we wore no warning lights of any description and accidents did happen. These were the good old days, before racing was organized,no crash helmets,no protective clothing,no goggles,believe me the racing lads have something to be thankful for today,racing can be a dicey business at the best of times but in those days we were all thankful for getting home in one piece after trotting on tarmacadam surfaces for about twelve miles in these conditions.
We did however have a couple of jumpers whilst I was at Vasey,s, both owned by the same man,I think his name was Huddlestone,the horses names were Seashell and Flaming Marquis.The first time I ever heard of the Marquis as he came to be called was when the Guvnor said he wanted me to go with the box to pick up a horse at his owners place,the horse had been turned out all summer but now the owner wanted him put into training again.
We did however have a couple of jumpers whilst I was at Vasey,s, both owned by the same man,I think his name was Huddlestone,the horses names were Seashell and Flaming Marquis.The first time I ever heard of the Marquis as he came to be called was when the Guvnor said he wanted me to go with the box to pick up a horse at his owners place,the horse had been turned out all summer but now the owner wanted him put into training again.
Off I went with the box in the afternoon, when I should have been having time off,to fetch said animal. I wasn't at all impressed by the Marquis,when I first saw him standing in his pasture,he had been rolling himself in the mud just inside the gateway to his paddock and having been out all summer with no attention he looked like something that should have been on the way to the knackers yard. He wasn't a pretty horse and he carried his head extremely low,rather like someone who has a crick in the neck,one good thing about his bearing was the fact that he was easy to put a head-collar on, as his head was always just about level with the lads knees!He had a thick coating of small yellow ticks eggs on all four legs and as I said before he wasn't a pretty horse at all. When we arrived back at the yard just in time for evening stables,worse luck,I was met by Harold who stared in disbelief and said”What the bloody hell is that?”Everybody came out to see what the new “horse” looked like and the marquis was ridiculed by all and sundry, his head's like an old wellington boot said one of the lads, he looks like two planks nailed together said one of the others. Worse was to come,I put him into one of the spare boxes and went to do my two,when the Guvnor came round evening stables,he said “I want you to look after the new horse you brought home today John,in a week or two Monas Way,a filly I was doing at that time will be going abroad to race next week,she,s been sold,so you will be short of a horse”.My heart dropped. Nothing could be done about it however the Guvnor,s word was law and if you didn't like it you would just have to lump it.
Off I went with the box in the afternoon, when I should have been having time off,to fetch said animal. I wasn't at all impressed by the Marquis,when I first saw him standing in his pasture,he had been rolling himself in the mud just inside the gateway to his paddock and having been out all summer with no attention he looked like something that should have been on the way to the knackers yard. He wasn't a pretty horse and he carried his head extremely low,rather like someone who has a crick in the neck,one good thing about his bearing was the fact that he was easy to put a head-collar on, as his head was always just about level with the lads knees!He had a thick coating of small yellow ticks eggs on all four legs and as I said before he wasn't a pretty horse at all. When we arrived back at the yard just in time for evening stables,worse luck,I was met by Harold who stared in disbelief and said”What the bloody hell is that?”Everybody came out to see what the new “horse” looked like and the marquis was ridiculed by all and sundry, his head's like an old wellington boot said one of the lads, he looks like two planks nailed together said one of the others. Worse was to come,I put him into one of the spare boxes and went to do my two,when the Guvnor came round evening stables,he said “I want you to look after the new horse you brought home today John,in a week or two Monas Way,a filly I was doing at that time will be going abroad to race next week,she,s been sold,so you will be short of a horse”.My heart dropped. Nothing could be done about it however the Guvnor,s word was law and if you didn't like it you would just have to lump it.
The other lads just howled when they heard the news”Well done Johnny got a good swap there didnt ya?” They pulled my leg about him for the first few days but gradually the ragging died down and the Marquis was accepted as all others were accepted in their turn. After washing his legs down with paraffin a few times the tick eggs dropped off and a few weeks grooming made the world of difference,he still walked around with his nostrils just clear of the ground though and riding him out was quite different from anything else I had ever been up on, even when cantering his nose was only inches from the ground. Harold said”He goes about as if he,s lost something and he,s still looking for it!”After a few weeks light training he was set to canter which he did very well indeed, still with his head low of course but the minute he got into his stride he began to roar! The roaring didn't affect his speed but he sounded as if he was about to collapse at any minute, no one was ever in any doubt if he took part in a training gallop,he could be heard miles away. The Marquis, or old Flamer as Harold christened him,soon settled down and after a few weeks he was schooled over hurdles in the Grange Park and jumped like a stag as the saying goes,he still carried his head extremely low,and most of the jump jockey,s that came to school him were shocked the first time they were thrown up on him.”How the hell can he see where he,s going?”,one of them said the first time he rode him. One thing was certain however he stayed well and he jumped admirably,we were never in doubt as to whether or not he was in the string when they were out on the gallops,he could be heard for miles!The time approached for his first race over hurdles and this was to take place at our home meeting of Wetherby,I cant remember who rode him that day,what I do remember is that it was an extremely foggy day and that it was touch and go as to whether the meeting would be held at all due to the poor conditions. The meeting was held however although visibility was no more than about ten to fifteen yards most of the afternoon,in these sort of circumstances anything can happen and the only time one saw the field was as they past the winning post on the first time round and once again as they finished. I remember Harold saying to me as they past the post first time round,”Well he hasn't fallen yet Johnny,I cant see him but I can still hear him!” This was as the field of about twenty five horses thundered past us in the dense fog,a couple of minutes later we could still hear him coming up the straight,but visibility being what it was we weren't at all sure of where he was on the run in, but suddenly he burst out of the fog, all on his own leading the field over the last hurdle a couple of lengths clear of his closest rival!
The other lads just howled when they heard the news”Well done Johnny got a good swap there didnt ya?” They pulled my leg about him for the first few days but gradually the ragging died down and the Marquis was accepted as all others were accepted in their turn. After washing his legs down with paraffin a few times the tick eggs dropped off and a few weeks grooming made the world of difference,he still walked around with his nostrils just clear of the ground though and riding him out was quite different from anything else I had ever been up on, even when cantering his nose was only inches from the ground. Harold said”He goes about as if he,s lost something and he,s still looking for it!”After a few weeks light training he was set to canter which he did very well indeed, still with his head low of course but the minute he got into his stride he began to roar! The roaring didn't affect his speed but he sounded as if he was about to collapse at any minute, no one was ever in any doubt if he took part in a training gallop,he could be heard miles away. The Marquis, or old Flamer as Harold christened him,soon settled down and after a few weeks he was schooled over hurdles in the Grange Park and jumped like a stag as the saying goes,he still carried his head extremely low,and most of the jump jockey,s that came to school him were shocked the first time they were thrown up on him.”How the hell can he see where he,s going?”,one of them said the first time he rode him. One thing was certain however he stayed well and he jumped admirably,we were never in doubt as to whether or not he was in the string when they were out on the gallops,he could be heard for miles!The time approached for his first race over hurdles and this was to take place at our home meeting of Wetherby,I cant remember who rode him that day,what I do remember is that it was an extremely foggy day and that it was touch and go as to whether the meeting would be held at all due to the poor conditions. The meeting was held however although visibility was no more than about ten to fifteen yards most of the afternoon,in these sort of circumstances anything can happen and the only time one saw the field was as they past the winning post on the first time round and once again as they finished. I remember Harold saying to me as they past the post first time round,”Well he hasn't fallen yet Johnny,I cant see him but I can still hear him!” This was as the field of about twenty five horses thundered past us in the dense fog,a couple of minutes later we could still hear him coming up the straight,but visibility being what it was we weren't at all sure of where he was on the run in, but suddenly he burst out of the fog, all on his own leading the field over the last hurdle a couple of lengths clear of his closest rival!
He won easily - what a day that was, he was my first winner at Vaseys so I was as proud as if I,d ridden him myself, the thought of the five pound tip to the lad that does the horse was of course uppermost in my mind. Harold and I went to lead him in but suddenly from being the lad that had done the winner I became a very small cog in the works, Harold led him into the winners enclosure accompanied by the Guvnor and the proud owner and I was relegated to blanket and bucket carrier! This was of course a bit of a let down, worse was to come however. The very next day Bandy took me on one side and said to me that The Flamers owner had sent me a present,not the five pounds I,d been expecting but a pound! A pound I howled,what about the other four quid?Bandy told me that when the owner had asked who was responsible for his horse the Guvnor had replied that he hadn't decided as yet as to which of the older lads would be taking care of him,but that I had had him up to now assisted by Harold!The owner had said that he thought I should have something anyway and had left me a pound!
He won easily - what a day that was, he was my first winner at Vaseys so I was as proud as if I,d ridden him myself, the thought of the five pound tip to the lad that does the horse was of course uppermost in my mind. Harold and I went to lead him in but suddenly from being the lad that had done the winner I became a very small cog in the works, Harold led him into the winners enclosure accompanied by the Guvnor and the proud owner and I was relegated to blanket and bucket carrier! This was of course a bit of a let down, worse was to come however. The very next day Bandy took me on one side and said to me that The Flamers owner had sent me a present,not the five pounds I,d been expecting but a pound! A pound I howled,what about the other four quid?Bandy told me that when the owner had asked who was responsible for his horse the Guvnor had replied that he hadn't decided as yet as to which of the older lads would be taking care of him,but that I had had him up to now assisted by Harold!The owner had said that he thought I should have something anyway and had left me a pound!
Such are the disappointments of racing, the very next day I was told that Laurie Nightingale one of the older hands would from that day on be responsible for the Marquis as he looked like becoming an asset to the yard. He was too, as he went on to win numerous races over hurdles and Laurie won quite a lot of money with him, apart from all the presents he was sent by the owner every time he won, he was on to a good thing as they say in racing circles. I still have,at the age of 69 an old photo of the Marquis which shows,Flaming Marquis with his nose on the ground as usual,Laurie and a lad called Billy Hope and the jockey Jonny East leaving for Haydock Park,I took it one Sunday afternoon just as they were leaving the yard. I think Flamer was the best horse I did whilst at Vasey's,he,s certainly one of the ones I remember best,probably because of the disappointment involved, such is life I suppose it was all part of the process of growing up,taking the rough with the smooth as they say. Although I cant honestly recall there being very many smooth bits in my time at Wetherby!
Such are the disappointments of racing, the very next day I was told that Laurie Nightingale one of the older hands would from that day on be responsible for the Marquis as he looked like becoming an asset to the yard. He was too, as he went on to win numerous races over hurdles and Laurie won quite a lot of money with him, apart from all the presents he was sent by the owner every time he won, he was on to a good thing as they say in racing circles. I still have,at the age of 69 an old photo of the Marquis which shows,Flaming Marquis with his nose on the ground as usual,Laurie and a lad called Billy Hope and the jockey Jonny East leaving for Haydock Park,I took it one Sunday afternoon just as they were leaving the yard. I think Flamer was the best horse I did whilst at Vasey's,he,s certainly one of the ones I remember best,probably because of the disappointment involved, such is life I suppose it was all part of the process of growing up,taking the rough with the smooth as they say. Although I cant honestly recall there being very many smooth bits in my time at Wetherby!
On to other things I was now next oldest apprentice,Kenny Perry,Gordon Mook and Eric Walton having left the yard as their contracts were fulfilled. This meant that if I could do the weight I would probably be given a few more rides as Roy Bellin was rapidly putting on weight and had already received his call-up papers for National service,I am a bit younger than Roy but the time was rapidly approaching when I would have to make a decision regarding going into the forces, that is if I passed a medical,or remaining in the yard in order to finish my apprenticeship before doing my National Service.
On to other things I was now next oldest apprentice,Kenny Perry,Gordon Mook and Eric Walton having left the yard as their contracts were fulfilled. This meant that if I could do the weight I would probably be given a few more rides as Roy Bellin was rapidly putting on weight and had already received his call-up papers for National service,I am a bit younger than Roy but the time was rapidly approaching when I would have to make a decision regarding going into the forces, that is if I passed a medical,or remaining in the yard in order to finish my apprenticeship before doing my National Service.
It was round about this time that a horse called Cement City put in an appearance, I don't remember a lot about him,Ted Shewan did him at that time and was also put up on him to ride exercise. Cement City was a puller, he had a very hard mouth and when once he got into his stride he just ran away with his jockey,he used to stop when he got tired or if he couldn't go any further due to railings or fencing across his path. He ran off with just about everybody in the yard at the time, even Don Foster who was at the time the tallest person in the yard,turning the scales at around 11 stones couldn't hold him,the horse never cantered as every time he was sent to canter with the string he started as last horse and just passed everybody at full gallop,he was a very difficult horse to train.
It was round about this time that a horse called Cement City put in an appearance, I don't remember a lot about him,Ted Shewan did him at that time and was also put up on him to ride exercise. Cement City was a puller, he had a very hard mouth and when once he got into his stride he just ran away with his jockey,he used to stop when he got tired or if he couldn't go any further due to railings or fencing across his path. He ran off with just about everybody in the yard at the time, even Don Foster who was at the time the tallest person in the yard,turning the scales at around 11 stones couldn't hold him,the horse never cantered as every time he was sent to canter with the string he started as last horse and just passed everybody at full gallop,he was a very difficult horse to train.
When he eventually did get onto a racecourse he always took off on his own on the way down to the starting post, more than once on round courses he went round twice on his own before his jockey could stop him, several jockeys refused to ride him and eventually permission was given to lead him down to the start at most courses. Ted Shewan had a ride on him – and this was a disaster, took no part withdrawn before coming under starters orders is written in the return of the race,Sparrow Povall rode him at Aintree in the race before the Grand National and delayed the National start by nearly half an hour,this was the year that a great many horses fell and the jumping fraternity blamed it all on Sparrow as they said the national horses were too keyed up due to the late start, poor Sparrow.
When he eventually did get onto a racecourse he always took off on his own on the way down to the starting post, more than once on round courses he went round twice on his own before his jockey could stop him, several jockeys refused to ride him and eventually permission was given to lead him down to the start at most courses. Ted Shewan had a ride on him – and this was a disaster, took no part withdrawn before coming under starters orders is written in the return of the race,Sparrow Povall rode him at Aintree in the race before the Grand National and delayed the National start by nearly half an hour,this was the year that a great many horses fell and the jumping fraternity blamed it all on Sparrow as they said the national horses were too keyed up due to the late start, poor Sparrow.
Came the day when Bandy said to me “OK johnny, this morning your on the City,the Guvnor wants to see if you can hold him! Fat chance!”I was quaking in my shoes as he wasn't an easy horse at all, but much to my surprise he went like a lamb for me and we got to the gallops with no mishaps at all. When the Guvnor put in an appearance he said take him away on his own Johnny and see if you can settle him down a bit I took him away on his own right to the other end of the Grange Park and just let him lob along on his own,I think we both enjoyed our outings equally.
Came the day when Bandy said to me “OK johnny, this morning your on the City,the Guvnor wants to see if you can hold him! Fat chance!”I was quaking in my shoes as he wasn't an easy horse at all, but much to my surprise he went like a lamb for me and we got to the gallops with no mishaps at all. When the Guvnor put in an appearance he said take him away on his own Johnny and see if you can settle him down a bit I took him away on his own right to the other end of the Grange Park and just let him lob along on his own,I think we both enjoyed our outings equally.
After a couple of weeks, messing about, as Bandy called it, he was put into a gallop to do fast work with some of the others and for the first time in his time with Vasey's he was able to work with other horses and his jockey, yours truly, was able to hold him. The Guvnor was quite pleased with us both and more or less promised me that I would have the ride on him next time he was entered in a race, unfortunately the owner had other ideas and he engaged Joe Sime to ride him. Poetic justice! He took off with Joe on the way down to the start and used up all his energy before the race even started, and as a matter of fact City as we called him was one of the horses that although I rode him in his work regularly at home I never ever got to ride him on a course. I had somehow hoped that City and I could have formed the sort of partnership that Cider Apple and Tommy Witts had. This was a horse that won practically every time he ran at Alexandra Park and Tommy Witts looked after him, another disappointment. Racing has it,s highlights even for the very young in the game,but the disappointments are many,even the very successful jockeys get jocked off at times,and making a living as a jockey on the English turf has always been dependant on the moods and whims of the owners and trainers. Most owners have never even been in the saddle,but they all know exactly how the race should have been ridden when the unfortunate sod that rode the second or third horse gets back to the unsaddling enclosure.
After a couple of weeks, messing about, as Bandy called it, he was put into a gallop to do fast work with some of the others and for the first time in his time with Vasey's he was able to work with other horses and his jockey, yours truly, was able to hold him. The Guvnor was quite pleased with us both and more or less promised me that I would have the ride on him next time he was entered in a race, unfortunately the owner had other ideas and he engaged Joe Sime to ride him. Poetic justice! He took off with Joe on the way down to the start and used up all his energy before the race even started, and as a matter of fact City as we called him was one of the horses that although I rode him in his work regularly at home I never ever got to ride him on a course. I had somehow hoped that City and I could have formed the sort of partnership that Cider Apple and Tommy Witts had. This was a horse that won practically every time he ran at Alexandra Park and Tommy Witts looked after him, another disappointment. Racing has it,s highlights even for the very young in the game,but the disappointments are many,even the very successful jockeys get jocked off at times,and making a living as a jockey on the English turf has always been dependant on the moods and whims of the owners and trainers. Most owners have never even been in the saddle,but they all know exactly how the race should have been ridden when the unfortunate sod that rode the second or third horse gets back to the unsaddling enclosure.
Another horse I rode about this time was a huge black gelding called Johnny Hughes, he was enormous but very backward and at the time probably the slowest horse in training anywhere in England, he was the type that turns up winning the Grand National 12 or 13 years after being tried out on the Flat. I think he ran four or five times always finishing well behind the field, tailed off,he was tailed off when I rode him too, but I remember he lived on in Eric Waltons memory for years. I think Eric rode him at Stockton or Thirsk once and as usual the others just left him standing, coming round the last turn one of the spectators hanging over the rails bellowed at Eric, I think he might have backed Johnny that day,”Come on - come on,call yerself a jockey yer miles behind!”Eric was going so slowly that he had time to say in reply,”Shut up silly bugger, somebody has to ride the useless sod!” Another story.
Another horse I rode about this time was a huge black gelding called Johnny Hughes, he was enormous but very backward and at the time probably the slowest horse in training anywhere in England, he was the type that turns up winning the Grand National 12 or 13 years after being tried out on the Flat. I think he ran four or five times always finishing well behind the field, tailed off,he was tailed off when I rode him too, but I remember he lived on in Eric Waltons memory for years. I think Eric rode him at Stockton or Thirsk once and as usual the others just left him standing, coming round the last turn one of the spectators hanging over the rails bellowed at Eric, I think he might have backed Johnny that day,”Come on - come on,call yerself a jockey yer miles behind!”Eric was going so slowly that he had time to say in reply,”Shut up silly bugger, somebody has to ride the useless sod!” Another story.
A camel story. A few years ago F.L.Smidth were erecting a cement factory in Egypt and one of the engineers told a story about a camel driver that used to squat outside the local railway station. It was reputed that this man could tell you the time of day just by lifting up the testicles of his camel and weighing them in his hand. Every day after work the engineers went past him and asked him “What time is it Johnny?” The camel driver, squatting by the side of his camel weighed his camels balls in his hand and every day he told them the correct time to the minute, always being rewarded with a little”bakshees” for his trouble. One of the engineers was due to return home but just before leaving for home he went down to the station and said to the camel driver” I,m going home now but I would like you to tell me how it is that you can tell the time by lifting your camels balls. I will give you fifty danish kroner if you tell me your secret and I promise not to tell your secret to anyone else.” The camel driver agreed to his suggestion and then told him to squat down beside him in the sand. “ Look across to the other side of the square sahib, do you see the municipal offices?””Yes,yes” said the engineer” What has that to do with telling the time?””They have a large clock on the corner of the building sahib, when I lift my camels balls I can see what time it is!”
A camel story. A few years ago F.L.Smidth were erecting a cement factory in Egypt and one of the engineers told a story about a camel driver that used to squat outside the local railway station. It was reputed that this man could tell you the time of day just by lifting up the testicles of his camel and weighing them in his hand. Every day after work the engineers went past him and asked him “What time is it Johnny?” The camel driver, squatting by the side of his camel weighed his camels balls in his hand and every day he told them the correct time to the minute, always being rewarded with a little”bakshees” for his trouble. One of the engineers was due to return home but just before leaving for home he went down to the station and said to the camel driver” I,m going home now but I would like you to tell me how it is that you can tell the time by lifting your camels balls. I will give you fifty danish kroner if you tell me your secret and I promise not to tell your secret to anyone else.” The camel driver agreed to his suggestion and then told him to squat down beside him in the sand. “ Look across to the other side of the square sahib, do you see the municipal offices?””Yes,yes” said the engineer” What has that to do with telling the time?””They have a large clock on the corner of the building sahib, when I lift my camels balls I can see what time it is!”
CHAPTER SIX.
CHAPTER SIX.
I had now begun to put on a little weight, in spite of the hard work and long hours, and at seven stone three at the age of seventeen, I began to see the writing on the wall - increasing weight and the fact that my National Service papers would be appearing within the next year made me realise that perhaps a career as a jockey on the Flat wouldn't be my lot. During my last year with Vasey I had quite a few rides but never, to my great disappointment got into the winners enclosure. Apart from the fourth place i had on Turkmain I think the closest I was to winning a race was on Perigame at Birmingham,and before drawing a curtain over my racing career I think I,d better tell the story,it will wind up the horsey bit of this account as a Grand Finale.
I had now begun to put on a little weight, in spite of the hard work and long hours, and at seven stone three at the age of seventeen, I began to see the writing on the wall - increasing weight and the fact that my National Service papers would be appearing within the next year made me realise that perhaps a career as a jockey on the Flat wouldn't be my lot. During my last year with Vasey I had quite a few rides but never, to my great disappointment got into the winners enclosure. Apart from the fourth place i had on Turkmain I think the closest I was to winning a race was on Perigame at Birmingham,and before drawing a curtain over my racing career I think I,d better tell the story,it will wind up the horsey bit of this account as a Grand Finale.
The Guvnor approached me one day after first lot and told me that Perigame was entered in an apprentice race on the 29th of May at Birmingham, the Berkswell Handicap, the weight was eight stone five pounds so I wouldn,t have to worry about being able to do the weight. He said Perigame isn't quite fit yet he wants about another month or so but Mr.C.W.Jackson his owner would like him to have a run out, don't push him just let him run his own race but don't be last either it looks bad in the form book if a horse is last and then goes on to win shortly afterwards. This was the Guvnors way of saying that Perigame was being saved for another day.
The Guvnor approached me one day after first lot and told me that Perigame was entered in an apprentice race on the 29th of May at Birmingham, the Berkswell Handicap, the weight was eight stone five pounds so I wouldn,t have to worry about being able to do the weight. He said Perigame isn't quite fit yet he wants about another month or so but Mr.C.W.Jackson his owner would like him to have a run out, don't push him just let him run his own race but don't be last either it looks bad in the form book if a horse is last and then goes on to win shortly afterwards. This was the Guvnors way of saying that Perigame was being saved for another day.
About a week before the race Bandy,s cupboard in the saddle-room where he kept all his potions and powders was broken into one night,someone put a crowbar to the hasp and padlock. Nothing seemed to be missing and a new hasp and padlock were put on and the incident was soon forgotten,I think it was put down to a tramp looking for something to steal. It wasn,t necessary to break into the saddle-room as the door was never ever locked during all my years at Vaseys.
About a week before the race Bandy,s cupboard in the saddle-room where he kept all his potions and powders was broken into one night,someone put a crowbar to the hasp and padlock. Nothing seemed to be missing and a new hasp and padlock were put on and the incident was soon forgotten,I think it was put down to a tramp looking for something to steal. It wasn,t necessary to break into the saddle-room as the door was never ever locked during all my years at Vaseys.
The day before we were to go to Birmingham it was decided that only Don Foster and I would go to Birmingham as we had other runners on the same day at other meetings and the Guvnor preferred to attend one of the other meetings. We made a very early start to get there in plenty of time as the apprentice race was as usual the first race on the card, starting at two o,clock,we had an early lunch in the canteen in the stable yard and went over to get Perigame ready for his race. Leaving the canteen Don pocketed one of the tablespoons from the table where we had eaten our lunch,when we got to Perigame's box he proceeded to dose Perigame with two tablespoonsful of a white powder he took out of the tack-box. When I asked him what he was giving him,he said “Never you mind Johnny boy,but do me a favour go over to the tap and wash this spoon off really well,and put it back on the table in the canteen O.K?”
The day before we were to go to Birmingham it was decided that only Don Foster and I would go to Birmingham as we had other runners on the same day at other meetings and the Guvnor preferred to attend one of the other meetings. We made a very early start to get there in plenty of time as the apprentice race was as usual the first race on the card, starting at two o,clock,we had an early lunch in the canteen in the stable yard and went over to get Perigame ready for his race. Leaving the canteen Don pocketed one of the tablespoons from the table where we had eaten our lunch,when we got to Perigame's box he proceeded to dose Perigame with two tablespoonsful of a white powder he took out of the tack-box. When I asked him what he was giving him,he said “Never you mind Johnny boy,but do me a favour go over to the tap and wash this spoon off really well,and put it back on the table in the canteen O.K?”
When I got back Don said”I hope you washed it off really well Johnny, there was enough left on the spoon to kill everybody in the canteen if we,re not careful!”To say I was shocked would be an understatement to say the least .I was now party to an attempt of doping a horse to improve its performance.
When I got back Don said”I hope you washed it off really well Johnny, there was enough left on the spoon to kill everybody in the canteen if we,re not careful!”To say I was shocked would be an understatement to say the least .I was now party to an attempt of doping a horse to improve its performance.
I must have looked upset as Don said”Don't worry kid, you know nothing and when he,s won I,ll see you all right don't fret” .On the way to the weighing room to get changed and weighed out I was in a daze, I knew the horse wasn't quite fit and although I hadn't actually been told to stop him I knew that if he won I would be on the carpet when we got back to Wetherby. What a predicament. I weighed out and gave the saddle and number cloth to Don and half an hour later I was in the saddle and on my way out onto the course,just before we reached the course a very Irish voice said to me out of the crowd,”Hello there John - is he any good today?”Looking down into the crowd I saw Doctor Donnelley my old doctor from Leeds in the crowd he had taken a day off to come and see me ride. I of course couldn't answer his question being surrounded by crowds of spectators at the time,it would have cost me my license to say anything at all, so all I could do was give him a smile and touch my forelock with my whip.
I must have looked upset as Don said”Don't worry kid, you know nothing and when he,s won I,ll see you all right don't fret” .On the way to the weighing room to get changed and weighed out I was in a daze, I knew the horse wasn't quite fit and although I hadn't actually been told to stop him I knew that if he won I would be on the carpet when we got back to Wetherby. What a predicament. I weighed out and gave the saddle and number cloth to Don and half an hour later I was in the saddle and on my way out onto the course,just before we reached the course a very Irish voice said to me out of the crowd,”Hello there John - is he any good today?”Looking down into the crowd I saw Doctor Donnelley my old doctor from Leeds in the crowd he had taken a day off to come and see me ride. I of course couldn't answer his question being surrounded by crowds of spectators at the time,it would have cost me my license to say anything at all, so all I could do was give him a smile and touch my forelock with my whip.
At the starting gate Perigame behaved perfectly and we got off to a good start, the race was over seven furlongs and he went like a bomb for the first five of these, but after five I could feel he wasn't going as well as he might and the rest of the field began to put on the pressure and a furlong from home he gave up the ghost and it was plain to me that the Govenor knew what he was talking about when he said he needed the race. The next problem was not being last man home as there were only seven runners in the race,this was a bit of a problem too but I managed to keep him going strongly enough to beat one other horse Fifty-Fifty into seventh place.
At the starting gate Perigame behaved perfectly and we got off to a good start, the race was over seven furlongs and he went like a bomb for the first five of these, but after five I could feel he wasn't going as well as he might and the rest of the field began to put on the pressure and a furlong from home he gave up the ghost and it was plain to me that the Govenor knew what he was talking about when he said he needed the race. The next problem was not being last man home as there were only seven runners in the race,this was a bit of a problem too but I managed to keep him going strongly enough to beat one other horse Fifty-Fifty into seventh place.
What a relief it was to get back to the unsaddling enclosure and take the saddle off him,I don't think I've ever been happier to get off a horse in my life. The thought of doping tests etc had been in my mind all the time and the thought of spending time in jail on a doping charge wasn't at all what I had in mind for my last few months with Percy Vasey. Don didn't seem very happy,he never told me how much he lost that day but it was probably more than a couple of weeks wages. The race was won by a horse called Rustle of Spring at 100 to 6 ridden by E Larkin. Teddy as I came to know him, he too had just the one ride that day and he was going back to Middelham by train from Birmingham. I had been instructed to take the train back to Wetherby so that I would be back in time for first lot next morning, so we wound up taking the same train back to Leeds, I remember Ted paying for a taxi from the course for us both down to the railway station.I was all for taking a bus but Ted said,”It,ll all go on the owners bill don't worry about it,the owner had a real good bet on this horse today,and he,s already given me 100 quid as a present on the side that he told me not to tell my Guvnor about,he,ll send me at least 20 quid through the Guvnor as well,don't worry about money!”
What a relief it was to get back to the unsaddling enclosure and take the saddle off him,I don't think I've ever been happier to get off a horse in my life. The thought of doping tests etc had been in my mind all the time and the thought of spending time in jail on a doping charge wasn't at all what I had in mind for my last few months with Percy Vasey. Don didn't seem very happy,he never told me how much he lost that day but it was probably more than a couple of weeks wages. The race was won by a horse called Rustle of Spring at 100 to 6 ridden by E Larkin. Teddy as I came to know him, he too had just the one ride that day and he was going back to Middelham by train from Birmingham. I had been instructed to take the train back to Wetherby so that I would be back in time for first lot next morning, so we wound up taking the same train back to Leeds, I remember Ted paying for a taxi from the course for us both down to the railway station.I was all for taking a bus but Ted said,”It,ll all go on the owners bill don't worry about it,the owner had a real good bet on this horse today,and he,s already given me 100 quid as a present on the side that he told me not to tell my Guvnor about,he,ll send me at least 20 quid through the Guvnor as well,don't worry about money!”
We got into Leeds quite late in the evening, my last bus to Wetherby had left about twenty minutes before the train got in so I decided to ring home to my mother and ask for a bed for the night,she was overjoyed to hear from me and said she,d get some supper on. Ted had intended stopping overnight at the Queens hotel at the station,which was quite the most expensive place to stay in Leeds at the expense of his owner of course,but when he heard me talking to Mam on the phone he said ask her if its O.K if I come too. We wound up sleeping together in a double bed in the spare bedroom and slept like a couple of logs until being given a shake by my mother very early next morning,after a hurried breakfast we flew down the street to make our connections,me for Wetherby and Ted for York and Middelham. I got back to Wetherby just too late to make first lot, but in time for a royal bollocking by the Guvnor for not getting back earlier.
We got into Leeds quite late in the evening, my last bus to Wetherby had left about twenty minutes before the train got in so I decided to ring home to my mother and ask for a bed for the night,she was overjoyed to hear from me and said she,d get some supper on. Ted had intended stopping overnight at the Queens hotel at the station,which was quite the most expensive place to stay in Leeds at the expense of his owner of course,but when he heard me talking to Mam on the phone he said ask her if its O.K if I come too. We wound up sleeping together in a double bed in the spare bedroom and slept like a couple of logs until being given a shake by my mother very early next morning,after a hurried breakfast we flew down the street to make our connections,me for Wetherby and Ted for York and Middelham. I got back to Wetherby just too late to make first lot, but in time for a royal bollocking by the Guvnor for not getting back earlier.
After morning exercise and the lunchtime feed Mrs Vasey sent a message up by the youngest apprentice to tell me to phone my mother just as soon as I got the chance, the first opportunity I had was about one o,clock in the afternoon. When I got through my mother told me that when she went upstairs to make the bed that Ted and I had slept in she had found Ted's wallet under the bed, it had obviously fallen out of his trouser pocket when he hung his trousers over the bed rail. She was of course a little upset by this but became more upset when she opened the wallet to find an address she could send it on to,I remember her saying, ”Ih John,I've never seen that much money in my life before,there must be hundreds and hundreds of pounds in this wallet. What's a bit of a kid like Ted doing running about with all that cash on him?Where,s he got it from?” I explained that Ted had told me about the owner the day before giving him a hundred pounds on the side and with the money he,d had with him for expenses it could very well be that he had a couple of hundred pounds on him.”
After morning exercise and the lunchtime feed Mrs Vasey sent a message up by the youngest apprentice to tell me to phone my mother just as soon as I got the chance, the first opportunity I had was about one o,clock in the afternoon. When I got through my mother told me that when she went upstairs to make the bed that Ted and I had slept in she had found Ted's wallet under the bed, it had obviously fallen out of his trouser pocket when he hung his trousers over the bed rail. She was of course a little upset by this but became more upset when she opened the wallet to find an address she could send it on to,I remember her saying, ”Ih John,I've never seen that much money in my life before,there must be hundreds and hundreds of pounds in this wallet. What's a bit of a kid like Ted doing running about with all that cash on him?Where,s he got it from?” I explained that Ted had told me about the owner the day before giving him a hundred pounds on the side and with the money he,d had with him for expenses it could very well be that he had a couple of hundred pounds on him.”
We agreed that the best thing to do was to send him the wallet by registered post c/o of his guvnor, which she did the same afternoon, Ted went on to really make a name for himself on the Turf and became one of the top jockeys in the nineteen fifties and well into the sixties,I seem to remember him being Lord Roseberrys jockey for quite a while,strangely enough from that day to this I,ve never seen him again,he was on the way up and I was on the way out at that time. He made an awful lot of money when he was young but like most jockeys he couldn't hold on to it and he now lives in Wetherby and drives a van delivering flowers from the local florists shop. Who knows I may run into him one day on one of my visits to Wetherby - stranger things have happened.
We agreed that the best thing to do was to send him the wallet by registered post c/o of his guvnor, which she did the same afternoon, Ted went on to really make a name for himself on the Turf and became one of the top jockeys in the nineteen fifties and well into the sixties,I seem to remember him being Lord Roseberrys jockey for quite a while,strangely enough from that day to this I,ve never seen him again,he was on the way up and I was on the way out at that time. He made an awful lot of money when he was young but like most jockeys he couldn't hold on to it and he now lives in Wetherby and drives a van delivering flowers from the local florists shop. Who knows I may run into him one day on one of my visits to Wetherby - stranger things have happened.
A sequel to this tale was that some time later talking to Bandy about the breaking into his cupboard in the saddle room, he mentioned that he couldn't think of any reason for anyone to break into the cupboard,and I said “Is there nothing in the cupboard that could be used to ginger a horse up Bandy?”His reply was,”You've been reading too many Nat Goulds kid!, there's nothing in that cupboard for either stopping or starting a horse,most of the things in there are minerals and vitamins tonics and such.”When I asked him what the white powder in the grey tin was,his reply was,”Its only glucose powder, horses love a little sprinkle of this on top of their feed,its like putting sugar in your tea lad””Its not poisonous then?”I asked,”Poisonous? Course its not poisonous,here have a taste”,said Bandy”Wet ya finger and dip it in it,its just like icing sugar”. It was too and from that day to this I,ll never know what it was Don gave Perigame at Birmingham that day,I,d like to think it was all a mistake and that all he got was a little bit of glucose powder,but knowing Bandy and the things that went on in that yard I still have my doubts.
A sequel to this tale was that some time later talking to Bandy about the breaking into his cupboard in the saddle room, he mentioned that he couldn't think of any reason for anyone to break into the cupboard,and I said “Is there nothing in the cupboard that could be used to ginger a horse up Bandy?”His reply was,”You've been reading too many Nat Goulds kid!, there's nothing in that cupboard for either stopping or starting a horse,most of the things in there are minerals and vitamins tonics and such.”When I asked him what the white powder in the grey tin was,his reply was,”Its only glucose powder, horses love a little sprinkle of this on top of their feed,its like putting sugar in your tea lad””Its not poisonous then?”I asked,”Poisonous? Course its not poisonous,here have a taste”,said Bandy”Wet ya finger and dip it in it,its just like icing sugar”. It was too and from that day to this I,ll never know what it was Don gave Perigame at Birmingham that day,I,d like to think it was all a mistake and that all he got was a little bit of glucose powder,but knowing Bandy and the things that went on in that yard I still have my doubts.
This reminds me of a story that went the rounds quite a few years ago before the time of identity cards for horses and doping checks at every meeting, the good old days!Lord Derby happened to notice a trainer giving his horse sugar lumps just before a race and accused him of giving the horse something to help it on its way. Not at all,not at all your Grace the trainer said, these are purely and simply lumps of sugar nothing else,and to prove it I,ll eat one myself,you may also taste one if you,re in any doubt. Lord Derby tasted a sugar lump and went on his way satisfied. Speaking to his jockey later on in the paddock before the race the trainer said,”keep up with the leaders until you come to the distance post and then pull him out and kick on for home, and if anything passes you before the winning post it'll either be me or Lord Derby”.
This reminds me of a story that went the rounds quite a few years ago before the time of identity cards for horses and doping checks at every meeting, the good old days!Lord Derby happened to notice a trainer giving his horse sugar lumps just before a race and accused him of giving the horse something to help it on its way. Not at all,not at all your Grace the trainer said, these are purely and simply lumps of sugar nothing else,and to prove it I,ll eat one myself,you may also taste one if you,re in any doubt. Lord Derby tasted a sugar lump and went on his way satisfied. Speaking to his jockey later on in the paddock before the race the trainer said,”keep up with the leaders until you come to the distance post and then pull him out and kick on for home, and if anything passes you before the winning post it'll either be me or Lord Derby”.
Shortly after my Birmingham adventure my calling up papers arrived and I was told to come to Leeds to the registrars office for a medical to see if I was fit enough to be inducted into the armed forces. Very few of Vasey's lads did National Service, although I remember that Roy Bellin served his time in the Veterinary Corps,as did Tommy Millar and Dave Johnson.
Shortly after my Birmingham adventure my calling up papers arrived and I was told to come to Leeds to the registrars office for a medical to see if I was fit enough to be inducted into the armed forces. Very few of Vasey's lads did National Service, although I remember that Roy Bellin served his time in the Veterinary Corps,as did Tommy Millar and Dave Johnson.
Nearly everyone else got out of National Service on some pretext or other. I remember Porky Twibey and Eric Walton going for their medicals and they were told that they were much too small to be considered for the forces - the board said ”Give us a winner and we,ll let you off!” The only thing that was due to run at Vasey,s at the time was a horse called Prince Neptune that Porky did,at the time he had showed no promise at all but they both said “Get your money on Prince Neptune next time he runs”,just to get out of the place before the board changed its mind,and a week later he won!
Nearly everyone else got out of National Service on some pretext or other. I remember Porky Twibey and Eric Walton going for their medicals and they were told that they were much too small to be considered for the forces - the board said ”Give us a winner and we,ll let you off!” The only thing that was due to run at Vasey,s at the time was a horse called Prince Neptune that Porky did,at the time he had showed no promise at all but they both said “Get your money on Prince Neptune next time he runs”,just to get out of the place before the board changed its mind,and a week later he won!
When I went for my medical, there were a great many youths waiting in line all being measured for height and weighed and examined, the doctor doing the weighing didn't even look at the people he was weighing,he just kept calling out next,next,next as we got onto the scales. When it was my turn I got onto the scales and he just kept on calling out next,next,come on get on the scales - to which I replied,”I am on the scales!”He looked up and said”Sorry” and moved the counter weight to the other end of the scale, when it still didn't register any weight at all he said “OK,how much do you weigh?”.To which I replied”With or without a saddle?””Very funny “,he said”Just you on your own please”To which I replied”seven stone seven within a few ounces”,he put another weight on the counter weight and sure enough I was seven stone seven exactly. Now came the time of waiting to see whether or not I would be accepted, I was rather hoping that I wouldn't be called up as I was very happy with the way things were going in Wetherby and I was looking forward to being oldest apprentice in the yard, after years of being lower down the ladder I was top dog at last,the apprentice that had the longest service.
When I went for my medical, there were a great many youths waiting in line all being measured for height and weighed and examined, the doctor doing the weighing didn't even look at the people he was weighing,he just kept calling out next,next,next as we got onto the scales. When it was my turn I got onto the scales and he just kept on calling out next,next,come on get on the scales - to which I replied,”I am on the scales!”He looked up and said”Sorry” and moved the counter weight to the other end of the scale, when it still didn't register any weight at all he said “OK,how much do you weigh?”.To which I replied”With or without a saddle?””Very funny “,he said”Just you on your own please”To which I replied”seven stone seven within a few ounces”,he put another weight on the counter weight and sure enough I was seven stone seven exactly. Now came the time of waiting to see whether or not I would be accepted, I was rather hoping that I wouldn't be called up as I was very happy with the way things were going in Wetherby and I was looking forward to being oldest apprentice in the yard, after years of being lower down the ladder I was top dog at last,the apprentice that had the longest service.
During the months I waited to see whether or not I had been accepted for the forces I was lucky enough to be put up on quite a few of Vasey,s runners, unfortunately always with the words,take it easy today John,he,or she as might be the case, is in need of a race so we are not expecting to see you in the first four,but don't be last either,have a good ride!Being the oldest apprentice in the yard certainly had it,s compensations,I was relieved of my duties at Bridge Cottage for one thing. These duties might be anything from shining the Guvnors shoes, polishing the silver if they were expecting owners to lunch,putting eggs into buckets with isinglass to preserve them,drawing and plucking any grouse or pheasants that might happen to be in season at the time, the duties were many and varied, cheap labour wasn't in it!There were now four other apprentices down the line from me so I really felt like top-dog for a few months,being Vasey's oldest apprentice I was on nodding acquaintance with practically everyone in the village at the time and felt that at last I was getting somewhere in racing circles. Some hopes!
During the months I waited to see whether or not I had been accepted for the forces I was lucky enough to be put up on quite a few of Vasey,s runners, unfortunately always with the words,take it easy today John,he,or she as might be the case, is in need of a race so we are not expecting to see you in the first four,but don't be last either,have a good ride!Being the oldest apprentice in the yard certainly had it,s compensations,I was relieved of my duties at Bridge Cottage for one thing. These duties might be anything from shining the Guvnors shoes, polishing the silver if they were expecting owners to lunch,putting eggs into buckets with isinglass to preserve them,drawing and plucking any grouse or pheasants that might happen to be in season at the time, the duties were many and varied, cheap labour wasn't in it!There were now four other apprentices down the line from me so I really felt like top-dog for a few months,being Vasey's oldest apprentice I was on nodding acquaintance with practically everyone in the village at the time and felt that at last I was getting somewhere in racing circles. Some hopes!
I do remember that around this time I went with Hyjorama, a beautiful little filly I was doing at the time,to Windsor. It wasn't often we from the north got to go to meetings in the south of England as usually our horses were outclassed down there, but obviously the Guvnor thought that here was a race where she had a chance,especially so if one or two of the better class horses didn't pay forfeit. As Windsor is several hundred miles from Wetherby it was arranged that,Bandy and I would take Hyjorama down a couple of days before the race,and that Gordon Mook,who by this time had finished his apprenticeship and was trying hard to get a foothold as a fully fledged jockey,would come down on the day and ride her. We left Wetherby early in the morning and arrived in Windsor later that same evening. Bandy had asked if he could make this trip to look up old acquaintances from his time in the south of England for in the usual course of things this trip would have been Harold Mallory,s job. Bandy knew the landlord,who happened to be a lady, of the Black Swan,I wonder if it exists today?,and we were very well looked after. Bandy and I shared a double bed and when I went up to bed I left him having a nightcap with the landlady and her staff in the kitchen after closing time,this was the first time I saw anyone drink hot milk and whisky, they all said I should try a drop, as it was a good sleeping draught?After the long trip in the horse box I needed no sleeping draughts and fell asleep just as soon as my head hit the pillow,I must have slept soundly as Bandy had come up to bed at some time during the night without me hearing a sound. What I did hear was Bandy opening the window of our room at four o,clock in the morning,he was on his knees,kneeling on top of the chest of drawers under the window in an attempt to piss out onto the roof that had a gradual slope from the window ledge down to the guttering!He managed it eventually and apologised for waking me,he had knocked the alarm clock off the chest of drawers when he was getting into position and this was what had woken me.
I do remember that around this time I went with Hyjorama, a beautiful little filly I was doing at the time,to Windsor. It wasn't often we from the north got to go to meetings in the south of England as usually our horses were outclassed down there, but obviously the Guvnor thought that here was a race where she had a chance,especially so if one or two of the better class horses didn't pay forfeit. As Windsor is several hundred miles from Wetherby it was arranged that,Bandy and I would take Hyjorama down a couple of days before the race,and that Gordon Mook,who by this time had finished his apprenticeship and was trying hard to get a foothold as a fully fledged jockey,would come down on the day and ride her. We left Wetherby early in the morning and arrived in Windsor later that same evening. Bandy had asked if he could make this trip to look up old acquaintances from his time in the south of England for in the usual course of things this trip would have been Harold Mallory,s job. Bandy knew the landlord,who happened to be a lady, of the Black Swan,I wonder if it exists today?,and we were very well looked after. Bandy and I shared a double bed and when I went up to bed I left him having a nightcap with the landlady and her staff in the kitchen after closing time,this was the first time I saw anyone drink hot milk and whisky, they all said I should try a drop, as it was a good sleeping draught?After the long trip in the horse box I needed no sleeping draughts and fell asleep just as soon as my head hit the pillow,I must have slept soundly as Bandy had come up to bed at some time during the night without me hearing a sound. What I did hear was Bandy opening the window of our room at four o,clock in the morning,he was on his knees,kneeling on top of the chest of drawers under the window in an attempt to piss out onto the roof that had a gradual slope from the window ledge down to the guttering!He managed it eventually and apologised for waking me,he had knocked the alarm clock off the chest of drawers when he was getting into position and this was what had woken me.
Next morning I took Hyjorama for a little pipe opener on the track at the side of the racecourse proper, the weather was glorious and the local girls with any interest in horses were sitting on the rails making eyes at anyone who was lucky enough to be on horseback. Just my luck to be leaving the game when I seemed at times to be getting into the limelight at last I thought. Gordon turned up just before lunch and by two o'clock we were back on the course and ready to run, Hyjorama had been backed quite heavily, and having come all the way from Wetherby everyone thought that she was to be the subject of a gamble. This may or may not have been true,being owned by a bookmaking duo this could have been an investment, the thought being that if everyone thought she was “off” today,when in fact she was having an easy day, they could take all the available money on Hyjorama with no fear of having to pay out. She came in third and there was no inquiry as to the running of the race so this too became just another of the mysteries of the racing game. One other thing I remember about my trip to Windsor with Bandy was that I popped into a jewelers shop in the town before we left for home and bought a caddy spoon for my mother, just as a little memento of the trip,this caddy spoon is now in my possession as it was given back to me when my mother died, and is still in use everyday.
Next morning I took Hyjorama for a little pipe opener on the track at the side of the racecourse proper, the weather was glorious and the local girls with any interest in horses were sitting on the rails making eyes at anyone who was lucky enough to be on horseback. Just my luck to be leaving the game when I seemed at times to be getting into the limelight at last I thought. Gordon turned up just before lunch and by two o'clock we were back on the course and ready to run, Hyjorama had been backed quite heavily, and having come all the way from Wetherby everyone thought that she was to be the subject of a gamble. This may or may not have been true,being owned by a bookmaking duo this could have been an investment, the thought being that if everyone thought she was “off” today,when in fact she was having an easy day, they could take all the available money on Hyjorama with no fear of having to pay out. She came in third and there was no inquiry as to the running of the race so this too became just another of the mysteries of the racing game. One other thing I remember about my trip to Windsor with Bandy was that I popped into a jewelers shop in the town before we left for home and bought a caddy spoon for my mother, just as a little memento of the trip,this caddy spoon is now in my possession as it was given back to me when my mother died, and is still in use everyday.
The next time Hyjorama was entered was at Stockton a few weeks later and for some reason I wasn't allowed to take her to this meeting,I found out why when Harold and Gordon got back from the meeting late in the evening. She had actually won her race that afternoon and I went up to the yard to wait for the box that was bringing her back,I was pleased with the idea of the five pounds that were to be my present from the owner of course and I had pulled a huge bunch of dandelions for her as a reward. When I went into her box she was trembling all over and was sweating badly,usually I could do absolutely anything at all with this filly,she had complete confidence in me after being with her for just over a year she knew I would never do her any harm. She was a completely changed horse. The minute I walked into her box she flew away from me and wouldn't allow me to touch her in any way whatsoever,it took me quite a few minutes to get near her at all. After a while I talked her into letting me get close but she kept on trembling and was most upset,the dandelions that I,d brought for her had no interest whatsoever,when I let her down in the box she pressed herself up against the wall furthest from the door and rolled her eyes alarmingly. I left her in the box and went to find Harold to ask him what the hell was the matter with her,when I found him in the tack-room emptying the racing box, I told him that Hyjorama was very upset and asked what the trouble was,what could have happened during the day that could change her temperament so drastically?Don't worry Johnny its probably the trip,she,ll settle down again,she,ll be as right as rain in't morning I don't doubt. True enough she was a little better next morning and after a few days she seemed like her old self again, although any sudden noise could get her climbing up the wall again in no time at all. A few weeks later Gordon told me the story. After arrival at the racecourse Hyjorama was fitted with blinkers and tied up in her box,Harold then got behind her and whilst shouting at the top of his voice she was given a beating with the lead rein from the hocks and down so there would be no signs of any mistreatment,the shouting and the beating really put the wind up her and because of the blinkers she could n,t see who was ill treating her or when the next blow would fall. She was left alone for a while then taken to the course still wearing the blinkers,Gordon said, All I had to do was growl at her coming into the final furlong and she flew home,winning by a length and a half. Next time I saw Harold I let him know in no uncertain manner that if I ever caught him knocking one of my horses about I,d report him to the R.S.P.C.A,he laughed it all off and said, If it hadn't been for me you would be five pounds out of pocket my lad,this sort of thing goes on all the time. You don't have to dope horses to get ,em to win,fright is the best gee-upper there is my boy.
The next time Hyjorama was entered was at Stockton a few weeks later and for some reason I wasn't allowed to take her to this meeting,I found out why when Harold and Gordon got back from the meeting late in the evening. She had actually won her race that afternoon and I went up to the yard to wait for the box that was bringing her back,I was pleased with the idea of the five pounds that were to be my present from the owner of course and I had pulled a huge bunch of dandelions for her as a reward. When I went into her box she was trembling all over and was sweating badly,usually I could do absolutely anything at all with this filly,she had complete confidence in me after being with her for just over a year she knew I would never do her any harm. She was a completely changed horse. The minute I walked into her box she flew away from me and wouldn't allow me to touch her in any way whatsoever,it took me quite a few minutes to get near her at all. After a while I talked her into letting me get close but she kept on trembling and was most upset,the dandelions that I,d brought for her had no interest whatsoever,when I let her down in the box she pressed herself up against the wall furthest from the door and rolled her eyes alarmingly. I left her in the box and went to find Harold to ask him what the hell was the matter with her,when I found him in the tack-room emptying the racing box, I told him that Hyjorama was very upset and asked what the trouble was,what could have happened during the day that could change her temperament so drastically?Don't worry Johnny its probably the trip,she,ll settle down again,she,ll be as right as rain in't morning I don't doubt. True enough she was a little better next morning and after a few days she seemed like her old self again, although any sudden noise could get her climbing up the wall again in no time at all. A few weeks later Gordon told me the story. After arrival at the racecourse Hyjorama was fitted with blinkers and tied up in her box,Harold then got behind her and whilst shouting at the top of his voice she was given a beating with the lead rein from the hocks and down so there would be no signs of any mistreatment,the shouting and the beating really put the wind up her and because of the blinkers she could n,t see who was ill treating her or when the next blow would fall. She was left alone for a while then taken to the course still wearing the blinkers,Gordon said, All I had to do was growl at her coming into the final furlong and she flew home,winning by a length and a half. Next time I saw Harold I let him know in no uncertain manner that if I ever caught him knocking one of my horses about I,d report him to the R.S.P.C.A,he laughed it all off and said, If it hadn't been for me you would be five pounds out of pocket my lad,this sort of thing goes on all the time. You don't have to dope horses to get ,em to win,fright is the best gee-upper there is my boy.
Many years later, I read more or less the same account of things in one of Dick Francis,s novels,the title is “For Kicks” and the story was that the trainer had a high frequency whistle that was inaudible to the human ear but quite audible to dogs and horses. When he blew the whistle the horse in question was frightened by a flame thrower being ignited behind it!He used to stand on the course shortly before the winning post and blow the whistle as his horse went past him, all his horses had record times for the last furlong and very often got up at the post as the saying goes.
Many years later, I read more or less the same account of things in one of Dick Francis,s novels,the title is “For Kicks” and the story was that the trainer had a high frequency whistle that was inaudible to the human ear but quite audible to dogs and horses. When he blew the whistle the horse in question was frightened by a flame thrower being ignited behind it!He used to stand on the course shortly before the winning post and blow the whistle as his horse went past him, all his horses had record times for the last furlong and very often got up at the post as the saying goes.
Soon after this incident I received my calling up papers and was told that I should report to R.A.F. Cardington on the fifth of November 1950.I had a chat with the Guvnor about my going into the forces now,or waiting until I had finished my apprenticeship,he advised me to go in straight away as he said,John you are getting heavier every month and the life of an overweight jockey is no life at all. Do your time in the forces and if you still want to be in the racing game when you come back come and see me and I promise that there will always be a job for you here O.K?Not everyone that starts out as a jockey finishes the course,but there are other functions in the game John,you could always become an assistant trainer and who knows,with time you might even get to have your own yard like me,I didn't start out to be a trainer of racehorses either.
Soon after this incident I received my calling up papers and was told that I should report to R.A.F. Cardington on the fifth of November 1950.I had a chat with the Guvnor about my going into the forces now,or waiting until I had finished my apprenticeship,he advised me to go in straight away as he said,John you are getting heavier every month and the life of an overweight jockey is no life at all. Do your time in the forces and if you still want to be in the racing game when you come back come and see me and I promise that there will always be a job for you here O.K?Not everyone that starts out as a jockey finishes the course,but there are other functions in the game John,you could always become an assistant trainer and who knows,with time you might even get to have your own yard like me,I didn't start out to be a trainer of racehorses either.
At the same time he said, Mr Jackson has two runners at Thirsk on Friday 29th of September in the Baldersby Apprentice Handicap, Perilight and Perigame,you can ride Perilight for him,it will probably be your last ride for a while John. It will be a bit of extra pocket money for you,the pay in the forces is nothing to write home about I've been told. Looking at the entries for the race I could see that Perilight was to carry 8st 3lbs,as I was doing 7st 3lbs at the time I had no trouble doing the weight even with an ordinary saddle,not so the other entry,Perigame. He was to carry 9st 1 lb and my pal Roy Bellin was to ride him, Roy had been putting on weight and was just able to do the weight with a five pound saddle. Looking at the result of this race today in Racing Up to Date for 1950 I can see that I finished number 8 of 26 with the comment (looked dangerous at the distance), Roy was somewhere behind me in the ruck and wasn't noted. Every time I meet Roy even today after nearly fifty years,he still mentions the fact that we had our last ride on a racecourse together way back in 1950.
At the same time he said, Mr Jackson has two runners at Thirsk on Friday 29th of September in the Baldersby Apprentice Handicap, Perilight and Perigame,you can ride Perilight for him,it will probably be your last ride for a while John. It will be a bit of extra pocket money for you,the pay in the forces is nothing to write home about I've been told. Looking at the entries for the race I could see that Perilight was to carry 8st 3lbs,as I was doing 7st 3lbs at the time I had no trouble doing the weight even with an ordinary saddle,not so the other entry,Perigame. He was to carry 9st 1 lb and my pal Roy Bellin was to ride him, Roy had been putting on weight and was just able to do the weight with a five pound saddle. Looking at the result of this race today in Racing Up to Date for 1950 I can see that I finished number 8 of 26 with the comment (looked dangerous at the distance), Roy was somewhere behind me in the ruck and wasn't noted. Every time I meet Roy even today after nearly fifty years,he still mentions the fact that we had our last ride on a racecourse together way back in 1950.
That was that then, my budding career as the next Steve Donoghue or Gordon Richards of the English turf was at an end .
That was that then, my budding career as the next Steve Donoghue or Gordon Richards of the English turf was at an end .
CHAPTER SEVEN.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
We were subjected to innumerable lectures usually given by young education officers fresh from university,on all sorts of weird subjects,tropical diseases,V.D accompanied by horrifying technicolour films showing the ravages of untreated syphilis and gonorrhea, rules and regulations whilst a serving member of his majesty,s armed forces etc,etc.We didn.t mind the lectures at all ,they gave us time to have a breather and truth to tell quite a few people made a point of taking a forty winks during most of the lectures anyway,after lectures the ones that had managed to remain awake would always try to withdraw very quietly from the room,no scraping of chairs etc,in order to see how many “bods” actually were asleep when the lecture ended.Some times there were as many as fifty percent casualties!
We were subjected to innumerable lectures usually given by young education officers fresh from university,on all sorts of weird subjects,tropical diseases,V.D accompanied by horrifying technicolour films showing the ravages of untreated syphilis and gonorrhea, rules and regulations whilst a serving member of his majesty,s armed forces etc,etc.We didn.t mind the lectures at all ,they gave us time to have a breather and truth to tell quite a few people made a point of taking a forty winks during most of the lectures anyway,after lectures the ones that had managed to remain awake would always try to withdraw very quietly from the room,no scraping of chairs etc,in order to see how many “bods” actually were asleep when the lecture ended.Some times there were as many as fifty percent casualties!
I think the worst thing that happened to me in my time at “Kirby” as it came to be called, was that I was put on my first charge here. When blancoing our equipment in the evenings we placed each item as close to the coke burning stove in the room in order to speed the drying process, unfortunately one evening someone had tipped my “big pack” over so that it came to rest actually touching the stove!What a calamity!Nobody of course had any idea of how such a thing could have happened it was probably,I hope,done inadvertantly by someone passing by,I was on quite good terms with everybody in the hut so I dont think this was done purposely.I plucked up courage and tapped on the corporal,s door at the far end of the billet.He was horrified - this is terrible,terrible a big pack Oh my God Donkin you are for the high jump my lad,I,m glad it,s not me.I will have to put you on a charge,you.ll come up before the duty officer in the morning,when the others go to drill tomorrow you will remain behind until the detail come for you.
I think the worst thing that happened to me in my time at “Kirby” as it came to be called, was that I was put on my first charge here. When blancoing our equipment in the evenings we placed each item as close to the coke burning stove in the room in order to speed the drying process, unfortunately one evening someone had tipped my “big pack” over so that it came to rest actually touching the stove!What a calamity!Nobody of course had any idea of how such a thing could have happened it was probably,I hope,done inadvertantly by someone passing by,I was on quite good terms with everybody in the hut so I dont think this was done purposely.I plucked up courage and tapped on the corporal,s door at the far end of the billet.He was horrified - this is terrible,terrible a big pack Oh my God Donkin you are for the high jump my lad,I,m glad it,s not me.I will have to put you on a charge,you.ll come up before the duty officer in the morning,when the others go to drill tomorrow you will remain behind until the detail come for you.
I spent an uneasy night speculating as to what would happen to me, before going to bed the lads had spent quite a while pulling my leg over how much time I would have to do in Colchester,the R.A.F. prison.On leaving next morning a few shook hands and said,”If we dont see you again here drop us a line and tell us how much you got O.K?”I wasn.t at all happy but my misery was soon at an end,I was collected by two huge S.P. corporals and marched across to the duty officers office.I was obviously the only one being charged that day,so within minutes we were before the man himself.The man turned out to be a very weedy looking Pilot Officer who proceeded to give me a dressing down for not taking better care of his majesty,s property?When I protested that it was an accident that could have happened to anyone and that I was quite willing for the price of a new pack to be deducted from my pay,he said you dont seem to realise that the pack in question does not belong to you,it,s on loan and is still the property of his majesty.You have defaced something which belongs to King George!The case ended by my admitting that I was entirely to blame and that through my carelesness property belonging to his sovereign majesty to the sum of what ever it was,not pounds but shillings at the time was to be deducted from my pay in instalments of five shillings per week for so and so many weeks.Case dismissed no chokey time.
I spent an uneasy night speculating as to what would happen to me, before going to bed the lads had spent quite a while pulling my leg over how much time I would have to do in Colchester,the R.A.F. prison.On leaving next morning a few shook hands and said,”If we dont see you again here drop us a line and tell us how much you got O.K?”I wasn.t at all happy but my misery was soon at an end,I was collected by two huge S.P. corporals and marched across to the duty officers office.I was obviously the only one being charged that day,so within minutes we were before the man himself.The man turned out to be a very weedy looking Pilot Officer who proceeded to give me a dressing down for not taking better care of his majesty,s property?When I protested that it was an accident that could have happened to anyone and that I was quite willing for the price of a new pack to be deducted from my pay,he said you dont seem to realise that the pack in question does not belong to you,it,s on loan and is still the property of his majesty.You have defaced something which belongs to King George!The case ended by my admitting that I was entirely to blame and that through my carelesness property belonging to his sovereign majesty to the sum of what ever it was,not pounds but shillings at the time was to be deducted from my pay in instalments of five shillings per week for so and so many weeks.Case dismissed no chokey time.
I dont remember whether I was marched back to the billet or if I was made a free man outside the office. I do remember that on getting back to the billet I was detailed to help at the cookhouse getting in the beer for the sergeants mess, as all the others in my squad were on an exercise for the rest of the morning.
I dont remember whether I was marched back to the billet or if I was made a free man outside the office. I do remember that on getting back to the billet I was detailed to help at the cookhouse getting in the beer for the sergeants mess, as all the others in my squad were on an exercise for the rest of the morning.
This beer run nearly got me into more hot water. The reason for this was that at West Kirby, in order to be able to distinguish the sheep from the goats,the sheep being the recruits and the goats being the permanent staff at Kirby,the sheep were made to wear a coloured metal plate behind their cap badge in order that it could be seen at a glance that,one the person with the coloured plate was a recruit and what squadron he came from.Our was brilliant yellow -we got a lot of ragging for that I can tell you,I think the other colours were red blue and green but this is of no matter.On the beer run which was down to the local pub,back door,I was on a detail with a corporal and an M.T driver.The corporal to supervise,the driver to drive and Donkin to hump the crates of beer from the cellar at the pub onto the truck,and after getting back to camp from the truck into the sergeants mess.Whilst I was carrying crates the driver and the corporal were being entertained in the public bar by the publican,as soon as I had loaded the truck I too went into the public bar and was offered a half pint by mine host to which I said many thanks.There we sat smoking and chatting when the door of the bar opened and in trod a member of his majesties forces,a squadron leader no less!Never has beer been drunk with such haste,we said thanks to our benefactor and beat a hasty retreat not having our hats on we couldn,t salute but managed a nod and Sir as we fled.
This beer run nearly got me into more hot water. The reason for this was that at West Kirby, in order to be able to distinguish the sheep from the goats,the sheep being the recruits and the goats being the permanent staff at Kirby,the sheep were made to wear a coloured metal plate behind their cap badge in order that it could be seen at a glance that,one the person with the coloured plate was a recruit and what squadron he came from.Our was brilliant yellow -we got a lot of ragging for that I can tell you,I think the other colours were red blue and green but this is of no matter.On the beer run which was down to the local pub,back door,I was on a detail with a corporal and an M.T driver.The corporal to supervise,the driver to drive and Donkin to hump the crates of beer from the cellar at the pub onto the truck,and after getting back to camp from the truck into the sergeants mess.Whilst I was carrying crates the driver and the corporal were being entertained in the public bar by the publican,as soon as I had loaded the truck I too went into the public bar and was offered a half pint by mine host to which I said many thanks.There we sat smoking and chatting when the door of the bar opened and in trod a member of his majesties forces,a squadron leader no less!Never has beer been drunk with such haste,we said thanks to our benefactor and beat a hasty retreat not having our hats on we couldn,t salute but managed a nod and Sir as we fled.
On getting back to camp,I unloaded the crates of beer at the sergeants mess and was told to scarper back to the billet,which I was only too happy to do. Here I ran into our billet corporal who asked what duty I,d been on?.When I told him that I,d been down to the local with a detail getting beer for the sergeants mess he blew up!Your not allowed outside the camp whilst under training you stupid little man,who gave you permission to leave the camp?Have you been outside the gates with that yellow plate behind your cap badge?Not removing that plate is a punishable offence you idiot!If the officer you saw in the pub is from this camp.you are going to be for the high jump,I can tell you!All my explanations where to no avail,in the forces ignorance is no excuse I was told,I looked like being on a charge once again,me of all people!I really felt badly done to I can tell you. Luckily for me the officer we saw at the pub either didn,t care about yellow tin plate behind badges or wasn,t from number 5 School of Recruit Training Royal Air Force West Kirby as I never heard anything more of this incident.
On getting back to camp,I unloaded the crates of beer at the sergeants mess and was told to scarper back to the billet,which I was only too happy to do. Here I ran into our billet corporal who asked what duty I,d been on?.When I told him that I,d been down to the local with a detail getting beer for the sergeants mess he blew up!Your not allowed outside the camp whilst under training you stupid little man,who gave you permission to leave the camp?Have you been outside the gates with that yellow plate behind your cap badge?Not removing that plate is a punishable offence you idiot!If the officer you saw in the pub is from this camp.you are going to be for the high jump,I can tell you!All my explanations where to no avail,in the forces ignorance is no excuse I was told,I looked like being on a charge once again,me of all people!I really felt badly done to I can tell you. Luckily for me the officer we saw at the pub either didn,t care about yellow tin plate behind badges or wasn,t from number 5 School of Recruit Training Royal Air Force West Kirby as I never heard anything more of this incident.
After eight weeks of concentrated square-bashing, physical training,( in the passing out book of photos I am pictured number two from the left, doing knee bends in the gym) ,cross country running,assault courses,rifle drill,firing live ammunition on the rifle range,endless lectures on subjects of no use to anyone in their right minds, we were deemed sufficently polished to be passed out.The instructors said at many times during our training that our squad was the worst shower of shit that they,in all their experience had ever seen,but strangely enough after we held our passing out parade the corporals and sergeants adopted quite a different attitude,we were told that we had in spite of everything done quite well and that the C.O. had said kind words about us at the parade and that perhaps we weren,t quite as bad as they had painted us.Our corporal adopted quite a chummy attitude during the last few days we were together but in our billet nobody wanted to know,and he was quietly frozen out.After passing out we were given our postings to other units,as everyone was now due for trade training,we had all been given three choices of learning a trade,there was no guarantee that ones first choice would be granted but if the powers that be couldn,t grant a persons choice of trade they had the option of dropping the regular agreement of three years and doing their National Service instead,this being a period of two years instead of the three years that most of us had signed on for. I was one of the lucky ones? As I had put in an application for A.W.M.(Aircraft Wireless Mechanic) and was sent to Yatesbury in Wiltshire to the Wireless School established there at the time.The reason I had applied for A.W.M. training was that my brother Alan,who was an apprentice wireless mechanic before joining the R.A.F. had done this training and was now an S.A.C.(Senior Aircraftman) on Singapore island at a place called Seletar servicing the aircraft out there.The idea was that if we had the same trade we might be able to get a posting to the same station at some time during the three years I had signed on for,Alan was a long time regular doing a stint of twenty years at this time and would have been in the R.A.F. for about three years at this time.
After eight weeks of concentrated square-bashing, physical training,( in the passing out book of photos I am pictured number two from the left, doing knee bends in the gym) ,cross country running,assault courses,rifle drill,firing live ammunition on the rifle range,endless lectures on subjects of no use to anyone in their right minds, we were deemed sufficently polished to be passed out.The instructors said at many times during our training that our squad was the worst shower of shit that they,in all their experience had ever seen,but strangely enough after we held our passing out parade the corporals and sergeants adopted quite a different attitude,we were told that we had in spite of everything done quite well and that the C.O. had said kind words about us at the parade and that perhaps we weren,t quite as bad as they had painted us.Our corporal adopted quite a chummy attitude during the last few days we were together but in our billet nobody wanted to know,and he was quietly frozen out.After passing out we were given our postings to other units,as everyone was now due for trade training,we had all been given three choices of learning a trade,there was no guarantee that ones first choice would be granted but if the powers that be couldn,t grant a persons choice of trade they had the option of dropping the regular agreement of three years and doing their National Service instead,this being a period of two years instead of the three years that most of us had signed on for. I was one of the lucky ones? As I had put in an application for A.W.M.(Aircraft Wireless Mechanic) and was sent to Yatesbury in Wiltshire to the Wireless School established there at the time.The reason I had applied for A.W.M. training was that my brother Alan,who was an apprentice wireless mechanic before joining the R.A.F. had done this training and was now an S.A.C.(Senior Aircraftman) on Singapore island at a place called Seletar servicing the aircraft out there.The idea was that if we had the same trade we might be able to get a posting to the same station at some time during the three years I had signed on for,Alan was a long time regular doing a stint of twenty years at this time and would have been in the R.A.F. for about three years at this time.
So it was home to Leeds again for a few days leave and then off to Yatesbury for six months training as an A.W.M.The training camp at Yatesbury was not very different to West Kirby, still lots of “ bull” and rules and regulations to be adhered to as well as guard duty! This was our first taste of guard duty,two hours on and four hours off, three shifts with two on each shift,walking around the perimeter of the camp ready to repel intruders?As the lads said”Who the Hell would want to get in here? If they,d said ready to keep the occupants in it would have made more sense!”.The schooling was extremely concentrated and never having been a technichian before I had difficulty in keeping up with some of the lads that had experience in this field from civvy life. Most of it was greek to me but quite a few of them new as much about, frequencies and wavelengths, ariels, diodes, triodes , cathodes ,anodes,Ohms Law,Faraday,impedance,volts, amps,watts and resistances as the instructors did and they would get into longdrawn discussion with the corporal instructor during the lessons just to while away the time,whilst the rest of us just sat dumbfounded. Luckily for me the instructors had certain techniques for imprinting knowledge on our not very willing brains,and to this day I still remember most of them,VERY IRRITATING RASH is Ohms law as V,volt over I amperage, times R, resistance,impedance in a coil is Q over V times C this being Queen Victorias Cunt!I dont think anyone could ever forget that one!The colour code for resistance was given as Black boys rape our young girls(I forget the rest at the moment),the colours being,black 1.blue 2,red 3,orange 4,yellow 5,green 6 and so on.Apart from learning to be wireless mechanics we were instructed in R.A,F.law.airmens rights (there weren,t very many of those)unarmed combat!more drill more marching more cross country running,we slept like logs after tumbling into bed each night I can tell you.As we were still under training,but now having advanced to the rank of A.C.2,no longer A.C.2 recruits,we were given a bit more leeway and allowed out at weekends and once a month were granted a 72 hour pass and allowed to go to our respective homes.Not being very well paid we had to find the cheapest possible way of getting from Wiltshire to where ever we lived and this was found to be by coach hire,dropping people off in various towns on the way north and picking them up at the same place on the way back on sunday afternoons and evenings,I spent many hours sleeping the time away in those coaches an excellent solution,and practically door to door for me,as Leeds was a picking up point for the Yorkshire area.
So it was home to Leeds again for a few days leave and then off to Yatesbury for six months training as an A.W.M.The training camp at Yatesbury was not very different to West Kirby, still lots of “ bull” and rules and regulations to be adhered to as well as guard duty! This was our first taste of guard duty,two hours on and four hours off, three shifts with two on each shift,walking around the perimeter of the camp ready to repel intruders?As the lads said”Who the Hell would want to get in here? If they,d said ready to keep the occupants in it would have made more sense!”.The schooling was extremely concentrated and never having been a technichian before I had difficulty in keeping up with some of the lads that had experience in this field from civvy life. Most of it was greek to me but quite a few of them new as much about, frequencies and wavelengths, ariels, diodes, triodes , cathodes ,anodes,Ohms Law,Faraday,impedance,volts, amps,watts and resistances as the instructors did and they would get into longdrawn discussion with the corporal instructor during the lessons just to while away the time,whilst the rest of us just sat dumbfounded. Luckily for me the instructors had certain techniques for imprinting knowledge on our not very willing brains,and to this day I still remember most of them,VERY IRRITATING RASH is Ohms law as V,volt over I amperage, times R, resistance,impedance in a coil is Q over V times C this being Queen Victorias Cunt!I dont think anyone could ever forget that one!The colour code for resistance was given as Black boys rape our young girls(I forget the rest at the moment),the colours being,black 1.blue 2,red 3,orange 4,yellow 5,green 6 and so on.Apart from learning to be wireless mechanics we were instructed in R.A,F.law.airmens rights (there weren,t very many of those)unarmed combat!more drill more marching more cross country running,we slept like logs after tumbling into bed each night I can tell you.As we were still under training,but now having advanced to the rank of A.C.2,no longer A.C.2 recruits,we were given a bit more leeway and allowed out at weekends and once a month were granted a 72 hour pass and allowed to go to our respective homes.Not being very well paid we had to find the cheapest possible way of getting from Wiltshire to where ever we lived and this was found to be by coach hire,dropping people off in various towns on the way north and picking them up at the same place on the way back on sunday afternoons and evenings,I spent many hours sleeping the time away in those coaches an excellent solution,and practically door to door for me,as Leeds was a picking up point for the Yorkshire area.
Recreation in the form of some kind of sport on thursday afternoons was the order of the day, some opted for football or cricket in season others did athletics and the “bods” with no sport to their names were sent out for long cross country runs up on the downs.I wondered why they were called The Downs,when they were so high up?The views were terrific from the top of the ridge by the White Horse but the wind never stopped blowing for an instant,running in just shorts and a singlet one just had to keep going in order to not freeze to death.After a few weeks of cross country running the lads were working out ways and means of getting out of running on the Downs on thursdays and were putting their names down for all sorts of sports even though they had no experience in that particular sport,after a few weeks at Yatesbury I was on a detail that was sent over to the Sergeants Mess to clean up after a particularly violent celebration one evening.I think it must have been one of the twentyfive year men finishing his stint,the place was in a terrible state and we were there for a few hours cleaning up the ablutions sweeping the mess out putting empty bottles into crates etc.I happened to be sweeping the corridor and paused to read the notices on the mess board,there was nothing of interest to a lowly A.C.2 until I happened to read a notice informing members of the Mess that there was an opportunity for them to go to the local riding school on thursday afternoons if anyone was interested!BINGO. Anyone that was interested was invited to get in touch with Sergeant Carey for more information. After the clean up I asked one of the sergeants in the Mess if he knew Sergeant Carey and he was pointed out to me, time was short as the cleaning detail were packing up and preparing to leave so I plucked up courage and asked if I could have a word with him.”Not in here”was the reply,”other ranks aren,t allowed in the sergeants Mess,whats it about?””The riding school”I said.”Oh well thats different “he said,”I,ll come outside”We had quite a natter outside the Mess and it turned out that his brother,Tommy Carey had ridden the Derby winner in 1943 a horse called Straight Deal trained by Walter Nightingale,he too had been in racing but had packed it in as he had no great success at it and had joined the R.A.F instead.The riding school was for officers and senior N.C.O,s only but he said he would have a word with the C.O. who was mad about horses and tell him that I would like to ride even though I was a lowly A.C.2 just to keep my hand in as it were.
Recreation in the form of some kind of sport on thursday afternoons was the order of the day, some opted for football or cricket in season others did athletics and the “bods” with no sport to their names were sent out for long cross country runs up on the downs.I wondered why they were called The Downs,when they were so high up?The views were terrific from the top of the ridge by the White Horse but the wind never stopped blowing for an instant,running in just shorts and a singlet one just had to keep going in order to not freeze to death.After a few weeks of cross country running the lads were working out ways and means of getting out of running on the Downs on thursdays and were putting their names down for all sorts of sports even though they had no experience in that particular sport,after a few weeks at Yatesbury I was on a detail that was sent over to the Sergeants Mess to clean up after a particularly violent celebration one evening.I think it must have been one of the twentyfive year men finishing his stint,the place was in a terrible state and we were there for a few hours cleaning up the ablutions sweeping the mess out putting empty bottles into crates etc.I happened to be sweeping the corridor and paused to read the notices on the mess board,there was nothing of interest to a lowly A.C.2 until I happened to read a notice informing members of the Mess that there was an opportunity for them to go to the local riding school on thursday afternoons if anyone was interested!BINGO. Anyone that was interested was invited to get in touch with Sergeant Carey for more information. After the clean up I asked one of the sergeants in the Mess if he knew Sergeant Carey and he was pointed out to me, time was short as the cleaning detail were packing up and preparing to leave so I plucked up courage and asked if I could have a word with him.”Not in here”was the reply,”other ranks aren,t allowed in the sergeants Mess,whats it about?””The riding school”I said.”Oh well thats different “he said,”I,ll come outside”We had quite a natter outside the Mess and it turned out that his brother,Tommy Carey had ridden the Derby winner in 1943 a horse called Straight Deal trained by Walter Nightingale,he too had been in racing but had packed it in as he had no great success at it and had joined the R.A.F instead.The riding school was for officers and senior N.C.O,s only but he said he would have a word with the C.O. who was mad about horses and tell him that I would like to ride even though I was a lowly A.C.2 just to keep my hand in as it were.
A few days later in the middle of the afternoon our lesson was interupted by a runner from headquarters with a message that A.C.2 Donkin was wanted in the C.O,s office on the double,I was excused and trotted off to see the C.O. He was very obliging and said that he could see no reason why I shouldn,t be allowed to go to the riding school along with Segeant Carey ,two other sergeants,two officers and he himself as there were plenty of horses at the livery stables and the lady that owned the place would welcome another paying pupil, all costs for riding were paid out of the camp sports fund so it would,nt cost me anything.We had quite a chat and he was very intersted in my background,who I,d ridden for and on what courses,did I know so and so what sort of person was so and so.We got very chummy indeed,towards the end of our conversation he told me thast he and sergeant Carey had plans for opening a riding school on the camp itsself and that he had been out to look at a couple of horses already with a view to stabling them at the camp.I left his office in high spirits indeed and hurriedly rang home asking Mam to send me my jodphurs as quickly as possible.The jodphurs arrived a couple of days later ,I had no riding boots or jodphur boots at the camp but having ridden our everyday for years with just shoes on I had a callous like iron on the front of my shin where the stirrups had rubbed,so riding in ordinary shoes was no problem.
A few days later in the middle of the afternoon our lesson was interupted by a runner from headquarters with a message that A.C.2 Donkin was wanted in the C.O,s office on the double,I was excused and trotted off to see the C.O. He was very obliging and said that he could see no reason why I shouldn,t be allowed to go to the riding school along with Segeant Carey ,two other sergeants,two officers and he himself as there were plenty of horses at the livery stables and the lady that owned the place would welcome another paying pupil, all costs for riding were paid out of the camp sports fund so it would,nt cost me anything.We had quite a chat and he was very intersted in my background,who I,d ridden for and on what courses,did I know so and so what sort of person was so and so.We got very chummy indeed,towards the end of our conversation he told me thast he and sergeant Carey had plans for opening a riding school on the camp itsself and that he had been out to look at a couple of horses already with a view to stabling them at the camp.I left his office in high spirits indeed and hurriedly rang home asking Mam to send me my jodphurs as quickly as possible.The jodphurs arrived a couple of days later ,I had no riding boots or jodphur boots at the camp but having ridden our everyday for years with just shoes on I had a callous like iron on the front of my shin where the stirrups had rubbed,so riding in ordinary shoes was no problem.
Next sports afternoon I was picked up at the billet by the 15 cwt truck which ran the riders?,out to the stables,which were in Marlborough.There were seven of us who had opted for riding,the Squadron Leader,he sat with the driver of course two younger officers and three sergeants plus J.D. sat in the back.Segeant Carey was of course one of the sergeants and he spent the time telling the others that today they had a professional in their midst who would no doubt be able to give them all some tips on how to ride.One of the sergeants said,”Well I hope she,the lady running the stables,gives him that big bugger to ride that always runs away with everybody if he can ride him,he is a professional!”
Next sports afternoon I was picked up at the billet by the 15 cwt truck which ran the riders?,out to the stables,which were in Marlborough.There were seven of us who had opted for riding,the Squadron Leader,he sat with the driver of course two younger officers and three sergeants plus J.D. sat in the back.Segeant Carey was of course one of the sergeants and he spent the time telling the others that today they had a professional in their midst who would no doubt be able to give them all some tips on how to ride.One of the sergeants said,”Well I hope she,the lady running the stables,gives him that big bugger to ride that always runs away with everybody if he can ride him,he is a professional!”
On arrival at the yard we found horses already saddled up and ready to go and I was told to take a big hunter type,I hopped into the saddle without thinking anything about it just as I had always done at Vasey,s only to get a reproving glance from the owner of the stables.”We dont do that sort of thing here “she said.”One either uses the mounting block or asks to be helped into the saddle at this riding school”. I apologised for my ignorance, but immediately made things worse by kicking my feet out of the irons and proceeding to shorten the stirrup leathers by about ten holes until I felt comfortable. ”You cant ride a horse with your stirrup leathers as short as that “ she said,”However are you going to give the animal any signals?” I was getting a bit fed up with the way things were turning out but held my tongue .The sergeant who had talked about that big bugger of a horse on the way out, turned in his saddle as we were leaving the yard and said”She must have known you were coming Donkin, thats the big sod I was telling you about.Just wait until we get up on the downs he,ll be off like the wind with you.” “Not if I can help it “ I said. At the same time thinking to myself that if I could hold Cement City to a canter as I had done everyday for a month during my last month at Vasey,s I should be able to hold practically any horse in England.This was as I think I mentioned earlier because Cement City was a notorius “puller” who had run away with his jockey every time he had been sent to a racecourse .
On arrival at the yard we found horses already saddled up and ready to go and I was told to take a big hunter type,I hopped into the saddle without thinking anything about it just as I had always done at Vasey,s only to get a reproving glance from the owner of the stables.”We dont do that sort of thing here “she said.”One either uses the mounting block or asks to be helped into the saddle at this riding school”. I apologised for my ignorance, but immediately made things worse by kicking my feet out of the irons and proceeding to shorten the stirrup leathers by about ten holes until I felt comfortable. ”You cant ride a horse with your stirrup leathers as short as that “ she said,”However are you going to give the animal any signals?” I was getting a bit fed up with the way things were turning out but held my tongue .The sergeant who had talked about that big bugger of a horse on the way out, turned in his saddle as we were leaving the yard and said”She must have known you were coming Donkin, thats the big sod I was telling you about.Just wait until we get up on the downs he,ll be off like the wind with you.” “Not if I can help it “ I said. At the same time thinking to myself that if I could hold Cement City to a canter as I had done everyday for a month during my last month at Vasey,s I should be able to hold practically any horse in England.This was as I think I mentioned earlier because Cement City was a notorius “puller” who had run away with his jockey every time he had been sent to a racecourse .
We trotted a while and walked for a while and eventually arrived at the place where a canter was permitted, this was a long level stretch with a hawthorn hedge on both sides, wide enough for three horses to canter abreast. Her ladyship,I never did get her name,lined us all up and said that I had better go first as my mount was a bit headstrong and if he started behind the others he would galop through the field which could be dangerous for the others. I said that I would prefer to start last and see how things went.”On your own head be it” was her reply. The others jumped off into a canter and I much to my mounts dismay held back until they had about thirty yards start and then gave him his head. Off he flew for the first few yards until I,d got a hold on him I then gradually increased the pressure on his mouth by pressing my weight down using my backside as a counterweight,he obviously wasn,t used to being held in this manner and he struggled to get the upperhand but I wasn,t about to let him be the boss and gave him what the lads back at the yard would call a jawbreaker!This is caused by relaxing the reins a little to get a little slack and then cracking the bit against the side of his jawbone.
We trotted a while and walked for a while and eventually arrived at the place where a canter was permitted, this was a long level stretch with a hawthorn hedge on both sides, wide enough for three horses to canter abreast. Her ladyship,I never did get her name,lined us all up and said that I had better go first as my mount was a bit headstrong and if he started behind the others he would galop through the field which could be dangerous for the others. I said that I would prefer to start last and see how things went.”On your own head be it” was her reply. The others jumped off into a canter and I much to my mounts dismay held back until they had about thirty yards start and then gave him his head. Off he flew for the first few yards until I,d got a hold on him I then gradually increased the pressure on his mouth by pressing my weight down using my backside as a counterweight,he obviously wasn,t used to being held in this manner and he struggled to get the upperhand but I wasn,t about to let him be the boss and gave him what the lads back at the yard would call a jawbreaker!This is caused by relaxing the reins a little to get a little slack and then cracking the bit against the side of his jawbone.
This hurts quite a lot as my mount soon found out and after two jawbreakers he decided he didn,t want to play and allowed me to be the boss and cantered after the others at a leisurely pace about ten yards behind the field.The others were most disapointed as they had all expected me to come flying through the whole pack,her ladyship had no comments what so ever.At the next cantering place I was allowed to jump off first and he gave no further trouble,just hacking along as if he hadn,t a care in the world even cantering upside other horses was no problem,he was on his best behaviour for the rest of the day.On getting back to the yard the owner said,”Today is the first time in two years that he hasn,t run away with his rider,you managed him very well,if you come next week you must ride him again he needs the exercise as he doesn,t get out as often as the others due to him being so headstrong”.I wasn,t to know it at the time but this was my one and only appearance at the riding stables in Marlborough as our squadron leader was cooking up other plans.
This hurts quite a lot as my mount soon found out and after two jawbreakers he decided he didn,t want to play and allowed me to be the boss and cantered after the others at a leisurely pace about ten yards behind the field.The others were most disapointed as they had all expected me to come flying through the whole pack,her ladyship had no comments what so ever.At the next cantering place I was allowed to jump off first and he gave no further trouble,just hacking along as if he hadn,t a care in the world even cantering upside other horses was no problem,he was on his best behaviour for the rest of the day.On getting back to the yard the owner said,”Today is the first time in two years that he hasn,t run away with his rider,you managed him very well,if you come next week you must ride him again he needs the exercise as he doesn,t get out as often as the others due to him being so headstrong”.I wasn,t to know it at the time but this was my one and only appearance at the riding stables in Marlborough as our squadron leader was cooking up other plans.
The other plans that the squadron leader had up his sleeve turned out to be that he would use some of the funds put aside for sports activities to buy two horses which he intended to stable at the camp. They would be stabled in a disused nissen hut close to the playing fields and would be cared for by Sgt. Carey, he and Carey had already been out to see the two candidates and if they got a green light from the sports fund the horses would move in shortly afterwards. On hearing of these plans I said that I didn.t think that two horses would be enough to go round, but this was poo hooed by the others as pessimism as when the horses were installed at the camp, riders would be able to put their names down to ride out on any day of the week and not have to wait until sports afternoon came along.
The other plans that the squadron leader had up his sleeve turned out to be that he would use some of the funds put aside for sports activities to buy two horses which he intended to stable at the camp. They would be stabled in a disused nissen hut close to the playing fields and would be cared for by Sgt. Carey, he and Carey had already been out to see the two candidates and if they got a green light from the sports fund the horses would move in shortly afterwards. On hearing of these plans I said that I didn.t think that two horses would be enough to go round, but this was poo hooed by the others as pessimism as when the horses were installed at the camp, riders would be able to put their names down to ride out on any day of the week and not have to wait until sports afternoon came along.
The horses turned up shortly afterwards whilst I was in school sweating over ohms law and resistor colour codes etc so it wasn,t until later that evening that I got a chance to go down to “the stables”.Two horses had been installed and Sgt. Carey was in his element looking after their needs,and shovelling barrow loads of horse shit out of their quarters every time they had relieved themselves,he said the manure is no problem as we are going to have the muck heap just outside the hut by the side of the football pitch.His main trouble was that the floor of the nissen hut was smooth concrete and the urine collected in pools as there were no drains this in its turn made the horses bedding soggy and although the horses had only been installed for the best part of one day the place was already beginning to pong a bit.I quite liked the smell ,having lived with it during the last four years,but most visitors beat a hasty retreat after only a few minutes in the hut.
The horses turned up shortly afterwards whilst I was in school sweating over ohms law and resistor colour codes etc so it wasn,t until later that evening that I got a chance to go down to “the stables”.Two horses had been installed and Sgt. Carey was in his element looking after their needs,and shovelling barrow loads of horse shit out of their quarters every time they had relieved themselves,he said the manure is no problem as we are going to have the muck heap just outside the hut by the side of the football pitch.His main trouble was that the floor of the nissen hut was smooth concrete and the urine collected in pools as there were no drains this in its turn made the horses bedding soggy and although the horses had only been installed for the best part of one day the place was already beginning to pong a bit.I quite liked the smell ,having lived with it during the last four years,but most visitors beat a hasty retreat after only a few minutes in the hut.
The horses were named “Kitty” and “Captain”, Kitty being a light chestnut mare, a thoroughbred a reject from a racing stable,I think she was four years old and Captain was a huge bay gelding hunter of indeterminate age,Kitty was quite the nervous type,very skittish but Captain was a lovely old fellow nothing could upset him ,he,d seen it all before.Whilst I was admiring the horseflesh the squadron leader turned up and insisted that I,as the most profesional of the riders should have the honour of trying them both out around the outer edges of the football pitch,just to see how they go John he said.A saddle was thrown on to Captain and I was thrown up on his back,he was a real gentleman,good mouth ,very attentive and interested in everything about his new surroundings and seemed to have no vices at all.I trotted him round the outer edge of the football pitch and put him through his paces he didn,t turn a hair.Everyone was extremly pleased with him.
The horses were named “Kitty” and “Captain”, Kitty being a light chestnut mare, a thoroughbred a reject from a racing stable,I think she was four years old and Captain was a huge bay gelding hunter of indeterminate age,Kitty was quite the nervous type,very skittish but Captain was a lovely old fellow nothing could upset him ,he,d seen it all before.Whilst I was admiring the horseflesh the squadron leader turned up and insisted that I,as the most profesional of the riders should have the honour of trying them both out around the outer edges of the football pitch,just to see how they go John he said.A saddle was thrown on to Captain and I was thrown up on his back,he was a real gentleman,good mouth ,very attentive and interested in everything about his new surroundings and seemed to have no vices at all.I trotted him round the outer edge of the football pitch and put him through his paces he didn,t turn a hair.Everyone was extremly pleased with him.
Now it was Kitty,s turn! She was a very different horse altogether, Sgt Carey threw me up and led her out to the football pitch with no trouble at all,she walked like a cat on hot bricks,really on her toes and when he turned her loose she wanted to galop off into the distance immediately.When I took hold of her I could feel straight away by the way she reacted that she had a most sensitive mouth and that it wouldn,t do to put any pressure on her at all,talk about finger touch typing,I think she had the tenderest mouth I,ve ever come across in a horse.I did manage to settle her down and she trotted round the pitch a couple of times and we even got into a little light canter but she wasn,t enjoying any of it at all and the slightest pressure on her mouth caused her to fling her head back violently so she very nearly hit me in the face a couple of times.When I got back to the hut the others said well what do you think?Is she any good?I gave Kitty the thumbs down sign much to the squadron leaders disapointment.He asked what my opinion was and I said that Kitty would never be any good as a riding school horse having a much too sensitive mouth to let any Tom Dick or Harry climb onto her back,she would either end up hurting herself or her rider.He was most disapointed as he had had plans of buying Kitty for himself if she could be put into training with a local trainer that he was friendly with,I said well thats a different story altogether,in the care of professional people she could be trained to run races but she,ll never be any good here as a riding school horse.
Now it was Kitty,s turn! She was a very different horse altogether, Sgt Carey threw me up and led her out to the football pitch with no trouble at all,she walked like a cat on hot bricks,really on her toes and when he turned her loose she wanted to galop off into the distance immediately.When I took hold of her I could feel straight away by the way she reacted that she had a most sensitive mouth and that it wouldn,t do to put any pressure on her at all,talk about finger touch typing,I think she had the tenderest mouth I,ve ever come across in a horse.I did manage to settle her down and she trotted round the pitch a couple of times and we even got into a little light canter but she wasn,t enjoying any of it at all and the slightest pressure on her mouth caused her to fling her head back violently so she very nearly hit me in the face a couple of times.When I got back to the hut the others said well what do you think?Is she any good?I gave Kitty the thumbs down sign much to the squadron leaders disapointment.He asked what my opinion was and I said that Kitty would never be any good as a riding school horse having a much too sensitive mouth to let any Tom Dick or Harry climb onto her back,she would either end up hurting herself or her rider.He was most disapointed as he had had plans of buying Kitty for himself if she could be put into training with a local trainer that he was friendly with,I said well thats a different story altogether,in the care of professional people she could be trained to run races but she,ll never be any good here as a riding school horse.
The outcome of this was that the following saturday morning found the squadron Leader and I mounted on Captain and Kitty respectively, making our way through the main gate at eight in the morning, just as the rest of the camp were going onto the parade ground for the usual saturday morning parade. We were going over the downs to H.T.”Tommy” Cross,s training stables to run a trial with Kitty against one of Cross,s animals that was quite speedy and had already won one race.I remember it being a warm sunny morning and the squadron leader saying to me,this is a bloody sight better than being on the parade ground isn,t it John?To which I readily agreed.On arrival at Cross,s training galops,which turned out to be a very thin strip of turf between two corn fields were two horses could barely galop side by side,
The outcome of this was that the following saturday morning found the squadron Leader and I mounted on Captain and Kitty respectively, making our way through the main gate at eight in the morning, just as the rest of the camp were going onto the parade ground for the usual saturday morning parade. We were going over the downs to H.T.”Tommy” Cross,s training stables to run a trial with Kitty against one of Cross,s animals that was quite speedy and had already won one race.I remember it being a warm sunny morning and the squadron leader saying to me,this is a bloody sight better than being on the parade ground isn,t it John?To which I readily agreed.On arrival at Cross,s training galops,which turned out to be a very thin strip of turf between two corn fields were two horses could barely galop side by side,
bordered on each side by barbed wire fences,which I wasn,t at all happy about.I was introduced to Tommy Cross,who was already waiting for us at the end of the galop.He told me that the track was seven furlongs long and that it was srtaight all the way with a gradual slope from start to finish,he said he was around ten stone seven against my eight stone so that I should have no difficulty in beating his mount on an uphill climb even though Kitty wasn,t in training at the moment.
bordered on each side by barbed wire fences,which I wasn,t at all happy about.I was introduced to Tommy Cross,who was already waiting for us at the end of the galop.He told me that the track was seven furlongs long and that it was srtaight all the way with a gradual slope from start to finish,he said he was around ten stone seven against my eight stone so that I should have no difficulty in beating his mount on an uphill climb even though Kitty wasn,t in training at the moment.
We jumped off side by side and Kitty simply flew, within a furlong she had left the other horse way behind and was pounding up the slope like a world beater,I took a very gentle hold of her and dropped my hands on to her neck without disturbing her pace and she really ran until we had gone about three furlongs.That was it! After three furlongs she died between my hands and Tommy who had been plodding along in the rear overtook me going like a train with a double handful, I pulled Kitty up and walked her back to where the squadron leader was waiting for us.
We jumped off side by side and Kitty simply flew, within a furlong she had left the other horse way behind and was pounding up the slope like a world beater,I took a very gentle hold of her and dropped my hands on to her neck without disturbing her pace and she really ran until we had gone about three furlongs.That was it! After three furlongs she died between my hands and Tommy who had been plodding along in the rear overtook me going like a train with a double handful, I pulled Kitty up and walked her back to where the squadron leader was waiting for us.
Well thats that he said, it,s true what they said when the sold her to me that she goes like a bomb but only for four furlongs,not being in training she only went three today though.We said goodbye to Tommy and made our way back to camp,on the way I told him of my two rides on Pretty Stella who also only got four furlongs to illustrate that Kitty wasn,t the only horse that didn,t get the trip.He was disapointed of course as he had had high hopes about Kitty,s career but this was not to be and if she couldn,t be used as a mount at the riding school it looked as if we would have to let her go.
Well thats that he said, it,s true what they said when the sold her to me that she goes like a bomb but only for four furlongs,not being in training she only went three today though.We said goodbye to Tommy and made our way back to camp,on the way I told him of my two rides on Pretty Stella who also only got four furlongs to illustrate that Kitty wasn,t the only horse that didn,t get the trip.He was disapointed of course as he had had high hopes about Kitty,s career but this was not to be and if she couldn,t be used as a mount at the riding school it looked as if we would have to let her go.
A few days after this incident I was helping Sgt. Carey out one saturday morning at the “stables” and he said that a couple of new members had put their names down to ride, they were both officers wives and had ridden for years so he expected them to be qualified to go out on their own with no bother.I put the tack on both Kitty and Captain and was just finished when the officer,s wives,complete with Pilot Officer (lowest ranking officer in the R.A.F.) husbands turned up.I was in jodphurs and air force shirt so they had no way of knowing my rank and as Sgt Carey was a good deal older than I it was only natural that they addressed themselves to him,he quizzed them a little as to their riding experience, but he explained to them he had never ridden either horse,so he thought it would be better if I told them about their mounts.I introduced myself to the ladies and asked who was the more experienced rider,at this point one of the husbands broke into the conversation and asked what my rank was? I replied that I was an A.C 2 (the lowest form of animal life in the R.A.F) taking the course at Yatesbury for A.W.M., he was most upset that an officers wife had to listen to instructions from an A.C.2 ,he couldn.t see the point in all my questions and told me to get on with it!I said that I would like the most experienced rider on Kitty as first of all she was a full blooded animal and inclined to be a bit skittish, apart from this she had an extremly tender mouth and the rider had to be very careful not to put any pressure at all on the bit.Captain on the other hand in spite of his size could be ridden by a child.Carey helped the snotty officer,s wife into the saddle on Kitty and I put the other officers wife up on Captain.
A few days after this incident I was helping Sgt. Carey out one saturday morning at the “stables” and he said that a couple of new members had put their names down to ride, they were both officers wives and had ridden for years so he expected them to be qualified to go out on their own with no bother.I put the tack on both Kitty and Captain and was just finished when the officer,s wives,complete with Pilot Officer (lowest ranking officer in the R.A.F.) husbands turned up.I was in jodphurs and air force shirt so they had no way of knowing my rank and as Sgt Carey was a good deal older than I it was only natural that they addressed themselves to him,he quizzed them a little as to their riding experience, but he explained to them he had never ridden either horse,so he thought it would be better if I told them about their mounts.I introduced myself to the ladies and asked who was the more experienced rider,at this point one of the husbands broke into the conversation and asked what my rank was? I replied that I was an A.C 2 (the lowest form of animal life in the R.A.F) taking the course at Yatesbury for A.W.M., he was most upset that an officers wife had to listen to instructions from an A.C.2 ,he couldn.t see the point in all my questions and told me to get on with it!I said that I would like the most experienced rider on Kitty as first of all she was a full blooded animal and inclined to be a bit skittish, apart from this she had an extremly tender mouth and the rider had to be very careful not to put any pressure at all on the bit.Captain on the other hand in spite of his size could be ridden by a child.Carey helped the snotty officer,s wife into the saddle on Kitty and I put the other officers wife up on Captain.
After that things happened very quickly! As they turned around to go out of the enclosure Kitty,s rider took a hold on her and Kitty reacted as she always did in this situation by throwing her head violently backwards.BANG!.She hit the rider a mighty crack in the face and the blood just poured out of her riders nose, she wasn,t knocked unconscious but was close to it and dropped the reins whilst the blood just poured down over her white wool polo neck jumper,she was very pale and I took hold of Kitty whilst Carey helped her out of the saddle.She looked terrible and may easily have had a broken nose,the snotty pilot officer was as pale as his wife and quite aghast at what had happened but I said to him,that is the sort of thing I wanted to warn your wife about sir,all horses are individuals and the fact that someone has riding experience doesn,t always mean that they can ride anything on four legs,every horse is different.
After that things happened very quickly! As they turned around to go out of the enclosure Kitty,s rider took a hold on her and Kitty reacted as she always did in this situation by throwing her head violently backwards.BANG!.She hit the rider a mighty crack in the face and the blood just poured out of her riders nose, she wasn,t knocked unconscious but was close to it and dropped the reins whilst the blood just poured down over her white wool polo neck jumper,she was very pale and I took hold of Kitty whilst Carey helped her out of the saddle.She looked terrible and may easily have had a broken nose,the snotty pilot officer was as pale as his wife and quite aghast at what had happened but I said to him,that is the sort of thing I wanted to warn your wife about sir,all horses are individuals and the fact that someone has riding experience doesn,t always mean that they can ride anything on four legs,every horse is different.
The riding companion, who was to have ridden Captain now had second thoughts about riding at all and this session ended with all four driving over to the sick bay to get the injured riders nose put into place, whilst I took the tack off both horses there was no riding that day,or any other day whilst I was at Yatesbury,as they never came back to try again.
The riding companion, who was to have ridden Captain now had second thoughts about riding at all and this session ended with all four driving over to the sick bay to get the injured riders nose put into place, whilst I took the tack off both horses there was no riding that day,or any other day whilst I was at Yatesbury,as they never came back to try again.
Next time I saw the squadron leader he took me on one side and asked me to give him my account of what had happened at the stables that saturday morning, he had already heard sgt Carey,s version of the incident,but would like to hear my side of the story too.I told him my version which coincided with what Carey had said and he told me that the officer in question,the snotty one,had lodged a complaint about the treatment they had received at the hands of a sgt and anA.C.2 on that saturday morning! We never heard anything further so I suppose this was nipped in the bud.
Next time I saw the squadron leader he took me on one side and asked me to give him my account of what had happened at the stables that saturday morning, he had already heard sgt Carey,s version of the incident,but would like to hear my side of the story too.I told him my version which coincided with what Carey had said and he told me that the officer in question,the snotty one,had lodged a complaint about the treatment they had received at the hands of a sgt and anA.C.2 on that saturday morning! We never heard anything further so I suppose this was nipped in the bud.
However the squadron leader had a piece of news for me from the outside world. Tommy Cross had rung to the camp to ask if he could borrow my services on saturday mornings to ride work for him as he had no board wage men working for him having only six horses in training at that time and the only help he had was an apprentice who had only been with him for six months and couldn,t ride at all yet. I jumped at the chance of course it meant getting off the camp on saturday mornings, missing the weekly saturday morning parade with all its bull and might mean a bit of pocket money too apart from enabling me to keep my hand in.
However the squadron leader had a piece of news for me from the outside world. Tommy Cross had rung to the camp to ask if he could borrow my services on saturday mornings to ride work for him as he had no board wage men working for him having only six horses in training at that time and the only help he had was an apprentice who had only been with him for six months and couldn,t ride at all yet. I jumped at the chance of course it meant getting off the camp on saturday mornings, missing the weekly saturday morning parade with all its bull and might mean a bit of pocket money too apart from enabling me to keep my hand in.
This was why I turned up at East Ilsley next saturday morning at Nelson House where Tommy had his stables.Things were very quiet when I entered the yard,the only thing to be heard were the horses moving around in their boxes,I couldn,t see any saddle room and was at a loss as to what to do with myself until one of the box doors opened and a very small lad,I think one of the smallest I ever encountered in racing,said.Oh good morning.Are you the jockey thats come to ride Dark Devil?Dark Devil that was a name to send shivers down a jockey,s back if I ever heard one I thought,what am I letting myself in for?The apprentice said,the guvnor has already put a saddle and bridle on him this morning he,s over here waiting for you.The horse he showed me was a coal black stallion with wall eyes,he looked like a dark devil and no mistake.Tommy Cross came out of the house and said good morning and that we,d better make a start,he took Dark Devil out of his box and threw me onto his back,I adjusted my leathers and we walked gently out of the yard.Dark Devil belied his name,he had a very sweet disposition and never put a foot wrong he was a really nice ride.We went out to the gallops did a couple of canters to warm him up a bit and let him galop full out for the length of the short track to finish off with.Tommy was very satisfied with the way things had gone and asked me to come over as often as ever I could on saturday mornings so that we could ride out together instead of having to ride out two or thee times himself.
This was why I turned up at East Ilsley next saturday morning at Nelson House where Tommy had his stables.Things were very quiet when I entered the yard,the only thing to be heard were the horses moving around in their boxes,I couldn,t see any saddle room and was at a loss as to what to do with myself until one of the box doors opened and a very small lad,I think one of the smallest I ever encountered in racing,said.Oh good morning.Are you the jockey thats come to ride Dark Devil?Dark Devil that was a name to send shivers down a jockey,s back if I ever heard one I thought,what am I letting myself in for?The apprentice said,the guvnor has already put a saddle and bridle on him this morning he,s over here waiting for you.The horse he showed me was a coal black stallion with wall eyes,he looked like a dark devil and no mistake.Tommy Cross came out of the house and said good morning and that we,d better make a start,he took Dark Devil out of his box and threw me onto his back,I adjusted my leathers and we walked gently out of the yard.Dark Devil belied his name,he had a very sweet disposition and never put a foot wrong he was a really nice ride.We went out to the gallops did a couple of canters to warm him up a bit and let him galop full out for the length of the short track to finish off with.Tommy was very satisfied with the way things had gone and asked me to come over as often as ever I could on saturday mornings so that we could ride out together instead of having to ride out two or thee times himself.
Getting back to the yard I was given a second breakfast and Tommy slipped me a pound for my trouble, the money was very handy indeed,at the time the R.A.F. were paying me seven shillings a day,and even this was a step up from the fifteen shillings a week I,d been getting at Vasey,s,so a couple of hours riding,which I loved,was a good way of supplementing my income.
Getting back to the yard I was given a second breakfast and Tommy slipped me a pound for my trouble, the money was very handy indeed,at the time the R.A.F. were paying me seven shillings a day,and even this was a step up from the fifteen shillings a week I,d been getting at Vasey,s,so a couple of hours riding,which I loved,was a good way of supplementing my income.
Unfortunately for both Tommy and myself this partnership didn.t last very long as my time at Yatesbury was drawing to a close,the six months A.W,M course was nearly over and the ones that passed the final test were about to be promoted to the dizzy rank of A.C.1 and were to be let loose on millions of pounds worth of government equipment,pilots and air crew were going to be dependent on the knowledge and know how we had soaked up?,during the months at Yatesbury.What a frightening thought.I wasn,t very confident about passing any tests at all but some of the things had apparently taken root and at the final exam I acquitted myself reasonably well,no top marks but no bottom marks either. Remembering Black Boys Rape Our Young Girls and Queen Victoria,s Cunt was no trouble at all and I,ll never forget that Very-Irritating-Rash in her triangle I,m sure.So all in all I was quite happy during my time at Yatesbury.
Unfortunately for both Tommy and myself this partnership didn.t last very long as my time at Yatesbury was drawing to a close,the six months A.W,M course was nearly over and the ones that passed the final test were about to be promoted to the dizzy rank of A.C.1 and were to be let loose on millions of pounds worth of government equipment,pilots and air crew were going to be dependent on the knowledge and know how we had soaked up?,during the months at Yatesbury.What a frightening thought.I wasn,t very confident about passing any tests at all but some of the things had apparently taken root and at the final exam I acquitted myself reasonably well,no top marks but no bottom marks either. Remembering Black Boys Rape Our Young Girls and Queen Victoria,s Cunt was no trouble at all and I,ll never forget that Very-Irritating-Rash in her triangle I,m sure.So all in all I was quite happy during my time at Yatesbury.
Just before leaving Yatesbury I took a 36 hour pass one weekend and hitch hiked to where my old head lad, Bandy Rodgers was working at that time, I had already put my name down for an overseas posting and this could very well have been the last time I would ever have a chance of seeing him.
Just before leaving Yatesbury I took a 36 hour pass one weekend and hitch hiked to where my old head lad, Bandy Rodgers was working at that time, I had already put my name down for an overseas posting and this could very well have been the last time I would ever have a chance of seeing him.
I forget the name of the village where he was working at the time but I do remember getting a lift on the back of a lorry load of red bricks to within a few miles of the place, and then walking the rest of the way, brushing brick dust of my greatcoat for most of the way. I didn,t know where he was staying or the name of the stable he was working for so it was pot luck on finding him at all I suppose.It was only a very small hamlet ,only two pubs,and after Wetherby,s 10 pubs and two clubs it seemed a very dead sort of place to me.I arrived just before closing time on a saturday afternoon and asked the publican if he knew Bandy,or failing that if he had heard of him being in the neighbourhood.No luck,he wasn,t a regular at that pub but the publican said there was another public house at the other end of the village where most of the racing lads went in the evenings,so I could try down there.
I forget the name of the village where he was working at the time but I do remember getting a lift on the back of a lorry load of red bricks to within a few miles of the place, and then walking the rest of the way, brushing brick dust of my greatcoat for most of the way. I didn,t know where he was staying or the name of the stable he was working for so it was pot luck on finding him at all I suppose.It was only a very small hamlet ,only two pubs,and after Wetherby,s 10 pubs and two clubs it seemed a very dead sort of place to me.I arrived just before closing time on a saturday afternoon and asked the publican if he knew Bandy,or failing that if he had heard of him being in the neighbourhood.No luck,he wasn,t a regular at that pub but the publican said there was another public house at the other end of the village where most of the racing lads went in the evenings,so I could try down there.
The landlord at the other pub knew Bandy well as he came in there every evening with the other lads from the local stables and could tell me where he was staying in the village,I had no difficulty finding the place as the village consisted of only one street.His landlady answered my knock at the door and said that Bandy was having his usual afternoon nap,but that I was quite welcome to come in and wait until he woke up.When he did put in an appearance about an hour later he was more than a little surprised to see me sitting in the kitchen drinking tea with his landlady,he kept saying,”Well who would have thought it?Fancy hitching all that way just to see me,well I never.”When we went to his local in the evening for a drink, he told all his cronies, that I was one of his apprentices from his days at Vasey,s at Wetherby,and what did they think of a lad that used his weekend to look up his old head lad then?” He was quite touched that I,d taken the time off to come and see him.
The landlord at the other pub knew Bandy well as he came in there every evening with the other lads from the local stables and could tell me where he was staying in the village,I had no difficulty finding the place as the village consisted of only one street.His landlady answered my knock at the door and said that Bandy was having his usual afternoon nap,but that I was quite welcome to come in and wait until he woke up.When he did put in an appearance about an hour later he was more than a little surprised to see me sitting in the kitchen drinking tea with his landlady,he kept saying,”Well who would have thought it?Fancy hitching all that way just to see me,well I never.”When we went to his local in the evening for a drink, he told all his cronies, that I was one of his apprentices from his days at Vasey,s at Wetherby,and what did they think of a lad that used his weekend to look up his old head lad then?” He was quite touched that I,d taken the time off to come and see him.
I never did see him again, and many years later I was to read of his death reported on the front page of a copy of the Daily Express that was given to me in Denmark by one of the chambermaids at the hotel Tre Falke in Frederiksberg.He was found in the back garden at the same address where I stopped the night that weekend,shot through the head with a double barreled shotgun,but as this is another story altogether I,ll come back to this episode later on OK?
I never did see him again, and many years later I was to read of his death reported on the front page of a copy of the Daily Express that was given to me in Denmark by one of the chambermaids at the hotel Tre Falke in Frederiksberg.He was found in the back garden at the same address where I stopped the night that weekend,shot through the head with a double barreled shotgun,but as this is another story altogether I,ll come back to this episode later on OK?
I got back to Yatesbury with no trouble on the sunday evening and a few days later was granted a weeks leave before having to report to Lytham St.Annes, which at the time was a jumping off place for all personelle who were being posted overseas.Lytham St.Annes is quite close to Blackpool on the west coast and was at the time a very upper class kind of resort.The real fun was to be had was down in Blackpool and the lads were all intent on having a last fling before leaving for foreign parts,most of the charges brought on this camp were,either drunk and disorderly or drunk and incapable,they certainly got through some pints when down town.I found that the tram which ran along the sea front from Lytham St Annes to Blackpool carried on out to Fleetwood and remembering that one of Vasey,s apprentices Fishy Nicholls parents, kept the Ship Inn in Fleetwood,I decided I would pay them a visit.Fishy had been sent home from Wetherby as he very quickly put on so much weight he would never have been able to ride on the Flat and Percy Vasey in complete agreement with Fishy,s parents agreed to tear up his indentures.They made me very welcome and I remember my time at St Annes with pleasure,even though I was short of cash,as long as I had the tram fare to Fleetwood I knew I would always be sure of a welcome out there.I wonder what ever happened to Fishy in later years?.Someone once told me that he too had become a publican like his Dad, running a huge public house in Blackpool.
I got back to Yatesbury with no trouble on the sunday evening and a few days later was granted a weeks leave before having to report to Lytham St.Annes, which at the time was a jumping off place for all personelle who were being posted overseas.Lytham St.Annes is quite close to Blackpool on the west coast and was at the time a very upper class kind of resort.The real fun was to be had was down in Blackpool and the lads were all intent on having a last fling before leaving for foreign parts,most of the charges brought on this camp were,either drunk and disorderly or drunk and incapable,they certainly got through some pints when down town.I found that the tram which ran along the sea front from Lytham St Annes to Blackpool carried on out to Fleetwood and remembering that one of Vasey,s apprentices Fishy Nicholls parents, kept the Ship Inn in Fleetwood,I decided I would pay them a visit.Fishy had been sent home from Wetherby as he very quickly put on so much weight he would never have been able to ride on the Flat and Percy Vasey in complete agreement with Fishy,s parents agreed to tear up his indentures.They made me very welcome and I remember my time at St Annes with pleasure,even though I was short of cash,as long as I had the tram fare to Fleetwood I knew I would always be sure of a welcome out there.I wonder what ever happened to Fishy in later years?.Someone once told me that he too had become a publican like his Dad, running a huge public house in Blackpool.
At Lytham St Annes I ran into some great lads, some of them I was to know for the rest of my time in the R.A.F. others I struck up acquaintance with at the time but have never been in touch with since,90% of the inmates at St.Annes were very young “bods” who had just finished their training and were looking forward to seeing something of the world outside the British Isles.The other 10% were old-timers being posted abroad from preference,as one of them said to me,”It,s a different life abroad,apart from the money being better there,s very little bull-shit once you get to foreign parts,better married quarters and out east even the weather,s better.”
At Lytham St Annes I ran into some great lads, some of them I was to know for the rest of my time in the R.A.F. others I struck up acquaintance with at the time but have never been in touch with since,90% of the inmates at St.Annes were very young “bods” who had just finished their training and were looking forward to seeing something of the world outside the British Isles.The other 10% were old-timers being posted abroad from preference,as one of them said to me,”It,s a different life abroad,apart from the money being better there,s very little bull-shit once you get to foreign parts,better married quarters and out east even the weather,s better.”
One of the lads I ran into at this time was Norman Alan Andrews from Oldham, known to everyone as Andy, to me he will always be the Oldham “Orror”,he was to become one of my best mates during my time abroad and he certainly saved my neck a few times during the years we knew each other,he was a great pal.After a few weeks of hanging about at St Annes getting our jabs for,T.A.T.B.,Yellow Fever,Typhus etc,etc. Came the day when we were told that we would be shipping out, we were transported to the local railway station and once again told to wait.I dont think this station was used for any other purpose than that of moving troops from the camp site and on to Liverpool Docks where we were to embark on one of the troopships which plied between the Far East and the British Isles.An episode from this wait comes to mind.We were all in rather high spirits,probably trying to compensate for nervousness I suppose,and there was a lot of fooling about and noise,the old porter who was sweeping the platform was playing Hell about the mess we were making of his platform squashing all our fag-ends out on the places he,d just swept.He let us know in no uncertain manner what he thought of a bunch of rowdy louts in uniform that were still wet behind the ears making such a bloody row and messing up his platform.During the time we were waiting he kept on and on about how he,d fought in the last war and how we were in for a rude awakning when once we got abroad,it,ll do you all a lot of good you cheeky young buggers he said.When the trooptrain eventuely had arrived and we were all safely aboard one of the lads,Squib Myers from Horsforth just outside Leeds,waited until the train was slowly pulling out of the station before hanging out of the carriage window and calling to the old porter,”Eh,mate can you do me a favour please?Do us a favour mate will you?The porter by this time was trotting along by the side of the train trying to keep up with us as the train gradually picked up speed,and having to run a little faster all the time to hear what Squib was saying.”What do you want? What,s the favour .Tell me what you want?”Squib said “Well were going to be away for something like three years you know it,s a long time.Do me a favour and give your bloody face a joy ride before we get back you sour faced old sod!” The rest of us in the compartment just howled, the porter stopped running and contented himself with shaking his fist at the train until we were unable to see him anymore .Goodbye Lytham St Annes.I still have the small overseas kit-bag we were issued with at the time, and stencilled on it I can see we were designated Draft 1209 / Empire Halladale.
One of the lads I ran into at this time was Norman Alan Andrews from Oldham, known to everyone as Andy, to me he will always be the Oldham “Orror”,he was to become one of my best mates during my time abroad and he certainly saved my neck a few times during the years we knew each other,he was a great pal.After a few weeks of hanging about at St Annes getting our jabs for,T.A.T.B.,Yellow Fever,Typhus etc,etc. Came the day when we were told that we would be shipping out, we were transported to the local railway station and once again told to wait.I dont think this station was used for any other purpose than that of moving troops from the camp site and on to Liverpool Docks where we were to embark on one of the troopships which plied between the Far East and the British Isles.An episode from this wait comes to mind.We were all in rather high spirits,probably trying to compensate for nervousness I suppose,and there was a lot of fooling about and noise,the old porter who was sweeping the platform was playing Hell about the mess we were making of his platform squashing all our fag-ends out on the places he,d just swept.He let us know in no uncertain manner what he thought of a bunch of rowdy louts in uniform that were still wet behind the ears making such a bloody row and messing up his platform.During the time we were waiting he kept on and on about how he,d fought in the last war and how we were in for a rude awakning when once we got abroad,it,ll do you all a lot of good you cheeky young buggers he said.When the trooptrain eventuely had arrived and we were all safely aboard one of the lads,Squib Myers from Horsforth just outside Leeds,waited until the train was slowly pulling out of the station before hanging out of the carriage window and calling to the old porter,”Eh,mate can you do me a favour please?Do us a favour mate will you?The porter by this time was trotting along by the side of the train trying to keep up with us as the train gradually picked up speed,and having to run a little faster all the time to hear what Squib was saying.”What do you want? What,s the favour .Tell me what you want?”Squib said “Well were going to be away for something like three years you know it,s a long time.Do me a favour and give your bloody face a joy ride before we get back you sour faced old sod!” The rest of us in the compartment just howled, the porter stopped running and contented himself with shaking his fist at the train until we were unable to see him anymore .Goodbye Lytham St Annes.I still have the small overseas kit-bag we were issued with at the time, and stencilled on it I can see we were designated Draft 1209 / Empire Halladale.
Here,s another story folks. A salesman story. A new salesman was taken on by a company and after a few days the group sales manager asked to see the managing director. He told him that the new salesman was quite good at the job but that he had an irritating habit of always wanting to bet on things. It didn,t matter what”His stock answer to practically everything was always “Do you want to bet on it”. He asked the managing director to take him into his office and give him a talking to. The new salesman was called into the office and on entering the room he burst out,”Hello Charlie, fancy meeting you again after all these years. Just think you have become managing director of a company this size, you have done well for yourself”. The managing director said”First of all my name is not Charlie and I have never ever seen you before in my life! “Impossible” said the new salesman. “You and I used to sit at the same desk when we were at school, we played football together and we used to be a doubles pair when we played Badminton. Come on Charlie, you are just pulling my leg aren,t you?” The director insisted that they had never met, but the salesman persisted and ended by saying” I know it,s you Charlie stop mucking about nobody could resemble another person as much as you resemble Charlie and I,m prepared to bet a hundred kroner that you are my old mate Charlie. As a matter of fact I can prove it because I know from our boyhood that you have a small heartshaped birthmark on one of the cheeks of your bum!.” The director said “I am not a betting man but for once I will accept your bet and I hope that the loss of this hundred kroner will stick in your mind so that in future you will think twice about betting on everything. Let this be a lesson to you.” The director then locked the door to his office and dropped his trousers so that both buttocks were visible. “There” he said “can you see any heartshaped birthmarks anywhere on my backside?” The salesman had to admit that he couldn,t. He apologised, handed over the hundred kroner and left the office still how ever muttering” You do look like him though”.
Here,s another story folks. A salesman story. A new salesman was taken on by a company and after a few days the group sales manager asked to see the managing director. He told him that the new salesman was quite good at the job but that he had an irritating habit of always wanting to bet on things. It didn,t matter what”His stock answer to practically everything was always “Do you want to bet on it”. He asked the managing director to take him into his office and give him a talking to. The new salesman was called into the office and on entering the room he burst out,”Hello Charlie, fancy meeting you again after all these years. Just think you have become managing director of a company this size, you have done well for yourself”. The managing director said”First of all my name is not Charlie and I have never ever seen you before in my life! “Impossible” said the new salesman. “You and I used to sit at the same desk when we were at school, we played football together and we used to be a doubles pair when we played Badminton. Come on Charlie, you are just pulling my leg aren,t you?” The director insisted that they had never met, but the salesman persisted and ended by saying” I know it,s you Charlie stop mucking about nobody could resemble another person as much as you resemble Charlie and I,m prepared to bet a hundred kroner that you are my old mate Charlie. As a matter of fact I can prove it because I know from our boyhood that you have a small heartshaped birthmark on one of the cheeks of your bum!.” The director said “I am not a betting man but for once I will accept your bet and I hope that the loss of this hundred kroner will stick in your mind so that in future you will think twice about betting on everything. Let this be a lesson to you.” The director then locked the door to his office and dropped his trousers so that both buttocks were visible. “There” he said “can you see any heartshaped birthmarks anywhere on my backside?” The salesman had to admit that he couldn,t. He apologised, handed over the hundred kroner and left the office still how ever muttering” You do look like him though”.
Shortly after the interview the sales manager popped in to ask how things had gone.” “Oh I dont think we,ll have any more trouble with him as a betting man” said the director” I won a hundred kroner from him so that has really taught him a lesson” He then explained how the interview had proceeded. Telling the sales manager about the birthmark. “Yes I understand” said the sales manager”but how did you convince him that you had no birthmark ?” “Quite easy” said the director I dropped my trousers and let him see for himself.” “Oh no, oh no “ said the manager “Thats torn it!” “ What do you mean?” said the director. “Well” said the manager“Only that before he came into your office he had a bet with every other salesman in the office at five hundred kroner each, that he could get you to show him your bare arse the first time you met him!”
Shortly after the interview the sales manager popped in to ask how things had gone.” “Oh I dont think we,ll have any more trouble with him as a betting man” said the director” I won a hundred kroner from him so that has really taught him a lesson” He then explained how the interview had proceeded. Telling the sales manager about the birthmark. “Yes I understand” said the sales manager”but how did you convince him that you had no birthmark ?” “Quite easy” said the director I dropped my trousers and let him see for himself.” “Oh no, oh no “ said the manager “Thats torn it!” “ What do you mean?” said the director. “Well” said the manager“Only that before he came into your office he had a bet with every other salesman in the office at five hundred kroner each, that he could get you to show him your bare arse the first time you met him!”
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER TEN
Empire Halladale.These troopships had to be seen to be believed, they had been in the water since the time of the Ark, they were in very bad repair and the facilities on board were very cramped indeed to say the least.I dont know how many men there were on the Halladale,some said a couple of thousand but I think this was an exageration although living on board was,nt easy.We were quartered below the water line,no portholes,the bunks hung on chains from stanchions in sets of six,I didn,t count how many “bods” were in the hold but it was certainly crowded.During the day the bunks were chained up horizontally so that there were gangways but at night when the bunks were let down into the sleeping position there was absolutely no room at all.The smell of diesel oil was terrific,it got into everything and even after landing weeks later my kit stank of diesel for weeks.Waking up next morning after a night of pounding through high seas in the Bay of Biscay,which they say is some of the roughest water in the world,to the stench of diesel oil ,the smell of cooking from the galley and the smell of spew from those who had already been sea-sick during the night was just too much!I made it to the rail just in time and fortunately for me on the lee side of the ship,so that I didn,t get my own back at the time,there were very few meals taken that day or the day after on the Halladale.
Empire Halladale.These troopships had to be seen to be believed, they had been in the water since the time of the Ark, they were in very bad repair and the facilities on board were very cramped indeed to say the least.I dont know how many men there were on the Halladale,some said a couple of thousand but I think this was an exageration although living on board was,nt easy.We were quartered below the water line,no portholes,the bunks hung on chains from stanchions in sets of six,I didn,t count how many “bods” were in the hold but it was certainly crowded.During the day the bunks were chained up horizontally so that there were gangways but at night when the bunks were let down into the sleeping position there was absolutely no room at all.The smell of diesel oil was terrific,it got into everything and even after landing weeks later my kit stank of diesel for weeks.Waking up next morning after a night of pounding through high seas in the Bay of Biscay,which they say is some of the roughest water in the world,to the stench of diesel oil ,the smell of cooking from the galley and the smell of spew from those who had already been sea-sick during the night was just too much!I made it to the rail just in time and fortunately for me on the lee side of the ship,so that I didn,t get my own back at the time,there were very few meals taken that day or the day after on the Halladale.
After a couple of days however the weather settled, we all changed into lightweight kaki uniforms, packing the service blue serge at the bottom of our kitbags, and we left the Bay of Biscay behind us and entered the Med,the weather was fine and sunny and having got our sea legs the rest of the trip was a piece of cake even when we ran into gale force winds later on no one felt any the worse for this, and meals were consumed as per normal.We did have one lad on board who never settled however,he was sea-sick from the time we left Liverpool until he went ashore in Singapore existing on dry bread crusts and water for the thirty four days of the voyage.He was allowed to lie in his bunk for the whole voyage,with the exception of two half hour periods every day, when he was hauled on deck by two medical orderlies to be exercised.They dragged him up and down the deck,one man on either side, with his legs trailing behind him every day of the voyage for half an hour at a time,whilst he moaned constantly “Just let me die,please oh please just let me die!”.He did live through it though but was panic stricken every time any one mentioned the fact that in a couple of years or so we would be making this trip again, only in the other direction.
After a couple of days however the weather settled, we all changed into lightweight kaki uniforms, packing the service blue serge at the bottom of our kitbags, and we left the Bay of Biscay behind us and entered the Med,the weather was fine and sunny and having got our sea legs the rest of the trip was a piece of cake even when we ran into gale force winds later on no one felt any the worse for this, and meals were consumed as per normal.We did have one lad on board who never settled however,he was sea-sick from the time we left Liverpool until he went ashore in Singapore existing on dry bread crusts and water for the thirty four days of the voyage.He was allowed to lie in his bunk for the whole voyage,with the exception of two half hour periods every day, when he was hauled on deck by two medical orderlies to be exercised.They dragged him up and down the deck,one man on either side, with his legs trailing behind him every day of the voyage for half an hour at a time,whilst he moaned constantly “Just let me die,please oh please just let me die!”.He did live through it though but was panic stricken every time any one mentioned the fact that in a couple of years or so we would be making this trip again, only in the other direction.
Our first port of call was Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal.Known to all as the arsehole of the world why this should be I dont know, during my travels I have found many other places that are fully deserving of this title,I didn,t think Port Said was all that bad.We were allowed ashore to stretch our legs and immediately ran into the scottish speaking arab population the minute we landed,it was amazing to hear an arab wrapped in his robes looking like something out of the arabian nights,chatting away with a glaswegian accent!I had no idea at the time that a scottish regiment had been stationed in Suez for many,many years and that the only form of english the local arabs had ever heard was the type spoken in the Gorbals in Glasgow, therefor the broad scottish accent.
Our first port of call was Port Said at the mouth of the Suez Canal.Known to all as the arsehole of the world why this should be I dont know, during my travels I have found many other places that are fully deserving of this title,I didn,t think Port Said was all that bad.We were allowed ashore to stretch our legs and immediately ran into the scottish speaking arab population the minute we landed,it was amazing to hear an arab wrapped in his robes looking like something out of the arabian nights,chatting away with a glaswegian accent!I had no idea at the time that a scottish regiment had been stationed in Suez for many,many years and that the only form of english the local arabs had ever heard was the type spoken in the Gorbals in Glasgow, therefor the broad scottish accent.
Before entering the Suez Canal we were allowed ashore for a few hours and Andy, Geordie Cryan and a couple of others stuck close together and ventured into the town proper, most of the lads never got off the docks before being besieged by Gulli - Gulli men,watch sellers with genuine Rolex and Omega,s at a couple of quid a time,wogs with nylons, carpets, genuine antiques from the tombs of Pharao,cardboard shoes,leather sandals etc, etc, etc.
Before entering the Suez Canal we were allowed ashore for a few hours and Andy, Geordie Cryan and a couple of others stuck close together and ventured into the town proper, most of the lads never got off the docks before being besieged by Gulli - Gulli men,watch sellers with genuine Rolex and Omega,s at a couple of quid a time,wogs with nylons, carpets, genuine antiques from the tombs of Pharao,cardboard shoes,leather sandals etc, etc, etc.
The Gulli - Gulli men, who are sleight of hand experts were great entertainment they have their pockets full of day old chicks, they pulled chicks out of peoples ears or noses only to have them disappear again just by waving their hands in the air,we very quickly found that the best thing to do was just to keep on walking keeping ones hands in ones pockets. We found that Port Said was just one big rip off, there were many wiser and sadder faces on the Halladale when we set sail again,and even the lads that came back with what looked like a bargain were very soon to find that whatever they,d bought was either a second class reject or defective. We were learning the hard way. Shortly after entering the canal proper one of the ship,s engines broke down and was deemed beyond repair at sea.This meant that for the rest of the jourrney we would only have one engine and that speed would have to be reduced accordingly instead of the 28 or 29 days the voyage was supposed to take it would be anyone,s guess as to when we would arrive at our respective destinations.We limped through the Red Sea and put in at Aden where the first of the troops were to take up their postings,we were once again allowed ashore for a few hours and were shocked by the conditions the locals had to endure,heat,flies,shit,and smells that could really take ones breathe away,I was happy that I was,nt destined for Aden.
The Gulli - Gulli men, who are sleight of hand experts were great entertainment they have their pockets full of day old chicks, they pulled chicks out of peoples ears or noses only to have them disappear again just by waving their hands in the air,we very quickly found that the best thing to do was just to keep on walking keeping ones hands in ones pockets. We found that Port Said was just one big rip off, there were many wiser and sadder faces on the Halladale when we set sail again,and even the lads that came back with what looked like a bargain were very soon to find that whatever they,d bought was either a second class reject or defective. We were learning the hard way. Shortly after entering the canal proper one of the ship,s engines broke down and was deemed beyond repair at sea.This meant that for the rest of the jourrney we would only have one engine and that speed would have to be reduced accordingly instead of the 28 or 29 days the voyage was supposed to take it would be anyone,s guess as to when we would arrive at our respective destinations.We limped through the Red Sea and put in at Aden where the first of the troops were to take up their postings,we were once again allowed ashore for a few hours and were shocked by the conditions the locals had to endure,heat,flies,shit,and smells that could really take ones breathe away,I was happy that I was,nt destined for Aden.
Crossing the Indian Ocean we experienced very bad weather, but everyone took this in their stride now, with of course the exception of the poor sod who was sea sick everyday of the voyage. We eventually put in to Colombo on the island of what was at the time known as Ceylon but is Sri Lanka today. Once again we were allowed to go ashore for a few hours, the big difference at Colombo being that we didn,t go into harbour but anchored up in the roads quite a distance from the port itsself,I think this must have been because of the heavy shipping in this area.The snag here was that if we wanted to go ashore we would have to pay our own way by water taxi about five bob each,we decided to have a look at Colombo and once again Andy,Geordie and myself went to look at furrin parts.We were quite impressed by the town itsself,as Andy said “If it wa,nt for all these blackies we could be anywhere in the world,nice place isn,t it?”We came ashore in the afternoon and were instructed to be back aboard by nine in the evening, at around seven Andy decided that he would like to go to a local brothel! How he could think of brothels after the amount of horror films showing the results of such visits is beyond me, but a brothel was what he wanted and we were eventually directed to a dilapidated building ,not showing any lights and well shuttered.It looked to me like a broken down old factory,not at least what I,d expected from what I,d read about brothels! A singalese gentleman said that we had come to the right place and that if Andy would pay him the fee, he would go into the place and send out one of the best lookers for Andy,s use! Andy didn,t think this was a good idea at all as first of all he would like to see the merchandise and secondly he had no guarantee that we would ever see our singalese friend again if the fee was paid in advance.He insisted on going inside the place to look the girls over.
Crossing the Indian Ocean we experienced very bad weather, but everyone took this in their stride now, with of course the exception of the poor sod who was sea sick everyday of the voyage. We eventually put in to Colombo on the island of what was at the time known as Ceylon but is Sri Lanka today. Once again we were allowed to go ashore for a few hours, the big difference at Colombo being that we didn,t go into harbour but anchored up in the roads quite a distance from the port itsself,I think this must have been because of the heavy shipping in this area.The snag here was that if we wanted to go ashore we would have to pay our own way by water taxi about five bob each,we decided to have a look at Colombo and once again Andy,Geordie and myself went to look at furrin parts.We were quite impressed by the town itsself,as Andy said “If it wa,nt for all these blackies we could be anywhere in the world,nice place isn,t it?”We came ashore in the afternoon and were instructed to be back aboard by nine in the evening, at around seven Andy decided that he would like to go to a local brothel! How he could think of brothels after the amount of horror films showing the results of such visits is beyond me, but a brothel was what he wanted and we were eventually directed to a dilapidated building ,not showing any lights and well shuttered.It looked to me like a broken down old factory,not at least what I,d expected from what I,d read about brothels! A singalese gentleman said that we had come to the right place and that if Andy would pay him the fee, he would go into the place and send out one of the best lookers for Andy,s use! Andy didn,t think this was a good idea at all as first of all he would like to see the merchandise and secondly he had no guarantee that we would ever see our singalese friend again if the fee was paid in advance.He insisted on going inside the place to look the girls over.
The local tout was very firm however and explained that this was a brothel for the use of singalese nationals and that foreigners weren,t allowed inside! Andy went berserk! Foreigner? Foreigner ? I,m not a foreigner,I,m English you black bugger,your the one thats a bloody foreigner,watch your tongue or I,ll knock your bloody head off! Geordie and I couldn,t stop laughing all the way back to the docks about Andy,s outburst and the rest of the time on board his leg was pulled about all these bloody foreigners we kept running into. On arrival at the docks we encountered another problem this was that the price for getting back to the boat by water taxi had suddenly gone up by 200% instead of five shillings per head the price was now one pound per man, after a hurried consultation we found that we could between us just raise the fare,this caused me to ask Andy how much he thought a singalese prostitute wanted for a quickie?He must have been thinking of something around the five or ten bob mark by the amount he was able to contribute to the water taxi fare,after getting into the boat with a few of the others Andy said “Are we going to let our dusky friend here rip us off by putting up the price,knowing full well that we have to be back on board at nine?” Everyone agreed that it was a bad show, not really cricket and all that, so Andy went round and collected all the fares, something like 12 or 14 pounds.On arriving alongside the good ship Empire Halladale we began to scramble up the staircase hanging over the side of the ship whilst Andy paid off the taxi driver,he did this by dividing the fare equally and putting one half in his pocket and handing the rest to the driver.The man was very upset and began to scream and shout “robber - robber “until Andy leaned over him took him by the throat and whispered something in his ear,Andy then dug into his pocket and gave him a coin patting him on the shoulder saying “Thanks for the ride mate”,before climbing on board.
The local tout was very firm however and explained that this was a brothel for the use of singalese nationals and that foreigners weren,t allowed inside! Andy went berserk! Foreigner? Foreigner ? I,m not a foreigner,I,m English you black bugger,your the one thats a bloody foreigner,watch your tongue or I,ll knock your bloody head off! Geordie and I couldn,t stop laughing all the way back to the docks about Andy,s outburst and the rest of the time on board his leg was pulled about all these bloody foreigners we kept running into. On arrival at the docks we encountered another problem this was that the price for getting back to the boat by water taxi had suddenly gone up by 200% instead of five shillings per head the price was now one pound per man, after a hurried consultation we found that we could between us just raise the fare,this caused me to ask Andy how much he thought a singalese prostitute wanted for a quickie?He must have been thinking of something around the five or ten bob mark by the amount he was able to contribute to the water taxi fare,after getting into the boat with a few of the others Andy said “Are we going to let our dusky friend here rip us off by putting up the price,knowing full well that we have to be back on board at nine?” Everyone agreed that it was a bad show, not really cricket and all that, so Andy went round and collected all the fares, something like 12 or 14 pounds.On arriving alongside the good ship Empire Halladale we began to scramble up the staircase hanging over the side of the ship whilst Andy paid off the taxi driver,he did this by dividing the fare equally and putting one half in his pocket and handing the rest to the driver.The man was very upset and began to scream and shout “robber - robber “until Andy leaned over him took him by the throat and whispered something in his ear,Andy then dug into his pocket and gave him a coin patting him on the shoulder saying “Thanks for the ride mate”,before climbing on board.
All the lads who had been aboard the water taxi cheered when he appeared on deck and were full of praise for his taking the initiative.”How much did you give him Andy? What did the ride cost us?”Andy,s reply was “He was only kidding about putting the price up,when I told him we thought it was a bit too much he agreed to ten bob a head, so I think it would be a nice gesture if you all remember I saved you all ten bob on the fare when we meet at the bar tomorrow O.K?”We received ten bob each on the promise of a bottle of McEwans at a later date.
All the lads who had been aboard the water taxi cheered when he appeared on deck and were full of praise for his taking the initiative.”How much did you give him Andy? What did the ride cost us?”Andy,s reply was “He was only kidding about putting the price up,when I told him we thought it was a bit too much he agreed to ten bob a head, so I think it would be a nice gesture if you all remember I saved you all ten bob on the fare when we meet at the bar tomorrow O.K?”We received ten bob each on the promise of a bottle of McEwans at a later date.
I asked Andy later on what it was he had whispered in the taxi drivers ear and he said”I told him if he didn,t accept half fare he would get nothing at all and that I would put him over the side of his boat into the chilly dark depths!But what did you give him afterwards Andy?I gave him a tip of five bob for his trouble and thanked him for the ride. I consider it a good investment as there are now 12 blokes on this boat that owe me a drink,and don't forget that your one of ,em O.K?”Andy was a good bloke to have by your side as I was to find many, many times in my time at R.A.F. Seletar on Singapore Island.
I asked Andy later on what it was he had whispered in the taxi drivers ear and he said”I told him if he didn,t accept half fare he would get nothing at all and that I would put him over the side of his boat into the chilly dark depths!But what did you give him afterwards Andy?I gave him a tip of five bob for his trouble and thanked him for the ride. I consider it a good investment as there are now 12 blokes on this boat that owe me a drink,and don't forget that your one of ,em O.K?”Andy was a good bloke to have by your side as I was to find many, many times in my time at R.A.F. Seletar on Singapore Island.
Colombo was our last port of call and we spent the rest of our time on board hopefully scanning the horizon for a sign of either the Malayan coast or Singapore Island its self. The island did eventually surface and we could see by the amount of garbage floating in the water that we were approaching civilization again. Even at a distance of several miles from the coast one could see the water gradually changing colour, the surface covered by a sheen of oil,and the amount of floating refuse we ploughed through had to be seen to be believed. We had all been dreaming of white sandy beaches and palm trees swaying in the breeze, not as someone commented ,the Birmingham sewage beds! We said hurried goodbyes to the rest of the lads who we knew from our time at St. Annes, they were going on to Hong-Kong, and we set foot on Malayan soil for the first time. Here I might add that my original posting was for Hong Kong but when my brother Alan, who was stationed at Seletar heard this he put in an application asking for me to be posted out to Singapore instead. This was something he told me about much later and I have often wondered how life might have turned out for us both if he hadn't taken this step, not that being in Singapore worried me for at the time,Hong Kong or Singapore it was all one to me.
Colombo was our last port of call and we spent the rest of our time on board hopefully scanning the horizon for a sign of either the Malayan coast or Singapore Island its self. The island did eventually surface and we could see by the amount of garbage floating in the water that we were approaching civilization again. Even at a distance of several miles from the coast one could see the water gradually changing colour, the surface covered by a sheen of oil,and the amount of floating refuse we ploughed through had to be seen to be believed. We had all been dreaming of white sandy beaches and palm trees swaying in the breeze, not as someone commented ,the Birmingham sewage beds! We said hurried goodbyes to the rest of the lads who we knew from our time at St. Annes, they were going on to Hong-Kong, and we set foot on Malayan soil for the first time. Here I might add that my original posting was for Hong Kong but when my brother Alan, who was stationed at Seletar heard this he put in an application asking for me to be posted out to Singapore instead. This was something he told me about much later and I have often wondered how life might have turned out for us both if he hadn't taken this step, not that being in Singapore worried me for at the time,Hong Kong or Singapore it was all one to me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alan was waiting on the dockside, brown as a nut in his well bleached tropical kit, a sign that he had been in the tropics for some time,by comparison we all looked like things from another planet, pale as maggots and in new khaki,s,the term the old timers used for new intakes was actually moon men and it fitted us very well. At least it was a new title, instead of the term they used for new raw recruits which was sprog. Alan had been waiting quite some time,having hitched a ride on one of the transports that were to ferry us out to the 390 M.U.Seletar,he was quite bloated as Pepsi Cola had placed a lorry load of cold pepsi,s on the dockside to welcome us to Singapore island as a promotion gimmick,and he had downed five bottles whilst waiting for us as Alan was an old timer in the tropics, he'd already put in just over two years at Seletar when I arrived. He was bombarded with questions on the drive back to the camp, everybody wanted to know something or other about life in Singapore and he was kept quite busy. On arrival at the camp we were split up in accordance with our relevant trades and sent to different billets,Andy and Geordie being M.T. drivers were billeted together in the M.T. section whilst I followed Alan to where the staff of A.E.S.F. had their homes.
Alan was waiting on the dockside, brown as a nut in his well bleached tropical kit, a sign that he had been in the tropics for some time,by comparison we all looked like things from another planet, pale as maggots and in new khaki,s,the term the old timers used for new intakes was actually moon men and it fitted us very well. At least it was a new title, instead of the term they used for new raw recruits which was sprog. Alan had been waiting quite some time,having hitched a ride on one of the transports that were to ferry us out to the 390 M.U.Seletar,he was quite bloated as Pepsi Cola had placed a lorry load of cold pepsi,s on the dockside to welcome us to Singapore island as a promotion gimmick,and he had downed five bottles whilst waiting for us as Alan was an old timer in the tropics, he'd already put in just over two years at Seletar when I arrived. He was bombarded with questions on the drive back to the camp, everybody wanted to know something or other about life in Singapore and he was kept quite busy. On arrival at the camp we were split up in accordance with our relevant trades and sent to different billets,Andy and Geordie being M.T. drivers were billeted together in the M.T. section whilst I followed Alan to where the staff of A.E.S.F. had their homes.
The billets were to say the least huge, we had been used to living in Nissen huts at our three previous postings where there were something like 28 or 30 people to a hut. At Seletar the blocks were three stories high, and accommodated 100 men on each floor, there were no windows but at each bed space there was a double French door with Venetian slats that stood open for about ten months of the year. Alan had arranged for me to have the bed space exactly opposite his bed on the other side of the room,so that he could keep an eye on me,he said. Ours were the last two beds in the room, this was because over the years Alan had as others were posted home, moved his bed space closer and closer to the end of the room which was nearest his place of work,this was O.K. by his standards as he rarely went to breakfast and could tumble out of bed at the last minute and still be in time for morning roster outside where he worked. I always went to breakfast and as the cook house was at the other end of our billet this meant I had a walk of 300 yards each way every morning. O.K when the weather was fine, but in the rainy season it was a bind to say the least,especially so as Alan being the older brother expected me to bring him back a mug of hot sweet tea every morning to wake up on. Many were the times in bad weather when the tea was either cold, because on the way back it had been held outside the groundsheet, or very weak from the amount of rain that had found its way into the mug for the same reason. I very often came back with only half a mug of warm tea but with the other half soaking into my vest and shorts!
The billets were to say the least huge, we had been used to living in Nissen huts at our three previous postings where there were something like 28 or 30 people to a hut. At Seletar the blocks were three stories high, and accommodated 100 men on each floor, there were no windows but at each bed space there was a double French door with Venetian slats that stood open for about ten months of the year. Alan had arranged for me to have the bed space exactly opposite his bed on the other side of the room,so that he could keep an eye on me,he said. Ours were the last two beds in the room, this was because over the years Alan had as others were posted home, moved his bed space closer and closer to the end of the room which was nearest his place of work,this was O.K. by his standards as he rarely went to breakfast and could tumble out of bed at the last minute and still be in time for morning roster outside where he worked. I always went to breakfast and as the cook house was at the other end of our billet this meant I had a walk of 300 yards each way every morning. O.K when the weather was fine, but in the rainy season it was a bind to say the least,especially so as Alan being the older brother expected me to bring him back a mug of hot sweet tea every morning to wake up on. Many were the times in bad weather when the tea was either cold, because on the way back it had been held outside the groundsheet, or very weak from the amount of rain that had found its way into the mug for the same reason. I very often came back with only half a mug of warm tea but with the other half soaking into my vest and shorts!
Another disadvantage of being at the end of the billet was the fact that all our rifles were stored in the rack on the wall at this end of the billet with a chain running through the trigger guards as a safety precaution, normally these rifles were only used for parade purposes but were also used when we were on guard duty down at the bomb dump. The Korean war activity was at it,s highest at this time and the ammunition and bombs used in this campaign were stored on Singapore Island within the boundaries of R.A.F Seletar. It was rather like sitting on a keg of dynamite as we had our own troubles in those days, holding our own in the Malayan campaign at this time. As the terorrists were low on arms and ammunition we were always a likely target for a night attack at any time. If anyone was unlucky enough to draw a guard duty after lights out, usually because someone had been taken ill whilst on duty, the unfortunate bod that had drawn the duty would have to come and get his rifle out of the rack at our end of the billet. I am usually a heavy sleeper but the sound of someone pulling a chain through twenty or thirty rifle trigger guards in the middle of the night could wake the dead,it certainly woke me. The third disadvantage of living at this end of the billet was soon apparent. Whenever the duty corporal was sent out to scour the camp for a guard replacement he inevitably started looking for someone at our end of the billet as we were closest to the road where he could park his Jeep, usually replacements were required at around six o'clock in the evening, so everyone kept a wary eye out for any activity that might herald the approach of either the duty corporal or the guard commander during the lull from five o'clock in the evening until around six thirty. The slightest sign of anyone in authority at this time in the evening and the whole block was deserted within a few seconds,the only valid excuse for not taking extra guard duty when told to do so by the duty corporal was the fact that you had been on guard duty the evening previously and were there for not eligible. I t was a good idea to keep ones head down during the early hours of the evening if one didn't want to get caught out,most people either went directly to the N.A.A.F.I or the Malcom Club,or went to the swimming pool to keep out of harms way during these hours.
Another disadvantage of being at the end of the billet was the fact that all our rifles were stored in the rack on the wall at this end of the billet with a chain running through the trigger guards as a safety precaution, normally these rifles were only used for parade purposes but were also used when we were on guard duty down at the bomb dump. The Korean war activity was at it,s highest at this time and the ammunition and bombs used in this campaign were stored on Singapore Island within the boundaries of R.A.F Seletar. It was rather like sitting on a keg of dynamite as we had our own troubles in those days, holding our own in the Malayan campaign at this time. As the terorrists were low on arms and ammunition we were always a likely target for a night attack at any time. If anyone was unlucky enough to draw a guard duty after lights out, usually because someone had been taken ill whilst on duty, the unfortunate bod that had drawn the duty would have to come and get his rifle out of the rack at our end of the billet. I am usually a heavy sleeper but the sound of someone pulling a chain through twenty or thirty rifle trigger guards in the middle of the night could wake the dead,it certainly woke me. The third disadvantage of living at this end of the billet was soon apparent. Whenever the duty corporal was sent out to scour the camp for a guard replacement he inevitably started looking for someone at our end of the billet as we were closest to the road where he could park his Jeep, usually replacements were required at around six o'clock in the evening, so everyone kept a wary eye out for any activity that might herald the approach of either the duty corporal or the guard commander during the lull from five o'clock in the evening until around six thirty. The slightest sign of anyone in authority at this time in the evening and the whole block was deserted within a few seconds,the only valid excuse for not taking extra guard duty when told to do so by the duty corporal was the fact that you had been on guard duty the evening previously and were there for not eligible. I t was a good idea to keep ones head down during the early hours of the evening if one didn't want to get caught out,most people either went directly to the N.A.A.F.I or the Malcom Club,or went to the swimming pool to keep out of harms way during these hours.
I soon fell into the routine of working with Alan, Mac (the corporal in charge )and Neville,servicing the aircraft at A,E.S.F,the work was not strenuous and consisted in the main of pulling out defective equipment and replacing it with either a new transmitter or a new receiver. This was before the invention of the transistor and most of the equipment had the old type vacuum tube valves and these were apt to burn out or break down at the slightest provocation so we were kept busy but were never overtaxed,the heavier work was done by the labourers locally recruited. They were either Chinese ,Tamil or Malayans and they were used to pull trolley accs out onto the strip when aircraft were to be test flown,or equipment was to be tested on the ground.
I soon fell into the routine of working with Alan, Mac (the corporal in charge )and Neville,servicing the aircraft at A,E.S.F,the work was not strenuous and consisted in the main of pulling out defective equipment and replacing it with either a new transmitter or a new receiver. This was before the invention of the transistor and most of the equipment had the old type vacuum tube valves and these were apt to burn out or break down at the slightest provocation so we were kept busy but were never overtaxed,the heavier work was done by the labourers locally recruited. They were either Chinese ,Tamil or Malayans and they were used to pull trolley accs out onto the strip when aircraft were to be test flown,or equipment was to be tested on the ground.
The first few days at Seletar I was shocked by the way we, the whites, treated the local labour. The tone seemed to me to be extremely harsh and everyone cursed the labourers soundly at every opportunity,cuffs around the head were dealt out frequently and a kick up the arse for anyone that didn't seem to be pulling his weight was quite normal. Alan seemed to me to be one of the worst at this kind of thing, when I asked him why the tone was so harsh his reply was.”These buggers don't understand anything else,if your not hard on them they take advantage of the situation and just laze around. You,ll never get them to do a thing if you don't curse them and give,em a clout now and again,they don't respect friendliness,a kick up the backside keeps them on their toes!”I didn't like the idea at all and at first always asked the labourers nicely whenever I required assistance with the heavier things,and as long as the others in my section were around things seemed to work quite well. I soon found however that as I became more independent and was given more and more work on my own that no one was interested in helping me at all, they had always a million excuses that prevented them coming to help me just at that moment.
The first few days at Seletar I was shocked by the way we, the whites, treated the local labour. The tone seemed to me to be extremely harsh and everyone cursed the labourers soundly at every opportunity,cuffs around the head were dealt out frequently and a kick up the arse for anyone that didn't seem to be pulling his weight was quite normal. Alan seemed to me to be one of the worst at this kind of thing, when I asked him why the tone was so harsh his reply was.”These buggers don't understand anything else,if your not hard on them they take advantage of the situation and just laze around. You,ll never get them to do a thing if you don't curse them and give,em a clout now and again,they don't respect friendliness,a kick up the backside keeps them on their toes!”I didn't like the idea at all and at first always asked the labourers nicely whenever I required assistance with the heavier things,and as long as the others in my section were around things seemed to work quite well. I soon found however that as I became more independent and was given more and more work on my own that no one was interested in helping me at all, they had always a million excuses that prevented them coming to help me just at that moment.
This was brought home to me when I had a chat one lunchtime with the Chinese overseer who was in charge of the labour section, those bloody coolies, as he himself called them. He told me that during the Japanese occupation the attendance of the labourers was 100% during the entire occupation, no one went on sick and no one was absent at any time. He said that as soon as the Japenese moved in they established a roll-call parade system where everyone had to answer his name when it was called as they lined up for work at the section every morning. The system worked very well until after a couple of weeks one man didn't answer his name at the morning roll-call,the officer in charge asked the reason for this man's absence and was told that he was very ill and couldn't come to work that day. On hearing this the officer in charge ordered all the workers to be put into lorries and driven out to the village of Paya Lebar just outside the camp gates,there they were lined up on the road outside the house of the man who was ill,t wo soldiers brought the man from his sickbed and the officer in charge decapitated him with his cerimonial sword with one blow! The workers were driven back to the camp and put to work. The Chinese overseer said to me, “ As I said earlier,no one was absent for any reason what so ever during the J apanese occupation, that,s the sort of thing the coolies understand Johnny,a few curses and a kick up the bum means nothing what so ever to these people”. Need I say I changed my tactics? I was never a bully with the labourers, but they came to work just as well for me as they did for all others in the section.
This was brought home to me when I had a chat one lunchtime with the Chinese overseer who was in charge of the labour section, those bloody coolies, as he himself called them. He told me that during the Japanese occupation the attendance of the labourers was 100% during the entire occupation, no one went on sick and no one was absent at any time. He said that as soon as the Japenese moved in they established a roll-call parade system where everyone had to answer his name when it was called as they lined up for work at the section every morning. The system worked very well until after a couple of weeks one man didn't answer his name at the morning roll-call,the officer in charge asked the reason for this man's absence and was told that he was very ill and couldn't come to work that day. On hearing this the officer in charge ordered all the workers to be put into lorries and driven out to the village of Paya Lebar just outside the camp gates,there they were lined up on the road outside the house of the man who was ill,t wo soldiers brought the man from his sickbed and the officer in charge decapitated him with his cerimonial sword with one blow! The workers were driven back to the camp and put to work. The Chinese overseer said to me, “ As I said earlier,no one was absent for any reason what so ever during the J apanese occupation, that,s the sort of thing the coolies understand Johnny,a few curses and a kick up the bum means nothing what so ever to these people”. Need I say I changed my tactics? I was never a bully with the labourers, but they came to work just as well for me as they did for all others in the section.
Another incident regarding the local workforce comes to mind after writing the above and this was that on the camp we had sew-sew girls that went around the other ranks billets singing sew – sew, these women were usual Chinese and all expert seamstresses and could sew on a button or do minor invisible mending repairs in the wink of an eye. They were a godsend to the lads as most of us didn't know one end of a needle from the other, they were very much in demand and for a few cents they fixed loose buttons etc when required. On B block where I lived we had two bearers on the ground floor,they were Tamils and they were called Abdul and Narajan and for a few dollars a week they made our beds and polished our shoes etc doing quite a few menial tasks that we either didn't have the energy for or just could not be bother to do for ourselves.
Another incident regarding the local workforce comes to mind after writing the above and this was that on the camp we had sew-sew girls that went around the other ranks billets singing sew – sew, these women were usual Chinese and all expert seamstresses and could sew on a button or do minor invisible mending repairs in the wink of an eye. They were a godsend to the lads as most of us didn't know one end of a needle from the other, they were very much in demand and for a few cents they fixed loose buttons etc when required. On B block where I lived we had two bearers on the ground floor,they were Tamils and they were called Abdul and Narajan and for a few dollars a week they made our beds and polished our shoes etc doing quite a few menial tasks that we either didn't have the energy for or just could not be bother to do for ourselves.
One morning Narajan didn't turn up for work and when I asked Abdul where he was he told me he was at the hospital having plaster casts fitted to both of his broken arms. He told me that Narajan had insulted one of the sew – sew girls the day before when she was on her rounds whether this had been verbally or physically I never found out but when he got home in the evening her relatives were waiting for him and they pacified him and took him out into the street so that the locals in the village could see how this sort of thing was treated by the Chinese. He was held down with his arm resting across two building bricks and the heaviest man in her family jumped into the air and landed on his arm! His arm snapped like a matchstick of course and despite his screams and cries for mercy they then placed his arm across the bricks and jumped on his other arm, the result was of course two broken arms.
One morning Narajan didn't turn up for work and when I asked Abdul where he was he told me he was at the hospital having plaster casts fitted to both of his broken arms. He told me that Narajan had insulted one of the sew – sew girls the day before when she was on her rounds whether this had been verbally or physically I never found out but when he got home in the evening her relatives were waiting for him and they pacified him and took him out into the street so that the locals in the village could see how this sort of thing was treated by the Chinese. He was held down with his arm resting across two building bricks and the heaviest man in her family jumped into the air and landed on his arm! His arm snapped like a matchstick of course and despite his screams and cries for mercy they then placed his arm across the bricks and jumped on his other arm, the result was of course two broken arms.
He was left sitting in the gutter on the main street in Paya Lebar unable to even get onto his feet without help before being taken to hospital. He turned up for work a few days later with both his forearms in plaster of paris and was for ever a reminder to the lads that they would not get off lightly if they ever tried anything on with any of the sew – sew girls.
He was left sitting in the gutter on the main street in Paya Lebar unable to even get onto his feet without help before being taken to hospital. He turned up for work a few days later with both his forearms in plaster of paris and was for ever a reminder to the lads that they would not get off lightly if they ever tried anything on with any of the sew – sew girls.
In our free time we had the run of the camp and there were many ways of relaxing during the evenings and at weekends, I had never been a drinker so the idea of swilling down pint after pint of Tiger or Anchor beer every evening didn't appeal to me at all,and I spent quite a lot of time at the swimming pool and read all the books I could get my hands on. After the duty corporal had made his rounds looking for guard replacements I usually spent the evenings lying on my bed reading and smoking sipping hot sweet tea. If I was in funds, munching on cheese and onion sandwiches from the Malcom Club. After a few months on the camp a new arrival called Peter Buchan made his appearance and moved into a bed space a couple of bed-spaces further down the billet. Peter,s appearance on the scene was to change my life. This was because he was a badminton player and he was very pleased with conditions in the Far East where its possible to play badminton outside in the late afternoon and early evening,there was a concrete court just outside my bed space and it wasn't very long before Peter had scrounged a net from the sports section and introduced the rest of us to his favourite sport. I didn,t know it at the time but it was soon to become mine too.
In our free time we had the run of the camp and there were many ways of relaxing during the evenings and at weekends, I had never been a drinker so the idea of swilling down pint after pint of Tiger or Anchor beer every evening didn't appeal to me at all,and I spent quite a lot of time at the swimming pool and read all the books I could get my hands on. After the duty corporal had made his rounds looking for guard replacements I usually spent the evenings lying on my bed reading and smoking sipping hot sweet tea. If I was in funds, munching on cheese and onion sandwiches from the Malcom Club. After a few months on the camp a new arrival called Peter Buchan made his appearance and moved into a bed space a couple of bed-spaces further down the billet. Peter,s appearance on the scene was to change my life. This was because he was a badminton player and he was very pleased with conditions in the Far East where its possible to play badminton outside in the late afternoon and early evening,there was a concrete court just outside my bed space and it wasn't very long before Peter had scrounged a net from the sports section and introduced the rest of us to his favourite sport. I didn,t know it at the time but it was soon to become mine too.
We spent hundreds of hours on that court, we put together a team which could represent A.E.S.F and played matches in the evenings and at weekends against any other section on the camp that was interested. I also entered the camp Badminton tournament twice during my stay at Seletar, I never got up to Peter,s standard he was always our first single ,but I was second single on the team during the time I played at 390 M.U. I wasn't to know it at this time but badminton was to take up quite a lot of my leasure time for the next 50 years,and truth to tell it still does. At the age of 66 I still play twice a week and still get just as much of a kick out of the game,and have recently won Balslevs singles tournament for all ages ,been beaten in the final this year(1998) and won the all ages doubles with a lady called Mona I had never seen before we met each other on the court. Yes badminton became my sport.
We spent hundreds of hours on that court, we put together a team which could represent A.E.S.F and played matches in the evenings and at weekends against any other section on the camp that was interested. I also entered the camp Badminton tournament twice during my stay at Seletar, I never got up to Peter,s standard he was always our first single ,but I was second single on the team during the time I played at 390 M.U. I wasn't to know it at this time but badminton was to take up quite a lot of my leasure time for the next 50 years,and truth to tell it still does. At the age of 66 I still play twice a week and still get just as much of a kick out of the game,and have recently won Balslevs singles tournament for all ages ,been beaten in the final this year(1998) and won the all ages doubles with a lady called Mona I had never seen before we met each other on the court. Yes badminton became my sport.
Most of the time I was in the Far east was pretty hum-drum the days just repeating themselves week after week and everyone counting the days until they could say”Time Expired” and get on the boat or plane bound for old Blighty's shores,occasionally though something turned up to break the monotony. One of these episodes was my posting on detachment to the island of Labuan, an extremly small island off the coast of Borneo. We were sent up there to service the troop carrying Hastings machines that were flying soldiers from the Ghurka regiments up to Hong kong to quell the riots,these machines landed at around 23.00 hours every second evening ,they were refuelled ,subjected to a preflight inspection,(just signing the book most of the time)before flying on to Hong kong.We were on duty from about 22,00 hrs until they took off again around 01,00 next morning,three hours per night,the rest of the time was our own.Unfortunately Labuan has nothing to reccomend it,there were no facilities of any kind on the island,which consisted of dense jungle,a small fishing port and a huge graveyard which contained the bodies of several hundred allied soldiers and airmen slaughtered by the japanese after they captured the island in the second world war.An extremly depressing place to be stationed at, at any time,I took several photos of the camp during the five weeks we were there one of these photos is of a mountain of empty TUBORG beer bottles behind the tents we slept in,this was the first time I had ever heard of Tuborg beer,I was to come to know it very well in years to come after moving to Denmark.One of the reasons for the huge amount of beer that was imbibed on Labuan was the fact that there was no fresh water on the island, all water for drinking purposes had to be shipped in,we were allowed one liter of fresh water per day.The water was supplied in empty tuborg bottles and these were placed reverently in the refrigerator every morning for consumption later in the day,I came to appreciate a glass of cold water more than most people could imagine during my stay.We weren,t about to die of thirst however as soft drinks and beer in bottles was available at a price and we all received a hardship allowance which should have been enough to cover the extra expense involved,there were however no fresh water showers and our ablutions were performed down on the beach using salt water soap.I had been introduced to salt water soap on the Halladale but have always found it very difficult to work up any sort of lather at all with this sort of soap,shaving was no good at all with salty water so the routine was that a little drinking water from each man,s ration was pooled then heated and used by everyone at the same time,not at all an easy matter with only four mirrors and fourteen bods wanting to shave at the same time,but we worked it out.
Most of the time I was in the Far east was pretty hum-drum the days just repeating themselves week after week and everyone counting the days until they could say”Time Expired” and get on the boat or plane bound for old Blighty's shores,occasionally though something turned up to break the monotony. One of these episodes was my posting on detachment to the island of Labuan, an extremly small island off the coast of Borneo. We were sent up there to service the troop carrying Hastings machines that were flying soldiers from the Ghurka regiments up to Hong kong to quell the riots,these machines landed at around 23.00 hours every second evening ,they were refuelled ,subjected to a preflight inspection,(just signing the book most of the time)before flying on to Hong kong.We were on duty from about 22,00 hrs until they took off again around 01,00 next morning,three hours per night,the rest of the time was our own.Unfortunately Labuan has nothing to reccomend it,there were no facilities of any kind on the island,which consisted of dense jungle,a small fishing port and a huge graveyard which contained the bodies of several hundred allied soldiers and airmen slaughtered by the japanese after they captured the island in the second world war.An extremly depressing place to be stationed at, at any time,I took several photos of the camp during the five weeks we were there one of these photos is of a mountain of empty TUBORG beer bottles behind the tents we slept in,this was the first time I had ever heard of Tuborg beer,I was to come to know it very well in years to come after moving to Denmark.One of the reasons for the huge amount of beer that was imbibed on Labuan was the fact that there was no fresh water on the island, all water for drinking purposes had to be shipped in,we were allowed one liter of fresh water per day.The water was supplied in empty tuborg bottles and these were placed reverently in the refrigerator every morning for consumption later in the day,I came to appreciate a glass of cold water more than most people could imagine during my stay.We weren,t about to die of thirst however as soft drinks and beer in bottles was available at a price and we all received a hardship allowance which should have been enough to cover the extra expense involved,there were however no fresh water showers and our ablutions were performed down on the beach using salt water soap.I had been introduced to salt water soap on the Halladale but have always found it very difficult to work up any sort of lather at all with this sort of soap,shaving was no good at all with salty water so the routine was that a little drinking water from each man,s ration was pooled then heated and used by everyone at the same time,not at all an easy matter with only four mirrors and fourteen bods wanting to shave at the same time,but we worked it out.
On returning to Seletar I was just in time to say goodbye to Mac McCabe our corporal in charge of the radio section, he was going home, time expired after two and a half years in the east,we didn,t get a replacement for him so this cut our numbers down to three .Alan who was by now junior technician(one stripe upside down) was the boss,Neville an S.A.C second in command and me now promoted to L.A.C, after passing the education test required ,as low man on the totem pole.Life at Seletar wasn,t at all strenuous and if it hadn,t been for guarding the bomb dump life would have been a doddle,Alan had his own circle of friends they were all hardened beer drinkers that spent the greater part of their leisure hours sitting down holding onto a glass,whilst I much prefered to spend my time either reading or playing badminton with visits to the swimming pool to break the monotony.I spent most of my time with two of the lads I had chummed up with on the boat , they were both in the M.T. section and billeted some distance from where I lived they were Andy Andrews and Geordie Cryan we had as I related earlier explored Port Said and Colombo together on the way out.They were a couple of real good pals and we spent many happy hours together either at the pool or downtown in Singapore. How about another story?
On returning to Seletar I was just in time to say goodbye to Mac McCabe our corporal in charge of the radio section, he was going home, time expired after two and a half years in the east,we didn,t get a replacement for him so this cut our numbers down to three .Alan who was by now junior technician(one stripe upside down) was the boss,Neville an S.A.C second in command and me now promoted to L.A.C, after passing the education test required ,as low man on the totem pole.Life at Seletar wasn,t at all strenuous and if it hadn,t been for guarding the bomb dump life would have been a doddle,Alan had his own circle of friends they were all hardened beer drinkers that spent the greater part of their leisure hours sitting down holding onto a glass,whilst I much prefered to spend my time either reading or playing badminton with visits to the swimming pool to break the monotony.I spent most of my time with two of the lads I had chummed up with on the boat , they were both in the M.T. section and billeted some distance from where I lived they were Andy Andrews and Geordie Cryan we had as I related earlier explored Port Said and Colombo together on the way out.They were a couple of real good pals and we spent many happy hours together either at the pool or downtown in Singapore. How about another story?
In Denmark we have a town called Århus. Århus and it,s inhabitants are the butt of many a joke regarding a persons lack of intelligence, in much the same way the English take the mickey out of the Irish. The story goes that in the town of Århus they had a sawmill and one day one of the employees was unlucky and had his hand sawn off in the huge circular saw he was using. The manager said “ Quick, quick run him over to the casualty department at the hospital, put the hand in this plastic bag, they may be able to sew it back on.” After a few months the man turns up for work again as right as rain the doctors had sewn the hand back on and it was practically as good as new. After a few weeks the same man was unfortunate enough to trip on a loose shoelace and he fell into the circular saw, with the result that this time the blade took off his whole arm! “Quick, quick” said the manager” The same proceedure as last time put the arm in a plastic bag and rush him to casualty”. Quite a while passes but after a few months the man comes back to work. The arm had been sewn on again and he was ready for work once again. It,s hard to believe but after being at work for a while the same man , he must have been extremely clumsy!, fell once again into the circular saw but this time the blade took off his head. “O.K” said the manager”You know what to do lads, get the plastic bag. Head in the bag off to casualty with him.” After several months the manager asked one of the men who had taken Jensen as he was called to hospital, if he had heard anything of how things had turned out. “No” said the man,” but I,ll ring the hospital and ask how he is if you like.” On ringing to the hospital the man was told that unfortunately Jensen had been pronounced D.O.A.(dead on arrival) at the hospital the same day they had brought him in, they were unable to do anything for him. The cause of death had been asphyxiation, due to the fact that the people at the sawmill had tied a knot at the top of the plastic bag and Jensen had died from lack of air on the way to hospital.
In Denmark we have a town called Århus. Århus and it,s inhabitants are the butt of many a joke regarding a persons lack of intelligence, in much the same way the English take the mickey out of the Irish. The story goes that in the town of Århus they had a sawmill and one day one of the employees was unlucky and had his hand sawn off in the huge circular saw he was using. The manager said “ Quick, quick run him over to the casualty department at the hospital, put the hand in this plastic bag, they may be able to sew it back on.” After a few months the man turns up for work again as right as rain the doctors had sewn the hand back on and it was practically as good as new. After a few weeks the same man was unfortunate enough to trip on a loose shoelace and he fell into the circular saw, with the result that this time the blade took off his whole arm! “Quick, quick” said the manager” The same proceedure as last time put the arm in a plastic bag and rush him to casualty”. Quite a while passes but after a few months the man comes back to work. The arm had been sewn on again and he was ready for work once again. It,s hard to believe but after being at work for a while the same man , he must have been extremely clumsy!, fell once again into the circular saw but this time the blade took off his head. “O.K” said the manager”You know what to do lads, get the plastic bag. Head in the bag off to casualty with him.” After several months the manager asked one of the men who had taken Jensen as he was called to hospital, if he had heard anything of how things had turned out. “No” said the man,” but I,ll ring the hospital and ask how he is if you like.” On ringing to the hospital the man was told that unfortunately Jensen had been pronounced D.O.A.(dead on arrival) at the hospital the same day they had brought him in, they were unable to do anything for him. The cause of death had been asphyxiation, due to the fact that the people at the sawmill had tied a knot at the top of the plastic bag and Jensen had died from lack of air on the way to hospital.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
CHAPTER TWELVE.
One of the owners I had ridden horses for when at Vaseys was Mr Alec Donald a resident of Singapore, he came out to Singapore in the twenties and had worked his way up through the ranks at Fraser and Neave the mineral water people dominant in the Far East and was at this time managing director for two breweries,Tiger and Anchor as well as the mineral water company.A good man to know in this part of the world. I had a letter of introduction to him from the Guvnor and he took me under his wing during the time I spent in Singapore.The Guvnor had written to him and told him I was on his island and suggested that he get in touch with me,this he did by ringing to Seletar 390 M.U. and giving them his phone number and asking me to ring him up.He remembered me from his last trip to England when he visited Vasey,s yard and asked if I would like to come out to his home one evening for a meal with himself and his wife.When I said my brother was also stationed at Seletar he said I should take him with me even though he wasn,t a horse person,he would send his chauffor to bring us out to his house on an evening that suited us!I still have a photograph of Alec Donalds car,it was a large american model,either a Pontiac or a Plymouth I think,complete with chauffor in a white uniform.The guardroom were falling over themselves to get a glimpse of us being ushered into the car by the bowing ,smiling driver on the evening he came to fetch us I can tell you.
One of the owners I had ridden horses for when at Vaseys was Mr Alec Donald a resident of Singapore, he came out to Singapore in the twenties and had worked his way up through the ranks at Fraser and Neave the mineral water people dominant in the Far East and was at this time managing director for two breweries,Tiger and Anchor as well as the mineral water company.A good man to know in this part of the world. I had a letter of introduction to him from the Guvnor and he took me under his wing during the time I spent in Singapore.The Guvnor had written to him and told him I was on his island and suggested that he get in touch with me,this he did by ringing to Seletar 390 M.U. and giving them his phone number and asking me to ring him up.He remembered me from his last trip to England when he visited Vasey,s yard and asked if I would like to come out to his home one evening for a meal with himself and his wife.When I said my brother was also stationed at Seletar he said I should take him with me even though he wasn,t a horse person,he would send his chauffor to bring us out to his house on an evening that suited us!I still have a photograph of Alec Donalds car,it was a large american model,either a Pontiac or a Plymouth I think,complete with chauffor in a white uniform.The guardroom were falling over themselves to get a glimpse of us being ushered into the car by the bowing ,smiling driver on the evening he came to fetch us I can tell you.
Alan was most impressed as he said anyone who has a private chauffor living on the premises available 24 hours a day has to be someone of importance. A chauffor is the last servant any one employs in the tropics, usually people take on a cook or a maid, going on to a gardener and only the very wealthy would take on a full time chauffor. We were taken to Mr Donalds home,this was in a beautiful spot with huge grounds up in the hills behind Singapore city where we treated like royalty,they made us very welcome indeed and put on a lovely meal,all malayan cuisine .I can,t remember how many dishes were served but everything was very tasty indeed and suited my palate admirably as I had gone on to eating local native food at the mess soon after coming to Seletar.
Alan was most impressed as he said anyone who has a private chauffor living on the premises available 24 hours a day has to be someone of importance. A chauffor is the last servant any one employs in the tropics, usually people take on a cook or a maid, going on to a gardener and only the very wealthy would take on a full time chauffor. We were taken to Mr Donalds home,this was in a beautiful spot with huge grounds up in the hills behind Singapore city where we treated like royalty,they made us very welcome indeed and put on a lovely meal,all malayan cuisine .I can,t remember how many dishes were served but everything was very tasty indeed and suited my palate admirably as I had gone on to eating local native food at the mess soon after coming to Seletar.
The evening passed very quickly indeed, for me anyway, as Alec Donald and I talked horses and racing most of the evening and it was here that I learnt that apart from everything else he did on Singapore island, that he was also one of the judges at the local racecourse at Bukit Timah.I think Alan may have felt a little left out of things that evening although he never complained and back at the camp he was loud in praise of Alec and his wife when anyone came along to ask how we had gone on.
The evening passed very quickly indeed, for me anyway, as Alec Donald and I talked horses and racing most of the evening and it was here that I learnt that apart from everything else he did on Singapore island, that he was also one of the judges at the local racecourse at Bukit Timah.I think Alan may have felt a little left out of things that evening although he never complained and back at the camp he was loud in praise of Alec and his wife when anyone came along to ask how we had gone on.
Alec told me that the jockey,s on the island were very close knit and that it would be impossible for me to get a license to ride at Bukit Timah as it was a very closed shop with only australians and chinese jockeys being granted licenses, even the top jockeys from other countries were given the cold shoulder when visiting the island,so my chances of getting to ride were nonexistent.What he could do however was to second me as a member of the Bukit timah racecourse and get me a membership for the time I was stationed out there so that at least I wouldn,t be out of touch altogether.He kept his promise and even to this day I still have my plastic membership token advising that I was to be admitted to the members enclosure at Bukit Timah. These were certainly happy days!
Alec told me that the jockey,s on the island were very close knit and that it would be impossible for me to get a license to ride at Bukit Timah as it was a very closed shop with only australians and chinese jockeys being granted licenses, even the top jockeys from other countries were given the cold shoulder when visiting the island,so my chances of getting to ride were nonexistent.What he could do however was to second me as a member of the Bukit timah racecourse and get me a membership for the time I was stationed out there so that at least I wouldn,t be out of touch altogether.He kept his promise and even to this day I still have my plastic membership token advising that I was to be admitted to the members enclosure at Bukit Timah. These were certainly happy days!
Alec used to mark my card for me, as I very rarely saw a local newspaper and had no idea of the form of anything that ran out there, although I did however run into one or two horses that I had seen when at Vasey,s. Percy Vasey had at that time begun to export racehorses from England to Singapore. Alec,s tips were usually close to the mark and I had one or two very good days at Bukit Timah,coming back to camp with more than a couple of months wages in my pocket,and usually treating myself to a slap up meal in Seletar village on the way back .It was actually after one of these afternoons at the racecourse and after my meal that my eye was caught by a china tea set in one of the chinese shops in the village that I thought would be a nice present for my mother.No sooner said than done. I bought the tea set and the shop owner spent some time showing me how each piece would be individually wrapped to guard against any breakage,I told him that if it didn,t arrive in perfect condition I would be looking for him later on!
Alec used to mark my card for me, as I very rarely saw a local newspaper and had no idea of the form of anything that ran out there, although I did however run into one or two horses that I had seen when at Vasey,s. Percy Vasey had at that time begun to export racehorses from England to Singapore. Alec,s tips were usually close to the mark and I had one or two very good days at Bukit Timah,coming back to camp with more than a couple of months wages in my pocket,and usually treating myself to a slap up meal in Seletar village on the way back .It was actually after one of these afternoons at the racecourse and after my meal that my eye was caught by a china tea set in one of the chinese shops in the village that I thought would be a nice present for my mother.No sooner said than done. I bought the tea set and the shop owner spent some time showing me how each piece would be individually wrapped to guard against any breakage,I told him that if it didn,t arrive in perfect condition I would be looking for him later on!
A month later I got a letter from mum thanking me for the tea set, nothing was broken and she was overjoyed,I still have her thank you letter saying how much she appreciated this present ,and truth to tell I now have the tea set too as it came to us after mums death. It,s the blue tea set in which a chinese lady,s head can be seen in the bottom of the cup if its held up to the light,if anyone is interested.
A month later I got a letter from mum thanking me for the tea set, nothing was broken and she was overjoyed,I still have her thank you letter saying how much she appreciated this present ,and truth to tell I now have the tea set too as it came to us after mums death. It,s the blue tea set in which a chinese lady,s head can be seen in the bottom of the cup if its held up to the light,if anyone is interested.
Alan,s time in the east was nearing an end,he had already prolonged his stay by a year,extending his tour to three and a half years istead of the normal tour of two and a half years,he said that this was so he could keep an eye on me,but I,m sure this was only half way true.He loved the life out east,no cares,a beautiful climate,good mates,a taste for both Tiger and Anchor beer,cheap cigarettes from the N.A.A.F.I.,a reasonable wage as he was now a junior technician,very few clothing expenses as most of the time he slopped around the camp in shorts and a tee shirt.If he wanted civilian clothing he could get tailor made shirts,suits or sports trousers run up at one of the shops in Paya Lebar for next to nothing as the competition between the tailors shops was very fierce indeed.Yes, Alan had to be dragged screaming to the boat ,not like most of we others who would have left the island at the drop of a hat in spite of the climate and the good conditions.
Alan,s time in the east was nearing an end,he had already prolonged his stay by a year,extending his tour to three and a half years istead of the normal tour of two and a half years,he said that this was so he could keep an eye on me,but I,m sure this was only half way true.He loved the life out east,no cares,a beautiful climate,good mates,a taste for both Tiger and Anchor beer,cheap cigarettes from the N.A.A.F.I.,a reasonable wage as he was now a junior technician,very few clothing expenses as most of the time he slopped around the camp in shorts and a tee shirt.If he wanted civilian clothing he could get tailor made shirts,suits or sports trousers run up at one of the shops in Paya Lebar for next to nothing as the competition between the tailors shops was very fierce indeed.Yes, Alan had to be dragged screaming to the boat ,not like most of we others who would have left the island at the drop of a hat in spite of the climate and the good conditions.
Alan had occupied the bed directly opposite my bed space so that we had the two beds closest to the rifle rack, the day he left a new bloke moved into his bed space,a corporal ,a scot who although I didn,t know it at the time was to become my best friend for the rest of my stay in Singapore.Charlie Hunter was his name,he had already served a tour in Germany and was a married man,his wife June was to follow him out when he found somewhere suitable for them to live outside the camp.The reason for this was the fact that Seletar was short of married quarters and that the waiting list for accomodation was as long as your arm,it took about a year on camp before there could be any possibility of a married couple living together at all,so the solution was live outside the camp in private accomodation.
Alan had occupied the bed directly opposite my bed space so that we had the two beds closest to the rifle rack, the day he left a new bloke moved into his bed space,a corporal ,a scot who although I didn,t know it at the time was to become my best friend for the rest of my stay in Singapore.Charlie Hunter was his name,he had already served a tour in Germany and was a married man,his wife June was to follow him out when he found somewhere suitable for them to live outside the camp.The reason for this was the fact that Seletar was short of married quarters and that the waiting list for accomodation was as long as your arm,it took about a year on camp before there could be any possibility of a married couple living together at all,so the solution was live outside the camp in private accomodation.
Charlie and I got on famously right from the word go, I helped him to settle in and showed him around the camp and before long we were scouring the local newspapers looking for somewhere for them to live. We eventually found a place in the grounds of a chinese business mans villa,it was a two room wooden shack with el-san toilet but with running water (cold) a shower and a small kitchen,it was very expensive for what it was but Charlie said it,s only until we are granted married quarters,so what the hell?The main bug bear was the fact that this place was about twelve miles from the camp and that without some form of transport Charlie was going to be in trouble.The problem was solved soon afterwards however as one of the people Charlie worked with at G.E.S. flight, they were all blacksmiths fitters or welders down there ,was due to be posted home as being time expired,he owned a small Ford in reasonable condition and a price was agreed upon.So now Charlie had a house and a car and all that remained was for his wife June to be given a passage out to Singapore,Charlie was an old timer,having been in the R.A.F. for quite a few years and he knew which buttons to push and which strings to pull so that it wasn,t very long before a letter arrived from Ipswich (June.s home town) telling him that she was on the boat!
Charlie and I got on famously right from the word go, I helped him to settle in and showed him around the camp and before long we were scouring the local newspapers looking for somewhere for them to live. We eventually found a place in the grounds of a chinese business mans villa,it was a two room wooden shack with el-san toilet but with running water (cold) a shower and a small kitchen,it was very expensive for what it was but Charlie said it,s only until we are granted married quarters,so what the hell?The main bug bear was the fact that this place was about twelve miles from the camp and that without some form of transport Charlie was going to be in trouble.The problem was solved soon afterwards however as one of the people Charlie worked with at G.E.S. flight, they were all blacksmiths fitters or welders down there ,was due to be posted home as being time expired,he owned a small Ford in reasonable condition and a price was agreed upon.So now Charlie had a house and a car and all that remained was for his wife June to be given a passage out to Singapore,Charlie was an old timer,having been in the R.A.F. for quite a few years and he knew which buttons to push and which strings to pull so that it wasn,t very long before a letter arrived from Ipswich (June.s home town) telling him that she was on the boat!
June turned out to be a very mild person and a good sport, she had to be as Charlie was one of the biggest leg-pullers I ever came across, and they settled in at their new home and Charlie moved out of our billet to live outside the camp,not for very long however as after a few months they were granted married quarters and we got to see quite a lot of each other during the rest of my stay. June became pregnant very quickly after her arrival and within the year their son Ian was born at the R.A.F. hospital in Changi. I was asked to be his god-father as by now Charlie regarded me as one of his best friends and neither Charlie nor June had any relations who could have afforded to make the trip out east for the christening. I still have the pictures taken on the day he was christened and have often wondered what sort of life he has had ,I wasn,t much good as a god-father for Ian I,m afraid ,but I was his main baby sitter at Seletar in his early years when ever his parents wanted a night on their own.
June turned out to be a very mild person and a good sport, she had to be as Charlie was one of the biggest leg-pullers I ever came across, and they settled in at their new home and Charlie moved out of our billet to live outside the camp,not for very long however as after a few months they were granted married quarters and we got to see quite a lot of each other during the rest of my stay. June became pregnant very quickly after her arrival and within the year their son Ian was born at the R.A.F. hospital in Changi. I was asked to be his god-father as by now Charlie regarded me as one of his best friends and neither Charlie nor June had any relations who could have afforded to make the trip out east for the christening. I still have the pictures taken on the day he was christened and have often wondered what sort of life he has had ,I wasn,t much good as a god-father for Ian I,m afraid ,but I was his main baby sitter at Seletar in his early years when ever his parents wanted a night on their own.
I dont know if I mentioned this earlier but Charlie Hunter was a boxer and had represented the R.A.F in the inter services championships whilst he was in Germany, winning the welter weight title. He kept himself very fit and spent a lot of his time in the ring sparring with the rest of the boxing team of Seletar, no one was a match for him however as most of them were novices compared to Charlie,he had been boxing ever since he was a young boy .At this time a man called Alec Buxton was the welter weight champion of England and he came out to Singapore to defend his title,I dont remember the name of his opponent but it will be in the record books I suppose.He too was short of a sparring partner as nearly all the boxers out east are locals and very much on the light side,most of them are fly weight,bantam weight or feather weight ,his manager rang to the camp and asked the commanding officer if it would be possible to borrow a couple of boxers from the team to spar with Alec for a few rounds before the fight on saturday night?
I dont know if I mentioned this earlier but Charlie Hunter was a boxer and had represented the R.A.F in the inter services championships whilst he was in Germany, winning the welter weight title. He kept himself very fit and spent a lot of his time in the ring sparring with the rest of the boxing team of Seletar, no one was a match for him however as most of them were novices compared to Charlie,he had been boxing ever since he was a young boy .At this time a man called Alec Buxton was the welter weight champion of England and he came out to Singapore to defend his title,I dont remember the name of his opponent but it will be in the record books I suppose.He too was short of a sparring partner as nearly all the boxers out east are locals and very much on the light side,most of them are fly weight,bantam weight or feather weight ,his manager rang to the camp and asked the commanding officer if it would be possible to borrow a couple of boxers from the team to spar with Alec for a few rounds before the fight on saturday night?
Charlie volunteered for the job and went down to the Happy World amusement park to help out!I didn,t see Charlie for a few days as our paths didn,t cross every day but the next time I did see him I had a hard time recognizing him!He sported the biggest black eye I have ever seen on anybody,the whole of the left hand side of his face was as black as coal,from his chin to his hairline.He laughed about it however and said,yes Johnny prof boxing is quite a different game from the boxing we know as amateurs ,Alec Buxton had apologised for putting him down in a training session but hadn,t been able to refrain from following up when Charlie had dropped his guard.He didn,t knock him out but it was a close shave.As far as I remember Alec Buxton lost his title shortly afterwards and disappeared from the boxing scene.
Charlie volunteered for the job and went down to the Happy World amusement park to help out!I didn,t see Charlie for a few days as our paths didn,t cross every day but the next time I did see him I had a hard time recognizing him!He sported the biggest black eye I have ever seen on anybody,the whole of the left hand side of his face was as black as coal,from his chin to his hairline.He laughed about it however and said,yes Johnny prof boxing is quite a different game from the boxing we know as amateurs ,Alec Buxton had apologised for putting him down in a training session but hadn,t been able to refrain from following up when Charlie had dropped his guard.He didn,t knock him out but it was a close shave.As far as I remember Alec Buxton lost his title shortly afterwards and disappeared from the boxing scene.
Some time after this event Charlie turned up at my bedside one evening after a training session and after a little small talk asked me how much I weighed? By this time I was in my own opinion quite a big lad,from the 7 stone 3 pounds I had scaled when joining up I was now on the way to 8 stones although still quite a dwarf by normal standards.When I said I weighed around 8 stone Charlie said, great, we are short of a bantamweight for the Novice championships being held between the three RAF stations on the island in a couple of months!All you have to do is put in an appearance on the evening and we get one point for having a contestant in the final,Tengah have no bantamweight on their team and Changi have a real novice so you will go straight into the final bout.After seeing Charlie,s black eye recently, getting into a boxing ring and letting someone throw punches at me wasn,t my idea of good clean fun at all. I said Charlie you must be going round the bend there is no way you are going to talk me into boxing for this Station, novice or no novice,NO-NO-NO.I hope I make myself clear?Charlie kept up his sales patter however,telling me that anyone who was on the boxing team would be free from all forms of guard duty during the training period,that the team were allowed an extra hours sleep in the mornings and that a special menu would always be available at the cookhouse for the lads that were on the team.None of this made any impression however and he went home to June still short of a member on the team.
Some time after this event Charlie turned up at my bedside one evening after a training session and after a little small talk asked me how much I weighed? By this time I was in my own opinion quite a big lad,from the 7 stone 3 pounds I had scaled when joining up I was now on the way to 8 stones although still quite a dwarf by normal standards.When I said I weighed around 8 stone Charlie said, great, we are short of a bantamweight for the Novice championships being held between the three RAF stations on the island in a couple of months!All you have to do is put in an appearance on the evening and we get one point for having a contestant in the final,Tengah have no bantamweight on their team and Changi have a real novice so you will go straight into the final bout.After seeing Charlie,s black eye recently, getting into a boxing ring and letting someone throw punches at me wasn,t my idea of good clean fun at all. I said Charlie you must be going round the bend there is no way you are going to talk me into boxing for this Station, novice or no novice,NO-NO-NO.I hope I make myself clear?Charlie kept up his sales patter however,telling me that anyone who was on the boxing team would be free from all forms of guard duty during the training period,that the team were allowed an extra hours sleep in the mornings and that a special menu would always be available at the cookhouse for the lads that were on the team.None of this made any impression however and he went home to June still short of a member on the team.
A couple of days later however I was called before the officer commanding AESF flight and asked if I had had second thoughts about joining the boxing team. He had had an enquiry from the station commander Wing Commander Opie, asking him to have a chat with me about putting in for the team. Reading between the lines I felt that if I kept on saying I was not interested my name was going to be mud at A.E.S.F. ,and as Charlie said to me,all I had to do was put in an appearance and the team got one point extra for my attendance.This one point was going to be critical to the total outcome as Seletar were already quite sure,barring accidents, of winning several weight classes.If I didn,t box I was in for a difficult time I could see.
A couple of days later however I was called before the officer commanding AESF flight and asked if I had had second thoughts about joining the boxing team. He had had an enquiry from the station commander Wing Commander Opie, asking him to have a chat with me about putting in for the team. Reading between the lines I felt that if I kept on saying I was not interested my name was going to be mud at A.E.S.F. ,and as Charlie said to me,all I had to do was put in an appearance and the team got one point extra for my attendance.This one point was going to be critical to the total outcome as Seletar were already quite sure,barring accidents, of winning several weight classes.If I didn,t box I was in for a difficult time I could see.
So this was how I came to be in the station gym along with a punch drunk sergeant, he,d been boxing for many years and his face certainly bore traces of this,he told me his nose had been broken more times than he could remember! Not a very cheering thought for anyone who was unwillingly entering a boxing ring for the first time, the team were a very cheerful lot, with all the light classes being made up from local Malayan recruits.At first I was shown how to punch from the shoulder,”not like a girl airman,”and spent some hours on the bag,next I was shown how to cover up,keep your head up lad but tuck your chin into your shoulder,straight lefts,straight rights,uppercuts!Weight lifting,running,skipping,shadow boxing I began to feel quite at home in the gym and the rest of the team stopped taking the piss out of me,the first time I felt that I was getting somewhere was the evening “Punchy” put me in the ring with a malayan fly weight called Loke just for sparring he told me!I dont know what he,d told the other lad but it must have been something like,”Try to knock his head off”.He certainly came at me like a whirlwind I must say and even with Punchy hanging over the ropes all the time giving me good advice I had a hard time keeping him at bay even though he was a flyweight and seven pounds lighter than I was at that time.The bout ended when he ran into my straight left and ended on his arse in the middle of the ring with a dazed expression on his face,I was quite elated,especially so when he complimented me on my good punch, at last I was beginning to feel that I might not get beaten to a bloody pulp in the championships after all.
So this was how I came to be in the station gym along with a punch drunk sergeant, he,d been boxing for many years and his face certainly bore traces of this,he told me his nose had been broken more times than he could remember! Not a very cheering thought for anyone who was unwillingly entering a boxing ring for the first time, the team were a very cheerful lot, with all the light classes being made up from local Malayan recruits.At first I was shown how to punch from the shoulder,”not like a girl airman,”and spent some hours on the bag,next I was shown how to cover up,keep your head up lad but tuck your chin into your shoulder,straight lefts,straight rights,uppercuts!Weight lifting,running,skipping,shadow boxing I began to feel quite at home in the gym and the rest of the team stopped taking the piss out of me,the first time I felt that I was getting somewhere was the evening “Punchy” put me in the ring with a malayan fly weight called Loke just for sparring he told me!I dont know what he,d told the other lad but it must have been something like,”Try to knock his head off”.He certainly came at me like a whirlwind I must say and even with Punchy hanging over the ropes all the time giving me good advice I had a hard time keeping him at bay even though he was a flyweight and seven pounds lighter than I was at that time.The bout ended when he ran into my straight left and ended on his arse in the middle of the ring with a dazed expression on his face,I was quite elated,especially so when he complimented me on my good punch, at last I was beginning to feel that I might not get beaten to a bloody pulp in the championships after all.
Charlie was very pleased with me and gave me a lot of encouragement in the weeks up to the contest and truth to tell I even began to look forward to climbing into the ring on the big night at Tengah,I rather liked the thought of being in the public eye again although this time I wouldn,t be appearing in jockey silks.I still have the programme from that evening and I can see that bout number eight should have been between me and an A.C. from Changi called Damon,unfortunately Damon had been taken ill shortly before the evening of the contest and Changi were allowed to put up a substitute.The substitute was no novice however,he had over 100 fights under his belt and was only allowed to compete as a novice that evening because he was a novice in my weight class,he should have been banned from taking part at all, but our teams officer in charge agreed to the contest in order to fill out the evenings entertainment.
Charlie was very pleased with me and gave me a lot of encouragement in the weeks up to the contest and truth to tell I even began to look forward to climbing into the ring on the big night at Tengah,I rather liked the thought of being in the public eye again although this time I wouldn,t be appearing in jockey silks.I still have the programme from that evening and I can see that bout number eight should have been between me and an A.C. from Changi called Damon,unfortunately Damon had been taken ill shortly before the evening of the contest and Changi were allowed to put up a substitute.The substitute was no novice however,he had over 100 fights under his belt and was only allowed to compete as a novice that evening because he was a novice in my weight class,he should have been banned from taking part at all, but our teams officer in charge agreed to the contest in order to fill out the evenings entertainment.
Need I say he slaughtered me? I remember getting into the ring and trading a few punches with A.C.Downes but remember very little after this until about 15 minutes later when I was having a wash up in the ablutions .As soon as the cold water touched the back of my neck I came round and was amazed to find that I was not still in the ring with A.C.Downes, I was alone, my gloves and bandages were nowhere to be seen and my gumshield was missing.I got into my clothes and after packing my bag went into the hall to find the others.They were quite relieved to see me on my feet and talking lucidly,I was told the following story.
Need I say he slaughtered me? I remember getting into the ring and trading a few punches with A.C.Downes but remember very little after this until about 15 minutes later when I was having a wash up in the ablutions .As soon as the cold water touched the back of my neck I came round and was amazed to find that I was not still in the ring with A.C.Downes, I was alone, my gloves and bandages were nowhere to be seen and my gumshield was missing.I got into my clothes and after packing my bag went into the hall to find the others.They were quite relieved to see me on my feet and talking lucidly,I was told the following story.
A.C.Downes had knocked me down with a blow to the jaw after about one minutes boxing and during the next few minutes had had me on the canvas four separate times, I got up every time and faced up to him again only to be floored once again, after four knock downs and only seconds from the end of the first round Punchy couldn,t bear to watch the slaughter any more and threw in the towel on my behalf. I had been presented with a medal as runner up and had left the others to get changed, even to this day that evening is a complete blank for a period of about 15 minutes! At the end of the evening I was presented with a small silver cup as compensation, they said it was for the pluckiest performance of the evening but as I was unconscious at the time anyway,and it was only on instinct I was getting to my feet again to carry on the bout I dont think this cup should have been presented to me that evening.I,ve been told later that the lad that gave me the hiding of my life went on to be professional bantam weight champion of europe when he was released from the R.A.F. I still have my medal, the cup and a photo of the team with the Far Eastern Malaya Boxing Association trophy,we just scraped home as forecast by the one extra point that my appearance had earned us!
A.C.Downes had knocked me down with a blow to the jaw after about one minutes boxing and during the next few minutes had had me on the canvas four separate times, I got up every time and faced up to him again only to be floored once again, after four knock downs and only seconds from the end of the first round Punchy couldn,t bear to watch the slaughter any more and threw in the towel on my behalf. I had been presented with a medal as runner up and had left the others to get changed, even to this day that evening is a complete blank for a period of about 15 minutes! At the end of the evening I was presented with a small silver cup as compensation, they said it was for the pluckiest performance of the evening but as I was unconscious at the time anyway,and it was only on instinct I was getting to my feet again to carry on the bout I dont think this cup should have been presented to me that evening.I,ve been told later that the lad that gave me the hiding of my life went on to be professional bantam weight champion of europe when he was released from the R.A.F. I still have my medal, the cup and a photo of the team with the Far Eastern Malaya Boxing Association trophy,we just scraped home as forecast by the one extra point that my appearance had earned us!
Looking at this photo now, I,m the last man at the end of the row on the right in the picture,I can see that I was the only real novice on that team and the photograph clearly shows this,if you look at all the others they have crossed their hands behind their biceps in order to give the impression of having bigger biceps than they really are equipped with,whilst I,(not knowing the tricks of the trade) have my hands placed around my biceps from the front.Happy days.Need I say I resigned from the boxing team immediately after this contest?
Looking at this photo now, I,m the last man at the end of the row on the right in the picture,I can see that I was the only real novice on that team and the photograph clearly shows this,if you look at all the others they have crossed their hands behind their biceps in order to give the impression of having bigger biceps than they really are equipped with,whilst I,(not knowing the tricks of the trade) have my hands placed around my biceps from the front.Happy days.Need I say I resigned from the boxing team immediately after this contest?
Shortly after this episode I found my name on the notice board at A.E.S.F. detailing me to collect my kit and make for Fraser,s Hill, the official explanation for postings to Fraser,s Hill was that we were on a course,bandit combat training,new weapons,nerve gas instruction etc,etc,but the gen in the ranks said that after more than eighteen months on the island the medics were inclined to send people up to Fraser,s Hill to experience a change of climate. It was certainly that, Fraser,s Hill is on top of a mountain and it got very cold during the nights although the temperature during the day was just as warm as Singapore the air was great and humidity much less than on the island,it made a nice change.The people on the course were a mixture of all trades and all ranks,the main difference being that all married officers were allowed to take their wifes along,this was not the case for the ordinary other ranks and this caused some bad feeling.
Shortly after this episode I found my name on the notice board at A.E.S.F. detailing me to collect my kit and make for Fraser,s Hill, the official explanation for postings to Fraser,s Hill was that we were on a course,bandit combat training,new weapons,nerve gas instruction etc,etc,but the gen in the ranks said that after more than eighteen months on the island the medics were inclined to send people up to Fraser,s Hill to experience a change of climate. It was certainly that, Fraser,s Hill is on top of a mountain and it got very cold during the nights although the temperature during the day was just as warm as Singapore the air was great and humidity much less than on the island,it made a nice change.The people on the course were a mixture of all trades and all ranks,the main difference being that all married officers were allowed to take their wifes along,this was not the case for the ordinary other ranks and this caused some bad feeling.
We were taken out on an exercise nearly every day and had to practice being ambushed, when ambushed we had to jump from the side of the lorry into the foliage at the side of the road as quickly as possible,practically diving over the side as if diving into a swimming pool.This was quite hair raising as no one ever knew how far they were going to fall before hitting the ground,we jumped into the greenery and eventually the foliage or your hitting the earth stopped your fall,sprains, bruises and abrasions were the order of the day .On our third day one poor so and so broke his leg in the fall and was taken back to camp to the sick bay ,his leg was splinted but he had to wait until transport was available the next day before being moved down to hospital. A couple of days later the wife of one of the officers on the course complained of tooth ache, this may be hard to believe but within the hour a helicopter landed on the football field and took the sufferer to the dentist! This incident really put the other ranks backs up I can tell you, there was much muttering in the ranks about the different way these cases had been treated,an airmans broken leg was obviously not as important as an officers wife,s aching tooth and many bitter things were said .Things got to such a state that the Commanding officer invited everyone to a social evening to try and improve relations between officers and other ranks, the evening looked like being a fiasco as the lads got stuck into the beer and were very quickly far from sober,everyone was asked to contribute something to the evenings entertainment,recite a poem,sing a song or tell a story. The songs the lads sung were things like Darling Maggy May and This Old Shirt of Mine these are both extremely obscene and not quite the thing the officers wives were used to hearing. To tell the truth some of them did leave the party, I stood up and recited Gunga Din which went down well. Later on I had to sing a duet with the commanding officers wife as I was the only one in the gathering that would admit that I knew the words to The Foggy Foggy Dew, having had a few drinks this didn,t bother me at all and the lads gave us a good hand afterwards. After the social evening things improved quite a bit and by the end of the course everything was back to normal, the CO. had obviously had the right idea,it,s hard to be angry with someone you,ve had a pleasant evening with the night before.
We were taken out on an exercise nearly every day and had to practice being ambushed, when ambushed we had to jump from the side of the lorry into the foliage at the side of the road as quickly as possible,practically diving over the side as if diving into a swimming pool.This was quite hair raising as no one ever knew how far they were going to fall before hitting the ground,we jumped into the greenery and eventually the foliage or your hitting the earth stopped your fall,sprains, bruises and abrasions were the order of the day .On our third day one poor so and so broke his leg in the fall and was taken back to camp to the sick bay ,his leg was splinted but he had to wait until transport was available the next day before being moved down to hospital. A couple of days later the wife of one of the officers on the course complained of tooth ache, this may be hard to believe but within the hour a helicopter landed on the football field and took the sufferer to the dentist! This incident really put the other ranks backs up I can tell you, there was much muttering in the ranks about the different way these cases had been treated,an airmans broken leg was obviously not as important as an officers wife,s aching tooth and many bitter things were said .Things got to such a state that the Commanding officer invited everyone to a social evening to try and improve relations between officers and other ranks, the evening looked like being a fiasco as the lads got stuck into the beer and were very quickly far from sober,everyone was asked to contribute something to the evenings entertainment,recite a poem,sing a song or tell a story. The songs the lads sung were things like Darling Maggy May and This Old Shirt of Mine these are both extremely obscene and not quite the thing the officers wives were used to hearing. To tell the truth some of them did leave the party, I stood up and recited Gunga Din which went down well. Later on I had to sing a duet with the commanding officers wife as I was the only one in the gathering that would admit that I knew the words to The Foggy Foggy Dew, having had a few drinks this didn,t bother me at all and the lads gave us a good hand afterwards. After the social evening things improved quite a bit and by the end of the course everything was back to normal, the CO. had obviously had the right idea,it,s hard to be angry with someone you,ve had a pleasant evening with the night before.
The course at Frasers Hill was soon over and we were all sent back to our respective units not any wiser I,m afraid, but at least we had had the benefit of a change of air after so many months in the humidity of the lowlands.Shortly after my return to Seletar it was Nevilles turn to say goodbye to A.E.S.F. and make his way down to the boat to be taken back to dear old Blighty, and for a few weeks I was head man in the radio section,I had to be as I was now on my own. Nevilles replacement, when he eventually arrived was a corporal who,s name I am at a loss to recall just at the moment,I,ll have to look him up in my photo album next time I,m in the basement, he was from southern england and made fun of my broad yorkshire accent, his pet name for me was Nooter! This he said was the way I pronounced Nutter meaning “Nutcase”, his time at A.E.S.F. was very limited as his tour of duty was nearly up when he came to us,so it wasn,t very long before I was on my own once again.One evening Andy and Geordie came around to tell me they were thinking of putting in an application for a weeks leave at Tanjong Bunga on the island of Penang,Tanjong Bunga was a large house on the coast reputedly owned by a rich chinese who had lost his son during the occupation.The house was open to all in the R.A.F. who wanted a holiday by the sea, the only distinction between officers and other ranks being the fact that officers and females were accomodated in the house proper,whilst the other ranks were billeted in two nissens huts in the grounds. Tanjong Bunga was certainly one of the highlights of my tour in the Far East. We were treated like royalty and the bar was open from ten in the morning until midnight, Bass was available for the people that prefered to drink english beer, I was one of them, with Tiger and Anchor on tap for the ones that prefered the local brew. Time went very quickly here and we were given the choice everyday between going out on our own to explore the island ,going on guided tours run by the Malcom Club or staying at home to just laze the day away on the gorgeous beach that was part of the grounds. I still have my photo album with quite a few photographs from this holiday, the food was great, and quite a change from cookhouse meals,being served in individual portions and not in huge vats as was the case in Seletar it was in this dining room that a lot of the lads had their first taste of better living, we had a great holiday and as usual time flew by. It seemed as if we had no sooner got of the plane than we were at the airfield at Butterworth again already on the way home. We were all agreed that Penang had been the best bit of our stay out east at that time, we were also agreed that we would apply again next year for a week on this beautiful island.
The course at Frasers Hill was soon over and we were all sent back to our respective units not any wiser I,m afraid, but at least we had had the benefit of a change of air after so many months in the humidity of the lowlands.Shortly after my return to Seletar it was Nevilles turn to say goodbye to A.E.S.F. and make his way down to the boat to be taken back to dear old Blighty, and for a few weeks I was head man in the radio section,I had to be as I was now on my own. Nevilles replacement, when he eventually arrived was a corporal who,s name I am at a loss to recall just at the moment,I,ll have to look him up in my photo album next time I,m in the basement, he was from southern england and made fun of my broad yorkshire accent, his pet name for me was Nooter! This he said was the way I pronounced Nutter meaning “Nutcase”, his time at A.E.S.F. was very limited as his tour of duty was nearly up when he came to us,so it wasn,t very long before I was on my own once again.One evening Andy and Geordie came around to tell me they were thinking of putting in an application for a weeks leave at Tanjong Bunga on the island of Penang,Tanjong Bunga was a large house on the coast reputedly owned by a rich chinese who had lost his son during the occupation.The house was open to all in the R.A.F. who wanted a holiday by the sea, the only distinction between officers and other ranks being the fact that officers and females were accomodated in the house proper,whilst the other ranks were billeted in two nissens huts in the grounds. Tanjong Bunga was certainly one of the highlights of my tour in the Far East. We were treated like royalty and the bar was open from ten in the morning until midnight, Bass was available for the people that prefered to drink english beer, I was one of them, with Tiger and Anchor on tap for the ones that prefered the local brew. Time went very quickly here and we were given the choice everyday between going out on our own to explore the island ,going on guided tours run by the Malcom Club or staying at home to just laze the day away on the gorgeous beach that was part of the grounds. I still have my photo album with quite a few photographs from this holiday, the food was great, and quite a change from cookhouse meals,being served in individual portions and not in huge vats as was the case in Seletar it was in this dining room that a lot of the lads had their first taste of better living, we had a great holiday and as usual time flew by. It seemed as if we had no sooner got of the plane than we were at the airfield at Butterworth again already on the way home. We were all agreed that Penang had been the best bit of our stay out east at that time, we were also agreed that we would apply again next year for a week on this beautiful island.
Back on the island it was business as usual, back to guard duty at the bomb dump, badminton, swimming at the camp pool, servicing every kind of aircraft known to man at this time etc,etc. One of the things that I remember is the fact that when the japanese over ran the island the Royal Air Force had to leave 20 Tempest aircraft on the strip at Seletar these aircraft were never of any use to the japanese as they had no experience of flying them and also due to the fact that no spares were available for this type of aircraft. They were just left standing on the grass verge by the side of the runway during the whole occupation, when I arrived at Seletar these planes had been standing outside for over ten years,they had not been serviced at all during this time and as the years elapsed termites had eaten just about all the insulation from the wiring , the tyres had disintegrated years before and the landing gear had settled lower and lower into the ground as years went by. A really sorry sight, I have pictures of these aircraft too!
Back on the island it was business as usual, back to guard duty at the bomb dump, badminton, swimming at the camp pool, servicing every kind of aircraft known to man at this time etc,etc. One of the things that I remember is the fact that when the japanese over ran the island the Royal Air Force had to leave 20 Tempest aircraft on the strip at Seletar these aircraft were never of any use to the japanese as they had no experience of flying them and also due to the fact that no spares were available for this type of aircraft. They were just left standing on the grass verge by the side of the runway during the whole occupation, when I arrived at Seletar these planes had been standing outside for over ten years,they had not been serviced at all during this time and as the years elapsed termites had eaten just about all the insulation from the wiring , the tyres had disintegrated years before and the landing gear had settled lower and lower into the ground as years went by. A really sorry sight, I have pictures of these aircraft too!
To our surprise the word was out that the government had sold this load of scrap to the Pakistani Air Force? The idea being that the planes were to be cannibalized, everything that was of any use at all was to be put on one side to be used as spare parts, with the final result hopefully being that it would be possible to build complete aircraft from all the bits! I dont know who had come up with this brilliant idea, but the people that understood aircraft were shocked out of their senses, everyone thought it was a joke until they saw a huge transport plane with the Pakistani green square with white crescent on the tail taxi over to the A.E.S.F. hangar one day. The pakistani fitters and mechanics were with us for several months and I must say they were extremely competent, they were well trained and interested in what they were doing, every one of them was a professional, not at all like the bods we had to put up with who were mostly National Service men that couldn,t wait to get back on the boat. We had all said it just couldn,t be done but after three months they had assembled six aircraft from the bits and pieces of 20 aircraft in all,they had the engines ticking over , and had completely rewired the fuselage, the radio equipment was working,the hydraulics were pulled out and either replaced or repaired and new tyres had been fitted. The whole aircraft had been sanded, painted and polished so that at first glance one might have thought that these planes had just come of the production line,”Oh yes “said our test pilot Morgan” but can they fly? I wouldn,t fly one of those buggers for a million pounds,they,ve been down too long!. As it happened he didn,t have to fly any of these aircraft as the Pakistani Air Force brought out six pilots to fly the Tempests back to Pakistan,they spent a couple of days stooging around the island practising take offs and landings and weeding out the faults that appeared. When everything appeared to be O.K three of them left Seletar bound for Pakistan, they had been told to hug the coast all the way home so that they could navigate by following the coast if any of the instruments went on the blink.
To our surprise the word was out that the government had sold this load of scrap to the Pakistani Air Force? The idea being that the planes were to be cannibalized, everything that was of any use at all was to be put on one side to be used as spare parts, with the final result hopefully being that it would be possible to build complete aircraft from all the bits! I dont know who had come up with this brilliant idea, but the people that understood aircraft were shocked out of their senses, everyone thought it was a joke until they saw a huge transport plane with the Pakistani green square with white crescent on the tail taxi over to the A.E.S.F. hangar one day. The pakistani fitters and mechanics were with us for several months and I must say they were extremely competent, they were well trained and interested in what they were doing, every one of them was a professional, not at all like the bods we had to put up with who were mostly National Service men that couldn,t wait to get back on the boat. We had all said it just couldn,t be done but after three months they had assembled six aircraft from the bits and pieces of 20 aircraft in all,they had the engines ticking over , and had completely rewired the fuselage, the radio equipment was working,the hydraulics were pulled out and either replaced or repaired and new tyres had been fitted. The whole aircraft had been sanded, painted and polished so that at first glance one might have thought that these planes had just come of the production line,”Oh yes “said our test pilot Morgan” but can they fly? I wouldn,t fly one of those buggers for a million pounds,they,ve been down too long!. As it happened he didn,t have to fly any of these aircraft as the Pakistani Air Force brought out six pilots to fly the Tempests back to Pakistan,they spent a couple of days stooging around the island practising take offs and landings and weeding out the faults that appeared. When everything appeared to be O.K three of them left Seletar bound for Pakistan, they had been told to hug the coast all the way home so that they could navigate by following the coast if any of the instruments went on the blink.
We will never know what happened to these three for they were never ever heard from again, no wreckage was found, no distress signals were heard they just simply disappeared from the face of the earth.A couple of days later the remaining three planes were ready to leave and three whitefaced, in spite of their brown complexions, pilots climbed aboard, we wished them all a safe journey and watched them take off and fly off together in close formation, once again nothing more was ever heard from them,they too just disappeared, six young pilots with every chance of long careers either in the forces or as airline pilots just thrown away. I often wonder what the feelings of the pakistani and the british governments were regarding these losses, I hope the people that sold this load of scrap and the people that bought it have had many sleepless nights over this incident.
We will never know what happened to these three for they were never ever heard from again, no wreckage was found, no distress signals were heard they just simply disappeared from the face of the earth.A couple of days later the remaining three planes were ready to leave and three whitefaced, in spite of their brown complexions, pilots climbed aboard, we wished them all a safe journey and watched them take off and fly off together in close formation, once again nothing more was ever heard from them,they too just disappeared, six young pilots with every chance of long careers either in the forces or as airline pilots just thrown away. I often wonder what the feelings of the pakistani and the british governments were regarding these losses, I hope the people that sold this load of scrap and the people that bought it have had many sleepless nights over this incident.
Another story. A travelling salesman had made a habit of partaking of his packed lunch in the same laybye out in the country on his rounds and he had noticed that in the field by the side of the laybye there were two small patches of grass that the farmer never cut when he was harvesting his hay at the back end of the year. One day the farmer happened to be working close to the laybye and the salesman got out of his car and asked him why he always went around these two patches without cutting the grass?. Oh said the farmer that’s because when I was a young man that patch of grass there is where I had sex for the first time in my life and to me it is more or less a place of memorial. Oh said the salesman but what about the other patch close by? Ah said the farmer that was where her mother was standing watching us! Her mother? burst out the salesman ! What ever did she say? Og just MOOH like she always did said the farmer!
Another story. A travelling salesman had made a habit of partaking of his packed lunch in the same laybye out in the country on his rounds and he had noticed that in the field by the side of the laybye there were two small patches of grass that the farmer never cut when he was harvesting his hay at the back end of the year. One day the farmer happened to be working close to the laybye and the salesman got out of his car and asked him why he always went around these two patches without cutting the grass?. Oh said the farmer that’s because when I was a young man that patch of grass there is where I had sex for the first time in my life and to me it is more or less a place of memorial. Oh said the salesman but what about the other patch close by? Ah said the farmer that was where her mother was standing watching us! Her mother? burst out the salesman ! What ever did she say? Og just MOOH like she always did said the farmer!
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
My time in the Far East was drawing to a close and I was beginning to look forward to seeing the green and pleasant land once again. I had my T/E boks knocked up down at the station joiners shop for a few pints of Tiger, payable in the N.A.A.F.I. in the evenings and even had the chippy build a miniature replica of this box as a memento of my time out east. As the time for my departure came closer I began scanning the daily orders on the bulletin board for news of my departure date, name of the troopship etc. The other lads had a great time telling me that the powers that be had probably forgotten about me and that I was condemned to Seletar for the rest of my natural life!
My time in the Far East was drawing to a close and I was beginning to look forward to seeing the green and pleasant land once again. I had my T/E boks knocked up down at the station joiners shop for a few pints of Tiger, payable in the N.A.A.F.I. in the evenings and even had the chippy build a miniature replica of this box as a memento of my time out east. As the time for my departure came closer I began scanning the daily orders on the bulletin board for news of my departure date, name of the troopship etc. The other lads had a great time telling me that the powers that be had probably forgotten about me and that I was condemned to Seletar for the rest of my natural life!
After several weeks with no news, I asked the squadron officer if he would make enquiries as to when I could expect to leave Seletar, his reply was “ Oh that wont be for a while Donkin, due to the fact that we are shorthanded on A.E.S.F. and you being the only A.W.M. we have at the moment.As you must know things would grind to a halt if you left us,nothing would be able to fly if the signature for the wireless check wasn,t on the form! But dont worry we are trying to get a replacement for you and we have already notified the transport section that you will be one of the lucky one,s that get to fly all the way home,five days flying as against four weeks on the troopship is an added advantage dont you think?” I didnt agree with his view at all but there was nothing I could do about it, so my stay in Singapore was prolonged by another six weeks. I did how ever eventually get on the pickup that was taking time expired men to Changi to fly home, and my last recollection of A.E.S.F. was one of the sergeants on the flight running up to the pickup at the very last minute to get my signature for an inspection on a machine that was to fly out that morning. I told him that I had never seen the plane in question and couldn,t sign the form for the inspection in question,my replacement in the wireless bay had still not turned up! His reply was,”This transport will not be leaving for Changi before I have a signature on this bloody form.” I signed.
After several weeks with no news, I asked the squadron officer if he would make enquiries as to when I could expect to leave Seletar, his reply was “ Oh that wont be for a while Donkin, due to the fact that we are shorthanded on A.E.S.F. and you being the only A.W.M. we have at the moment.As you must know things would grind to a halt if you left us,nothing would be able to fly if the signature for the wireless check wasn,t on the form! But dont worry we are trying to get a replacement for you and we have already notified the transport section that you will be one of the lucky one,s that get to fly all the way home,five days flying as against four weeks on the troopship is an added advantage dont you think?” I didnt agree with his view at all but there was nothing I could do about it, so my stay in Singapore was prolonged by another six weeks. I did how ever eventually get on the pickup that was taking time expired men to Changi to fly home, and my last recollection of A.E.S.F. was one of the sergeants on the flight running up to the pickup at the very last minute to get my signature for an inspection on a machine that was to fly out that morning. I told him that I had never seen the plane in question and couldn,t sign the form for the inspection in question,my replacement in the wireless bay had still not turned up! His reply was,”This transport will not be leaving for Changi before I have a signature on this bloody form.” I signed.
On arrival at Changi we were told that the Hastings that was to take us back home had developed a fault and that we could expect to leave next day, we would have to stay the night in transit, some hopes! We eventually took off in the early morning three days later, in high spirits. At long last we were on our way! The high spirits lasted until we landed in Pakistan where the plane was grounded again due to a dicky motor, the airfield in Pakistan of which I,m happy to say I,ve forgotten the name, was right at the back of beyond,no vegetation of any kind, just sand and rocks and the transit billets were a disgrace. We were billeted in brick buildings but there were no doors or windows in any of these buildings. There was just wire netting stretching from one side of the window frame to the other and the door had been replaced by an angle iron frame covered by the same type of netting. I,ve seen cow byres that were more suited for living in than these billets!
On arrival at Changi we were told that the Hastings that was to take us back home had developed a fault and that we could expect to leave next day, we would have to stay the night in transit, some hopes! We eventually took off in the early morning three days later, in high spirits. At long last we were on our way! The high spirits lasted until we landed in Pakistan where the plane was grounded again due to a dicky motor, the airfield in Pakistan of which I,m happy to say I,ve forgotten the name, was right at the back of beyond,no vegetation of any kind, just sand and rocks and the transit billets were a disgrace. We were billeted in brick buildings but there were no doors or windows in any of these buildings. There was just wire netting stretching from one side of the window frame to the other and the door had been replaced by an angle iron frame covered by the same type of netting. I,ve seen cow byres that were more suited for living in than these billets!
Before we were let off the plane to go into transit we were told that we would only be allowed to take one packet of twenty cigarettes with us when leaving the plane as the rest of our tobacco supply would be under lock and key during our stay. If a heavy smoker had smoked the ration allowed before next day he would have to borrow from the lighter smokers that had cigarettes left over. If we were to stay for any length of time tobaco would be available from the aircraft every morning but still rationed to twenty cigarettes per day per person.
Before we were let off the plane to go into transit we were told that we would only be allowed to take one packet of twenty cigarettes with us when leaving the plane as the rest of our tobacco supply would be under lock and key during our stay. If a heavy smoker had smoked the ration allowed before next day he would have to borrow from the lighter smokers that had cigarettes left over. If we were to stay for any length of time tobaco would be available from the aircraft every morning but still rationed to twenty cigarettes per day per person.
The reason for this was apparent as soon as we left the plane, we were besieged by the local population all wanting to trade merchandise for tobacco, a packet of cigarettes bought locally cost nearly a pound sterling. The cigarettes we had on the aircraft were duty free just as they had been on camp during our stay on Singapore Island so tobaco was more or less gold in this area. The R.A.F. personelle stationed here we were told, had a hardship allowance of two pounds sterling per day compared with the few shillings we had at Seletar and the tours of duty were never more than six months at a time. One of the most godforsaken places I have ever seen in my life, what a dump. Unfortunately we were grounded here for four days, and the only thing to do to pass the time was either lie on your bunk and read or go swimming from the beach at “Hawkes Bay”. The swimming could only take place either very early in the morning or in the late afternoon as the sun was too fierce to go out in for most of the day. We were very pleased indeed to leave this corner of Hell. I can tell you.
The reason for this was apparent as soon as we left the plane, we were besieged by the local population all wanting to trade merchandise for tobacco, a packet of cigarettes bought locally cost nearly a pound sterling. The cigarettes we had on the aircraft were duty free just as they had been on camp during our stay on Singapore Island so tobaco was more or less gold in this area. The R.A.F. personelle stationed here we were told, had a hardship allowance of two pounds sterling per day compared with the few shillings we had at Seletar and the tours of duty were never more than six months at a time. One of the most godforsaken places I have ever seen in my life, what a dump. Unfortunately we were grounded here for four days, and the only thing to do to pass the time was either lie on your bunk and read or go swimming from the beach at “Hawkes Bay”. The swimming could only take place either very early in the morning or in the late afternoon as the sun was too fierce to go out in for most of the day. We were very pleased indeed to leave this corner of Hell. I can tell you.
So on to Baghdad, just outside actually, the airfield was situated on the bank of the Tigris, I forget the name of this place although at the time I must admit I didn,t think I ever would. The reason being as follows. Shortly after touching down for fuel and a meal before flying on, my name was called out by one of the local staff and I was told to report to the transit officer. I didn,t like the sound of that at all! My fears were as usual well founded .The station transit officer explained the situation to me, one of the lads at this station had received news from home that his mother was seriously ill, and she was not expected to live for more than a few days. He had been granted compassionate leave to fly home and see her for one last time. A real sob story, if it was true! The transit officer had looked through the roster of our happy band and found that I was already overdue for repatriation and would be entitled for some form of compensation due to my late return to the U.K. anyway. So in order to keep things ship-shape he had come up with the brilliant idea that the “bod” in question could take my seat on our plane, whilst I could wait for the next incoming flight!
So on to Baghdad, just outside actually, the airfield was situated on the bank of the Tigris, I forget the name of this place although at the time I must admit I didn,t think I ever would. The reason being as follows. Shortly after touching down for fuel and a meal before flying on, my name was called out by one of the local staff and I was told to report to the transit officer. I didn,t like the sound of that at all! My fears were as usual well founded .The station transit officer explained the situation to me, one of the lads at this station had received news from home that his mother was seriously ill, and she was not expected to live for more than a few days. He had been granted compassionate leave to fly home and see her for one last time. A real sob story, if it was true! The transit officer had looked through the roster of our happy band and found that I was already overdue for repatriation and would be entitled for some form of compensation due to my late return to the U.K. anyway. So in order to keep things ship-shape he had come up with the brilliant idea that the “bod” in question could take my seat on our plane, whilst I could wait for the next incoming flight!
Fate seemed to be doing everything in its power to stop me getting back to Blighty. I was put into transit, which was an area with about forty tents large enough to accommodate six beds with a small locker for personal belongings and that was it. I was the only person in transit here at this time and being in transit I was not allowed onto the station proper but was confined to this very small area, I felt very much like a prisoner of war I can tell you. Luckily for me I managed to beg a couple of paperbacks from some of the other lads on the flight before they, with cries of “Hard luck Johnny”,”Dont let the buggers grind you down” and similar expressions took off once again.
Fate seemed to be doing everything in its power to stop me getting back to Blighty. I was put into transit, which was an area with about forty tents large enough to accommodate six beds with a small locker for personal belongings and that was it. I was the only person in transit here at this time and being in transit I was not allowed onto the station proper but was confined to this very small area, I felt very much like a prisoner of war I can tell you. Luckily for me I managed to beg a couple of paperbacks from some of the other lads on the flight before they, with cries of “Hard luck Johnny”,”Dont let the buggers grind you down” and similar expressions took off once again.
So there I was in the middle of nowhere once again. I would have liked to have seen Baghdad but being in transit there was no chance of getting off the camp, so I spent my time lying on my back in the shade of the tent reading what ever came to hand, the lads in the cookhouse passed on old english newspapers etc so I wasn,t marooned entirely. I had fully expected to be on the next flight that was due to arrive here, but once again I was in for a disapointment, I was refused access to the next two flights that landed and my stay here was actually for five very long days and nights. Whenever a flight was due in I went over to the cookhouse to see if there was anyone on the flight from Seletar, and met quite a few people from 390 M.U. The stock question was always,”What the Hell are you doing here?”closely followed by,”Youre not getting my seat I can tell you!”
So there I was in the middle of nowhere once again. I would have liked to have seen Baghdad but being in transit there was no chance of getting off the camp, so I spent my time lying on my back in the shade of the tent reading what ever came to hand, the lads in the cookhouse passed on old english newspapers etc so I wasn,t marooned entirely. I had fully expected to be on the next flight that was due to arrive here, but once again I was in for a disapointment, I was refused access to the next two flights that landed and my stay here was actually for five very long days and nights. Whenever a flight was due in I went over to the cookhouse to see if there was anyone on the flight from Seletar, and met quite a few people from 390 M.U. The stock question was always,”What the Hell are you doing here?”closely followed by,”Youre not getting my seat I can tell you!”
However after five days a flight came in that had room for one more and I was allowed to continue on my way, just two more days and barring accident I would be back on my native shores. Quite a relief after five days and nights of continuous drumming, clashing of cymbals and wailing from an arab wedding celebration that took place on the opposite bank of the Tigris during the whole time I was there. The flight that landed here had several bods on board from Seletar, among others Eric Giddings from A.E.S.F who I had worked with during my time in Singapore so once again I had to explain how it was I had landed at the back of beyond. Our next stop, the last on the line we were told was to be in Tripoli where we were due for an overnight stay before making the last hop to R.A.F.Lyneham, I still have a photo of Eric and I taken on the steps of the hotel? where we stayed for the night. Sidi something or other. I will have to look it up later if I,m to get all the facts right. Next day we were on our way once again and champing at the bit at the thought of the fact that it would now be only a matter of hours before we would be back on english soil.
However after five days a flight came in that had room for one more and I was allowed to continue on my way, just two more days and barring accident I would be back on my native shores. Quite a relief after five days and nights of continuous drumming, clashing of cymbals and wailing from an arab wedding celebration that took place on the opposite bank of the Tigris during the whole time I was there. The flight that landed here had several bods on board from Seletar, among others Eric Giddings from A.E.S.F who I had worked with during my time in Singapore so once again I had to explain how it was I had landed at the back of beyond. Our next stop, the last on the line we were told was to be in Tripoli where we were due for an overnight stay before making the last hop to R.A.F.Lyneham, I still have a photo of Eric and I taken on the steps of the hotel? where we stayed for the night. Sidi something or other. I will have to look it up later if I,m to get all the facts right. Next day we were on our way once again and champing at the bit at the thought of the fact that it would now be only a matter of hours before we would be back on english soil.
Ha ha!. Once again we were in for a surprise. Somewhere over the Mediteranian we were told that due to strong headwinds we had used too much fuel, and that we would now have to touch down in France to tank up once more if we were to get back to Blighty safe and sound.
Ha ha!. Once again we were in for a surprise. Somewhere over the Mediteranian we were told that due to strong headwinds we had used too much fuel, and that we would now have to touch down in France to tank up once more if we were to get back to Blighty safe and sound.
We landed shortly afterwards in France, piled off the plane and were told we would be served a meal in the local mess. Immediatly everyone started discussing the merits of frogs legs and what sort of snails would be served at this meal, we were after all in France weren,t we? Not long afterwards we were seated at long tables and the meal was brought in by the local staff, no standing in line at the counter with the cook house staff ladling things onto your plate, this was service “a la France”. Our waiter brought in a huge stainless steel tray about the size of a knights shield heaped to overflowing with fresh lettuce leaves which he placed in the middle of the table nodded to us and withdrew. Ten minutes went by with no other sort of food appearing, and eventually after much muttering amongst the troops “They must think we,re bloody rabbits” etc, people began to pick at the heap of lettuce,we were quite hungry after our flight with nothing being available on the plane, in a matter of minutes there wasn,t a lettuce leaf in sight. Our waiter now appeared once again removed the tray and came back shortly afterwards with a similar tray, overflowing once again but this time with pomme fritter, chips to the english reader, which he placed on the table, nodded and withdrew. Once again a long wait, no other food was forthcoming and I was asked to go out into the kitchen and ask where the rest of the meal was. The reason for this was the fact that I, showing off as usual had said “Bonjour monsieur, ils et tres femme” to the waiter when we arrived and the rest of the lads now assumed that I could speak the lingo. With the few words I could still remember from my school days I was succesful in finding out that we were unexpected visitors, the cook house had had no prior warning of our arrival and that they had only a skeleton staff on duty and they had a shortage of plates ,so they expected us to eat from the tray in the middle of the table.On getting back to our table they were all impatient to hear what my expedition to the kitchen had resulted in. I took my time, sat down and spread out one of the available paper servietts in front of me and then grabbing a double handful of chips I placed them in front of me and said. “We eat the chips!” Pandemonium! The tray was emptied in record time.
We landed shortly afterwards in France, piled off the plane and were told we would be served a meal in the local mess. Immediatly everyone started discussing the merits of frogs legs and what sort of snails would be served at this meal, we were after all in France weren,t we? Not long afterwards we were seated at long tables and the meal was brought in by the local staff, no standing in line at the counter with the cook house staff ladling things onto your plate, this was service “a la France”. Our waiter brought in a huge stainless steel tray about the size of a knights shield heaped to overflowing with fresh lettuce leaves which he placed in the middle of the table nodded to us and withdrew. Ten minutes went by with no other sort of food appearing, and eventually after much muttering amongst the troops “They must think we,re bloody rabbits” etc, people began to pick at the heap of lettuce,we were quite hungry after our flight with nothing being available on the plane, in a matter of minutes there wasn,t a lettuce leaf in sight. Our waiter now appeared once again removed the tray and came back shortly afterwards with a similar tray, overflowing once again but this time with pomme fritter, chips to the english reader, which he placed on the table, nodded and withdrew. Once again a long wait, no other food was forthcoming and I was asked to go out into the kitchen and ask where the rest of the meal was. The reason for this was the fact that I, showing off as usual had said “Bonjour monsieur, ils et tres femme” to the waiter when we arrived and the rest of the lads now assumed that I could speak the lingo. With the few words I could still remember from my school days I was succesful in finding out that we were unexpected visitors, the cook house had had no prior warning of our arrival and that they had only a skeleton staff on duty and they had a shortage of plates ,so they expected us to eat from the tray in the middle of the table.On getting back to our table they were all impatient to hear what my expedition to the kitchen had resulted in. I took my time, sat down and spread out one of the available paper servietts in front of me and then grabbing a double handful of chips I placed them in front of me and said. “We eat the chips!” Pandemonium! The tray was emptied in record time.
Our waiter came in once again and told me that our next tray would be jambon, which is boiled ham to the locals, the lads around the table asked me what the main course was to be and just for a laugh I said, “He says he,s doing us some lovely snails”. Immediately half of the lads left the table saying “Bugger that for a lark, dont even want to see ,em, we,ll be outside having a smoke.” They were only a few steps from the table when the waiter came back with a tray covered with thick slices of boiled ham which we others attacked with gusto, the people that didn,t even want to see snails came haring back for their share heaping curses on my head demanding to know what the game was. I explained that I must have misunderstood the waiters pronunciation of jambon , probably because of his thick local accent. Luckily for me none of the others at the table had even a smattering of french as it would be rather difficult to explain how “jambon” could be confused with “escargot” wouldn,t it?
Our waiter came in once again and told me that our next tray would be jambon, which is boiled ham to the locals, the lads around the table asked me what the main course was to be and just for a laugh I said, “He says he,s doing us some lovely snails”. Immediately half of the lads left the table saying “Bugger that for a lark, dont even want to see ,em, we,ll be outside having a smoke.” They were only a few steps from the table when the waiter came back with a tray covered with thick slices of boiled ham which we others attacked with gusto, the people that didn,t even want to see snails came haring back for their share heaping curses on my head demanding to know what the game was. I explained that I must have misunderstood the waiters pronunciation of jambon , probably because of his thick local accent. Luckily for me none of the others at the table had even a smattering of french as it would be rather difficult to explain how “jambon” could be confused with “escargot” wouldn,t it?
So on to Lyneham, the R.A.F- demobbing centre at this time. We arrived in the late afternoon and were met by H.M.S. Customs and Excise, they wanted to know if we had anything to declare! Great gales of laughter greeted this announcement,”On the pay we,ve been getting?You must be joking!”Everybody had however to fill out a form declaring the things of value they had purchased during their tour of duty overseas,nearly everyone had some sort of camera and most people had bought a good quality wristwatch when in Singapore, as the price of this sort of article was about a quarter of what it was in England at that time. We were then asked to produce receipts for our purchases?,failing this we were to fill out another form stating that the things in our possesion were for our own use and that they had not been purchased within the last six months of our tour of duty. Apart from my Zodiac Automatic watch which I had at at the time and my japanese Welmy camera I had nothing to worry about as I had already located these receipts and placed them in my wallet before leaving Singapore. Into the queue again, Eric Giddings and I were now standing in line as the fourth and third from the end of our queue when a customs man came out from behind his counter and said, “the last three men in this queue come with me!” We were taken aside and asked if we still had nothing to declare apart from the articles stated previously on our forms of declaration to which we all as one man aswered no. We were taken into cubicles and ordered to strip naked, we had then to turn out our pockets whilst the customs official examined every article of our clothing. No one had anything of value of course and the lad who had been standing behind me in the queue was most indignant about being searched in this manner and complained bitterly about this treatment. “We,ve not been away for years fighting a war in the Far East so that silly buggers like you lot can sit safely on your arses back home just to mess people about when they get back home! It,s a pity you,ve got nothing better to do!” The customs man went through the roof!
So on to Lyneham, the R.A.F- demobbing centre at this time. We arrived in the late afternoon and were met by H.M.S. Customs and Excise, they wanted to know if we had anything to declare! Great gales of laughter greeted this announcement,”On the pay we,ve been getting?You must be joking!”Everybody had however to fill out a form declaring the things of value they had purchased during their tour of duty overseas,nearly everyone had some sort of camera and most people had bought a good quality wristwatch when in Singapore, as the price of this sort of article was about a quarter of what it was in England at that time. We were then asked to produce receipts for our purchases?,failing this we were to fill out another form stating that the things in our possesion were for our own use and that they had not been purchased within the last six months of our tour of duty. Apart from my Zodiac Automatic watch which I had at at the time and my japanese Welmy camera I had nothing to worry about as I had already located these receipts and placed them in my wallet before leaving Singapore. Into the queue again, Eric Giddings and I were now standing in line as the fourth and third from the end of our queue when a customs man came out from behind his counter and said, “the last three men in this queue come with me!” We were taken aside and asked if we still had nothing to declare apart from the articles stated previously on our forms of declaration to which we all as one man aswered no. We were taken into cubicles and ordered to strip naked, we had then to turn out our pockets whilst the customs official examined every article of our clothing. No one had anything of value of course and the lad who had been standing behind me in the queue was most indignant about being searched in this manner and complained bitterly about this treatment. “We,ve not been away for years fighting a war in the Far East so that silly buggers like you lot can sit safely on your arses back home just to mess people about when they get back home! It,s a pity you,ve got nothing better to do!” The customs man went through the roof!
He proceeded to lecture the bod that complained about his treatment, number one,he too had served his time in the forces,and not in a cushy billet like Singapore he,d served his time in France and Germany in the real war,1939 - 1945. Number two he was only doing his job. Number three it wasn,t too late to be put on a charge for insurbordination and obstruction of H.M.S Customs and Excise all he had to do was to call for the duty officer and the bod in question would be on jankers at R.A.F. Lyneham for a few days instead of going home on demob leave. What about that then? Are there any complaints? I dont have to say that we went back to our queueing like lambs do I? This episode sticks in my mind for a very good reason.
He proceeded to lecture the bod that complained about his treatment, number one,he too had served his time in the forces,and not in a cushy billet like Singapore he,d served his time in France and Germany in the real war,1939 - 1945. Number two he was only doing his job. Number three it wasn,t too late to be put on a charge for insurbordination and obstruction of H.M.S Customs and Excise all he had to do was to call for the duty officer and the bod in question would be on jankers at R.A.F. Lyneham for a few days instead of going home on demob leave. What about that then? Are there any complaints? I dont have to say that we went back to our queueing like lambs do I? This episode sticks in my mind for a very good reason.
We queued up and queued up and queued up, we were given sports coat, flannels, civilian shoes brown, we were allowed to keep our best black uniform shoes as part of the demob clothing allowance, shirts two,tie civilian,raincoat brown,socks civilian I think they were grey and to top it all off, trilby one civilians for the use of. Eventually all our trials and tribulations were at an end, we were FREE - FREE - FREE. Before leaving the camp the duty officer warned us to go easy during our first few days of civilian life, just because we weren,t in the ranks any more didn,t mean we could just do as we liked outside, we would still have to respect the laws of the land even as civilians, go easy on the beer lads and if anyone feels after a while that civvy street isn,t the thing for them and the urge to come back into her majesties forces cannot be ignored they would always be pleased to take us on again! The hoots of derision and loud laughter could be heard for miles! The Duty Officer couldn,t resist a smile either.
We queued up and queued up and queued up, we were given sports coat, flannels, civilian shoes brown, we were allowed to keep our best black uniform shoes as part of the demob clothing allowance, shirts two,tie civilian,raincoat brown,socks civilian I think they were grey and to top it all off, trilby one civilians for the use of. Eventually all our trials and tribulations were at an end, we were FREE - FREE - FREE. Before leaving the camp the duty officer warned us to go easy during our first few days of civilian life, just because we weren,t in the ranks any more didn,t mean we could just do as we liked outside, we would still have to respect the laws of the land even as civilians, go easy on the beer lads and if anyone feels after a while that civvy street isn,t the thing for them and the urge to come back into her majesties forces cannot be ignored they would always be pleased to take us on again! The hoots of derision and loud laughter could be heard for miles! The Duty Officer couldn,t resist a smile either.
Several of us had agreed to stay the night in London at the Union Jack club with a last night pub crawl before leaving for our respective homes. In the train on the way to London Eric said to me,”Bloody Hell man, that was a close shave!” me “What was?” Eric “The customs bloke taking out the last three men, I was fourth from last.” Me “Why?” Eric didn,t reply but instead took of his battle dress blouse rolled up his sleeves and displayed ten or twelve ladies and gents wristwatches strapped to his forearms. Before leaving Seletar he had withdrawn his accumulated savings and invested the lot in swiss watches which he assured me he could sell in england with a profit of between 60% to 70%,not bad if it works out, his was a very close shave indeed.
Several of us had agreed to stay the night in London at the Union Jack club with a last night pub crawl before leaving for our respective homes. In the train on the way to London Eric said to me,”Bloody Hell man, that was a close shave!” me “What was?” Eric “The customs bloke taking out the last three men, I was fourth from last.” Me “Why?” Eric didn,t reply but instead took of his battle dress blouse rolled up his sleeves and displayed ten or twelve ladies and gents wristwatches strapped to his forearms. Before leaving Seletar he had withdrawn his accumulated savings and invested the lot in swiss watches which he assured me he could sell in england with a profit of between 60% to 70%,not bad if it works out, his was a very close shave indeed.
After installing ourselfs at the Union Jack Club we went out to have a look at the centre of London as it was a bit late in the day for sightseeing, winding up in Picadilly Circus the home of the famous Windmill Theatre. The Windmill was at the time known all over the world as the theatre that never missed a performance, throughout the war and even under the heavy bombing of the city during “The Blitz” they carried on and performed every evening. I remember the huge illuminated sign facing out onto Picadilly Circus that said, “We Never Closed”. The Windmill was reknowned for it,s beautiful nude show girls and service men on leave in London were always asked on getting back from leave,”See the show at the Windmill did you?”, most of them had!
After installing ourselfs at the Union Jack Club we went out to have a look at the centre of London as it was a bit late in the day for sightseeing, winding up in Picadilly Circus the home of the famous Windmill Theatre. The Windmill was at the time known all over the world as the theatre that never missed a performance, throughout the war and even under the heavy bombing of the city during “The Blitz” they carried on and performed every evening. I remember the huge illuminated sign facing out onto Picadilly Circus that said, “We Never Closed”. The Windmill was reknowned for it,s beautiful nude show girls and service men on leave in London were always asked on getting back from leave,”See the show at the Windmill did you?”, most of them had!
I cant remember the price of a ticket to this show but it must have been expensive as I remember one of the lads saying, “Thats nearly a months pay at the rate I,m being paid. No thanks,who,s for beer?”Eventually six of us were agreed that nude showgirls were in our opinion a damn sight better than beer, perhaps influenced by the fact that we had been in the Far East for so long with not a white woman in sight. I cant say I remember much of the show but I do recall that afterwards we were standing on the pavement outside the theatre discussing the show and commenting on the merits of blondes versus brunettes etc when one of the lads said. ”Oh that poor girl on the swing, every time she swung out over the audience her breasts fell out of the top of her dress. It must have been very embarrasing for her.” We all thought that he was joking but he had obviously led a very sheltered life before joining the R.A.F. and he was most concerned about this “poor girl”. We howled with laughter and in the pubs for the rest of that evening the talk always returned to the plight of that “poor girl”!
I cant remember the price of a ticket to this show but it must have been expensive as I remember one of the lads saying, “Thats nearly a months pay at the rate I,m being paid. No thanks,who,s for beer?”Eventually six of us were agreed that nude showgirls were in our opinion a damn sight better than beer, perhaps influenced by the fact that we had been in the Far East for so long with not a white woman in sight. I cant say I remember much of the show but I do recall that afterwards we were standing on the pavement outside the theatre discussing the show and commenting on the merits of blondes versus brunettes etc when one of the lads said. ”Oh that poor girl on the swing, every time she swung out over the audience her breasts fell out of the top of her dress. It must have been very embarrasing for her.” We all thought that he was joking but he had obviously led a very sheltered life before joining the R.A.F. and he was most concerned about this “poor girl”. We howled with laughter and in the pubs for the rest of that evening the talk always returned to the plight of that “poor girl”!
Next morning we said our goodbyes. I exchanged adresses with Eric on the understanding that we would write to each other only once a year just for the sake of old times and believe it or not we did keep in touch for over twenty years. We never met again and have never even spoken on the phone but around Christmas time there was always a letter from Eric, usually with a photo of first his girl friend, then his wife (same girl), then eventually all his children, I think he got up to four he even sent me a picture of his dog!
Next morning we said our goodbyes. I exchanged adresses with Eric on the understanding that we would write to each other only once a year just for the sake of old times and believe it or not we did keep in touch for over twenty years. We never met again and have never even spoken on the phone but around Christmas time there was always a letter from Eric, usually with a photo of first his girl friend, then his wife (same girl), then eventually all his children, I think he got up to four he even sent me a picture of his dog!
Another story. A young doctor, he was a gynacologist, was laid off at the local hospital due to cut backs and as he didn,t want to be unemployed he went down to the local labour exchange to ask if they had any vacancies. The only job available here was as a painter but even though he had no previous experience he was sent out to the painters address to apply for the job. After a few weeks where they had heard nothing from this young man the labour exchange rang to the painter to ask if he had been given the job. Oh yes said the painter this fellow got the job and he is by far the best painter I have ever seen we are very well pleased with him. To give you an example I can tell you that the first job I sent him out to was a job redecorating a flat for one of our lady customers. Unfortunately the lady was out when he arrived at the flat and although she was only away for an hour he had painted the ceiling in the hall through the letter box whilst he waited for her to come home!
Another story. A young doctor, he was a gynacologist, was laid off at the local hospital due to cut backs and as he didn,t want to be unemployed he went down to the local labour exchange to ask if they had any vacancies. The only job available here was as a painter but even though he had no previous experience he was sent out to the painters address to apply for the job. After a few weeks where they had heard nothing from this young man the labour exchange rang to the painter to ask if he had been given the job. Oh yes said the painter this fellow got the job and he is by far the best painter I have ever seen we are very well pleased with him. To give you an example I can tell you that the first job I sent him out to was a job redecorating a flat for one of our lady customers. Unfortunately the lady was out when he arrived at the flat and although she was only away for an hour he had painted the ceiling in the hall through the letter box whilst he waited for her to come home!
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
So home to Leeds. My recollections of the sequence of events is a bit hazy, all this happened a long time ago but I do remember that when I eventually did arrive home,which at the time was 28, Bond Street the offices of The Invincible Insurance Company where my mother had taken on the job of caretaker whilst I was abroad, my step-father said to me.”Welcome home John I,ve got just the girl for you?”. To which I replied,”I,m not interested thanks very much, I ve already got a young lady in Wetherby that I,ve been writing to over the past eighteen months and I;ll be going out there to see her just as soon as I get unpacked”.
So home to Leeds. My recollections of the sequence of events is a bit hazy, all this happened a long time ago but I do remember that when I eventually did arrive home,which at the time was 28, Bond Street the offices of The Invincible Insurance Company where my mother had taken on the job of caretaker whilst I was abroad, my step-father said to me.”Welcome home John I,ve got just the girl for you?”. To which I replied,”I,m not interested thanks very much, I ve already got a young lady in Wetherby that I,ve been writing to over the past eighteen months and I;ll be going out there to see her just as soon as I get unpacked”.
At the time, John my stepfather was driving a delivery van for a firm of clothing shops called Blackburn, they had a whole chain of shops in different towns all over Yorkshire, at the same time, Bill Blackburn, who happened also to be the Lord Mayor of Pudsey if I remember rightly, had his own factory that manufactured the articles of clothing that were sold in all his shops. A very profitable business judging by Hazelbrae, the place he lived in. My stepfather went on to tell me that Bill, had two young danish girls living on the premises, they had come over from Denmark for a year as au pair helps to improve their english, unfortunately the lady of the house was also a dane so that the only time Tove and Gerda got to practice their limited english was when they had a day off,as Mrs Blackburn always spoke to them in danish.
At the time, John my stepfather was driving a delivery van for a firm of clothing shops called Blackburn, they had a whole chain of shops in different towns all over Yorkshire, at the same time, Bill Blackburn, who happened also to be the Lord Mayor of Pudsey if I remember rightly, had his own factory that manufactured the articles of clothing that were sold in all his shops. A very profitable business judging by Hazelbrae, the place he lived in. My stepfather went on to tell me that Bill, had two young danish girls living on the premises, they had come over from Denmark for a year as au pair helps to improve their english, unfortunately the lady of the house was also a dane so that the only time Tove and Gerda got to practice their limited english was when they had a day off,as Mrs Blackburn always spoke to them in danish.
The young lady I was bent on seeing was a niece of my old landlady, Edna Patrick, Margaret Drury was her name, she had written to me out of the blue after I;d been stationed in Singapore for about eighteen months, to tell me she had just been voted “ Miss Wetherby” in the local beauty contest at Wetherby Show . She sent me the newspaper article and a large glossy head and shoulders photograph taken by the photographer from the Wetherby News, Margaret was only 16 at the time but very well built and in a low cut blouse she looked much older than her years on the photograph. I had hardly noticed Margaret during the time I lived with her aunt, as at the time she was in my eyes “only a little school girl” when I left to join the R.A.F. Amazing what a couple of years can do isn,t it? As we had been corresponding for over a year she was the one that I had brought various presents for and I was looking forward to returning to Wetherby to actually see, in the flesh as it were, the progress she had made over the years,especially so as her letters were extremely affectionate and the photo she had sent me at the time was inscribed “to Johnny with love from Margaret”.
The young lady I was bent on seeing was a niece of my old landlady, Edna Patrick, Margaret Drury was her name, she had written to me out of the blue after I;d been stationed in Singapore for about eighteen months, to tell me she had just been voted “ Miss Wetherby” in the local beauty contest at Wetherby Show . She sent me the newspaper article and a large glossy head and shoulders photograph taken by the photographer from the Wetherby News, Margaret was only 16 at the time but very well built and in a low cut blouse she looked much older than her years on the photograph. I had hardly noticed Margaret during the time I lived with her aunt, as at the time she was in my eyes “only a little school girl” when I left to join the R.A.F. Amazing what a couple of years can do isn,t it? As we had been corresponding for over a year she was the one that I had brought various presents for and I was looking forward to returning to Wetherby to actually see, in the flesh as it were, the progress she had made over the years,especially so as her letters were extremely affectionate and the photo she had sent me at the time was inscribed “to Johnny with love from Margaret”.
Once again I was in for a big disapointment, we had arranged to meet at her aunts house as I also wanted to say hello again to Jack and Endna my old landlord and landlady in Horsefair, I think they lived at number 7, whilst Margaret lived across the street in one of the even numbers. I arrived with a whole suitcase full of goodies for the young lady of course, which she accepted with comments such as “Oh Johnny, you really shouldn,t, - Oh isn,t this beautiful,”” - This must have cost a fortune etc,etc”. After the presents were gratefully accepted Margaret invited me into her aunts front room so that we could have a little chat on our own, as she put it! The little chat was to tell me that during the time she had been writing to me out east she had also been seeing a young man in Wetherby and the latest news was that they had just become engaged! I was bowled over as the saying goes and my recollections of the rest of that day are hazy to say the least, I eventually arrived back in Leeds later in the day, minus presents and minus girl friend. Talk about a let down.
Once again I was in for a big disapointment, we had arranged to meet at her aunts house as I also wanted to say hello again to Jack and Endna my old landlord and landlady in Horsefair, I think they lived at number 7, whilst Margaret lived across the street in one of the even numbers. I arrived with a whole suitcase full of goodies for the young lady of course, which she accepted with comments such as “Oh Johnny, you really shouldn,t, - Oh isn,t this beautiful,”” - This must have cost a fortune etc,etc”. After the presents were gratefully accepted Margaret invited me into her aunts front room so that we could have a little chat on our own, as she put it! The little chat was to tell me that during the time she had been writing to me out east she had also been seeing a young man in Wetherby and the latest news was that they had just become engaged! I was bowled over as the saying goes and my recollections of the rest of that day are hazy to say the least, I eventually arrived back in Leeds later in the day, minus presents and minus girl friend. Talk about a let down.
Mam was most upset on my behalf, but I said “not to worry love, worse things happen at sea as they say” I,ll live, I think mam was more upset than I was actually as this was the second time I had been given the goodbye during my tour in the East. When I left england I was writing to a young lady who worked with my uncle Ernest at the Co-op in Albion Street, today I,m not even sure of her name, after several months she had at least the decency to write and tell me that she had met someone else and that she thought it was best to discontinue our correspondance so that I wouldn,t be living in false hope. As I remember she actually got married before I got back and I heard later that she gave birth to twin boys on the day I got back to Leeds after my tour in the Far East, the twins became singers in their teens years later and were quite well known in England for some years, but today I can,t even recall this girls name.
Mam was most upset on my behalf, but I said “not to worry love, worse things happen at sea as they say” I,ll live, I think mam was more upset than I was actually as this was the second time I had been given the goodbye during my tour in the East. When I left england I was writing to a young lady who worked with my uncle Ernest at the Co-op in Albion Street, today I,m not even sure of her name, after several months she had at least the decency to write and tell me that she had met someone else and that she thought it was best to discontinue our correspondance so that I wouldn,t be living in false hope. As I remember she actually got married before I got back and I heard later that she gave birth to twin boys on the day I got back to Leeds after my tour in the Far East, the twins became singers in their teens years later and were quite well known in England for some years, but today I can,t even recall this girls name.
This event of course put quite a different face on my plans and of course my step-father immediately began plugging the danish “au pair” angle again, my reaction was,”Women !You can keep ,em, at the moment I just don,t want to know!, I,m more interested in finding myself a job” Finding a job was important to me as though I had quite a bit of back pay and compensation in hand as well as a few quid in the bank, Iwould have to find work of some sort before long as due to my weight gain during the little over three years I was in the R.A.F I was no longer acceptable at Percy Vaseys yard as a work jockey. Percy was very nice about it and offered to take me back as a stable hand with a view to eventually becoming his right hand or assistant trainer if I was interested but this job didn,t have the same sort of attraction for me as it would have before I had seen something of other walks of life,and the pay was minimal compared with the long hours that would be part of the job. So I said “Thanks for the offer, but I think I,ll try something else.”
This event of course put quite a different face on my plans and of course my step-father immediately began plugging the danish “au pair” angle again, my reaction was,”Women !You can keep ,em, at the moment I just don,t want to know!, I,m more interested in finding myself a job” Finding a job was important to me as though I had quite a bit of back pay and compensation in hand as well as a few quid in the bank, Iwould have to find work of some sort before long as due to my weight gain during the little over three years I was in the R.A.F I was no longer acceptable at Percy Vaseys yard as a work jockey. Percy was very nice about it and offered to take me back as a stable hand with a view to eventually becoming his right hand or assistant trainer if I was interested but this job didn,t have the same sort of attraction for me as it would have before I had seen something of other walks of life,and the pay was minimal compared with the long hours that would be part of the job. So I said “Thanks for the offer, but I think I,ll try something else.”
I spent my evenings looking through the situations vacant column in the Yorkshire Evening Post and actually went out to talk to people at two of these situations, one job was at a Cafe` in Bond Street, this appealed to me as I would be able to sleep a little longer in the mornings as there was no travelling involved. The job was as a coffee bean roaster! The beans were roasted in the coffee shop behind a huge plateglass window facing out onto the street, so the bloke doing the roasting was very much in the public eye,besides roasting coffee beans this man would be the general dogs-body in the cafe`putting out the rubbish bins in the mornings,cleaning etc, the pay was five pounds a week, which was a pound a week under the usual rate for this sort of labourers job so I said “No thanks”. The next place I tried was at a tile merchants, the job here entailed looking after the stores making up the orders for tiles and once again general dogs.body,the tiles were packed in cardboard boxes and had to be transported on a set of wheels out to the landing dock whenever an order was executed. This doesn.t sound like much of a job but those tiles weighed a lot more than horse manure I can tell you, and I said no to the job right away as although I didn,t think of myself as a weakling at the time I could see the rest of the people employed here were real heavy weights, I was still just around the eight stone mark at the time and would have buckled under with a bad back within a few hours of taking the job. So once again I said “No thanks”. I was in no hurry to take up employment as I hadn,t really had time to think about the future and I was young and fancy free with a couple of hundred pounds in my Post Office Savings book life seemed to be my oyster for the first few days after getting home again.
I spent my evenings looking through the situations vacant column in the Yorkshire Evening Post and actually went out to talk to people at two of these situations, one job was at a Cafe` in Bond Street, this appealed to me as I would be able to sleep a little longer in the mornings as there was no travelling involved. The job was as a coffee bean roaster! The beans were roasted in the coffee shop behind a huge plateglass window facing out onto the street, so the bloke doing the roasting was very much in the public eye,besides roasting coffee beans this man would be the general dogs-body in the cafe`putting out the rubbish bins in the mornings,cleaning etc, the pay was five pounds a week, which was a pound a week under the usual rate for this sort of labourers job so I said “No thanks”. The next place I tried was at a tile merchants, the job here entailed looking after the stores making up the orders for tiles and once again general dogs.body,the tiles were packed in cardboard boxes and had to be transported on a set of wheels out to the landing dock whenever an order was executed. This doesn.t sound like much of a job but those tiles weighed a lot more than horse manure I can tell you, and I said no to the job right away as although I didn,t think of myself as a weakling at the time I could see the rest of the people employed here were real heavy weights, I was still just around the eight stone mark at the time and would have buckled under with a bad back within a few hours of taking the job. So once again I said “No thanks”. I was in no hurry to take up employment as I hadn,t really had time to think about the future and I was young and fancy free with a couple of hundred pounds in my Post Office Savings book life seemed to be my oyster for the first few days after getting home again.
After a few days spent looking up relations and old friends however things began to pall, I couldn,t just spend all day at the bookies and every evening in the pubs now could I?
After a few days spent looking up relations and old friends however things began to pall, I couldn,t just spend all day at the bookies and every evening in the pubs now could I?
One morning Mam said to me,”Why dont you go down to the labour exchange and see if they have anything, you.ll have to go down there eventually anyway if you dont find a job as you will have to sign on?” No sooner said than done. Off I went to the Labour Exchange. I didn,t know it at the time but this decision was to influence the rest of my life - I,ve some times wondered what sort of a life I might have had if I,d said “Oh I,ll go tomorrow!” I.m sure of one thing and that is that I wouldn,t be in Denmark sitting at the computer writing these words today.
One morning Mam said to me,”Why dont you go down to the labour exchange and see if they have anything, you.ll have to go down there eventually anyway if you dont find a job as you will have to sign on?” No sooner said than done. Off I went to the Labour Exchange. I didn,t know it at the time but this decision was to influence the rest of my life - I,ve some times wondered what sort of a life I might have had if I,d said “Oh I,ll go tomorrow!” I.m sure of one thing and that is that I wouldn,t be in Denmark sitting at the computer writing these words today.
At the labour exchange I was directed to a counter where I was asked the reason for my visit. I explained my situation and the fellow behind the counter said, “You seem to be in luck young man. I have just been asked to send someone along to a lift company called Waygood Otis, the offices are on Wellington Street, they want a fitters mate.”Fitters Mate I asked him?” What does a fitters mate do?” I,ve no idea said the man behind the counter but at a guess I;d say he fetches and carry,s for the bloke who,s qualified for the job. Do you think you,d be alright on a small plank in a lift shaft with a very long drop under you?Have you a head for heights?I know it,s a good firm because they hardly ever change their employees once people start at Waygoods they usually stay there for years. I think you should go out and talk to them.” So off I went to look for the Offices of Waygood Otis in Wellington Street. I found them on the top floor and told the receptionist that I had been sent from the Labour Exchange to apply for the job of fitters mate, the man I had to see was Fred Stace, an exiled londoner banished from London by his superiors. He was not a happy man! I dont think he ever got used to living with the local population. He asked me about my previous employment and I explained that I had become too heavy to continue in racing after my stint in the R.A.F. and that I was now looking for other employment, I said that three years as an aircraft wireless mechanic should in my opinion qualify me for handing tools to the fitter that had to do the job. He told me that he was ex-RAF too and agreed with me that I would have no difficulty in filling out the job, he told me that the pay would be just short of six pounds a week for a forty eight hour week and that the hours were from eight in the morning until six in the evening, the job was mine if I was interested. I said O.K I was willing to give it a try and he then asked if I wanted a “sub” he explained that I would have to buy at least two sets of overalls as the work involved was usually quite a dirty business, lift shafts draw dust into the shaft in much the same way as a vacum cleaner, and I was welcome to an advance if I hadn,t the money on hand for these overalls. I said I could manage and added that I thought it not a good idea to start a new job by owing half my wages to the company before I,d even started on the job, he laughed and agreed with me.
At the labour exchange I was directed to a counter where I was asked the reason for my visit. I explained my situation and the fellow behind the counter said, “You seem to be in luck young man. I have just been asked to send someone along to a lift company called Waygood Otis, the offices are on Wellington Street, they want a fitters mate.”Fitters Mate I asked him?” What does a fitters mate do?” I,ve no idea said the man behind the counter but at a guess I;d say he fetches and carry,s for the bloke who,s qualified for the job. Do you think you,d be alright on a small plank in a lift shaft with a very long drop under you?Have you a head for heights?I know it,s a good firm because they hardly ever change their employees once people start at Waygoods they usually stay there for years. I think you should go out and talk to them.” So off I went to look for the Offices of Waygood Otis in Wellington Street. I found them on the top floor and told the receptionist that I had been sent from the Labour Exchange to apply for the job of fitters mate, the man I had to see was Fred Stace, an exiled londoner banished from London by his superiors. He was not a happy man! I dont think he ever got used to living with the local population. He asked me about my previous employment and I explained that I had become too heavy to continue in racing after my stint in the R.A.F. and that I was now looking for other employment, I said that three years as an aircraft wireless mechanic should in my opinion qualify me for handing tools to the fitter that had to do the job. He told me that he was ex-RAF too and agreed with me that I would have no difficulty in filling out the job, he told me that the pay would be just short of six pounds a week for a forty eight hour week and that the hours were from eight in the morning until six in the evening, the job was mine if I was interested. I said O.K I was willing to give it a try and he then asked if I wanted a “sub” he explained that I would have to buy at least two sets of overalls as the work involved was usually quite a dirty business, lift shafts draw dust into the shaft in much the same way as a vacum cleaner, and I was welcome to an advance if I hadn,t the money on hand for these overalls. I said I could manage and added that I thought it not a good idea to start a new job by owing half my wages to the company before I,d even started on the job, he laughed and agreed with me.
During the interview he told me that Waygood Otis always had difficulty in obtaining qualified staff in the north of england as they had no apprentices, Waygood,s apprentices were all employed at the main factory in London and were not allowed to work in lift shafts until they were over eighteen years of age. Waygoods had introduced what they called the journeyman apprenticeship where a fitters mate would be employed for two years as a mate, if he was found suited to the job and the company were satisfied with his performance he could after two years be promoted to the job of fitter on a level footing with the other fitters in the company.
During the interview he told me that Waygood Otis always had difficulty in obtaining qualified staff in the north of england as they had no apprentices, Waygood,s apprentices were all employed at the main factory in London and were not allowed to work in lift shafts until they were over eighteen years of age. Waygoods had introduced what they called the journeyman apprenticeship where a fitters mate would be employed for two years as a mate, if he was found suited to the job and the company were satisfied with his performance he could after two years be promoted to the job of fitter on a level footing with the other fitters in the company.
I was told to go out and buy my overalls and to be outside the employees entrance of Marshall and Snelgroves, one of the more exclusive Department Stores at eight o.clock next morning where I would be met by the others of the gang I was to work with. That was my start with OTIS. One of the reasons for my accepting this job offer was the fact that the offices of Waygood Otis on Wellington St. were only five minutes walk from the office block where my mother was caretaker at the time, added to this was the fact that Marshall and Snelgrove,s was situated on the opposite corner to the Invincible offices, a matter of only 30 or forty yards from the main entrance.
I was told to go out and buy my overalls and to be outside the employees entrance of Marshall and Snelgroves, one of the more exclusive Department Stores at eight o.clock next morning where I would be met by the others of the gang I was to work with. That was my start with OTIS. One of the reasons for my accepting this job offer was the fact that the offices of Waygood Otis on Wellington St. were only five minutes walk from the office block where my mother was caretaker at the time, added to this was the fact that Marshall and Snelgrove,s was situated on the opposite corner to the Invincible offices, a matter of only 30 or forty yards from the main entrance.
At this time everything seemed to be going my way! When I got back to the flat in Bond Street mum said”What did they say at the Labour Exchange? How did you get on?” She nearly dropped through the floor when I said I had a job and was to start next morning.
At this time everything seemed to be going my way! When I got back to the flat in Bond Street mum said”What did they say at the Labour Exchange? How did you get on?” She nearly dropped through the floor when I said I had a job and was to start next morning.
Next morning bright and early I was, as instructed met by a couple of the blokes from Waygoods, they turned out to be from Manchester and had been transfered to this job due to a shortage of labour in Leeds. Bernie Stringer was the fitter in charge, I forget the name of his mate, but the other man on this gang was Ronnie Dowsen a fitter from the Leeds office I was to work with for the next few months. The job to be done entailed pulling out the old lift and erecting a newer model in it,s place, when I arrived they had after days of hard labour eventually pushed ,pulled lifted and strained their way up to the motor room on the roof with the new lift machine, and they were about to place the machine on it,s bed-plate into position . As I had never worked on this sort of job I think for the first few days I was more of a hindrance than a help to the rest of the gang but they were reasonably patient with me and as the days went by I began to get an idea of what it was we were about, lift mechanics in England are a very versatile lot, they have to be as putting in a lift entails being able to manage both the electrical installation as well as the mechanical side of the job, Bernie told me that today things were very different from when he started with Waygoods. His fitter had to do the carpentry, glass cutting and french polishing in the lift car too! As I say a very versatile lot.
Next morning bright and early I was, as instructed met by a couple of the blokes from Waygoods, they turned out to be from Manchester and had been transfered to this job due to a shortage of labour in Leeds. Bernie Stringer was the fitter in charge, I forget the name of his mate, but the other man on this gang was Ronnie Dowsen a fitter from the Leeds office I was to work with for the next few months. The job to be done entailed pulling out the old lift and erecting a newer model in it,s place, when I arrived they had after days of hard labour eventually pushed ,pulled lifted and strained their way up to the motor room on the roof with the new lift machine, and they were about to place the machine on it,s bed-plate into position . As I had never worked on this sort of job I think for the first few days I was more of a hindrance than a help to the rest of the gang but they were reasonably patient with me and as the days went by I began to get an idea of what it was we were about, lift mechanics in England are a very versatile lot, they have to be as putting in a lift entails being able to manage both the electrical installation as well as the mechanical side of the job, Bernie told me that today things were very different from when he started with Waygoods. His fitter had to do the carpentry, glass cutting and french polishing in the lift car too! As I say a very versatile lot.
After a few weeks at Marshalls and Snelgroves the job had advanced to a point where Bernie and his mate could manage on their own and Ronnie and I were sent back to Wellington Street to take up other duties. Ronnie was usually employed as a service mechanic, this job entailed quite a lot of moving about as apart from the monthly service visit to every lift that he was responsible for, he had also to ring to the office at least twice a day to hear if there were any breakdowns in his area. No two days were ever the same and I enjoyed seeing new places everyday, we travelled all over Yorkshire by bus and train meeting new people every day a very different life from anything that I had experienced before. Most of the repairs were either electrical faults either in the controller og bad connections in the door lock circuit due to wear and tear, I soon learned what to look for and how to diagnose which part of the system the fault would be in and after a few months I felt that this was a job I could do as well as most of the others employed by Waygood Otis.
After a few weeks at Marshalls and Snelgroves the job had advanced to a point where Bernie and his mate could manage on their own and Ronnie and I were sent back to Wellington Street to take up other duties. Ronnie was usually employed as a service mechanic, this job entailed quite a lot of moving about as apart from the monthly service visit to every lift that he was responsible for, he had also to ring to the office at least twice a day to hear if there were any breakdowns in his area. No two days were ever the same and I enjoyed seeing new places everyday, we travelled all over Yorkshire by bus and train meeting new people every day a very different life from anything that I had experienced before. Most of the repairs were either electrical faults either in the controller og bad connections in the door lock circuit due to wear and tear, I soon learned what to look for and how to diagnose which part of the system the fault would be in and after a few months I felt that this was a job I could do as well as most of the others employed by Waygood Otis.
When we were sent back to Wellington Street I met the rest of the Waygood employees, a motley crew indeed! They were of all ages, shapes and sizes but always in pairs, a fitter and a mate, fitters do the job the mate carries the tools and does the cleaning , I think that at this time there must have been ten men on the job, Arthur Jeffries and Arthur Smith were a pair,Tommy Hatch and Laurie were a pair, Bruce Marflett and Norman were a pair, Ronnie and I were a pair and there must have been at least one other pair but their names escape me. The boss for the whole show was a man called Basil Pirie, Fred Stace was next in command, there were two Supervisors Dick Watkinson and Alfie Fawcett and one office girl. Added to these numbers were Tommy Wardle and his mate they were at Bradford, Reg and his mate at Harrogate and Kenny Kirton and his mate at Hull, these people were responsible for the whole of Yorkshire an area about the same size as Denmark. We were usually quite busy!
When we were sent back to Wellington Street I met the rest of the Waygood employees, a motley crew indeed! They were of all ages, shapes and sizes but always in pairs, a fitter and a mate, fitters do the job the mate carries the tools and does the cleaning , I think that at this time there must have been ten men on the job, Arthur Jeffries and Arthur Smith were a pair,Tommy Hatch and Laurie were a pair, Bruce Marflett and Norman were a pair, Ronnie and I were a pair and there must have been at least one other pair but their names escape me. The boss for the whole show was a man called Basil Pirie, Fred Stace was next in command, there were two Supervisors Dick Watkinson and Alfie Fawcett and one office girl. Added to these numbers were Tommy Wardle and his mate they were at Bradford, Reg and his mate at Harrogate and Kenny Kirton and his mate at Hull, these people were responsible for the whole of Yorkshire an area about the same size as Denmark. We were usually quite busy!
Soon after starting my job with Otis I was introduced to the two danish girls employed by Blackburns. John my step father had invited them for visits on their days off, I was very taken by the girl named Tove and although her english was limited to, thank you, yes and no and her girl friend Gerda had to translate everything I said I was able to make her understand that I would like to get to know her better, and we eventually began to meet on the evenings of her days off. I took her to the Odeon to see some technicolour epic that I,ve forgotten the name of and in the dark asked her if it would be alright if I held her hand? She told me later after her english had improved thet she had no idea of what I,d asked her but luckily for us both she said Yes and from this things got more and more serious and eventually I asked her if she would consider staying in England and becoming engaged to me instead of returning to Denmark when her working permit expired?
Soon after starting my job with Otis I was introduced to the two danish girls employed by Blackburns. John my step father had invited them for visits on their days off, I was very taken by the girl named Tove and although her english was limited to, thank you, yes and no and her girl friend Gerda had to translate everything I said I was able to make her understand that I would like to get to know her better, and we eventually began to meet on the evenings of her days off. I took her to the Odeon to see some technicolour epic that I,ve forgotten the name of and in the dark asked her if it would be alright if I held her hand? She told me later after her english had improved thet she had no idea of what I,d asked her but luckily for us both she said Yes and from this things got more and more serious and eventually I asked her if she would consider staying in England and becoming engaged to me instead of returning to Denmark when her working permit expired?
We became engaged in November and were married at Oxford Place Methodist Chapel (close to Leeds Town Hall), on the 23rd of January 1953 by the reverend Thomas Meadley,none of Tove,s family had been able to make the trip so the only danes present apart from Tove herself were her two friends, Birthe and Inge who were at this time employed by the Hagenbachs.The Hagenbachs were very big in the bakery business and lived in a huge mansion well out of town. My best man was my cousin Keneth Crawshaw, there were no bridesmaids but my younger brother Ian ,was Tove,s page he was very proud of himself that day as we had rented a kilt with sporran,dirk etc the full regalia. After the ceremony we held a wedding breakfast(lunch actually) for the closest members of the family at the Majestic Cinema restaurant just off City Square, the bill for this meal is still in Tove,s scrap book.
We became engaged in November and were married at Oxford Place Methodist Chapel (close to Leeds Town Hall), on the 23rd of January 1953 by the reverend Thomas Meadley,none of Tove,s family had been able to make the trip so the only danes present apart from Tove herself were her two friends, Birthe and Inge who were at this time employed by the Hagenbachs.The Hagenbachs were very big in the bakery business and lived in a huge mansion well out of town. My best man was my cousin Keneth Crawshaw, there were no bridesmaids but my younger brother Ian ,was Tove,s page he was very proud of himself that day as we had rented a kilt with sporran,dirk etc the full regalia. After the ceremony we held a wedding breakfast(lunch actually) for the closest members of the family at the Majestic Cinema restaurant just off City Square, the bill for this meal is still in Tove,s scrap book.
We had of course to find somewhere to live and started off in an attic flat on Roundhay Road just opposite the Clock Cinema, the rent for this place was exactly what I was earning per week at the time just six pounds, this meant that if we were to have meals at all the food, fares etc would be paid for out of Toves wages,she was at this time working in the bakery at Woolworths on the Headrow. Not for long however as Tove told the head baker she was disgusted with the conditions in his bakery and if he,d tried to bake bread and confectionery under the same conditions in Denmark where she came from he would have been put into prison! The trouble was that the girls in the bakery were given a dish-cloth to wipe down the working surfaces when ever they had finished a batch of what ever it was they were making that day, before going on to the next item. Tove said that she would like two cloths, one for wiping down the table and one to wipe the floor with where she was standing, the baker told her that everybody else in Woolworths bakers used the same cloth for both the floor and the working surface. Tove said in her limited english that she wasn,t a pig even if all the others were and if she wasn,t given two different cloths for this work she would report him to the health authorities! He gave her two cloths to shut her up, this just about caused a riot as now all the other girls wanted two cloths, just like he,d given that foreigner, the funny thing was that they,d all been wiping both the floors and the tables with the same cloths for years without complaint before Tove opened her mouth. It was at Woolworths that some of the girls told Tove that another danish girl had been working there just before she turned up, Tove made contact with her and they have been good friends ever since, the girl was Evey Briggs, she is still living in Leeds although its now fifty years since they met for the first time and we are still in touch although we are now down to a card and a short letter at Christmas.
We had of course to find somewhere to live and started off in an attic flat on Roundhay Road just opposite the Clock Cinema, the rent for this place was exactly what I was earning per week at the time just six pounds, this meant that if we were to have meals at all the food, fares etc would be paid for out of Toves wages,she was at this time working in the bakery at Woolworths on the Headrow. Not for long however as Tove told the head baker she was disgusted with the conditions in his bakery and if he,d tried to bake bread and confectionery under the same conditions in Denmark where she came from he would have been put into prison! The trouble was that the girls in the bakery were given a dish-cloth to wipe down the working surfaces when ever they had finished a batch of what ever it was they were making that day, before going on to the next item. Tove said that she would like two cloths, one for wiping down the table and one to wipe the floor with where she was standing, the baker told her that everybody else in Woolworths bakers used the same cloth for both the floor and the working surface. Tove said in her limited english that she wasn,t a pig even if all the others were and if she wasn,t given two different cloths for this work she would report him to the health authorities! He gave her two cloths to shut her up, this just about caused a riot as now all the other girls wanted two cloths, just like he,d given that foreigner, the funny thing was that they,d all been wiping both the floors and the tables with the same cloths for years without complaint before Tove opened her mouth. It was at Woolworths that some of the girls told Tove that another danish girl had been working there just before she turned up, Tove made contact with her and they have been good friends ever since, the girl was Evey Briggs, she is still living in Leeds although its now fifty years since they met for the first time and we are still in touch although we are now down to a card and a short letter at Christmas.
We couldn,t expect to last very long at Roundhay Road at the exorbitant rent that we were having to pay so right from the word go we were looking for somewhere cheaper to live,aunt Enid in Kirkstall found us a flat,actually the top rooms in a terrace house in Morris Grove where she herself lived at the time, the flat had a bathroom a living room and a bedroom in the attic and was available for a little over three pounds a week, so now we would be able to start eating again!
We couldn,t expect to last very long at Roundhay Road at the exorbitant rent that we were having to pay so right from the word go we were looking for somewhere cheaper to live,aunt Enid in Kirkstall found us a flat,actually the top rooms in a terrace house in Morris Grove where she herself lived at the time, the flat had a bathroom a living room and a bedroom in the attic and was available for a little over three pounds a week, so now we would be able to start eating again!
We were quite happy at Morris Grove and could just about make ends meet on both our wages but if we were ever to make any progress we would soon have to find somewhere even cheaper to live,so our next stop was a bed sitting room only a few streets from where we were living, we lived in the front room and Tove shared the kitchen with the lady of the house whilst we all the shared toilet and bath on the first floor.
We were quite happy at Morris Grove and could just about make ends meet on both our wages but if we were ever to make any progress we would soon have to find somewhere even cheaper to live,so our next stop was a bed sitting room only a few streets from where we were living, we lived in the front room and Tove shared the kitchen with the lady of the house whilst we all the shared toilet and bath on the first floor.
Mr and Mrs. Atkinson were a nice elderly couple, both old age pensioners who obviously were finding it hard to make ends meet in a big terrace house after retirement and they welcomed the extra income that our renting of the front room provided, so everybody was happy.
Mr and Mrs. Atkinson were a nice elderly couple, both old age pensioners who obviously were finding it hard to make ends meet in a big terrace house after retirement and they welcomed the extra income that our renting of the front room provided, so everybody was happy.
I think we paid 30 shillings a week rent and today this isn,t more than the price of a packet of cigarettes but at the time 30/- could go a long way. I remember Mr. Atkinson saying to me shortly after we moved in.”Am reet glad thas moved in wi us John,nah we can get summat ta eat!” He was only joking but the extra money was greatly appreciated.
I think we paid 30 shillings a week rent and today this isn,t more than the price of a packet of cigarettes but at the time 30/- could go a long way. I remember Mr. Atkinson saying to me shortly after we moved in.”Am reet glad thas moved in wi us John,nah we can get summat ta eat!” He was only joking but the extra money was greatly appreciated.
With the lower rent we now paid things began to look up financially and we were able to indulge ourselves occasionally a trip to the cinema, this was before T.V. came on the scene of course, and a fish and chip supper on the way home wasn,t to be sneezed at. We were settling down to married life and Tove was gradually getting used to the strange ways and numerous customs of the english, she was quite surprised when coming to England that most things were still rationed although the second world war had been over for some years. Denmark was a land of plenty compared with England and it was quite a while before she got used to having to produce our ration books before being able to buy the food for our evening meal.
With the lower rent we now paid things began to look up financially and we were able to indulge ourselves occasionally a trip to the cinema, this was before T.V. came on the scene of course, and a fish and chip supper on the way home wasn,t to be sneezed at. We were settling down to married life and Tove was gradually getting used to the strange ways and numerous customs of the english, she was quite surprised when coming to England that most things were still rationed although the second world war had been over for some years. Denmark was a land of plenty compared with England and it was quite a while before she got used to having to produce our ration books before being able to buy the food for our evening meal.
I remember coming home after we had been married a few months and she was puffed up with pride. She told me she had been shopping down on Kirkstall Road at the Thrift Stores,she was going to bake some biscuits as a surprise for me but the recipe contained “Kardemomme” which is cardomom in english and not a thing that anyone used for baking in England, I doubt if even a chemist would know what it was. The man behind the counter didn.t know what she wanted and said he,d never heard of anything by that name in the forty years he,d been a grocer. Tove said thats a bit hard for me to understand because we use it all the time where I come from, to which the woman behind her in the queue said,”Oh they use all sorts of queer things where you come from, we know that!” Tove rounded on her and said “You dont even know where I come from so how can you say that?” To which the woman replied “Well anybody can hear where you come from,your from Newcastle of course, I can tell by your accent!” Tove was really pleased to be able to tell me of this little episode when I got home, ”Just think John, she thought I was from Newcastle, my english must be improving!” and it was. After only a few months Tove spoke fluent english with no accent and could converse with anyone about anything at all.
I remember coming home after we had been married a few months and she was puffed up with pride. She told me she had been shopping down on Kirkstall Road at the Thrift Stores,she was going to bake some biscuits as a surprise for me but the recipe contained “Kardemomme” which is cardomom in english and not a thing that anyone used for baking in England, I doubt if even a chemist would know what it was. The man behind the counter didn.t know what she wanted and said he,d never heard of anything by that name in the forty years he,d been a grocer. Tove said thats a bit hard for me to understand because we use it all the time where I come from, to which the woman behind her in the queue said,”Oh they use all sorts of queer things where you come from, we know that!” Tove rounded on her and said “You dont even know where I come from so how can you say that?” To which the woman replied “Well anybody can hear where you come from,your from Newcastle of course, I can tell by your accent!” Tove was really pleased to be able to tell me of this little episode when I got home, ”Just think John, she thought I was from Newcastle, my english must be improving!” and it was. After only a few months Tove spoke fluent english with no accent and could converse with anyone about anything at all.
Heres another story. This is about a missionary out in the wilds of Africa, the village he lived in where he was the only white man was about five hundred miles from the nearest town. One day the chief in the village came to him and said” My sister has just given birth to a white baby, as you are the only white man here you must be the father of her child”. The missionary denied any responsibility explaining the he was a man of God and that he was not allowed to have sexual relations with anyone at all so that it was impossible for him to be the father of this child. To explain this he took the chief out onto the plain outside the village and explained to him that this white baby must be the result of a throwback and that at some time probably many years ago someone in the family must have had a white ancestor. To illustrate his point he asked the chief to look out over the plain at all the sheep that were grazing there, and said if you look over there you can see that even though all the sheep are white that two of the small lambs are black! That is what we call a throwback. The chief pondered over what he had been told and after a few minutes silence he said “OK if you keep quiet about the little black lambs I will keep quiet about my sister OK?”
Heres another story. This is about a missionary out in the wilds of Africa, the village he lived in where he was the only white man was about five hundred miles from the nearest town. One day the chief in the village came to him and said” My sister has just given birth to a white baby, as you are the only white man here you must be the father of her child”. The missionary denied any responsibility explaining the he was a man of God and that he was not allowed to have sexual relations with anyone at all so that it was impossible for him to be the father of this child. To explain this he took the chief out onto the plain outside the village and explained to him that this white baby must be the result of a throwback and that at some time probably many years ago someone in the family must have had a white ancestor. To illustrate his point he asked the chief to look out over the plain at all the sheep that were grazing there, and said if you look over there you can see that even though all the sheep are white that two of the small lambs are black! That is what we call a throwback. The chief pondered over what he had been told and after a few minutes silence he said “OK if you keep quiet about the little black lambs I will keep quiet about my sister OK?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
About ten or eleven months after our marriage Tove became, with a little help from my side pregnant with our first off spring, this was Chris although we didn,t know this at the time, he could just as easily have been a little girl of course. Two adults and a baby living in someone else,s front room wasn,t a rosy prospect so the hunt was on for somewhere else to live at a reasonable rent for as Tove became increasingly pregnant she would obviously have to stop working and we would have to live on what I could earn.
About ten or eleven months after our marriage Tove became, with a little help from my side pregnant with our first off spring, this was Chris although we didn,t know this at the time, he could just as easily have been a little girl of course. Two adults and a baby living in someone else,s front room wasn,t a rosy prospect so the hunt was on for somewhere else to live at a reasonable rent for as Tove became increasingly pregnant she would obviously have to stop working and we would have to live on what I could earn.
Luckily for us my mother had some good connections, she was at the time caretaker in an office block for a firm of solicitors and she asked one of the partners if there was any chance of a small house for rent in any of the properties they administrated as her son and daughter in law were expecting their first child and living in one room. He said he,d keep his eyes open and lo and behold within a few weeks we were offered a small back to back house in Woodhouse, only a couple of miles out of town. The address was 1, Churchfield Place and it was a typical working class quarter with an off-licence on the corner, the lady who had this was called Mrs. Belfield and our house should have been the last in the row in a cul-de-sac. Through the years however with the ravages of time and help from the local kids the wall at the end of the street was no longer a whole wall, just a few rows of bricks with a big hole at each end, so instead of living a quiet life at the bottom of the street we had a constant flow of people past our front door going down to other streets further on in the district.
Luckily for us my mother had some good connections, she was at the time caretaker in an office block for a firm of solicitors and she asked one of the partners if there was any chance of a small house for rent in any of the properties they administrated as her son and daughter in law were expecting their first child and living in one room. He said he,d keep his eyes open and lo and behold within a few weeks we were offered a small back to back house in Woodhouse, only a couple of miles out of town. The address was 1, Churchfield Place and it was a typical working class quarter with an off-licence on the corner, the lady who had this was called Mrs. Belfield and our house should have been the last in the row in a cul-de-sac. Through the years however with the ravages of time and help from the local kids the wall at the end of the street was no longer a whole wall, just a few rows of bricks with a big hole at each end, so instead of living a quiet life at the bottom of the street we had a constant flow of people past our front door going down to other streets further on in the district.
The old lady that had lived in the house before us had lived there on her own for donkeys years and hadn,t papered or painted any of the rooms for quite a few years, it was the smallest house in the street with a living room and scullery on the ground floor,two very small bedrooms on the first floor and a coal cellar under the living room. There was no hot water and only one cold water tap in the scullery over a huge sink which had been chiselled out of a big block of sandstone,Tove was quite shocked about the condition of the house and the facilities (which were non existent in Tove,s eyes) and the fact that the toilet which we shared with another family, they lived next door, was some distance from the house, we had to walk up the street and go past two other houses to get to the toilet. There was no lighting and no heating here and in the wintertime the wooden toilet seat was covered in snow which blew in over the top of the door, I was used to this sort of thing as we had ourselves lived in similar places when I was a child and my grandparents spent all their lives in these sort of conditions and thought nothing of it, but Tove was quite shocked,”How can people live under these conditions?” she said”Why doesn,t somebody do something about it?” I explained that with the housing situation as it was that if we said no to the chance of getting a roof over our own heads, no matter how bad the conditions might be once we were in there would always be a chance of getting something better, the houses in question had been on the condemned list for years and the council had been threatening to pull them down for a long time. If and when they were pulled down we would be in line for either a new council house or a new flat at reasonable rents so it would be stupid to let this chance pass.
The old lady that had lived in the house before us had lived there on her own for donkeys years and hadn,t papered or painted any of the rooms for quite a few years, it was the smallest house in the street with a living room and scullery on the ground floor,two very small bedrooms on the first floor and a coal cellar under the living room. There was no hot water and only one cold water tap in the scullery over a huge sink which had been chiselled out of a big block of sandstone,Tove was quite shocked about the condition of the house and the facilities (which were non existent in Tove,s eyes) and the fact that the toilet which we shared with another family, they lived next door, was some distance from the house, we had to walk up the street and go past two other houses to get to the toilet. There was no lighting and no heating here and in the wintertime the wooden toilet seat was covered in snow which blew in over the top of the door, I was used to this sort of thing as we had ourselves lived in similar places when I was a child and my grandparents spent all their lives in these sort of conditions and thought nothing of it, but Tove was quite shocked,”How can people live under these conditions?” she said”Why doesn,t somebody do something about it?” I explained that with the housing situation as it was that if we said no to the chance of getting a roof over our own heads, no matter how bad the conditions might be once we were in there would always be a chance of getting something better, the houses in question had been on the condemned list for years and the council had been threatening to pull them down for a long time. If and when they were pulled down we would be in line for either a new council house or a new flat at reasonable rents so it would be stupid to let this chance pass.
The old lady that had lived in the house before us had lived there on her own for donkeys years and hadn,t papered our painted any of the rooms for quite a few years, it was the smallest house in the street with a living room and scullery on the ground floor,two very small bedrooms on the first floor and a coal cellar under the living room. There was no hot water and only one cold water tap in the scullery over a huge sink which had been chiselled out of a big block of sandstone,Tove was quite shocked about the condition of the house and the facilities (which were non existent in Tove,s eyes) and the fact that the toilet which we shared with another family,they lived next door,was some distance from the house,we had to walk up the street and go past two other houses to get to the toilet. There was no lighting and no heating here and in the wintertime the wooden toilet seat was covered in snow which blew in over the top of the door, I was used to this sort of thing as we had ourselves lived in similar places when I was a child and my grandparents spent all their lives in these sort of conditions and thought nothing of it, but Tove was quite shocked,”How can people live under these conditions?” she said”Why doesn,t somebody do something about it?” I explained that with the housing situation as it was that if we said no to the chance of getting a roof over our own heads, no matter how bad the conditions might be once we were in there would always be a chance of getting something better, the houses in question had been on the condemned list for years and the council had been threatening to pull them down for a long time. If and when they were pulled down we would be in line for either a new council house or a new flat at reasonable rents so it would be stupid to let this chance pass.
The old lady that had lived in the house before us had lived there on her own for donkeys years and hadn,t papered our painted any of the rooms for quite a few years, it was the smallest house in the street with a living room and scullery on the ground floor,two very small bedrooms on the first floor and a coal cellar under the living room. There was no hot water and only one cold water tap in the scullery over a huge sink which had been chiselled out of a big block of sandstone,Tove was quite shocked about the condition of the house and the facilities (which were non existent in Tove,s eyes) and the fact that the toilet which we shared with another family,they lived next door,was some distance from the house,we had to walk up the street and go past two other houses to get to the toilet. There was no lighting and no heating here and in the wintertime the wooden toilet seat was covered in snow which blew in over the top of the door, I was used to this sort of thing as we had ourselves lived in similar places when I was a child and my grandparents spent all their lives in these sort of conditions and thought nothing of it, but Tove was quite shocked,”How can people live under these conditions?” she said”Why doesn,t somebody do something about it?” I explained that with the housing situation as it was that if we said no to the chance of getting a roof over our own heads, no matter how bad the conditions might be once we were in there would always be a chance of getting something better, the houses in question had been on the condemned list for years and the council had been threatening to pull them down for a long time. If and when they were pulled down we would be in line for either a new council house or a new flat at reasonable rents so it would be stupid to let this chance pass.
The very first evening Tove and I went out to see the house with my mother I remember walking down Churchfield Place it was cold, dark and wet, and just before we arrived outside the front door of the place that was to be our future home the front door, I dont know why I say front door there was only one door in these houses!, but anyway, the door was thrown wide open and the lady who was to be our next door neighbour for the next few years threw half a pail of water out into the street! If we had been a second earlier she would have thrown the contents of the bucket over all three of us! She apologized profusely and excused herself by saying that usually after dark there were very few people who came down to that end of the street as it was difficult to find a way through all the debris that was lying behind the broken down wall at that end of the street, so she was just as shocked as we were. When we got into the house Tove asked what it was the woman had been throwing out into the street? Mam said I suppose she was just swilling out her slop-bucket prior to going to bed. Tove,s next question was.What,s a slop-bucket? She found it hard to believe when Mam told her that to save traipsing (good yorkshire word that) up the street to the toilet in the middle of the night, everyone had either a bucket or a chamber pot in the house they could use during the night and the slop bucket was where everything ended. The slop-bucket usually being emptied down the toilet further up the street first thing next morning. At first Tove thought we were pulling her leg but eventually it dawned on her that we were serious. Poor Tove this was for her a far cry from the luxuries of hot and cold running water, bathroom and indoor toilet that she had been used to in Denmark.
The very first evening Tove and I went out to see the house with my mother I remember walking down Churchfield Place it was cold, dark and wet, and just before we arrived outside the front door of the place that was to be our future home the front door, I dont know why I say front door there was only one door in these houses!, but anyway, the door was thrown wide open and the lady who was to be our next door neighbour for the next few years threw half a pail of water out into the street! If we had been a second earlier she would have thrown the contents of the bucket over all three of us! She apologized profusely and excused herself by saying that usually after dark there were very few people who came down to that end of the street as it was difficult to find a way through all the debris that was lying behind the broken down wall at that end of the street, so she was just as shocked as we were. When we got into the house Tove asked what it was the woman had been throwing out into the street? Mam said I suppose she was just swilling out her slop-bucket prior to going to bed. Tove,s next question was.What,s a slop-bucket? She found it hard to believe when Mam told her that to save traipsing (good yorkshire word that) up the street to the toilet in the middle of the night, everyone had either a bucket or a chamber pot in the house they could use during the night and the slop bucket was where everything ended. The slop-bucket usually being emptied down the toilet further up the street first thing next morning. At first Tove thought we were pulling her leg but eventually it dawned on her that we were serious. Poor Tove this was for her a far cry from the luxuries of hot and cold running water, bathroom and indoor toilet that she had been used to in Denmark.
We moved into number one with the few sticks of furniture we had been able to beg, borrow or steal and every week we bought some small thing for the house which could improve our lot, it was a blessing in disguise that the house was so small as there was absolutely no room for furniture in it! We had two easy chairs, a small kitchen table with two chairs a radio and a secondhand sideboard, the double bed we slept in had been left in the house by the relatives of the old lady who had lived here until her death. Tove didn,t like the idea of sleeping in a bed that someone had died in but I could put her mind at rest on this score as I had been told by others in the street that the old lady in question had died in hospital.
We moved into number one with the few sticks of furniture we had been able to beg, borrow or steal and every week we bought some small thing for the house which could improve our lot, it was a blessing in disguise that the house was so small as there was absolutely no room for furniture in it! We had two easy chairs, a small kitchen table with two chairs a radio and a secondhand sideboard, the double bed we slept in had been left in the house by the relatives of the old lady who had lived here until her death. Tove didn,t like the idea of sleeping in a bed that someone had died in but I could put her mind at rest on this score as I had been told by others in the street that the old lady in question had died in hospital.
When we first moved in the locals weren,t very friendly as there is always a pecking order with this sort of thing, usually the person who had been resident in the street for the longest period of time would be asked by the estate agent if they had anyone in mind that would like to move into the vacant house? In most cases this would be a blood relation, perhaps the daughter, son or nephew of the person being asked, if this didn,t happen to be the case, he would then ask if she knew of anyone else resident in the street that might have a reliable tenant in mind, here again this would be a son or a daughter of someone already living in the street. The reason for this screening is obviously because in a street where most people were related to each other there would very rarely be trouble between neighbours, a harmonious relationship between neighbours is a great plus for the person who is renting out the property, this practice makes it very nearly impossible for outsiders to get a foothold in this sort of district - new faces are frowned upon, and the first few days after moving in we could feel that there was quite a cold wind blowing down Churchfield Place.
When we first moved in the locals weren,t very friendly as there is always a pecking order with this sort of thing, usually the person who had been resident in the street for the longest period of time would be asked by the estate agent if they had anyone in mind that would like to move into the vacant house? In most cases this would be a blood relation, perhaps the daughter, son or nephew of the person being asked, if this didn,t happen to be the case, he would then ask if she knew of anyone else resident in the street that might have a reliable tenant in mind, here again this would be a son or a daughter of someone already living in the street. The reason for this screening is obviously because in a street where most people were related to each other there would very rarely be trouble between neighbours, a harmonious relationship between neighbours is a great plus for the person who is renting out the property, this practice makes it very nearly impossible for outsiders to get a foothold in this sort of district - new faces are frowned upon, and the first few days after moving in we could feel that there was quite a cold wind blowing down Churchfield Place.
After a while however things settled down, Tove was growing bigger by the day and pregnant women are a topic in themselves so Tove was soon accepted by the other women in the street, shortly afterwards another house became vacant and Mrs Thackeray,s daughter Mavis who had thought at the time that she was in line to get the house we were living in moved in and Tove and she became quite good friends. One of the things that told me we had been accepted was the fact that after our house was burgled one evening and my weeks wages (six pounds) stolen, this was whilst we were at my mothers place for a bath and an evening meal, the people in the street rallied round and made a door to door collection to buy us enough groceries to last us a week until I got paid again. The people I,m talking about here were either old age pensioners, invalids or low wage earners living from hand to mouth themselves so this was really something, now we knew we had really been accepted into their society.
After a while however things settled down, Tove was growing bigger by the day and pregnant women are a topic in themselves so Tove was soon accepted by the other women in the street, shortly afterwards another house became vacant and Mrs Thackeray,s daughter Mavis who had thought at the time that she was in line to get the house we were living in moved in and Tove and she became quite good friends. One of the things that told me we had been accepted was the fact that after our house was burgled one evening and my weeks wages (six pounds) stolen, this was whilst we were at my mothers place for a bath and an evening meal, the people in the street rallied round and made a door to door collection to buy us enough groceries to last us a week until I got paid again. The people I,m talking about here were either old age pensioners, invalids or low wage earners living from hand to mouth themselves so this was really something, now we knew we had really been accepted into their society.
I could tell many stories of our experiences during our time at Churchfield Place but if I;m to get up to date with this record before my time comes I,d better cut it short. One of the things that sticks in my mind is the time we invested in a new fireplace. When we moved into the house, it was 97 years old at the time, the only heating was the huge old fashioned fireplace of cast iron which filled up more than half of one wall in the living room. These old coal burning iron ranges had a fire place in the middle with an oven on one side and a small boiler on the other, as long as there was a fire in the fireplace there was also hot water (about 10 liters) in the boiler and it was possible to bake, stew etc in the oven on the other side. Quite a good solution in the winter but not a very practical arrangement in the summer months where one had to have quite a good fire going if there was to be any warm food served. We decided to have the old range pulled out and replace it with a smaller tiled fireplace and at the same time install an electric cooker in the scullery, this was quite an expensive undertaking as the fireplace alone was going to cost us four weeks normal wages, the cooker however was bought through easy payments, on the never never as they said in Woodhouse.
I could tell many stories of our experiences during our time at Churchfield Place but if I;m to get up to date with this record before my time comes I,d better cut it short. One of the things that sticks in my mind is the time we invested in a new fireplace. When we moved into the house, it was 97 years old at the time, the only heating was the huge old fashioned fireplace of cast iron which filled up more than half of one wall in the living room. These old coal burning iron ranges had a fire place in the middle with an oven on one side and a small boiler on the other, as long as there was a fire in the fireplace there was also hot water (about 10 liters) in the boiler and it was possible to bake, stew etc in the oven on the other side. Quite a good solution in the winter but not a very practical arrangement in the summer months where one had to have quite a good fire going if there was to be any warm food served. We decided to have the old range pulled out and replace it with a smaller tiled fireplace and at the same time install an electric cooker in the scullery, this was quite an expensive undertaking as the fireplace alone was going to cost us four weeks normal wages, the cooker however was bought through easy payments, on the never never as they said in Woodhouse.
Pulling out the old range and installing the new tiled fireplace only took one day so that when I came home in the evening it was all over bare the cleaning up. Tove told me that the man that had taken out the cast iron fireplace had broken it up into small pieces and piled the pieces up in the street outside the front door whilst he installed the new fireplace, when he was out getting his lunch the local rag and bone man came around and asked Tove if she would like him to remove the old iron outside her door? How much will you give me for it? said Tove. He laughed at her and said if you give me five shillings I,ll take it away with me now so you wont have to pay anybody else to move it. Not on your life said Tove, just leave it where it is thank you. After some haggling he gave her eight shillings for the old iron and took himself off muttering about daylight robbery, and women not being right in the head etc,etc.
Pulling out the old range and installing the new tiled fireplace only took one day so that when I came home in the evening it was all over bare the cleaning up. Tove told me that the man that had taken out the cast iron fireplace had broken it up into small pieces and piled the pieces up in the street outside the front door whilst he installed the new fireplace, when he was out getting his lunch the local rag and bone man came around and asked Tove if she would like him to remove the old iron outside her door? How much will you give me for it? said Tove. He laughed at her and said if you give me five shillings I,ll take it away with me now so you wont have to pay anybody else to move it. Not on your life said Tove, just leave it where it is thank you. After some haggling he gave her eight shillings for the old iron and took himself off muttering about daylight robbery, and women not being right in the head etc,etc.
Shortly afterwards the man from the fireplace firm came back from lunch, and the first thing he asked her was,Where,s my scrap iron? Tove said What,s scrap iron? The old fireplace,the old fireplace he said. Oh the rag and bone man came round and asked if I wanted it moved so I told him to take it, said Tove. But that,s part of my wages on a job like this said the man, Well nobody told me anything about that said Tove and I cant see that it,s your fireplace anyway, it,s been in this house ever since it was built so I think it,s more my fireplace than it is yours so there! She didn,t dare tell him she,d been given eight shillings for it! He was most upset, but we had quite a giggle about it when I got home in the evening.
Shortly afterwards the man from the fireplace firm came back from lunch, and the first thing he asked her was,Where,s my scrap iron? Tove said What,s scrap iron? The old fireplace,the old fireplace he said. Oh the rag and bone man came round and asked if I wanted it moved so I told him to take it, said Tove. But that,s part of my wages on a job like this said the man, Well nobody told me anything about that said Tove and I cant see that it,s your fireplace anyway, it,s been in this house ever since it was built so I think it,s more my fireplace than it is yours so there! She didn,t dare tell him she,d been given eight shillings for it! He was most upset, but we had quite a giggle about it when I got home in the evening.
Another thing I remember from Churchfield Place was the 21st of january 1955, Tove had been told to expect her baby around the first week in january but the days went by with Tove getting bigger for each day but with no sign of a baby putting in an appearance until the night of the 21st of january. Around midnight we were startled by the lady who ran the off-license shop on the corner throwing open her bedroom window and shreiking at the top of her voice HELP HELP HELP oh somebody come and help me. He,s going to murder me, he,s going to murder me, AGHH AGHH he,s on the stairs, he,s on his way up now Help MURDER Ring for the POLICE _POLICE Help HELP. We flew out of bed of course and threw up the window at practically the same time as everyone else in the street, all the able bodied men in the street were pulling on their trousers before pounding to her rescue. Except Len our next door neighbour, he leaned out of the window and said to me,Silly old cow - She,s off her head again - Just wait and see I,ll bet ten bob theres nobody in the place except her and the dog. By this time there were quite a few people gathered in the street talking to the lady in question at her bedroom window, just come down and let us in luv they said, and we,ll have a look round for you. Oh no - Oh no I daren,t go down the stairs, he,s waiting for me half way up the stairs. After a while one of the local tradesmen brought out a ladder and the youngest, and most heavily built bloke in the street disappeared through her bedroom window,and reappeared a few minutes later in the shop premises below.
Another thing I remember from Churchfield Place was the 21st of january 1955, Tove had been told to expect her baby around the first week in january but the days went by with Tove getting bigger for each day but with no sign of a baby putting in an appearance until the night of the 21st of january. Around midnight we were startled by the lady who ran the off-license shop on the corner throwing open her bedroom window and shreiking at the top of her voice HELP HELP HELP oh somebody come and help me. He,s going to murder me, he,s going to murder me, AGHH AGHH he,s on the stairs, he,s on his way up now Help MURDER Ring for the POLICE _POLICE Help HELP. We flew out of bed of course and threw up the window at practically the same time as everyone else in the street, all the able bodied men in the street were pulling on their trousers before pounding to her rescue. Except Len our next door neighbour, he leaned out of the window and said to me,Silly old cow - She,s off her head again - Just wait and see I,ll bet ten bob theres nobody in the place except her and the dog. By this time there were quite a few people gathered in the street talking to the lady in question at her bedroom window, just come down and let us in luv they said, and we,ll have a look round for you. Oh no - Oh no I daren,t go down the stairs, he,s waiting for me half way up the stairs. After a while one of the local tradesmen brought out a ladder and the youngest, and most heavily built bloke in the street disappeared through her bedroom window,and reappeared a few minutes later in the shop premises below.
It was just as our neighbour Len had prophisied there was no one but the woman herself and her dog in the house! What had happened was that the old dog had started to crawl upstairs and had obviously made some noise doing it, the noise had awoken Mrs.Belfield who had panicked at the thought of being murdered in her bed.
It was just as our neighbour Len had prophisied there was no one but the woman herself and her dog in the house! What had happened was that the old dog had started to crawl upstairs and had obviously made some noise doing it, the noise had awoken Mrs.Belfield who had panicked at the thought of being murdered in her bed.
The reason I tell this story is that the shock of being awoken in the middle of the nightupset Tove so much that she went into labour, the neighbours said at the time that if it hadn,t been for Mrs. Belfield Chris would probably still be inside his mother.
The reason I tell this story is that the shock of being awoken in the middle of the nightupset Tove so much that she went into labour, the neighbours said at the time that if it hadn,t been for Mrs. Belfield Chris would probably still be inside his mother.
Tove went into St.James hospital in Leeds in the early morning of the 21st of january but Chris wasn,t born until the afternoon af the 23rd of january, Tove had a hard time of it as Chris weighed in at around ten pounds, they both looked very much the worse for wear when I was allowed to go and see them at St James the first evening. Tove looked washed out after nearly 48 hours of labour and my son had a laceration across the bridge of his nose and his left eye was so bloodshot that the white of his eye wasn,t visible. Happily they both improved rapidly and a few days afterwards we were reunited at number one Churchfield Place and our life as a family could begin.
Tove went into St.James hospital in Leeds in the early morning of the 21st of january but Chris wasn,t born until the afternoon af the 23rd of january, Tove had a hard time of it as Chris weighed in at around ten pounds, they both looked very much the worse for wear when I was allowed to go and see them at St James the first evening. Tove looked washed out after nearly 48 hours of labour and my son had a laceration across the bridge of his nose and his left eye was so bloodshot that the white of his eye wasn,t visible. Happily they both improved rapidly and a few days afterwards we were reunited at number one Churchfield Place and our life as a family could begin.
Chris was of course the apple of everybody,s eye, as good as gold he was never any bother, and although he would wake up in the mornings absolutely soaking he never complained , he just used to pull himself up by grabbing the bars of his cot and then he would just stand there looking into our bedroom through the bars waiting patienly until either Tove or I opened our eyes so that he could give us the big smile . He was big news in Denmark too, so he wasn,t very old before his Mor mor put in an appearance, she wanted to see how her daughter was faring and see the new member of the family. Mormor spoke only a few words of english so Tove was busy translating most of the time and as I had only one or two words of danish communication between was very difficult. I do remember when we were going up to bed one evening putting my head around the door to her room to say with great tenderness,” Halvfjerds Mormor”, I didn,t know what the word meant it was just something that I,d heard the other danes say but I just wanted her to feel at home! Tove laughed for a week afterwards, it was a long time before anyone could say halvfjerds to her without her smiling.
Chris was of course the apple of everybody,s eye, as good as gold he was never any bother, and although he would wake up in the mornings absolutely soaking he never complained , he just used to pull himself up by grabbing the bars of his cot and then he would just stand there looking into our bedroom through the bars waiting patienly until either Tove or I opened our eyes so that he could give us the big smile . He was big news in Denmark too, so he wasn,t very old before his Mor mor put in an appearance, she wanted to see how her daughter was faring and see the new member of the family. Mormor spoke only a few words of english so Tove was busy translating most of the time and as I had only one or two words of danish communication between was very difficult. I do remember when we were going up to bed one evening putting my head around the door to her room to say with great tenderness,” Halvfjerds Mormor”, I didn,t know what the word meant it was just something that I,d heard the other danes say but I just wanted her to feel at home! Tove laughed for a week afterwards, it was a long time before anyone could say halvfjerds to her without her smiling.
More story. This is one of the dog stories that abound. Three dogs where awaiting their turns at the vets and dog number one asked What are you here for? Dog number two says “Unfortunately I bit the postman the other day and my owners don’t think that they can trust me any more so I,m here to be put down.” Dog number one then asks dog number three why he is waiting to see the vet. Oh says the dog it,s the same with me, we have recently been blessed with a new baby at our house and because I happened to growl at the baby my owners think it would be best to have me put down too. “What about you why are you here? Oh said dog number one the other day at our house my lady owner had just had a bath in the afternoon and walked into the room without any clothes on and when she bent down to get her slippers from under the bed I just couldn,t resist the opportunity to jump on her from behind and I really enjoyed myself with her.” Oh Blimey said dogs number two and three “And now she,s going to have you put down too?” “Oh no said dog number one she just wants the vet to cut my nails.”
More story. This is one of the dog stories that abound. Three dogs where awaiting their turns at the vets and dog number one asked What are you here for? Dog number two says “Unfortunately I bit the postman the other day and my owners don’t think that they can trust me any more so I,m here to be put down.” Dog number one then asks dog number three why he is waiting to see the vet. Oh says the dog it,s the same with me, we have recently been blessed with a new baby at our house and because I happened to growl at the baby my owners think it would be best to have me put down too. “What about you why are you here? Oh said dog number one the other day at our house my lady owner had just had a bath in the afternoon and walked into the room without any clothes on and when she bent down to get her slippers from under the bed I just couldn,t resist the opportunity to jump on her from behind and I really enjoyed myself with her.” Oh Blimey said dogs number two and three “And now she,s going to have you put down too?” “Oh no said dog number one she just wants the vet to cut my nails.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
My job with Otis was O.K. but not all that well paid and I worked all the hours of overtime I could just to try and better our financial situation. I worked for several different fitters during those first months and learnt something new every day. The people employed by Waygood -Otis at this time came from all walks of life and some of them were what I would term “real characters”. We had two Supervisors. Dave Watkinson, who at the time although approaching the age of seventy was still very spry ,he was the kingpin in Wellington Street when it came to fault finding, the other supervisor was named Alf Fawcett a small chubby man who had kept out of the armed forces during the war due to the fact that he was in a reserved occupation? He was the only man at Otis who could splice steel wire ropes at that time and without him all the lifts Otis maintained would as time went by have been condemned because of worn ropes. Dick was a very tall man and seeing these two walking side by side when coming on to a job together was sometimes quite amusing, the lads used to call them Tweedledum amd Tweedledee!
My job with Otis was O.K. but not all that well paid and I worked all the hours of overtime I could just to try and better our financial situation. I worked for several different fitters during those first months and learnt something new every day. The people employed by Waygood -Otis at this time came from all walks of life and some of them were what I would term “real characters”. We had two Supervisors. Dave Watkinson, who at the time although approaching the age of seventy was still very spry ,he was the kingpin in Wellington Street when it came to fault finding, the other supervisor was named Alf Fawcett a small chubby man who had kept out of the armed forces during the war due to the fact that he was in a reserved occupation? He was the only man at Otis who could splice steel wire ropes at that time and without him all the lifts Otis maintained would as time went by have been condemned because of worn ropes. Dick was a very tall man and seeing these two walking side by side when coming on to a job together was sometimes quite amusing, the lads used to call them Tweedledum amd Tweedledee!
Although it,s now nearly 50 years ago I can still remember many of the things I experienced at this time and one of the things I remember about Dick was when I was picked to accompany Dick as his mate on a call back to the Queens Hotel on City Square in Leeds. The hotel was only a few hundred yards from the office on Wellington St but they were not usually one of our best customers as they had their own maintenance staff and serviced all their own lifts under normal circumstances. On arrival at the hotel we were met by the resident maintenance engineer and taken up to the motor room on the top floor of the hotel, here there were huge windows from the floor to the ceiling I remember them being arched at the top, it was quite imposing when compared to the pokey little holes we were used to working in! Dick said”Bit like a church isn,t it Johnny?” and went to look at the view of City Square from the windows. He spent quite a long time admiring the view and eventually the engineer that had brought us to the roof tops said “OK, OK thats enough of the sightseeing, how about having a look at the faulty lift now, we are after all paying for your time!” Dick turned to him and said” I start faultfinding the very minute you leave the room mister, it,s taken me fifty years to learn the tricks of my trade and I,m not having you looking over my shoulder. We,ve come to help you but were not going to give you free tuition!”
Although it,s now nearly 50 years ago I can still remember many of the things I experienced at this time and one of the things I remember about Dick was when I was picked to accompany Dick as his mate on a call back to the Queens Hotel on City Square in Leeds. The hotel was only a few hundred yards from the office on Wellington St but they were not usually one of our best customers as they had their own maintenance staff and serviced all their own lifts under normal circumstances. On arrival at the hotel we were met by the resident maintenance engineer and taken up to the motor room on the top floor of the hotel, here there were huge windows from the floor to the ceiling I remember them being arched at the top, it was quite imposing when compared to the pokey little holes we were used to working in! Dick said”Bit like a church isn,t it Johnny?” and went to look at the view of City Square from the windows. He spent quite a long time admiring the view and eventually the engineer that had brought us to the roof tops said “OK, OK thats enough of the sightseeing, how about having a look at the faulty lift now, we are after all paying for your time!” Dick turned to him and said” I start faultfinding the very minute you leave the room mister, it,s taken me fifty years to learn the tricks of my trade and I,m not having you looking over my shoulder. We,ve come to help you but were not going to give you free tuition!”
The resident engineer blustered a lot and threatened to ring to the office and complain but Dick was adamant, he said “They,ll only refer you back to me if you ring, so you might as well go gracefully now so we can get on with the job, you,ll save us some time and your company some money.” He went. Dick fixed the fault in a matter of minutes and spent another fifteen or twenty minutes admiring the view again before we left the building. On the way back to the office I can remember him saying to me,”Never let them pick your brains John, there is no easy way to gain experience in this game it takes years to learn, be civile and help the customer in every way but dont put yourself out of a job.
The resident engineer blustered a lot and threatened to ring to the office and complain but Dick was adamant, he said “They,ll only refer you back to me if you ring, so you might as well go gracefully now so we can get on with the job, you,ll save us some time and your company some money.” He went. Dick fixed the fault in a matter of minutes and spent another fifteen or twenty minutes admiring the view again before we left the building. On the way back to the office I can remember him saying to me,”Never let them pick your brains John, there is no easy way to gain experience in this game it takes years to learn, be civile and help the customer in every way but dont put yourself out of a job.
The thing I remember most about Alfie, the other supervisor was his love of cards , all the lads that were in the town at lunchtime used to gather in the basement at Wellington St and play Brag, for money of course ! I was usually very lucky at this either leaving even or getting out a few shillings ahead most lunchtimes. Alfie,s love of cards was what led indirectly to his downfall. He went to Scarborough to a big hotel on the front one weekend, I think it may have been called The Royal Hotel? his job was to supervise a rope change on the big goods lift and splice the rope ends to the car and counterweight, this was because the fitter and the mate who were doing the donkey work, pulling round the new ropes didn,t know how to splice. Alfie could splice as no other, and the job was finished in no time. Having a couple of hours to wait before his train back to Leeds was due to leave Alfie suggested a game of cards up in the lift motor room to while away the time. Unfortunately for him the hotel manager was interested in seeing how things were progressing and he came up to the motor room to see how they were getting on! He blew his top of course when he saw three men, on overtime playing cards when the hotel were paying the bill.
The thing I remember most about Alfie, the other supervisor was his love of cards , all the lads that were in the town at lunchtime used to gather in the basement at Wellington St and play Brag, for money of course ! I was usually very lucky at this either leaving even or getting out a few shillings ahead most lunchtimes. Alfie,s love of cards was what led indirectly to his downfall. He went to Scarborough to a big hotel on the front one weekend, I think it may have been called The Royal Hotel? his job was to supervise a rope change on the big goods lift and splice the rope ends to the car and counterweight, this was because the fitter and the mate who were doing the donkey work, pulling round the new ropes didn,t know how to splice. Alfie could splice as no other, and the job was finished in no time. Having a couple of hours to wait before his train back to Leeds was due to leave Alfie suggested a game of cards up in the lift motor room to while away the time. Unfortunately for him the hotel manager was interested in seeing how things were progressing and he came up to the motor room to see how they were getting on! He blew his top of course when he saw three men, on overtime playing cards when the hotel were paying the bill.
This however wasn,t the end of the story, it was bad enough that the manager had threatened to call the office and complain on monday morning but when Alfie got to work on monday morning he was told by his co-supervisor, a man called Kenny Kirton, that apart from the complaint from the manager of the hotel there was big trouble regarding the re-roping of the lift as shortly after the lift had been put into service again the suspension ropes on the counterweight side had been forced off the diverter sheave. This was due to the ropes crossing each other in the lift shaft, ropes have to be fed directly from the sheaves to the suspension points on car and counterweight, if not the ropes that cross over each other will force each other off the sheave at the top and the bottom of the lift shaft. Alfie as supervisor should have checked for crossed ropes before he spliced his rope ends to car and counterweight of course but he had taken it for granted that the others on the job had done what they should have and he hadn,t checked things for himself.
This however wasn,t the end of the story, it was bad enough that the manager had threatened to call the office and complain on monday morning but when Alfie got to work on monday morning he was told by his co-supervisor, a man called Kenny Kirton, that apart from the complaint from the manager of the hotel there was big trouble regarding the re-roping of the lift as shortly after the lift had been put into service again the suspension ropes on the counterweight side had been forced off the diverter sheave. This was due to the ropes crossing each other in the lift shaft, ropes have to be fed directly from the sheaves to the suspension points on car and counterweight, if not the ropes that cross over each other will force each other off the sheave at the top and the bottom of the lift shaft. Alfie as supervisor should have checked for crossed ropes before he spliced his rope ends to car and counterweight of course but he had taken it for granted that the others on the job had done what they should have and he hadn,t checked things for himself.
Poor Alfie.When Kenny told him what had happened, and his words were”Oh boy, I wouldn,t like to be in your shoes today when Fred Stace (Alfie,s boss) gets in!” He just turned on his heel and left the office and no one ever saw him alive again. He went back to his home, left a litle note for his wife to say he was sorry that he had let her down, then went to the local chemist,s for a packet of rat poison, went over to the local park and swallowed the lot. He was found dead next day lying on a bench in the park. Poor Alfie.
Poor Alfie.When Kenny told him what had happened, and his words were”Oh boy, I wouldn,t like to be in your shoes today when Fred Stace (Alfie,s boss) gets in!” He just turned on his heel and left the office and no one ever saw him alive again. He went back to his home, left a litle note for his wife to say he was sorry that he had let her down, then went to the local chemist,s for a packet of rat poison, went over to the local park and swallowed the lot. He was found dead next day lying on a bench in the park. Poor Alfie.
I could fill a book with stories about the lads I worked with at Otis at this time they were a grand bunch and I really enjoyed my time at Wellington Street, I wont fill a book but I must tell one of the stories I have about Tommy Hatch. Tommy was a very efficient fitter, well liked by all and as he was ex-RAF we got on very well together. I remember him being sent out to do a modernisation job at one of englands stately homes, a place right out in the country with the sort of bus service that only ran about once a day. He and his mate Laurie, were quartered in the servants wing and had their meals in the servants wing with the staff that ran the house and would be more or less in quarantine for as long as it took to do the job. One part of the job was to take down the gear case and fit a new rim to the worm wheel the new rim was to be sent up from the factory in Falmouth Road in London. After a couple of weeks on site Tommy rang to the office from the site and said that the only part of the job that hadn,t been done was the rim change in the gear case and that the new rim was required urgently, they were fed up with country living and wanted to get back to Leeds as soon as possible. Mr Stace said O.K we can do the rim change at a later date reassemble the gearcase and put the job back into service using the old rim. There was dead silence at the other end of the line. After a while Tommy said,”We can,t put the lift back into service as we have taken the old rim off and it,s not available any more!” What had happened was that just after the last war brass and copper were fetching high prices and Tommy and Laurie had used a hacksaw to cut the rim into small peices that could fit into an overcoat pocket so they easily be transported from the site for sale to the nearest scrap merchant! Mr Stace went through the roof, mainly because he had always insisted that all copper and brass scrap metal was to be returned to the Leeds office to be collected at the basement workshop to be sold once a year. The money from the scrap was said to be used for the office staff,s annual christmas party the only snag being that they never had a christmas party! The rumour was that Fred (Mr Stace) always funded his own private christmas party with the money from the scrap box! The customer was very annoyed about his lift being out of service for such a long time and I think if it had been any of the other fitters at the time they would have been sacked on the spot, as it was Fred gave them a good bollocking, told them that all scrap metal of value was to be returned to the office and let it go at that.
I could fill a book with stories about the lads I worked with at Otis at this time they were a grand bunch and I really enjoyed my time at Wellington Street, I wont fill a book but I must tell one of the stories I have about Tommy Hatch. Tommy was a very efficient fitter, well liked by all and as he was ex-RAF we got on very well together. I remember him being sent out to do a modernisation job at one of englands stately homes, a place right out in the country with the sort of bus service that only ran about once a day. He and his mate Laurie, were quartered in the servants wing and had their meals in the servants wing with the staff that ran the house and would be more or less in quarantine for as long as it took to do the job. One part of the job was to take down the gear case and fit a new rim to the worm wheel the new rim was to be sent up from the factory in Falmouth Road in London. After a couple of weeks on site Tommy rang to the office from the site and said that the only part of the job that hadn,t been done was the rim change in the gear case and that the new rim was required urgently, they were fed up with country living and wanted to get back to Leeds as soon as possible. Mr Stace said O.K we can do the rim change at a later date reassemble the gearcase and put the job back into service using the old rim. There was dead silence at the other end of the line. After a while Tommy said,”We can,t put the lift back into service as we have taken the old rim off and it,s not available any more!” What had happened was that just after the last war brass and copper were fetching high prices and Tommy and Laurie had used a hacksaw to cut the rim into small peices that could fit into an overcoat pocket so they easily be transported from the site for sale to the nearest scrap merchant! Mr Stace went through the roof, mainly because he had always insisted that all copper and brass scrap metal was to be returned to the Leeds office to be collected at the basement workshop to be sold once a year. The money from the scrap was said to be used for the office staff,s annual christmas party the only snag being that they never had a christmas party! The rumour was that Fred (Mr Stace) always funded his own private christmas party with the money from the scrap box! The customer was very annoyed about his lift being out of service for such a long time and I think if it had been any of the other fitters at the time they would have been sacked on the spot, as it was Fred gave them a good bollocking, told them that all scrap metal of value was to be returned to the office and let it go at that.
The very next job Tommy and Laurie worked on was at a bank in Halifax, they were to pull out the old lift enclosure which was a close meshed trellis, enclose the lift shaft, and put in new automatic controls as the old job was attendant operated . Mr Stace went on to the site to check for precious metals and told Tommy that the huge brass plate where the attendants handle was mounted was of course to be returned to the office! What he hadn,t noticed was the fact that the bronze painted trellis enclosing the lift shaft on all four sides from the ground floor up to the third floor was under all its layers of paint also made of brass! Tommy and his mate got the local scrap man to take a look at the site and make them an offer, telling him that the firm didn,t want the hassle of taking the scrap back to Leeds and that they had been ordered to sell it locally. I can,t remember if Tommy ever told anyone what they made here but I do know he bought himself a car shortly afterwards!
The very next job Tommy and Laurie worked on was at a bank in Halifax, they were to pull out the old lift enclosure which was a close meshed trellis, enclose the lift shaft, and put in new automatic controls as the old job was attendant operated . Mr Stace went on to the site to check for precious metals and told Tommy that the huge brass plate where the attendants handle was mounted was of course to be returned to the office! What he hadn,t noticed was the fact that the bronze painted trellis enclosing the lift shaft on all four sides from the ground floor up to the third floor was under all its layers of paint also made of brass! Tommy and his mate got the local scrap man to take a look at the site and make them an offer, telling him that the firm didn,t want the hassle of taking the scrap back to Leeds and that they had been ordered to sell it locally. I can,t remember if Tommy ever told anyone what they made here but I do know he bought himself a car shortly afterwards!
One of the other lads I had a soft spot for was Arthur Smith. Arthur was a happy go lucky guy, very brash and always ready to pull someones leg the type I always call “a right card”.I dont think he was really a criminal type but he certainly knew a lot of people who were. A lot of his friends were inside and he could tell stories for hours about the different jobs they had pulled off, with varying degrees of success I may say, otherwise they wouldn,t be inside would they? Arthur loved to chat, and being the happy, breezy lad he was always fell into conversation with the customers or their employees. He was inspecting a lift in a building in Huddersfield one day and the shop manager cornered him and asked him for his opinion of the condition of the lift. Arthur thought he would do Otis a good turn and try to interest the manager in a new lift. As the lift was over thirty years old Arthur said well , at the moment it,s not dangerous to carry on using the lift but after all it is getting on in years and you will soon have to start thinking about getting a new lift installed. Arthur went back to the office, only to get a dressing down from Fred as Fred had visited the customer a shortly before Arthurs visit and had told him that the lift was in excellent condition and could run for many years with no trouble!
One of the other lads I had a soft spot for was Arthur Smith. Arthur was a happy go lucky guy, very brash and always ready to pull someones leg the type I always call “a right card”.I dont think he was really a criminal type but he certainly knew a lot of people who were. A lot of his friends were inside and he could tell stories for hours about the different jobs they had pulled off, with varying degrees of success I may say, otherwise they wouldn,t be inside would they? Arthur loved to chat, and being the happy, breezy lad he was always fell into conversation with the customers or their employees. He was inspecting a lift in a building in Huddersfield one day and the shop manager cornered him and asked him for his opinion of the condition of the lift. Arthur thought he would do Otis a good turn and try to interest the manager in a new lift. As the lift was over thirty years old Arthur said well , at the moment it,s not dangerous to carry on using the lift but after all it is getting on in years and you will soon have to start thinking about getting a new lift installed. Arthur went back to the office, only to get a dressing down from Fred as Fred had visited the customer a shortly before Arthurs visit and had told him that the lift was in excellent condition and could run for many years with no trouble!
Next time Arthur was in trouble he did exactly the opposite. A customer asked him about the state of his lift and with the last unlucky episode in mind Arthur told him that his lift was in tip top condition and that the lift would run for years with no trouble. The only trouble here was the fact that Fred had recently been to see the customer and had told him that his lift was so old that it was getting to the point that Otis were not pleased about taking resposibility for the installation and that they would advise him to invest in a new lift! Poor Arthur he really got a flea in his ear after this episode, Fred said “I,m the salesman in this office you silly bugger, from now on you just keep your big mouth shut when visiting the customers”.
Next time Arthur was in trouble he did exactly the opposite. A customer asked him about the state of his lift and with the last unlucky episode in mind Arthur told him that his lift was in tip top condition and that the lift would run for years with no trouble. The only trouble here was the fact that Fred had recently been to see the customer and had told him that his lift was so old that it was getting to the point that Otis were not pleased about taking resposibility for the installation and that they would advise him to invest in a new lift! Poor Arthur he really got a flea in his ear after this episode, Fred said “I,m the salesman in this office you silly bugger, from now on you just keep your big mouth shut when visiting the customers”.
Another man I remember still was Norman, he was mate to Bruce Marflett and if the truth was to be told he should have been the fitter in this duo as his knowledge of electrics far exceeded Bruce,s and when out on call backs where the fault was on the electrical side and not mechanical he didn,t beat about the bush but usually said to Bruce, I think we should start by checking this or that circuit. Then while Bruce was still scratching his head Norman had usually located the trouble. I asked him one day why he didn,t put in for journeyman training and he said”Can,t be bothered Johnny. We manage at home quite well on the wage I,m paid now and I dont want the responsibility of being the fitter on the job, I had enough of responsibility when I was in the army thanks” Whilst chatting he told me some of his experiences when serving in the forces. He signed on in the thirties as a drummer boy for the army at the age of fourteen and was sent out to India to join his regiment straight away. He was twenty two years old when he saw England again, a tour of duty abroad before the war wasn,t the petty two and a half years we others had to put up with but was all of nine years in those days.Two of his stories I can remember to this day.The first was about the latrines they had to use at the garrison where he was staioned in India. These were just a long line of small huts all with a wooden seat and a bucket placed strategically on a wooden shelf lower down, to empty the bucket the “shit wallah” raised the flap at the back of the hut pulled out the bucket and emptied it into a container he hauled along behind from bog to bog. Norman explained that they always looked around for the “shit wallah” before going over to the latrines because if any one was sitting on the seat and the flap was raised his backside, when he was probably in the process of emptying his bowels could be seen by the rest of the camp! Not only this but the “shit wallah” would often reach into the latrine and give a hefty tug to the occupants scrotum! The indignity of this act wasn,t the worst thing here, Norman explained that because the War Department used Jeyes Fluid as a disinfectant in the latrines the “shit wallah,s” hands were bathed in this fluid, as he used it all day long. As undiluted Jeyes Fluid is a powerful corrosive, and in Norman,s own words,”It burns like buggery Johnny” the discomfort for the poor soldier involved was intense for some time afterwards to say the least.
Another man I remember still was Norman, he was mate to Bruce Marflett and if the truth was to be told he should have been the fitter in this duo as his knowledge of electrics far exceeded Bruce,s and when out on call backs where the fault was on the electrical side and not mechanical he didn,t beat about the bush but usually said to Bruce, I think we should start by checking this or that circuit. Then while Bruce was still scratching his head Norman had usually located the trouble. I asked him one day why he didn,t put in for journeyman training and he said”Can,t be bothered Johnny. We manage at home quite well on the wage I,m paid now and I dont want the responsibility of being the fitter on the job, I had enough of responsibility when I was in the army thanks” Whilst chatting he told me some of his experiences when serving in the forces. He signed on in the thirties as a drummer boy for the army at the age of fourteen and was sent out to India to join his regiment straight away. He was twenty two years old when he saw England again, a tour of duty abroad before the war wasn,t the petty two and a half years we others had to put up with but was all of nine years in those days.Two of his stories I can remember to this day.The first was about the latrines they had to use at the garrison where he was staioned in India. These were just a long line of small huts all with a wooden seat and a bucket placed strategically on a wooden shelf lower down, to empty the bucket the “shit wallah” raised the flap at the back of the hut pulled out the bucket and emptied it into a container he hauled along behind from bog to bog. Norman explained that they always looked around for the “shit wallah” before going over to the latrines because if any one was sitting on the seat and the flap was raised his backside, when he was probably in the process of emptying his bowels could be seen by the rest of the camp! Not only this but the “shit wallah” would often reach into the latrine and give a hefty tug to the occupants scrotum! The indignity of this act wasn,t the worst thing here, Norman explained that because the War Department used Jeyes Fluid as a disinfectant in the latrines the “shit wallah,s” hands were bathed in this fluid, as he used it all day long. As undiluted Jeyes Fluid is a powerful corrosive, and in Norman,s own words,”It burns like buggery Johnny” the discomfort for the poor soldier involved was intense for some time afterwards to say the least.
Another story he related was about his return to England during the war, he had been wounded in France and was sent back to a hospital in the south of England to be patched up before being sent back to the war front. During his convalescense, he was at the time what the army terms, walking wounded, and could get about on his own. One of the nurses on the ward he was in came out of the nurses toilet, she most upset as the toilet she had just used was totally blocked and instead of flushing, the water level had mounted so that the water level was now about to overflow onto the lavatory floor. Norman offered to help her and going down on his knees plunged his arm into the lavatory bowl and freed the blockage in the S bend in the lavatory bowl. Panic over. The nurse turned to him and said” That was one of the bravest things I,ve ever seen any one do Norman!, Just think that you could do it! I think I would rather die than put my arm down into that toilet bowl! She ushered him into the bath room and proceeded to wash his arm and chest,dried him off and then rinsed his nails with her own nailfile, she made him come back to have his nails rinsed everyday for the rest of that week, and every time she met him on the ward afterwards she smiled and said”My hero!” .Norman smiled after telling me his story and said to me” It was nearly worth getting wounded for Johnny!”
Another story he related was about his return to England during the war, he had been wounded in France and was sent back to a hospital in the south of England to be patched up before being sent back to the war front. During his convalescense, he was at the time what the army terms, walking wounded, and could get about on his own. One of the nurses on the ward he was in came out of the nurses toilet, she most upset as the toilet she had just used was totally blocked and instead of flushing, the water level had mounted so that the water level was now about to overflow onto the lavatory floor. Norman offered to help her and going down on his knees plunged his arm into the lavatory bowl and freed the blockage in the S bend in the lavatory bowl. Panic over. The nurse turned to him and said” That was one of the bravest things I,ve ever seen any one do Norman!, Just think that you could do it! I think I would rather die than put my arm down into that toilet bowl! She ushered him into the bath room and proceeded to wash his arm and chest,dried him off and then rinsed his nails with her own nailfile, she made him come back to have his nails rinsed everyday for the rest of that week, and every time she met him on the ward afterwards she smiled and said”My hero!” .Norman smiled after telling me his story and said to me” It was nearly worth getting wounded for Johnny!”
Dennis Whitehouse who hailed from Sheffield was another one of those I remember. He was always very tidy in his appearance and was extremely careful not to dirty his hands when working, I dont know how he did it but he looked just as spick and span when leaving a job as he did when he came on to the job no matter how dirty the work might be. Fred Stace asked him once how he could look so tidy after a whole day pulling the dirty greasy old ropes off a lift and fitting new ones that were covered in new grease from the factory? Dennis said “Oh I have a good mate (this was me at that time!) and then again I only use the ends two of my fingers when re-roping, not my whole hand. ” As he lived in Sheffield and went home at the weekends Dennis had bought himself a motorbike to get from Leeds to Sheffield in a hurry, he was courting at the time! One friday evening he was asked to go out to a call back at the Black Swan Hotel in Halifax, the usual source of trouble on this lift was worn lock contacts and as Dennis wanted to go home to Sheffieldwhen he finished the job in Halifax he decided to leave his toolbox in Leeds and just put a torch, a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in his overcoat pocket to do the job. He was in for a shock. On arrival at the hotel he found the main motor had burnt out and rang back to Leeds office to tell them what the trouble was, fully expecting them to say “OK tell the hotel we,ll send people out on monday to pull out the motor” This was not to be, Fred said” Take the motor out Dennis, I,ve talked to the hotel and their maintenance man will come and give you a hand to get the motor from the motor room up into the back yard. The motor will be collected this evening and the motor repair people will work on it this weekend” Poor Dennis. He now had the task of dismantling a 10 h.P. motor with only a srewdriver and a pair of pliers! Believe it or not he did take the motor down - and it was collected from the back yard of the hotel later that evening. Having no hammer he had scoured the back yard and found several bricks, he then found a piece of angle iron and some bits of old pipe, the bricks were used as hammers! He said he used a lot of them as they broke up quite easily when bashed them onto the end of the angle iron he used as a chisel to loosen all the huge nuts holding the machine in place. The motor room was full of fragments of broken brick and the nuts were no use to anybody afterwards as they were all different shapes after the violent treatment they had received at Dennis,s hands, they all had to be replaced when the motor came back from repair! Full marks to Dennis for his initiative!
Dennis Whitehouse who hailed from Sheffield was another one of those I remember. He was always very tidy in his appearance and was extremely careful not to dirty his hands when working, I dont know how he did it but he looked just as spick and span when leaving a job as he did when he came on to the job no matter how dirty the work might be. Fred Stace asked him once how he could look so tidy after a whole day pulling the dirty greasy old ropes off a lift and fitting new ones that were covered in new grease from the factory? Dennis said “Oh I have a good mate (this was me at that time!) and then again I only use the ends two of my fingers when re-roping, not my whole hand. ” As he lived in Sheffield and went home at the weekends Dennis had bought himself a motorbike to get from Leeds to Sheffield in a hurry, he was courting at the time! One friday evening he was asked to go out to a call back at the Black Swan Hotel in Halifax, the usual source of trouble on this lift was worn lock contacts and as Dennis wanted to go home to Sheffieldwhen he finished the job in Halifax he decided to leave his toolbox in Leeds and just put a torch, a pair of pliers and a screwdriver in his overcoat pocket to do the job. He was in for a shock. On arrival at the hotel he found the main motor had burnt out and rang back to Leeds office to tell them what the trouble was, fully expecting them to say “OK tell the hotel we,ll send people out on monday to pull out the motor” This was not to be, Fred said” Take the motor out Dennis, I,ve talked to the hotel and their maintenance man will come and give you a hand to get the motor from the motor room up into the back yard. The motor will be collected this evening and the motor repair people will work on it this weekend” Poor Dennis. He now had the task of dismantling a 10 h.P. motor with only a srewdriver and a pair of pliers! Believe it or not he did take the motor down - and it was collected from the back yard of the hotel later that evening. Having no hammer he had scoured the back yard and found several bricks, he then found a piece of angle iron and some bits of old pipe, the bricks were used as hammers! He said he used a lot of them as they broke up quite easily when bashed them onto the end of the angle iron he used as a chisel to loosen all the huge nuts holding the machine in place. The motor room was full of fragments of broken brick and the nuts were no use to anybody afterwards as they were all different shapes after the violent treatment they had received at Dennis,s hands, they all had to be replaced when the motor came back from repair! Full marks to Dennis for his initiative!
Otis had at this time a training scheme for fitters mates who wanted to get on, whereby they were allowed to take out tools and do the work of a qualified fitter for two years at a reduced rate of pay, more than a mate but a good deal less than a fitter. I asked to be considered for this scheme and shortly afterwards I was out on the job picking things up as I went along and learning something new just about every time I had a call back. I found it quite a challenge, my RAF training stood me in good stead here and it wasn,t long before I was just as profficient as most of the others on the job. When I first started out on my own I had to ring the office occasionally to get help from one of the other more experienced fitters, at Wellington St we looked after every make and type of lift known to man so it wasn,t an easy job. Some people were very knowledgeable about one make of lift but knew very little about other types, Dennis Whitehouse had been with Evans so he was the Evans expert, Arthur Jeffries was good at Etchell Congdon and Muir, Tommy Hatch was very good at everything.Everybody knew the old Waygood Otis jobs but the older fitters found it hard to keep up when Otis started putting in high rise lifts with U.M.V. duplex units with pie plate selectors. I found the new stuff facinating and latched on to anything that was going in the way of information about the new control systems 10 - 21 -31 U.C.L. was right up my street and it wasn,t long before the girls at the office had been told to contact me whenever there were call backs on any of the newer installations in Leeds. Now the boot was on the other foot. It was now a case of the older fitters ringing to the office asking them to send Johnny out to help them, a bit of a feather in my cap.
Otis had at this time a training scheme for fitters mates who wanted to get on, whereby they were allowed to take out tools and do the work of a qualified fitter for two years at a reduced rate of pay, more than a mate but a good deal less than a fitter. I asked to be considered for this scheme and shortly afterwards I was out on the job picking things up as I went along and learning something new just about every time I had a call back. I found it quite a challenge, my RAF training stood me in good stead here and it wasn,t long before I was just as profficient as most of the others on the job. When I first started out on my own I had to ring the office occasionally to get help from one of the other more experienced fitters, at Wellington St we looked after every make and type of lift known to man so it wasn,t an easy job. Some people were very knowledgeable about one make of lift but knew very little about other types, Dennis Whitehouse had been with Evans so he was the Evans expert, Arthur Jeffries was good at Etchell Congdon and Muir, Tommy Hatch was very good at everything.Everybody knew the old Waygood Otis jobs but the older fitters found it hard to keep up when Otis started putting in high rise lifts with U.M.V. duplex units with pie plate selectors. I found the new stuff facinating and latched on to anything that was going in the way of information about the new control systems 10 - 21 -31 U.C.L. was right up my street and it wasn,t long before the girls at the office had been told to contact me whenever there were call backs on any of the newer installations in Leeds. Now the boot was on the other foot. It was now a case of the older fitters ringing to the office asking them to send Johnny out to help them, a bit of a feather in my cap.
One of the roughest, dirtiest jobs in the lift trade is the replacing of the suspension ropes, I had had some experience of re-roping when helping out other fitters but had now to take the responsibility of roping on my own. At the time there were three ways of fixing ropes to car and counterweight and these were splicing, clevis bolts or bull-dog clips, today there are several patented fixings that use a wedge fitting with the iron-grip clip and even an epoxy fixing which can be melted on site. Alfie had taught me the rudiments of splicing already,bull-dog clips were a thing anybody could tackle and the melting in of the turks head in a clevis bolt was soon routine. I and my mate would use the bus service or the train if the place was further afield to get to the site, we took the lifting tackle and a couple of slings with us in a gunny sack and had the normal complement of tools in the Otis box. The new ropes were usually on site after being delivered by the local carrier. We now had eight hours to do the job because next morning we had to be somewhere else, ready to change the ropes on someone elses lift, this wasn,t always easy as lifts vary a great deal in lifting height and number of ropes used for suspension. There are also many different locations for the driving machinery, a small passenger lift with the motor room on the roof top (top machine), with only three landings and using only three ropes was a much easier proposition than a heavy goods lift with the motor room in the basement of the building(bottom machine), that made use of four or five ¾ inch ropes!I think the worst thing I ever experienced when re-roping was a job in Hull where the lift motor room wasn,t even in the same building! The motor room was on the other side of the street in the basement of a neighbouring building, the ropes ran under the street in a bricklined tunnel no wider than a chimney stack in a normal house, so small that it was impossible for anyone to enter the tunnel. I remember my mate at the time Dennis, saying” This is a job for a trained monkey Johnny, or one of the seven dwarfs, we are never ever going to be able to pull these buggers round on our own"”It was true it took an awful long time and we both slept all the way from Hull to Leeds on the train on the way back, but we did it. Fred Staces,s comment next morning was "You,ve put down overtime on your time sheet Johnny? Why is this?” I explained that I thought we should have had three men on the job for at least half of the time due to the difficult conditions"”He just grunted but made no further comment.
One of the roughest, dirtiest jobs in the lift trade is the replacing of the suspension ropes, I had had some experience of re-roping when helping out other fitters but had now to take the responsibility of roping on my own. At the time there were three ways of fixing ropes to car and counterweight and these were splicing, clevis bolts or bull-dog clips, today there are several patented fixings that use a wedge fitting with the iron-grip clip and even an epoxy fixing which can be melted on site. Alfie had taught me the rudiments of splicing already,bull-dog clips were a thing anybody could tackle and the melting in of the turks head in a clevis bolt was soon routine. I and my mate would use the bus service or the train if the place was further afield to get to the site, we took the lifting tackle and a couple of slings with us in a gunny sack and had the normal complement of tools in the Otis box. The new ropes were usually on site after being delivered by the local carrier. We now had eight hours to do the job because next morning we had to be somewhere else, ready to change the ropes on someone elses lift, this wasn,t always easy as lifts vary a great deal in lifting height and number of ropes used for suspension. There are also many different locations for the driving machinery, a small passenger lift with the motor room on the roof top (top machine), with only three landings and using only three ropes was a much easier proposition than a heavy goods lift with the motor room in the basement of the building(bottom machine), that made use of four or five ¾ inch ropes!I think the worst thing I ever experienced when re-roping was a job in Hull where the lift motor room wasn,t even in the same building! The motor room was on the other side of the street in the basement of a neighbouring building, the ropes ran under the street in a bricklined tunnel no wider than a chimney stack in a normal house, so small that it was impossible for anyone to enter the tunnel. I remember my mate at the time Dennis, saying” This is a job for a trained monkey Johnny, or one of the seven dwarfs, we are never ever going to be able to pull these buggers round on our own"”It was true it took an awful long time and we both slept all the way from Hull to Leeds on the train on the way back, but we did it. Fred Staces,s comment next morning was "You,ve put down overtime on your time sheet Johnny? Why is this?” I explained that I thought we should have had three men on the job for at least half of the time due to the difficult conditions"”He just grunted but made no further comment.
Alfie told me afterwards that the job had been re-roped some years before where he had been one of the fitters on the job, it took them two days and they had to have help on the second day from a labourer from a local firm, so I had a clear conscience on this job. The other side of the coin was of course finding an easy job, a doddle as we called it, top machine three ropes, loads of room, no trouble, if we pushed it we could be finished by lunch time and either spend our time looking round the town or go to the cinema to while away the time until our train left, it stands to reason that this sort of easy job didn,t come along very often. Usually the boot was on the other foot and we had to work like “negroes” , I was about to say niggers but this is a word that mustn,t be used today, but we looked like negroes or coal miners on the way home too, people on busses and trains always gave us a very wide berth indeed. So this was a hectic time but very good experience for a new beginner. On the first jobs I was responsible for, Alfie would usually put in an appearance late in the afternoon just to check that the work was up to Otis standard, this was mostly on the jobs that had spliced ends as splicing was his hobby horse. After a while nobody came out to check anything at all on the jobs I did and I felt more and more that I could hold my own with any of the others on the job at that time.
Alfie told me afterwards that the job had been re-roped some years before where he had been one of the fitters on the job, it took them two days and they had to have help on the second day from a labourer from a local firm, so I had a clear conscience on this job. The other side of the coin was of course finding an easy job, a doddle as we called it, top machine three ropes, loads of room, no trouble, if we pushed it we could be finished by lunch time and either spend our time looking round the town or go to the cinema to while away the time until our train left, it stands to reason that this sort of easy job didn,t come along very often. Usually the boot was on the other foot and we had to work like “negroes” , I was about to say niggers but this is a word that mustn,t be used today, but we looked like negroes or coal miners on the way home too, people on busses and trains always gave us a very wide berth indeed. So this was a hectic time but very good experience for a new beginner. On the first jobs I was responsible for, Alfie would usually put in an appearance late in the afternoon just to check that the work was up to Otis standard, this was mostly on the jobs that had spliced ends as splicing was his hobby horse. After a while nobody came out to check anything at all on the jobs I did and I felt more and more that I could hold my own with any of the others on the job at that time.
Not all Danes will understand the next joke without some explanation I,m afraid. But this will come at the end of the story. A man was suffering from piles (hæmorhoids to the Danes) and went to see his doctor about this complaint after examiming him the doctor said “ I think I will recommend an old remedy for you, when you make a cup of tea at home let the tea bag cool off and then press the teabag up into your rectum this should ease the pain.Come back and see me in a weeks time.” The man does as instructed and comes back a week later for a further examination, unfortunately his own doctor had been called out to an urgent case and when his turn came around he was seen by another doctor. What,s the problem he was asked, piles doctor, OK drop your trousers and bend down and I,ll have a look said the doctor. The patient does as instructed and after a few minutes where the doctor remains silent he asks “What can you see doctor?” The doctor says “Well I,m not quite sure but to me it looks as if you are going on a voyage where you will meet a lady with long hair!”
Not all Danes will understand the next joke without some explanation I,m afraid. But this will come at the end of the story. A man was suffering from piles (hæmorhoids to the Danes) and went to see his doctor about this complaint after examiming him the doctor said “ I think I will recommend an old remedy for you, when you make a cup of tea at home let the tea bag cool off and then press the teabag up into your rectum this should ease the pain.Come back and see me in a weeks time.” The man does as instructed and comes back a week later for a further examination, unfortunately his own doctor had been called out to an urgent case and when his turn came around he was seen by another doctor. What,s the problem he was asked, piles doctor, OK drop your trousers and bend down and I,ll have a look said the doctor. The patient does as instructed and after a few minutes where the doctor remains silent he asks “What can you see doctor?” The doctor says “Well I,m not quite sure but to me it looks as if you are going on a voyage where you will meet a lady with long hair!”
To fully understand this joke you have to remember that in England after drinking a cup or a mug of tea quite a few people look at the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup in order to see what fate has in store for them, fortune telling by reading the tea leaves.
To fully understand this joke you have to remember that in England after drinking a cup or a mug of tea quite a few people look at the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup in order to see what fate has in store for them, fortune telling by reading the tea leaves.