"Fairbairns"

[bluebell]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneachda/4571128236/My father worked there 1945-54 after moving down from their foundry (?) in our home town of Dundee. He was a wages clerk who was picked to get involved in "time and study" which was becoming a big thing then.Here is link to photograph of staff dance there in 1947.I would be 2 years old then.Later, I remember attending outings at Roundhay Park and the kids' Christmas parties.My mum's best friend, Peg, was the wife of the late John Smith who worked there. She is 103 years old. Mum is only 91.We first lived in digs in Chapeltown. We had a Jewish doctor (Dr Samuel) and I can still prove it! We got a new prefab in Queenswood Drive in spring 1947. Then nice semi detached 2-storey house, firstly numbered 116 Queenswood Drive. A look at Google suggests 116 is not its number now as about 6 houses have been squeezed in after we left in 1954. Is that possible?Couple of other pics of Leeds on my Flickr site. Some of you may have seen one before.Loved my childhood in Leeds. Sadly, we had to move away after Dad died in 1954 aged 39.    

[Trojan]

More herehttp://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messages.aspx ... ighLight=1

[stutterdog]

bluebell wrote: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneachda/4571128236/My father worked there 1945-54 after moving down from their foundry (?) in our home town of Dundee. He was a wages clerk who was picked to get involved in "time and study" which was becoming a big thing then.Here is link to photograph of staff dance there in 1947.I would be 2 years old then.Later, I remember attending outings at Roundhay Park and the kids' Christmas parties.My mum's best friend, Peg, was the wife of the late John Smith who worked there. She is 103 years old. Mum is only 91.We first lived in digs in Clapeltown then got a new prefab in Queenswood Drive in spring 1947. Then nice semi detached 2-storey house, firstly numbered 116 Queenswood Drive. A look at Google suggests 116 is not its number now as about 6 houses have been squeezed in after we left in 1954. Is that possible?Couple of other pics of Leeds on my Flickr site. Some of you may have seen one before.Loved my childhood in Leeds. Sadly, we had to move away after Dad died in 1954 aged 39. I suppose the photo you put up is of the white collar workers at FLCB? My mother worked there during WW2 and was an overhead crane driver! I dont suppose there are any of the shop floor workers,my Mum may have been on that, if there was one.

[bluebell]

That is the only photograph I have.I did have a loan of bound volumes of the company magazine from way back then and there must still be plenty of them around in people's attics! Loads of photos and interesting text in them.PS - My father was a "white collar" worker but he grew up with his two younger brothers and a sister, mother and father in a 2-roomed tenement in Dundee. He was a top scholar who could have gone to university but had to go out to work at 16 for the family's financial reasons. His mother worked in a jute mill (from 14-years of age) and his father was a shipyard worker, but the order book was empty a lot of the time even when the UK was a shipbuilding nation. The women in Dundee were often the family bread-winners and are still renowned for giving the town the label of "matriarchal"!I have always been proud of my lowly roots - who wants to be able to say "my family and I have worked from the top downwards"!    

[Trojan]

bluebell wrote: His mother worked in a jute mill (from 14-years of age) The women in Dundee were often the family bread-winners and are still renowned for giving the town the label of "matriarchal"!     Jam, jute and journalism that's Dundee isn't it?

[bluebell]

Jute has completely gone, like many traditional heavy industries in all of the UK. One mill remains as museum.Jam (Keillers) IIRC was taken over by Asian company many years ago - dont know how big it is.Journalism (DC Thompson Dandy/Beano, etc.) still there but you only hear about it on the Scottish news if its the anniversary of the creation of Desperate Dan or similar! (Bronze statue of DD in the city centre!) NCR almost goneValentines cards gone decades agoVeedor RooteTimex. All had their day and faded.One bright spot is Ninewells Hospital/University is centre of world excellence in medical research including into cancer.A top Dundonian for you Leeds guys is Peter Lorimer. He came from 2 streets away and as a schoolboy I can still remember reading about "local 15-year old boy signs for Leeds United"!How good must he be? I thought at the time. Pretty good, it would seem!    

[Trojan]

bluebell wrote: Jute has completely gone, like many traditional heavy industries in all of the UK. One mill remains as museum.Jam (Keillers) IIRC was taken over by Asian company many years ago - dont know how big it is.Journalism (DC Thompson Dandy/Beano, etc.) still there but you only hear about it on the Scottish news if its the anniversary of the creation of Desperate Dan or similar! (Bronze statue of DD in the city centre!) NCR almost goneValentines cards gone decades agoVeedor RooteTimex. All had their day and faded.One bright spot is Ninewells Hospital/University is centre of world excellence in medical research including into cancer.A top Dundonian for you Leeds guys is Peter Lorimer. He came from 2 streets away and as a schoolboy I can still remember reading about "local 15-year old boy signs for Leeds United"!How good must he be? I thought at the time. Pretty good, it would seem!     He still has a noticeable Scottish twang, although I'd have thought after nearly fifty years in Leeds he'd be an adopted Loiner by now.In the seventies half the Leeds team were Scots internationals. Indeed the Scottish team for the 1974 World Cup contained, Bremner, Lorimer, Jordan, McQueen and Harvey (I think Eddie Gray was injured at the time or he'd probably have played too)

[bluebell]

I bet Lorimer was glad he was on the same side as Norman Hunter!

[BLAKEY]

bluebell wrote: We got a new prefab in Queenswood Drive in spring 1947. Then nice semi detached 2-storey house, firstly numbered 116 Queenswood Drive. A look at Google suggests 116 is not its number now as about 6 houses have been squeezed in after we left in 1954. Is that possible? Sorry to hear of how you came to leave Headingley, bluebell. I have lived in Queenswood Drive for nearly twenty years and didn't know, or have any reason to know, about extra houses being "squeezed in." I drove past 116 last night and nothing shows without previous knowledge - would you like me to make enquiries from folks have lived here for a long time ??

[bluebell]

Very kind of you Blakey.Hold it a while, though, I will try and post up what I mean by the google imagery.