Historical Memories

Reflections on work, life and illness
‘If you turn out as good as your dad, you’ll be alright.
I hope I turned out as good as me dad’

‘The day I came out of traction were the day
Prince Charles married Diana’

He was about 37 when Jim was born. One incident Jim does remember was when he was 13 or 14 being at home with a mate and his dad coming in from work in a foul mood and using strong language. He treated Jim as a grown-up - ‘when it was me and him we were equals’. His dad had always ‘tipped his money over’ to his mother - this was common practice at the time and Jim eventually took over this role. He would give his dad money for fags and beer. The reason for taking on this responsibility was when both Jim and his dad were at work, they still needed to pay the rent and Jim took on this responsibility. Jim and Billy would meet after work on a Saturday at the Royal Oak and then do the weekly shop at the Co-op. Jim relates a tale when they bought a pressure cooker which had been recommended. The instructions were ignored - Jim took lid off pressure cooker and meat, gravy, onions went everywhere - up the windows, up the curtains …everywhere!

On completion of his apprenticeship (early 1960s) the ‘going rate’ for a bricklayer was 5s an hour and at that time he did a 52hr week. The reason for going to the Channel Islands for work was that he knew someone who had got himself a job there and he thought he would give it a try. He bought his tickets from Mrs Troop and caught the ‘quarter-to-eleven’ black and white bus changing on the way, and arrived in Weymouth at 6 o’clock the next morning. He remembers being ‘sick as a dog’ on the ferry. On his arrival in Guernsey he stayed at the YMCA and worked as a labourer eventually being taken on as a bricklayer. After a few months Jim went off working in France, Germany and Morocco returning to Guernsey and from there back to Earl Shilton where he had his own place but when his dad was taken ill Jim went back to live with him.

As already mentioned Jim had been involved in entertaining people from an early age and this continued into his adulthood. He had been doing shows before going away and ‘worked the clubs’ working as a compare for stag shows - usually a Sunday lunch time and recounted an occasion when the club he was working at was raided by the police. He was involved with the Earl Shilton Pantomime Company, before and after working away, and became well known as playing the Dame and Buttons. He had been asked to play Dame at De Montfort Hall when one very famous Dame had a suspected heart attack. He had also been available/understudy for Bill Maynard. The amateur pantomimes were held at Earl Shilton Working Men’s Club and Monica Mason did the choreography - ‘back to the Sunbeams’! Eventually, however, Anne Oliver took over the choreography for the pantomimes and Jim and Anne Oliver organised floor shows at various venues – Le Ambassadors and the Twycross Country Club to name two nightclubs and Jim worked as their compare, introducing the Anne Oliver Dancers. He still did his day job – bricklaying and continued working the clubs. The taxman eventually caught up with him, however, and he was ordered to pay £190 ‘a lot of money at the time’ (about 1967). It was also during the late 60s early 70s working as a self-employed bricklayer that the company he was working for went bankrupt. Jim was responsible for paying a couple of people…which he did but was left with nothing!

Jim had never been on the sick until he ‘took ill’ (1980). He was in hospital at the time but still had to pay his rent which was £12 and he had about £15.50 on the sick. He went into traction in the February and had been in hospital about six months before this. Jim went back to work in 1983/84 and it was 1992/93 when he had a blood clot on his spinal column and admitted to Stoke Mandeville. Jim was 39 when he was first taken ill with ‘four prolapsed disks’ and underwent a 14 hour operation and was in intensive care and placed in ‘a hammock in a complete plaster jacket’. Jim was one of the first people to have this operation in Leicester at the time. He was kept ‘under’ for seven days so that nature could take its course and while unconscious had been moved to Groby Road Hospital. He remembers when he woke up he was given a sandwich and a bottle of Guinness on request. Jim remarked that, ‘he wasn’t expected to live’ but ‘I didn’t have a ticket so they wouldn’t let me in!’ He does remember, however, ‘all joking apart’ - ‘a rushing sound, ever so noisy, a lot of noise and a very bright light’. It was at this time that they sent for Jean, Jim wasn’t aware of this’. As an explanation for the noise ‘ it could have been the cleaners chucking buckets about…’

‘All I’ve done all my life is work… I used to help the local undertaker out in the 70s, Ted Kirk. ‘Everything I done were for money… you must think I’m an old scrat’. He didn’t get paid for the pantomimes, he did that for enjoyment but did get paid for the club work. Jim compared himself to his dad.

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